Kerala has been rocked by another horrifying incident, one that casts a dark shadow over its educational institutions. Five senior students from the Government Nursing College in Kottayam have been arrested for committing acts of extreme cruelty against their juniors under the guise of ragging.
For months, these seniors subjected their juniors to unimaginable torment. They forced them to stand naked with heavy dumbbells hanging from their private parts and jabbed them with sharp dividers until blood oozed out, only to apply lotions that intensified their agony. The victims endured silent suffering, fearing repercussions, until one brave student confided in his parents. Unlike many families who shy away from such confrontations, this family reported the abuse to the police.
The police investigation led to the arrest of five students and the exposure of acts so heinous that they raise serious concerns about the moral decay within our educational institutions.
This case comes just weeks after another tragic incident in Kerala. Mihir Ahammad, a Class IX student from Kochi, jumped to his death from the 26th floor of his apartment after relentless bullying by his seniors on the school bus. These bullies reportedly humiliated Mihir, forced him to lick a toilet seat, and poured water over his face while doing so.
Mihir’s mother provided call records and chat messages proving her son’s prolonged suffering. Yet, as is often the case in India, suicides like Mihir’s are dismissed as “personal issues,” allowing bullies to escape accountability.
Ragging, once excused as a “rite of passage” to help juniors develop confidence, has devolved into organised sadism. The Kottayam case is particularly disturbing because the perpetrators are nursing students—future caregivers who are trained to heal, not harm.
The growing prevalence of such inhuman behavior points to deeper societal issues, including drug abuse. Kerala, a state once celebrated for its high literacy rate, now struggles with an alarming rise in substance abuse among its youth. Easy access to drugs, coupled with absentee parenting and children with excessive pocket money, has created a toxic environment.
Parents, often distracted by their own digital screens, fail to recognize warning signs of addiction or distress until it is too late. Ragging must be treated as a serious criminal offense, punishable by law, with no exceptions.
At the same time, the state must intensify its crackdown on drug mafias and invest in rehabilitative care for addicts instead of criminalizing them. Kerala’s reliance on liquor revenue has inadvertently fueled substance abuse, and it is high time the government prioritizes public health over profits.
The tragic stories of Mihir Ahammad and the Kottayam nursing students must serve as a wake-up call. Immediate action is necessary to protect young lives, restore decency, and rebuild trust in educational institutions.
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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