The University of Peradeniya has received much coverage in recent times due to an attack on a group of students of the Law Department in the Arts faculty at the ‘Gemba’ canteen. The attack had been carried out by a group of students in the same faculty. Following the incident, a complaint was lodged by the dean of the faculty along with several students who faced the attack. However, while investigations continued the situation only worsened leading to a complete halt of academic activities in the faculty.
University administrators claim that the attack on September 14 has been carried out by a group of students supporting ragging while those attacked were identified as anti-raggers. In the subculture that operates in the university, anti-ragging students do not have the same freedom as other students in using public places. The dean of the Faculty of Arts says that they do not have the opportunity to use the canteen, sports hall, or swimming pool as decreed by the raggers. The university administration has taken steps to suspend 11 students of the Faculty of Arts based on the attack.
Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Prabhath Ekanayake appeared in the media accusing the student unions of the campus. He accused some members of the student unions of not allowing others to carry out their academic activities freely in the university. He also revealed that he was now receiving death threats from the students. The issue even became a topic of discussion at the Parliament.
In the history of the Peradeniya University, there have been two deaths due to ragging. In 1975, when Rupa Ratnasheeli was admitted to the Faculty of Agriculture, she could not bear the inhuman ragging of the senior students and jumped from the second floor of Ramanathan Hall. Although she escaped death, her legs were severely damaged. After 22 years, Rupa committed suicide in 1997, unable to bear the pain caused by the damage to her feet.
S. Varaprakashan who entered the university’s engineering faculty in 1997 suffered a similar fate at the hands of raggers. He died at the age of 21 after his kidneys failed as a result of the ragging he suffered.
The next significant incident of ragging was reported in February 2017 when it was revealed that a group of students in the faculty of agriculture had rented out a house for the sole purpose of ragging juniors. The raggers had taken groups of students there on various occasions and subjected them to inhumane treatment and harassment; it was revealed in investigations carried out later. Naked students were found sleeping on the floor of the kitchen when it was raided by a group led by the University marshal.
It was observed that the hair on the bodies of these students had been removed. However, despite the shocking revelation student unions maintained a stoic silence leading the university authorities to accuse them of supporting such acts.
According to Dr. Prabath Ekanayake, he is now receiving death threats for merely attempting to protect the education rights of all students in the university.
“The student union president threatened me saying it is an easy task for them to send me home as they had even chased away the 7th executive president of the country. Even in the Universal Charter of Human Rights, getting an education has been confirmed as a recognised right. Every university has a group of students who hold a hegemonic opinion against this. At the forefront of these are the representatives of student unions.
All children who come to the university through free education have the same rights in the university. The President of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences Students’ Union scolded the professors, faculty heads, and the Vice-Chancellor with harsh words. It is a matter of regret that the universities have come to such a serious and tragic situation.
These institutions that depend on people’s tax money should be freed from such thuggery” he said.
“All the lecturers of the Faculty of Arts informed the students of a decision taken by the Faculty Board to seek them to hand over a written pledge to stop the ragging and give students the opportunity to use common spaces freely. If they do not respond to it, it is clear that they intend to continuously carry out violent acts.
These are silly acts being carried out in the guise of ragging. I see a student who doesn’t fit in with the modern world as someone who really has a mental disability. Those who have experienced various shortcomings in their life before coming to the university are the ones who approve of freshman harassment.
They are the ones who harass newcomers. Those are the ones who suffer. It is a theory of social science that violent people are created through violent socialisation.” he said.
“Ragging is being meted out by mentally challenged students. Even when we were in university ragging existed no senior student ragging a fresher was allowed to touch a fresher. No physical violence was allowed. Now, even if a fresher obeys an order he can be slapped by a senior student. Even a child of a university lecturer was beaten recently. These are crimes.” he added.
In response, Anuradha Vidanage, President of the University of Peradeniya Student Union had this to say.
“The allegation that the students threatened the dean is completely false. There is an organised attempt to spread a wrong opinion about the students of the University of Peradeniya and regarding the faculties and student unions.
The conflict between two groups of Faculty of Arts students on the 14th was not related to freshman ragging. A group is trying to show that this conflict is related to ragging. Universities are not temples. Today, when conflicts occur even in temples, a group of people try to portray the conflicts in the university as something unusual. The Student Union recognises the right to education and equality of all students.” he said.
“The student union representatives held a discussion with the Faculty of Arts Dean, Deputy Disciplinary Controllers and lecturers along with the two groups involved in the clash. An agreement was reached to avoid the recurrence of conflicts. What else are these people asking for?” he asked.
However, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. M. D. Lamawansha denies these accusations.
“There is no need for any Vice-Chancellor or Dean to maintain ragging. We spend our time and effort to stop this. If the students, student associations and those in the political arena who support them unanimously decide that the ragging should be stopped, this issue will end there. But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen. As soon as they come to the university, we give students an understanding of the seriousness of ragging and the punishments for it.
“Everyone, including the marshal, speaks to them. We do not put new students together in the hostels with the seniors of the faculty where they are studying. When people from the same faculty stay together, there is more chance of bullying. Students are not allowed to come out of the hostel until they start their studies. Also, they have been informed to go back to the hostels as soon as the lectures are over. When new students go to public places such as the canteens the marshals and lecturers observe them.
On September 14 when a complaint was submitted to the police regarding the attack on a group of students in the law studies department, representatives of the student union went with the suspected students. Does this not show that there is a relationship between these people?” he asked.
About 230 students of Peradeniya University have been punished for various discipline-related issues in the last five years. The highest number of students were punished in the year 2018 and the number is 65. Students were not punished for any disciplinary issues in 2021 only because the university was closed due to Covid-19. About fifty students have been punished so far this year. In 2017, the administration took measures to suspend the studentship of 08 students of the Faculty of Agriculture for six years in connection with the incident of renting a house outside the university grounds for the purpose of ragging. This was reduced to 3 years on appeal.
According to the law, a person can be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for ragging if found guilty while if any sexual harassment or grievous injury is proved it can lead to 10 years of imprisonment and payment of damages to the aggrieved party. While ragging that once began in jest has now taken a more violent form, it is a timely need for the student unions that often bring out students to the streets to demand their rights to understand their responsibility in eradicating ragging from the universities.