There are murderers in all countries in the world and it is the same with Sri Lanka. There are barbarians all over the world including in Sri Lanka. We do not need to care about any of them as long as they are there in isolation as individuals and the Police can hunt them and the law can punish them at any time anywhere. But there is an extremely special team of murderers and barbarians who are well-teamed up and looking for innocent undergraduates who enter into State universities as freshers (new undergraduates). The Government needs to take the toughest action possible against them because they are a well-organized group of murderers who are waiting for prey. Fortunately, the Government and all the relevant authorities are taking action against them by now. We talk about ragging in state universities.
Last week, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered all 16 State universities across the Island to submit a report pertaining to all the incidents of ragging reported at the respective institutions over the last three years and the measures taken to prevent them, before 10 November 2023.
This is something highly admirable because almost all 16 State universities in the country turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the incidents of ragging during the past several decades because they did not want to get `involved’ in them, they were scared of their own safety and especially their main objective was NOT protecting freshers but safeguarding the `good name’ of their respective universities. But now they have to do their job which is keeping all freshers alive and well until they pass into the second year.
The parents and guardians of freshers cannot protect them when they enter into State universities. The only option is hiring private security guards. This is not possible because the university authorities do not allow it and the parents and 
guardians do not have money to spend on it. They do not have money to send their poor sons and daughters to state universities where they receive free education. No point talking about hiring private security services!
It is very relieving to see that the Higher Educational authorities, the Police and all relevant authorities are taking action to prevent ragging in State universities. But there are specific things that all of them need to be focused on. The very first thing is the raggers who are very familiar with the university environment definitely find alternatives when the authorities block / prevent their current usual `techniques’ and locations. It is similar to wild animals finding out new techniques to destroy crops whenever various methods are used to stop them. They find out another way just like elephants find out new techniques to destroy or cross the electric fence! Therefore the authorities should not be so sure about their own capabilities and systems.
The second obstacle that needs to be addressed is the death threats that can be received by freshers from senior undergraduates who are in the second, third and fourth years. They are the raggers. They might threaten freshers NOT to report to relevant authorities or NOT to cooperate with them after detecting incidents of ragging. Anyway, the freshers need to spend their time in the same university with those senior undergraduates for another two or three years after making complaints. This issue needs to be taken into consideration and addressed in a serious manner.
The other most crucial thing is understanding the gravity of the problem by all relevant authorities. They are directly dealing with murderers who have already set records during the past several decades. They are still there without any change because they did not get punished for the crimes they committed. The barbarism of those murders cannot be explained in a few words. It is good to remember a few landmark incidents of barbarism.
It is very interesting how they murdered Samantha Vithanage, a key anti-ragging campaigner from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura on 7th November in 2002 The 21st Death Anniversary of him falls in another couple of weeks.
The attackers stabbed him with shards of glass, pens, pencils, compasses, dividers and all the other available shrapnel and Vithanage, who was struck, fell to the floor. President of the General Students Union at that time (November 2002) crashed a heavy computer monitor on his head. Vithanage was seriously injured. Then the pro-ragging students blocked the vehicle carrying the injured to the hospital, delaying proper medical treatment. The first hour of any seriously injured person is called `the golden hour’ by doctors because the first hour decides whether the seriously injured person lives or dies. That is why such victims need to be hospitalized as soon as possible.
When Samantha was about to be transported to the hospital, the killers of Samantha laid down on the ground blocking all internal roads inside the university preventing the vehicle from reaching the gate of the university to get into the main road and speed up to the hospital. The murders did not get up for hours. Two days later Samantha Vithanage died.
The incident of 24-year-old DK Nishantha who died in 2014 after being sexually abused by senior undergraduates and abandoning the university education is very significant. He obtained three A passes and entered into the Arts Faculty of the Peradeniya University despite many financial difficulties. Later his lifeless body hung on a tree located at the university by the murderers. He was NOT an undergraduate by that time because he abandoned university education during ragging. The ragger did not let him live even after he abandoned his university education!
Amali Chathurika made a remarkable turn before she died in 2015 at the age of 23 due to ragging. She was a student of Applied Science at Sabaragamuwa University. Before her death, she wrote down very clearly who did what to her, with their names, ages, addresses and all the other details which help to trace those individuals at any time, anywhere. The law was not implemented because various `authorities’ wanted to hide the murder and stated that she was suffering from a mental disorder. It was very clearly a crime because she was mentally tortured and forced to kill herself by raggers. She was a 
healthy girl before ragging. Later it was reported in the media that (then) Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe commenced to implement the law in connection with this case.
Last week the Supreme Court directed that university hostels be checked at night to prevent incidents of ragging in hostels, Higher Education State Minister Suren Raghavan stated to the media last week.
He told the media that the decision was taken due to the information received that harassment is more common in the hostels between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m. With the implementation of the programme, there is a clear reduction of harassment activities.
The decision was announced by the Supreme Court over the incident of the Sri Jayewardenepura University (Management Faculty) first-year student who suffered near-fatal injuries when a tyre sent to his head from the top of a staircase while he was going down on March 5th, 2020.
Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the Sri Jayewardenepura University Vice Chancellor to submit a report on the action taken against senior students who ragged first-year students, including a petitioner who suffered near-fatal injuries three years ago.
A couple of weeks ago State Minister of Higher Education Suren Raghavan stated that the Government is contemplating tough measures, including new legislation, to curb ragging at universities and other higher education institutes. He pointed out that ragging is spreading in universities and 36 complaints of ragging have been reported within the last 12 months. He mentioned this fact some time ago during a media briefing.
During the same media briefing, Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that two telephone numbers have been introduced to complain about the incidents of ragging. Victims of ragging can call the hotline 1997 or the WhatsApp hotline 076-5453454. SSP Thalduwa said that the newly introduced WhatsApp number can provide videos, photos, etc. related to the ragging and that as soon as the complaint is received, it will be forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and necessary investigations will take place.
It seems the curse is going to end soon. It is the duty of all freshers, their parents and guardians, and university authorities to detect raggers, identify them and bring them before the law of the land.
