INDIA: Following the suicide of an 18-year-old girl in Bhubaneshwar, sprinter Dutee Chand, a national champion, opened out about her battles with ragging and feelings of helplessness. Dutee claimed that while she was a student at the Bhubaneshwar sports hostel, seniors bullied and tormented her emotionally.
In response to a user’s Facebook post offering advice on how to prevent ragging in educational institutions, Dutee said, “Seniors used to force me to massage their bodies and wash their clothes at the sports hostel. When I opposed them, they used to harass me.”
A day prior to Dutee’s post, Cuttack native and undergraduate history student Ruchika Mohanty wrote in her suicide note that three of her older classmates had been mentally torturing and berating her and that she was at her breaking point. The suicide in the state of Odisha has caused a major uproar.
Dutee, a member of the Indian relay team competing at the upcoming Commonwealth Games later in July, claimed that she found it difficult to concentrate on her sports as the ragging began to negatively impact her mental health and the seniors began making remarks about her family’s socioeconomic standing.
“The incident had an impact on my mental condition. It is very difficult to remain focused on sports after the incidents of ragging and those who survive this stay in the hostel. But many give up and go back home,” she added.
Indian sprinter Chand came out publicly as a lesbian in 2019, and is recorded as one of her India’s first out LGBTQ+ sportspeople.
Also Read: Transgender Activist Vidya Rajput Leading the Fight for Achieving LGBTQ Equality in India
