After the Supreme Court verdict, we went to the Vishwa Jagriti Mission office. They gave us all the cooperation possible and we were really encouraged in our endeavour and were fortunate to receive the blessings of His Divine Grace Acharya Shri Sudhanshuji Maharaj . Here is a brief profile of the organisation and their work on ragging... their work is really commendable.

"New Entrants in College should be welcomed as Guests"

Acharya Sudhanshuji Maharaj

It is a matter of privilege to get admission in college. The first day is meant for an affable interaction amongst the students. But unfortunately, the distressing custom of ragging begins the moment a new student enters into college. It begins with a light-hearted and blithe introduction with the new students. If it remains decent, polite and restricted to friendliness, it is certainly welcome at all ages but if it turns into an excruciating mental torment or physical ordeal compelling a newcomer to commit suicide, then it becomes a matter of extreme shame for the entire society. Many students become mentally sick because of this evil practice while many others are forced to end their lives. Under such circumstances, it is natural that the fair image of mankind gets tarnished.

The cause of worry is the fact that in some institutions, students form gangs and inflict so much of mental and physical agony to the First Year students that they are terrorized and study under compelling conditions. Such practice is widely prevalent in medical and engineering colleges. The victims of ragging in turn try to mete out the same treatment to their juniors, thereby continuing a series of violence, fear and inflictions,. Ragging is strictly prohibited in foreign countries, but unfortunately, we Indians have adopted this malicious practice.

This anguish of the students was deeply felt by His Divine Grace Sudhanshuji Maharaj, founder of Vishwa Jagriti Mission, and with his revered blessings, the President of the Mission under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, filed a Public Interest Appeal in the Supreme Court in August 1998. It was, on 17th December 1998 that the Honourable Judge Sujata.V. Manohar accepted the petition and the honourable judge remarked that "Ragging is not a part of our culture. It's evil influence is increasing in educational institutions. This is a matter of great sorrow and humiliation". This was the first achievement of the Youth Wing of Vishwa Jagriti Mission - that a Spiritual Organization took the initiative of undertaking a rampant issue to the Supreme Court and achieved success.

Vishwa Jagriti Mission is a Spiritual & Cultural organization, but His Divine Grace Sudhanshuji Maharaj , who is the guiding force behind the mission, is also committed to the removal of social ills from the society. According to Him "Indian Culture is extremely vivid, dazzling and exalted which hopes for the welfare of the entire humanity adhering to a feeling of Social Equanimity. We are Indians and it is our custom to welcome guests. The old students are like hosts and it is their duty to respect and cooperate with the new students ". Ragging deeply anguished his compassionate heart since this evil practice had begun to hurt the students physically as well as mentally.

In the court petition, it was requested that under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, every Indian citizen has the fundamental right to life and liberty, which gets violated in case of ragging. The Supreme Court agreed to this petition and issued a notice regarding this to all the concerned Ministries, Officials and Institutions.

The hearing continued. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court under the Chairmanship of Prof. K.P.S. Unny (UGC), formed a three member committee to find solutions to the grave problem of ragging. The attitude of the committee towards this issue was extremely serious and the measures thereby suggested were forwarded to the Supreme Court.

After the completion of the hearing on 18th May, 2001, the Supreme Court has summoned the Human Resource Development Ministry at the Centre and other concerned agencies to take necessary action, the news of which was published in various leading National newspapers on 9th June, 2001. In this context, the Hindustan Times in English and The Navbharat Times in Hindi published an editorial on 11th June, 2001. Ragging has no doubt been curbed but it is yet far from extermination.

The directions given by the Supreme Court, due to the incessant efforts of Vishwa Jagriti Mission, have come at the right time. His Divine Grace has always endeavoured to give the youth a positive direction in life. He established the Youth Wing, inspired thousands of youth in the country. The youth have always played a vital role in Nation Building and Social development. Whether, it was the Kargil war, or the earthquake relief in Gujarat, or the building up of Old-Age Homes, ashrams or schools, their contribution in development is praise-worthy.

The great temples constructed by the mission are great centres for mass prayer. The youth have been motivated to offer oblations to their parents, if they are deceased, and love and care to them when they are alive. To strengthen this feeling, 2nd October is celebrated as

'Shraddha Parva' throughout the country .The mission is running a school in the tribal areas of Ranchi, everyday hundreds of patients are provided medical treatment free of cost at Karuna Sindhu Charitable Hospital in Anand Dham Ashram, hospitals are undergoing construction in two other cities in the country, To spread the Culture and Spiritual treasure of India all over the world, students are being trained at the 'Gurukul Vidyalaya' to assume the role of preachers.

The youth are motivated for social service. Meditation and service camps are specially organised for the youngsters. They are made to take a pledge for rendering service to the nation and humanity at large. Besides bequeathing his cherished blessings to the students aspiring for administrative jobs, His Divine urges them to be loyal, honest and devoted to their duties and also raise their voice against evil. The intellectuals and doctors are urged to strengthen the roots of the nation by serving the poor and the helpless instead of seeking white collared jobs in foreign countries.

With the blessings of His Divine Grace, the mission has also contributed widely towards eliminating corruption and social evils and serving humanity in the right perspective. The issue of ragging, which was forwarded to the supreme court and met with success, is a consequence of the empathy and extraordinary Spiritual Powers of His Divine Grace.

Dr. Narendra Madan
Press Secretary