By IANS,
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil Tuesday strongly condemned incidents of ragging in educational institutions, saying it is violence and should not be tolerated.
“Cases of ragging in educational institutions are also disturbing. Ragging is violence,” Patil said in her address to the nation on the eve of the 62nd Republic Day.
“It is heinous and should not be tolerated, for it can cause irreparable loss to the parents and to the country,” she said. “Our social fabric is deeply damaged by such incidents and it is essential that these tendencies are curbed in the interest of social harmony and cohesion. I appeal to my fellow citizens to never resort to violence,” she said.
It was unusual for the president to single out ragging in schools and colleges in her Republic Day speech, and showed the government’s reaction to mounting public rage over incidents of ragging, which has claimed at least 30-31 lives in the last 7 years.