Bareilly: Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University (MJPRU), Bareilly, observed Anti-Ragging Day on Wednesday and launched a week-long anti-ragging awareness programme that will continue from August 12 to 18, 2026.
The programme was jointly organised by the Proctorial Board and the Anti-Ragging Committee. It began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the guests, followed by the launch of various activities planned for Anti-Ragging Week.
Addressing students, Chief Proctor Prof. Ravendra Singh said the university campus should function like a gurukul, with discipline, safety and strong values at its core. He said the university administration gives priority to student safety and discipline, while security personnel remain alert to provide students with a safe and supportive environment.
Prof. Singh assured junior students that they need not feel intimidated by senior students. He said the administration would not allow an atmosphere of fear or insecurity to develop on campus. The Proctorial Board has 22 proctors who remain actively engaged in maintaining discipline and ensuring the safety of students.
He warned that students found involved in ragging or other forms of indiscipline could face strict disciplinary action. This could include expulsion from the university, adverse remarks in the character certificate and, in serious cases, registration of a police complaint. He emphasised that ragging can have serious academic, social, psychological and legal consequences.
Prof. Singh also urged students to follow traffic regulations and carry a valid driving licence and other required documents while driving. He said violations would invite action as per the rules.
Calling upon senior students to act like elder brothers and sisters towards juniors, he urged them to understand their concerns and provide necessary guidance and support. He said the Chief Proctor’s office remains available to address student grievances and assist them with documentation-related issues.
Chief guest Prof. Santosh Arora said ragging can have devastating consequences and, in some cases, can even lead to loss of life. She described ragging as a manifestation of a negative mindset in which senior students assume that seniority gives them the right to intimidate or force juniors into unwanted interactions.
She urged students to build relationships through affection, respect and empathy rather than fear and pressure. Such interactions, she said, can create lasting bonds of friendship, cooperation and goodwill between senior and junior students.
Prof. Arora stressed that ragging should never be treated as entertainment or a form of enjoyment. Senior students have a responsibility to ensure that newcomers face no difficulty while living in hostels, attending classes or adjusting to university life. Relations between senior and junior students should be based on mutual respect, cooperation and sensitivity.
She said the primary objective of Anti-Ragging Day and Anti-Ragging Week is to make the university campus completely ragging-free. The university follows a zero-tolerance policy towards ragging. She urged students to report any incident of ragging immediately and without fear. She also said that witnessing ragging without reporting it is not the right approach and students should actively support efforts to maintain a safe campus.
University Proctor Dr Ram Babu Singh administered the anti-ragging pledge to the students. He urged them to refrain from ragging and all forms of indiscipline and actively contribute towards creating a ragging-free campus.
The programme was conducted by Dr Meenakshi Dwivedi, Nodal Officer of the Anti-Ragging Committee. She explained the purpose of the initiative and called upon students to uphold the dignity of the university through mutual respect, cooperation and harmony.
Proctors Dr Abha Trivedi, Dr Pooja Yadav, Dr Iram, Dr Pankaj, Dr Rashmi Ranjan, Dr Akhtar Hussain and Dr Deepak Gangwar, along with faculty members and a large number of students, attended the programme.
Report from Bareilly by Akhilesh Chandra Saxena
