Image: Charith Dilshan was forced to take his life after ragging for wearing short.
Ragging, a degrading and cruel practice of abuse, torture and indoctrination, championed in the higher education system of Sri Lanka by mainly leftist political student movements, has once again come under the spotlight, with claims that a freshman student who was abused by student union thugs, had later taken his life due to the trauma faced. What is different this time is that it is those who perfected those tactics of abuse and indoctrination, who are today in the driving seat of power, with many holding senior leadership roles under the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led NPP Government.
While the Government marched today under its red banners in a show of force prior to the upcoming Local Government Election and in celebration of International Labour Day or May Day as it’s known locally, the harvest from the seeds of abuse they planted in their ‘student’ days have delivered an unpleasant result at their doorstep, which the State will have to deal with. All over the world, universities are run as places where young people can chart their future and gain knowledge in a safe and secure environment. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is an exception.
Report of a 23-year-old second-year student attached to the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of Sabaragamuwa, allegedly taking his life after unbearable abuse at the hands of student union thugs, spread like wildfire over the last few days. He had attended the university’s New Year festival on 27 April and returned to his residence in Ihalagama, Gampola, the very next day, where it is suspected that he had taken his life. Relatives and friends of the students claim that the unbearable humiliation that he faced due to a ragging incident during the New Year celebrations led to his suicide.
Sabaragamuwa University administration told The Daily Morning that a three-member committee including two professors has been appointed to inquire into the incident, in addition to the ongoing Police investigations. He noted that the investigation carried out by the Police will proceed under the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, No. 20 of 1998, while the said committee will conduct an internal inquiry. He stated that the university administration is closely monitoring the student behaviour and is committed to taking action against any form of violence.
Meanwhile, issuing a press release, the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education stated that the ministry has paid close attention to information circulating on various social media platforms suggesting that this sudden death was caused by ragging. According to the ministry, if such an incident is confirmed, the ministry will take the maximum possible action in accordance with the existing law against all responsible parties.
In 2023, the then-Government finally moved to establish a National Anti-Ragging Committee. The committee is envisaged as a formalised body to address the long-standing issue. More recently, the Court moved to warn the University Grants Commission that the Courts will decide on the enforcement mechanisms if the UGC or universities fail to implement guidelines aimed at eliminating ragging in State universities.
Ragging has a long, ugly and costly history in Sri Lanka, with it leading to deaths, suicide, rape, sexual, physical and mental abuse and much more. It has often been linked to politics within the higher education establishment, and indoctrination into party ideologies.
Many political parties, particularly the left leaning (Including the JVP), and especially smaller parties which hold extreme left leaning views, still employ ragging through their minions in the universities to indoctrinate new generations of victims. Irrespective of the argument that ragging is done to unify students from different communities and make them as one, the reality is that it traumatised victims, and created class distinction and hatred, all of which Sri Lanka, given its history, can do without.
While the history of law enforcement agencies and university politics is dark and unfortunate, to continue to use that as an excuse to create a lawless zone within universities, where ‘ragging’ is made the norm and used as a tool to indoctrinate another generation, should not be permitted. This rot must stop, and if the Government is serious about putting right long-standing wrongdoings, they can start with putting an end to the trauma of ragging which has left students dead, disabled, traumatised and alienated.
02 April 2025