Himachal Govt. has been caught with it’s pants down with the murder of Aman Kachru at Medical College at Tanda. Aman was a fresher and beaten and tortured during ragging. He had inflicted serious injuries and was not given timely treatment and succumbed to his injuries.

Ragging is a serious menace in medical and engineering colleges across Himachal Pradesh.  IGMC Shimla is notorious for some of the worst ragging. The state govt. has all these years turned a blind eye and have pretended that nothing of the sort happens in the state. Students have to undergo the ordeal year after year. What has been amazing in this case is the manner in which the college authorities have tried to hush up the case.  A case of death inflicted by injuries was made into heart attack by the college authorities.

Part of the problem could be that the college authorities felt that he deserved the beating for daring to speak out against the locals of the area, who dominate the police, the education set up. Locals are supreme. Aman’s crime was that he dared to speak up against this caucus of educationists, corrupt cops and indolent officials. He defied a corrupt, sick and rotten establishment and paid for his life. He paid for his life because he was an outsider.

I wonder why the medical schools cannot replicate the business school model of integrating the fresher with the seniors. Most business schools encourage a unique system of hand-holding of the junior students by seniors and vice-versa. At Delhi’s FMS, each student of the 1st year batch gets a mentor from the senior year who hand-holds him or her throughout the academic session.

Mentors will help juniors in studies, exams, extra-curricular, and most importantly, job placements. A senior student will just take a junior under his wing, and help him every step of the way. This relationship can continue even after both have graduated from the business school.

At IIMs, the junior batch helps conduct the placements of seniors, making sure the complex process of inviting recruiters on-campus, who then conduct stringent tests and interviews, runs smoothly. The senior batch has already returned the favor by helping place the 1st year students in summer jobs.

One of the reasons why business school graduates are more likely to worry about their juniors can be that in the corporate world, which most of them aspire for, reputations count. If you are seen as likely to beat-up people, especially those in your team, at the least hint of trouble, no company will hire you. It is also a world where referrals count. In tough times, even a junior can help you land a job.

It is the opposite with docs. Majority of these students end up as govt doctors with no accountability. Scuffle happening between docs and patients in state hospitals is common. The job security given by the govt. ensures that these students end up as Munnabhais and act like bhais in the medical school. The school management is handpicked by the govt. of the day. In Himachal Pradesh even a peon is posted by the local ministers and MLA. This emboldens the authorities to ignore all the wrong doings as they know the local netas will protect them in any case.

We Himachalis used to be proud of being the habitants of “Devbhumi”. This incident has labeled us a UP-Bihar kind of society. I only hope and pray, that no one meets with the same fate ever again and  these murderers should be hanged  if proved guilty in the case.

May god give strength and solace to Aman’s family.

Related posts:

1. Court grants bail to accused in Kachru ragging case
2. Aman Kachru’s father deposes before court at Dharamshala
3. Aman Kachroo’s father alleges Himachal govt not pursuing the case properly