Hyderabad: Telangana’s higher education campuses have reported nearly two ragging complaints every month over the past five years, with 101 cases received between 2022 and July 22, 2026.While the number is lower compared to several southern states, experts and students caution that the official figures may not reflect the ground reality, with many incidents allegedly going unreported due to fear and institutional pressure.According to data tabled in the Lok Sabha, Karnataka recorded the highest number of ragging complaints among southern states at 187, followed by Tamil Nadu (178), Andhra Pradesh (133) and Kerala (126). Nationally, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 825 complaints, followed by West Bengal (489) and Madhya Pradesh (422).In Telangana, 21 complaints have been reported so far this year (till July 22), compared to 24 in 2025.“There is still a lot of scope for improvement to ensure that no ragging complaints emerge from our institutions, especially professional colleges. However, there has been a positive change over the years after principals and managements were made accountable for ragging incidents,” said V Balakista Reddy, chairman of the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE).He added that parents have also been brought into the process through mandatory anti-ragging undertakings from students, while awareness programmes are being conducted regularly to discourage such practices both on and off campus.Students and faculty members, however, believe the actual number of incidents could be much higher.“The biggest challenge is that many students hesitate to file formal complaints due to fear of consequences. In some cases, college administrations also discourage complaints fearing damage to their reputation. Several institutions witness ragging incidents frequently, but many remain confined to student circles and never reach official records,” said B Sai Thanuj, a student of a state university in Hyderabad.Faculty members echoed similar concerns, saying many cases are often handled internally by colleges and do not enter official records.“Most cases are resolved at the institutional level and therefore do not appear in the complaint data. Police awareness programmes conducted at the start of every academic year have helped to some extent, as students are now more aware of the legal consequences of ragging,” said A Santhosh Kumar, a faculty member.
