Medical Council of India Amendment redefines Ragging

New Delhi: Through a recent gazette notice, the apex medical council has expanded the definition of ragging to include abuse done on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background

The amendment which was published in the gazette on April 5 2018, introduces amendments to the “Medical Council of India (Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges/Institutions) Regulations, 2009”, calling the new regulations as Medical Council of India (Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges/Institutions) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018.”

With the amendments, the MCI has amended the sub-clause 3.3 under the heading “Definitions:- for the purpose of these Regulations” to expand the definition of ragging

It is reported that till the amendments of 2016, ragging has been defined the sub-clause as following

Any conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of harassing, teasing, treating or handling with rudeness any other student, indulging in rowdy or undisciplined activities which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student or asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or psyche of a fresher or a junior student. The conduct includes but is not restricted to any act by a senior student that prevents, disrupts or disturbs the regular academic activity of any other student or a fresher; exploiting the services of a fresher, or any other students for completing the academic tasks assigned to an individual or a group of students; any act of financial extortion or forceful expenditure burden put on a fresher or any other student by students; any act of physical abuse including all variants of it: sexual abuse, homosexual assaults, stripping, forcing obscene and lewd acts, gestures, causing bodily harm or any other danger to health or person; any act or abuse by spoken words, emails, post, public insults which would also include deriving perverted pleasure, "vicarious or sadistic thrill from activity or passively participating in the discomfiture to fresher or any other students; any act that affects the mental health and self-confidence of a fresher or any other student with or without an intent to derive a sadistic pleasure or showing off power, authority or superiority by a student over any fresher or any other student.

The Medical Council of India, with the amendments has expanded the definition calling for the following to be added after first para of sub-clause 3.3:-

“Any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student (fresher or otherwise) on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background.”