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By Shanika Sriyananda
“I lost myself when they stripped me naked and sexually abused me, badly assaulting me in the middle of the night, making me get an HIV test and finally killing my mother, who was worried about me getting badly ragged and mentally tormented,” he said in a quivering voice.
“Do I have any more to lose? No. So I have chosen to fight and face any challenge to be an anti-ragging campaigner in my university,” H. Darsha Udayanga, now a second-year student of the Ruhuna University, said. 
Udayanga is the latest victim of brutal sexual ragging in the Ruhuna University. His revelation of the extreme form of ragging has now stirred up a hornet’s nest and poses serious questions as to why the top university administrators, who are entrusted to act with urgency against ragging, seemingly remain silent in the face of this crime happening under their watch.
More than Udayanga, for his family, especially for his mother, his getting selected to the prestigious Ruhuna University was a reason to be proud. He recalled how he and his mother stepped into the university with pride and felt relieved as the Students’ Union representative, in the presence of over 500 students and their parents and the former Vice-Chancellor (VC) Gamini Senanayake, Deans and academics, assured them that they would not be subjected to ragging.
“I was excited but my mother was thrilled as we would not be ragged. But, after two months, we became ‘toys’ for seniors, who enjoyed our nudity and pain,” he said, unfolding incident by incident, raising questions about the mental state of those undergraduates who belong to the cream of the country’s education.
Over 50 male students, including Udayanga, were given accommodation at the Madawatta Hostel, where the senior students of the Arts and Management faculties were also given accommodation. There, the new entrants were subjected to serious ragging from 21 February 2018 for over three weeks, daily.
“A group of seniors dragged 10 of us into Room No. 144 at the upper canteen at around 2 a.m. and kept us naked while scolding us in filth. Then they dragged me on to a table and inserted a wooden pole covered with a condom into my rectum. I couldn’t shout but I was crying in pain. The weird sounds made by them terrified us,” he said.
They were subjected to various forms of sexual abuse, assault and humiliation daily in the wee hours of the day. The seniors had different names for the acts of sexual abuse, as explained by Udayanga. Once pairs were kept naked, facing each other and they were asked to touch each other’s sexual organs and push them up and down until a noise was heard.
“We had to do it until they ordered us to stop. I felt severe pain after that but didn’t even scream as they would assault us more. They subjected us to similar sexual harassment daily. Once they asked us to be naked and ordered one student to go to each of us and rub the sexual organ on the mouths of all. There were eight of us and everyone had to do this,” Udayanga said.
Surprisingly, no hostel Wardens, Sub-Wardens or the security, according to Udayanga, were seen or came into the hostels until the seniors concluded their ‘ragging episode’ in the name of ‘welcoming the pack’. None of the new students informed the university authorities, thinking ragging was done with the knowledge of the university administration as the Students’ Union had a close relationship with the university authorities.
Bullies have emotional deficits and they don’t have the capacity to understand how the victim feels – Clinical Psychologist Dr. Chandanie
Senadheera I was not aware of torture chambers in the university. The buildings and the areas of the university are under the control of the Deans of respective faculties and none of the Deans have complained about such places in the university to me – Former VC Prof. Gamini
Senanayake Although many have spoken about eradicating ragging, no one has come up with an alternative to ragging and even the FSP has failed to address the issue. Students who have sick mindsets and personality problems engage in sexual abuse and inhumane ragging – FSP Secretary Pubudu Jagoda
As he felt very sick with body aches and pains after a few days after sexual ragging, he went to get an HIV test and had also undergone psychological therapy as he was depressed.
“I went with my mother to get the HIV test. I feel ashamed to go with her but she encouraged me to face ragging as she wants me to continue university education. I knew she was very worried though she didn’t show her sorrow to me. Anyway, I refused to go back to the university and was restless until I got the test results, which said I was HIV negative. We went to the University Grants Commission requesting a transfer to another university. As my mother requested me to go back to Ruhuna University, I returned,” Udayanga said, adding that his mother, who was silently suffering, had died of a stroke after a few months.
Today he said he did not fear getting assaulted for being outspoken to challenge ragging and revealing about brutal sexual ragging at the university.
“I think, after getting good results at A/Ls, we have a right to study in State universities in a peaceful environment. I invite new university students to join with the new forum that we are going to form soon to go against ragging. Girls get raped but they silently suffer due to fear and shame. It is time to react against sexual, physical and psychological ragging to restore our rights for university education,” Udayanga, who is doing a special degree in political science to fulfil his mother’s dream, said.
Parents need to be vigilant
He also requested parents to keep an eye on their children who enter into universities as they would be easily dragged into political parties.
Udayanga said the Ruhuna University was back to normal with no torture chambers and an administration that supports creating an anti-ragging culture to restore freedom for students.
When contacted, Ruhuna University VC Prof. Sujeewa Amarasena, who took a firm decision to end ragging in the university under the powers vested to him according to the University Act of No. 16 of 1978, said all faculties in the university were under control with students enjoying their freedom of attending lectures, going to the library and most importantly sleeping with no harassment at night in their hostels.
I invite all new students to join the new forum that we are going to form soon to lobby against ragging. Girls get raped but they silently suffer due to fear and shame. It is time to react against sexual, physical and psychological ragging to restore our rights for university education – Darsha Udayanga
It is unfortunate that many students who were traumatised leave universities as they fail to cope up with ragging. This is tarnishing the image of Sri Lankan State universities, which have produced world-class renowned professionals – Ruhuna University VC Prof. Sajeewa Amarasena
The authorities who were responsible for higher education, including political leadership, have failed to address violent intimidation and sexual harassment of students, which has been taking place in the guise of ragging – former Ministry Secretary Dr. Tara De Mel
“We are still not aware of the extent of raging in all 15 State universities, where ragging has become a sub-culture. Until Udayanga came out with his story of being subjected to grave sexual, psychological and physical harm, no one knew about the gravity of ragging taking place in the Ruhuna University,” he said.
Prof. Amarasena said university administration of all the universities had been trying to end ragging in State universities for the last several decades but it had been a futile effort.
“Being an academic for the last 30 years and a product of the Ruhuna University, we have not experienced such violent and sexual harassment during ragging. It was a simple form of ragging where they asked us to do some push-ups, running, hilarious drama, etc. It is pathetic to see that many students, who silently suffer the trauma, leave universities as they cannot cope with the torment of ragging. This is tarnishing the image of Sri Lankan State universities, which have produced world-class, renowned professionals,” he claimed.
“What he described he had undergone sexually, physically and mentally brought tears into my eyes. While I was listening to his story I felt guilty as I couldn’t believe that students under my wing were undergoing such grave abuses,” he said.
No pride of being a VC
Prof. Amarasena said becoming a VC in a university was a matter of pride for an academic but questioned what pride he could hold if he couldn’t stop sexual harassment and rape happening in his university.
“I feel I am responsible to save the lives of these children, especially as a paediatrician, as I know the gravity of the mental state of young students when they are sexually harassed, raped and exposed to violence. I asked myself ‘why am I not taking action to stop ragging?’” he said in an interview with the Daily FT.
After the Easter Sunday bomb blasts and during university vacation, with the permission of the UGC, the VC had joined the Army and Police to search the entire university premises that houses 14 faculties on over 140 acres of land to find clues for places in which students were ragged and raped.
They found 10x10 rooms which were partitioned inside the upper canteen behind the Students’ Union. They were the torture chambers, which had beds and tables which were used to sexually and physically abuse students. They had also found stocks of condoms.
Some of the areas, according to Prof. Amarasena, has not been visited by any academic or non-academic staffers for the last 15 years and the Students’ Union had not even allowed even the security to enter the areas. He said that those areas had become their own dens to carry out Students’ Union activities, including ragging.
Meanwhile, 29 members of the Ruhuna University Council had unanimously decided to have zero tolerance for ragging and the minimum punishment for verbal, sexual or physical abuse would be expelling the raggers from the university.
Facing threats
Prof. Amarasena said he could have chosen to remain silent for the next three years and have an understanding with the Students’ Union, working together with it to run the administration smoothly while being blind to the untold suffering of innocent students who were terrified to speak up.
“I am facing lots of issues and criticisms and also threats but as a paediatrician, it is worth taking those risks for the betterment of the country’s youth, who need to be protected. I know other VCs are also trying their best to stop ragging and hope they will join me soon to make all universities in the country free of ragging,” he said, adding that the university gets daily calls from parents saying that their children have been ragged badly and are refusing to come to the university.
“Earlier, most of those calls were anonymous due to fear but now we get complaints with names and other details to initiate investigations,” Prof. Amarasena said, adding that most students were very innocent and not used to violence but they were being exploited and trained to be violent by the Students’ Union, which is backed by the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), which has no power at least at Pradeshiya Sabha level.
He emphasised on the importance of creating a social movement against ragging and the need for a strong lobby by all political parties against FSP to free children being used as a ‘human shield’ for its political gains.
He accused the FSP of recruiting students from poor economic backgrounds soon after they get qualified to enter universities. “They fund their education, train them to be violent and use them in their political activities, including protests against the Government,” he said.
Prof. Amarasena urged the parents to be vigilant about their children and their activities after they enter the universities, with whom they were associating and also where they got funds for education.
He said some middle class students also get caught to the FSP as they lack political maturity and when they realise they have been used for their political gains, it is too late for these students to revert.
“I suggest all the political parties get involved in university politics. Parliament should amend the University Act urgently to bring a democratic political culture in universities where multi-party democracy prevails in all universities like in our days in the university. This will facilitate university students to engage in effective political dialogue. At present, there is only the FSP, which has taken an upper hand in the Students’ Union as it is the only one that gets elected to the union,” he stressed.
Prof. Amarasena requested the public not to donate money to students who collect money with tills as there was no need for them to raise funds for university projects as the Government spends over Rs. 45 billion to Rs. 65 billion annually from 2015 to 2019 to develop universities.
“They collect millions of rupees for the party to organise demonstrations, rent buses for student campaigns, food and alcohol, to financially assist students’ education and also for other party activities,” he said, adding he was confident that other VCs would join him to show solidarity for their struggle to end ragging in universities.
The Matara Police, following complaints made by the VC and Udayanga, has taken 19 suspects into custody over serious sexual ragging.
Failure to control ragging
Meanwhile, former Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Tara de Mel said the authorities who were responsible for higher education, including the political leadership, had failed to address violent intimidation and sexual harassment of students, which was taking place in the guise of ‘ragging’.
She said Sri Lankan universities were once respected and much-sought-after institutions of higher education but today they appeared to have transformed into torture chambers.
“Whilst criminal activities, including murder, go on unabated, there’s hardly any place for discussing tertiary education reforms or research advancement. It is no wonder that we are slipping to the lowermost rungs in the league tables of Asian universities,” she said.
Dr. de Mel, who was the Presidential Advisor on Education Reforms, said that existing legislation might have gaps and was inadequate to deal with every situation, however it was the responsibility of those at the helm to immediately stop this dangerous trend.
“The law of the land needs to be applied on campus, speedily,” she stressed
Ruhuna University Faculty of Medicine Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology Dr. Chandanie Senadheera said harassing a fellow student in any form in an educational institute was completely unacceptable.
“Effects of ragging on the victim depend on many factors ranging from the form of ragging to the coping strength of the victim. There is no evidence to say that any form of ragging has any positive effect on the victim, but there is ample of evidence to say that it has caused detrimental effects on the victims in many ways,” she said.
According to Dr. Senadheera, she has not found any evidence to show that the perpetrators have any mental disorders or personality disorders.
“I’ve read about different approaches of bulling in Western cultures. One interesting way to understand it from the psychological point of view is that bullies have emotional deficits and they don’t have the capacity to understand how the victim feels,” she explained.
However, she said ragging continued despite different measures taken by authorities to address the issue. “I think it is mainly because ragging has become a part of the university sub-culture and students take it as their responsibility to maintain ragging. While perpetrators are carrying out ragging actively and victims are being submissive, the rest are silent about ragging,” she claimed.
Sacking students fails to end ragging
Meanwhile, Ruhuna University former VC Prof. Gamini Senanayake vehemently denied that there were torture chambers in the university during his tenure.
“I was not aware of such places in the university. The buildings and the areas of the university are under the control of the Deans of respective faculties and none of the Deans have complained about such places there to me,” he said, adding that one incident of sexual abuse during ragging was reported to him but the inquiry could not be completed as the student – Udayanda – withdrew the complaint.
Prof. Senanayake said he had a zero tolerance over ragging and had suspended several students after probing their involvement in ragging.
“Sacking them from the university was the last resort of punishment,” Prof. Senanayake said, adding that he always had a close rapport and interactive dialogues with all the students, including freshers.
He said several awareness campaigns on ragging were introduced to empower new students against ragging. “One should not forget that the university top officials have a parental role to play when it comes to maintaining student discipline. I also believe parents also have a big role to play after sending their children to universities,” he said.
FSP denounces ragging
FSP Secretary Pubudu Jagoda denying their involvement in ragging in universities and urged the authorities to initiate a fully-fledged probe into alleged sexual abuses and rape in the Ruhuna University to find the real culprits.
He said the party had taken a policy decision not to promote ragging in universities and no student from the party was among those who was taken into custody.
“We have tried our best to eradicate ragging in universities although it cannot be done immediately as ragging has been institutionalised and continues as a sub-culture in universities. The FSP has requested the Students’ Union to promote zero ragging as we also believe ragging is destroying the student’s activisms in universities. They need to change this culture with creative non-violent ways of welcoming freshers like it was done a few decades ago,” he said.
Jagoda said although many talked about eradicating ragging, no one had come up with an alternative to ragging and even the FSP had failed to address the issue.
He accused the university authorities of making ragging a political issue from time to time to get political mileage instead of finding long-term solutions to end university ragging.
Jagoda said since the VCs were appointed by the President and the Council members by the Minister of Higher Education, the university system had been politicised and no serious effort had been taken so far to solve the issue.
“When we were in the university, ragging was not this inhumane and no acts of sexual abuse or violence were carried out as ragging. The FSP vehemently denounces sexual ragging in universities. It is a crime and the students who are involved in such brutal ragging should be severely punished under the law,” Jagoda said.
He said the majority of students who were engaged in politics had no involvement in ragging but a separate group which had the blessings of the second year batch and also got ragged in the previous year had become raggers.
“We think that the best way to address this is to get that majority to stop ragging. Although we have the majority power in the Students’ Union and conduct awareness programs on anti-ragging, we can’t interfere in ragging as it is done by a separate group of students, who have sick mindsets and personality problems. If they have carried out acts of sexual abuse and inhumane forms of ragging, the university authorities need to take stern action against them,” he stressed.
