State Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan said on Tuesday that the existing anti-ragging law will be reviewed and amended if necessary. He has formed a four-member committee, which will suggest if the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1999, should be broadened.
The four-member committee consists of Dr. Ajay Chandanwale, dean of JJ Hospital, Dr. P.T. Wakode, joint director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Dr. Bachi Hathiram from BYL Nair Hospital, and Dr. Kalidas Chavan, registrar of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.
The decision to form the State review committee was prompted by Dr. Payal Tadvi’s suicide, which has brought workplace-related harassment, torture, taunts and casteist remarks in the limelight. Tadvi’s parents and husband have alleged that the doctor, who belongs to the Adivasi Tadvi Bhil community, was facing casteist slurs besides other harassment.
“The definition of ragging has changed over the years. The workload in the hospitals has changed and the social norms around us have changed too. The nature of harassment has therefore changed and it can be in various forms. Mr. Mahajan, therefore, thought that it was time to revisit the Act keeping the medical education scenario and work in mind,”Dr. Ramesh Bharmal, dean of BYL Nair Hospital, said.
According to Dr. Chavan, when ragging is probed, the mandates as per the existing Act, which looks at the nature of offence and the punishment, are followed. “We will now study if the Act has to be refreshed,” he said.