A third-year student at Jadavpur University on Friday narrated his experience in a hostel at the university as a fresher and then as a senior and called Swapnadeep Kundu’s death “institutional murder”.
In a Facebook post, he narrated incidents from his life during his first year, when he was a newcomer in the university as well as in the city.
“On my first day in the hostel, one of my roommates and a senior were entrusted with the job of explaining the process of ‘intro’ to me. I was told that every night after 11pm or after midnight, I would have to be scantily dressed and knock on all the rooms in the hostel. Once a senior would open the door, I would have to repeat a ‘format’ to all of them. The format was to introduce myself — my name, father’s name, mother’s name, date of birth and other personal details — which I thought was objectionable. The ‘intro’ would end with my physical description.”
If there is an accidental use of English words, he would be subjected to punishment, the post mentions.
“I am traumatised since last night after getting the news.... The media is reporting it as a mysterious death. Some are saying it is suicide. (But) I will say, it is an institutional murder,” the post, written in Bengali, says.
The Telegraph is withholding his identity because he, too, has been a victim of ragging, even if he had not complained then.
The student mentions in the post that he was told he would have to enter the hostel by 6pm and maintain a “military cut” hairstyle. He was asked to refill water bottles in the rooms of all seniors once a week and narrate details of the female classmates to the seniors. At one point, the student made up his mind and left the hostel.
“I realised I would not be able to live like this. Despite financial constraints, I realised I would have to look for a mess or a paying guest accommodation,” he writes.
The post mentions an incident that happened on January 13, 2023. “Some of my friends and I heard that a fresher’s welcome programme was going on in one of the engineering departments. As there was no restriction on entry, we entered the room. Music was being played. Suddenly, someone announced that the ‘intro’ session would start. Around 15 students were asked to go to the stage. They were handed a few balloons and then asked to dance in indecent postures.”
The student mentions in the post that “ragging” is a “sadist pleasure”, which is being continued as a legacy in the institution and blamed a “section of people” who are aware of the whole system but do nothing about it.
“In such a condition, students from weaker financial backgrounds, who do not have the means to arrange accommodation in the city, are left with only two options. Either to leave the place..., which many cannot afford to do, or to commit suicide,” he writes.
“This is the exact reason why I and many others feel that Swapnadeep’s end is an institutional murder.”
The student writes that more than his demand for a “neutral probe” in the case, he wants this “tradition” to end. “We are often told ‘such things happen in the hostel’ or things like ‘ragging teach us to adjust to any adverse situation’. This has to change.”
“This trend of young students coming to study in a new city leaving their parents... and having to give up their lives like... has to stop.”