“There has to be a zero tolerance policy towards any form of ragging. Maybe in some units, depending on the nature of those in charge, some informal ragging happens but it’s not something that can be legitimised. This can leave open a space for sadism disguised as ‘toughening up’ of cadets and raw recruits,” says Air Vice Marshal (retired) Kamal Khanna, who served as the Deputy Commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA), in Pune, in the early 90s.

Military academies are known to have techniques to ‘toughen’ up the new recruits. But where do you draw the line?

“If a recruit does not perform well, then punching them is common. Some of these techniques are required in a military academy to toughen them up,” says a lady Flight Lieutenant serving in the Indian Air Force, on condition of anonymity.

When asked if these ‘mild’ forms of torture can pave the way for more brutality, she said: