The 17-year-old, who braved economic hardship and earned a merit seat at the Government Medical College in Akola, says seniors abused and picked on him constantly, causing him mental anguish
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Getting through a medical institute was his dream but barely three days after he joined the Government Medical College, Akola, 17-year-old Anwar (name changed) withdrew his admission. The reason? Seniors ragged him on all three days, to the extent that it caused him mental stress and he began to feel scared of continuing in the college for five years.
Anwar has decided to take the MHCET again next year and gain admission to a better medical college closer to home. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
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He is so afraid that he has refused to go back to the institute, and, instead, will reappear for the medical entrance test next year in the hope of getting through to another college. Anwar, who is now back in the city, has mustered the courage to lodge an official complaint with the medical education authorities as well as the dean of the institute about the incident.
Anwar lives in a Mumbai chawl with his mother, maternal uncles and their families in. He finished his junior college studies in the science stream from SIES College. Dreaming of becoming a doctor, Anwar burned the midnight oil to prepare for the MHCET the common entrance test for gaining entry to medical colleges.
“I got admission to this college in the fourth list and joined the institute on September 23. On the same night, some final-year students came to my room and enquired about my background and where I came from. I told them about myself and that my family was in Mumbai. This, I was told by my roommate, was my big mistake,” said Anwar.
His roommates explained to him that students whose families are not in the same city become easy targets for ragging. “Since we are on our own, seniors harass us, knowing very well that we will not run back to our families that easily,” he added. Pretty soon, the seniors started walking in and out of the first-year students’ hostel and picked on the newcomers, with Anwar being a regular target.
Scared and scarred
On September 24, the college had declared a holiday on account of the Navratri festival, and while most of his batchmates went to a temple close by, Anwar chose to study in his room. “We were informed that girls would be shifted into one of the buildings; so, the boys were asked to shift to another building.
A group of seniors picked on some of us and we were made to move luggage. They kept using abusive language all the time and behaved indecently with some of us. We were being told that this is not ragging and that no complaints would be entertained. Not a single batchmate was ready to complain to the authorities about the abuse, out of fear,” Anwar recalled.
He added that apart from the regular ‘questioning session’ that he had to face with the seniors, he was also asked to bow his head whenever he walked past a senior and greet them with respect. The harassment continued on the third day as well; by this time, Anwar was truly scared.
“I had also noticed liquor bottles in one of the storerooms in the hostel, but never mentioned it to anyone. I was too stressed to even complain about any of this incident,” he added. Anwar immediately enquired about the procedure to withdraw his admission and submitted his application the next day. “September 27 was supposed to be the last date to withdraw admission, and any delay after that would have resulted in a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
I didn’t even have the courage to tell the dean the correct reasons. I shared everything with my mother and she agreed I should leave the institute,” he added. Anwar had paid the fees with the help of funds raised by a junior college professor of his, Sheikh Mohammed Madni, and teaching in coaching centres. Anwar also confided in Madni.
“I’ve know this student for many years and seen how hard-working he is. Since his family’s financial situation was not very good, he used to take tuitions to raise money to pay his college fees. Despite all this, he managed to score 90.38% in HSC boards and got this seat through merit. It’s really sad he had to quit the institute because of such a bad experience,” said Madni.
Anwar has decided to wait for a year and appear for the MHCET again next year, in the hope of bagging a seat in a better college. “He had gotten through to a well-known dental college in the city, which he declined because his dream was to finish MBBS.
It is unfair that he has to lose an academic year because of an issue which is considered a crime now,” Madni added. Anwar has also lodged a complaint with the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) as well as the dean of the institute in Akola.
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