Caste and the City Chowk is my favourite South Asian website and it`s great to see people react to my article. While it is impossible to reply all of them, I want to comment on this debate linking Hinduism with caste. The link is no doubt undeniable, but that was not thepoint of my article. My article is not but history but the present; not about rural areas but The City, where we think we DON`T discriminate on caste lines. Caste discrimination in urban India is so hidden and subtle that it`s worse than caste violence in villages, where you expect it.

Fighting over caste vis-a-vis religion is pointless. Those who think casteism affects only Hinduism should do some more Googling on the subject. Despite conversion many generations ago, caste discrimination continues in an institutionalised form in all religions in India and the rest of South Asia.

And #6, `nb`, why do you want to know my age. I feel at least as old as the history that I learnt in those stupid NCERT books. You could say I was born in 1857.

Ten Myths about Ragging Dear Rahul,

You have raised some interesting points. I want to be personally in touch with you, have to discuss some things about the sexual element in ragging. Can you please mail me at shivamvij@gmail.com or let me have your ID?

Ten Myths about Ragging

Dear JagDeCat, I`m associated with an anti-ragging campaign being run by an NGO. They are taking out a website on ragging for which they want content. I will be editing the site, the contents of which will also be put in a CD and sent to all sorts of people. I invite you to write about your experience in detail. You can write to me at shivamvij@gmail.com.
Thanks
Shivam

Ten Myths about Ragging

Dear JagDeCat, I`m associated with an anti-ragging campaign being run by an NGO. They are taking out a website on ragging for which they want content. I will be editing the site, the contents of which will also be put in a CD and sent to all sorts of people. I invite you to write about your experience in detail. You can write to me at shivamvij@gmail.com.
Thanks
Shivam

Ten Myths about Ragging

Dear veeresh,

I don`t agree with you, I mean, even thirty years ago, the seniors you thought you `learnt` from, were adolesecnts only a year older than you, and were only interested in some sadistic fun out of torturing you. However, I respect your memories, and agree that people can have good memories of ragging, specially if they have themselves been raggers! Would you mind putting down your experience of ragging in a detailed essay for our website? Please write to me at shivamvij@gmail.com
Thanks
Shivam

Ten Myths about Ragging

Dear nikki7777

Are you sure you were `ragged` in the US? Or was it hazing when you joined ceratin frats?
Anyways, ragging is often in extremes, and people like you who insist that it can be fun, ignore the extremes. You said, ``However, there are always those who will push society`s buttons and there is nothing one can do to prevent that.`` So let the world demolish itself, let society condone everything anti-social, we`ll just enjoy life. That`s what you are saying?

You said: ``There are more pressing problems such as poverty and indifference in our society that seemingly intelligent and caring persons...`` No dear, I leave poverty eradication to even more intelligent people to you. I`m happy being dumb enough to be a human rights activist.

You said: ``A little `horseplay` never hurt a fly!`` But it is not `little`, and it`s not being done to flies. We`re talking about sexual, physical, abuse, we`re talking about mental rape here. All this in the name of ragging. Suicides, and even murders! How can you be so insensitive to it?

You said: ``Moderation in all things is the key to an eventful and productive life, not denial.`` Okay, so we won`t kill 100 people, we`ll be moderate, we`ll kill only 10 in the name of ragging. No?

Ten Myths about Ragging May I briefly respond to some of the interacts on my article on ragging. Firstly, let`s not drift into hazing. Hazing and ragging are different because every fresher has to undergo ragging, whereas only those frehers undergo hazing in Western countries who wish to join certain clubs, called fraternities or sororities. Hazing therefore, is partly voluntary, whereas ragging is forced on you.

Secondly, I was struck by the sexist comments of `nikki7777`. The pointless association of ragging with archaic notions of `manhood` has been dealt with in my article. Yes, MEN should be welcomed with flowers. Why not? The subcontinentaal tradition says that a guest, a newcomer, is like god.

Those of you who are speaking in favour of ragging are requested to clarify whether you have yourself been raggers. If yes, then I can understand why you are justifying ragging. Obviously, your conscience doesn`t allow you to admit that you committed a crime, that you had been sadistic in college.

And to those who have praised my article, many thanks.

The website of our campaign is under construction. In the meantime you can join our maailing list by sending a blank mail to anti-ragging-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will get to read a lot more articles that are pro- or anti-ragging. Be prepared for some heart-wrenching stories.

Shivam
shivamvij@gmail.com

The Summer of 2001… The reason why Aman is romanticising his ragging is because in his mind, consciously or unconsciously, he wants to justify the ragging he did the following year. While he devotes a lot of space to the parathas of Ghanta Ghar and other such interesting things, only a line or two tells you how he would often try to escape ragging and sometimes a particular ragger. So if ragging is so much fun, why were you trying to escape? Obviously, ragging isn`t fun when you are undergoing it. If you were given a choice a) Interact with your senior in the way any two strangers become familiar or b) interact with him by cleaning his room and fetching parathas as though you were his slave, you would any day choose option `a`. No? But you have this great need to romanticise ragging because obviously you became a ragger next year. But why has he left out the details of unsavoury incidents from the experience of his own ragging?

Ragging is a crime is a crime is a crime. Period. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anti-ragging