The word 'ragging' means the act of teasing, taunting, playing a practical joke upon someone or holding comic parades and other activities during certain period of a College terms to raise money for charity.

But over the years, the word ragging ceased to denote the healthy practice it used to be and has acquired more negative connotations and notoriety. Now a days 'ragging' may include:-

Display of noisy, disorderly conduct, teasing, excitement by rough or rude treatment or handling, indulging in rowdy, undisciplined activities which cause or likely to cause annoyance, undue hardship, physical or psychological harm or raise apprehension or fear in a fresher or asking the students to do any act or perform something which such a student will not do in the ordinary course and which causes him/her shame or embarrassment or danger to his/her life.

To prevent ragging, some State Governments enacted legislation defining ragging, suggesting preventive measures and punishment. The University Grants Commission strongly recommends that every educational institution should take steps to curb the menace of ragging.

The Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences desires that every affiliated Institution should implement the following measures to prevent ragging:-

1) At the commencement of academic session, the head of the institution (Director/ Principal, etc) may address a meeting of various agencies like wardens, representatives of students, parents/guardians, faculty, police and other law and order machinery with an appeal to help eradicate the menace of ragging in the Institution completely.

2) At the commencement of academic session, the Institution should constitute a vigilance committee consisting of senior faculty members, some hostel authorities like wardens and few responsible senior students to have an inbuilt mechanism for checking the incidence of ragging. The committee should monitor the events involving ragging, enquire into them and make recommendations in this regard to the Institution authorities. The committee can draw its modalities of functioning, frequency of visits/meetings etc.

3) The powers of wardens and other authorities should be suitably enhanced. Some of them may be vested with a kind of powers so that they can take immediate action in certain situations.

4) A disciplinary committee may be set up at the Institution level to consider the recommendations of the vigilance committee and spell out the punishments. If considered necessary, this committee can further investigate the events and recommendation which were brought before it.

5) The head of the Institution (Director/Principal etc.) should take immediate action on receipt of the recommendations of the disciplinary committee. He can also take action if the circumstances so demand.

6) Freshers should be encouraged to report incidents of ragging. Those who do not do so even when being witnesses or victims should also be punished suitably.

7) When the persons committing or abetting the crime of ragging are not identified, collective punishment could be resorted to as a possible deterrent measure, as it would ensure community pressure on the potential raggers not to indulge in ragging.