The shocking communal comment by a schoolteacher while ordering corporal punishment of a Class II Muslim boy in Uttar Pradesh for not doing his homework is as appalling as it gets. Pejoratively identifying people by their religion or caste is a fact of life, even in the new India we live in. Perhaps it’s the old India showing a mirror to the new, aspirational India. Such crass comments are more pronounced in rural areas. That it has made its way to the classroom is an eye-opener. Unfortunately, the hate language in public discourse gets reflected in school, though teachers are expected to know better. It’s now being talked about only because a video of the assault went viral on social media. The clip came when the nation celebrated its technological leap to the Moon. It gave us a reality check, showcasing the ever-widening gulf between the two Indias, one of the rich and the other of the poor and marginalised castes and classes, including the minorities. Schools are temples of knowledge that ought to give children from all strata equal opportunity for quality education. Using communal language in the classroom is the worst thing a teacher can do for bullying, as it poisons the mind and sows seeds of hatred in innocent children.
The teacher had outsourced the boy’s punishment as she ordered his classmates to land a tight slap on him one by one and made hurtful communal remarks. His humiliation is a scar he has to live with forever. The boy needs proper counselling to process and overcome the demeaning and dehumanising assault. Even after the incident led to national outrage, the teacher’s comments suggest she didn’t see anything wrong in the punishment per se but only in its mode of delivery. She appeared unaware that corporal punishment was declared illegal by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ is a proverb well past its use-by date, though it continues to be routinised in classrooms. She deserves exemplary punishment as mandated by law.
Going forward, the entire teaching community ought to be sensitised on eliminating corporal punishment, as they often end up robbing children’s dignity and hardening them. Schools should be safe places for students to grow and learn, not horror chambers for the persecuted.