Ashima Sharma, Keekli Reporter, 28th July, 2015, Shimla
TM Whitmarsh Knight Lecture — “Ragging Riddle: Why, How and the Law”, a discussion on ways to curb ragging and eradicate it completely from the colleges and schools was the highlight of the evening at Cottons.
Zig Ziglar, an American author once said “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty”, — Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton founded the Bishop Cotton School on 28th July 1859 and since then the school has paved the path to accomplishment by following the six golden rules of Ziglar. Bishop Cotton School celebrated its 156th Founders Day here today in a uniquely conventional manner. The chief guest for the occasion was Revd. Bishop PK Samantaroy, the Moderator, Church of North India.
The morning began with the classic and extravagant Cottonion Guard of Honour presented by NCC Cadets (Army, Air Force and Navy) and a royal performance by the school brass band. After the breathtaking performance by the students, the chief guest along with the Headmaster, R.C. Robinson were led to the Holy Trinity Chapel of the school for a special service, to venerate the vision and perseverance of the founder, Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton.
The Chapel service began with a special march by the choir dressed in stunning white robes, led by School Captain Holding the Holy Trinity Chapel flag. A commemorative prayer for the founder was recited by all the students, teachers and the guests followed by a serene and melodic hymn by the choir ‘O God Our Help in Ages Past’. Experts from St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and The Book of Ecclesiastics were read out to the students by the Headmaster and the school captain to guide the students incorporate biblical precepts in everyday lives.
Addressing the congregation, Bishop Samantaroy said, “We must learn to live our lives in true faith and fear of god. The school motto ‘Overcome Evil with Good’, is not a just a motto but a message that Bishop Edward Lynch has given us and helped each and every student of the school to absorb all goodness within them and overcome evils that reside within a human being.” The founder’s day service concluded with the national anthem.
Following tradition, the Annual TM Whitmarsh Knight Lecture was held in Irwin Hall in the evening. TM Whitmarsh Knight taught English and internationalism at BCS for three years and ratcheted up the ranking of the school and since last 17 years this memorial lecture evening has become a vital part of the fixture for the school. This year the topic for the lecture was “Ragging Riddle: Why, How and the Law”, the keynote speaker for the evening was Col. Vinod Shroff, while other speakers included Ajay Bhardwaj, Anuja Sharma and Neel Kamal Puri. The speakers discussed about various ways to curb ragging and eradicate it completely from the colleges and schools. The Headmaster and the Headmistress of the junior school, Dorothy Robinson were also present on the occasion.
The discussion ended with Col. Vinod giving out some guidelines to the students in how to tackle ragging problems, and said, “The junior counterparts who get harassed by their seniors in schools and colleges should never succumb to any kind of ragging activity and it should be reported to the authorities at a very basic level. It is observed very commonly that students who go through the ragging process for a long time either develop a fear psychosis or decide to quit their college education even before it begins. Due to Zero Tolerance Law issued in the case of ragging, the percentage of cases has declined during the years but in order to end it completely and save the lives of innocent students from jeopardizing, each and every one including the teachers, administrative staff and heads of the different institutions need to stand together against it”.
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