Hate In A UP Classroom

The video of a Class 2 teacher in a Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh school, directing students to hit a Muslim child has sparked outrage across the country. The social media is flooded with comments, but again the incident seems to be following a predictable path. The video has been blocked since; the father of the small child who went home traumatised, in tears has not filed a report with the police; and so far no action seems to have been taken against the teacher Tripti Tyagi whose hate filled directions have stirred the conscience of India. This incident has taken the crimes against the minorities in India to a new level. Their business were made insecure through lynching and targeted attacks; their homes have been bulldozed with impunity; and now their children are being singled out in schools with the father of this eight year old withdrawing his child from the school. It is an escalating pattern that is driving Muslims into a second class status, not because of the actions of hate, but because of the failure to take adequate action against those guilty of violating the law.

Schoolrooms are sacrosanct where children are generally kept protected from the divisiveness and tensions of society outside. The teachings centre around love and peace, or at least should. Children do not discriminate unless taught to by adults in their world. It is tragic that a teacher who should be focusing on harmony brought so much trauma into the life of small children, not just the boy who was beaten but also those who were instructed to beat him. That they did not rush to do so is visible in the video, and it was again the teacher who insisted they should hit their schoolmate on the waist as his face was turning red. The fear is thus instilled in a small child, and with it comes anger and hate and resentment as life takes its course. This does not spell for a strong, resilient country where the emerging generations are taught discrimination inside the classroom, and in a manner that is hurtful and highly traumatic.

Immediate action should have been taken against Tyagi. She should have been suspended, arrested, and faced the consequences of her action. Instead the father of the child has come under pressure to stay silent, and not create trouble for the teacher. His tense face on camera in several videos said more than his words. He said he did not want enmity between the communities and so had decided to withdraw his child from school, and not file a FIR against the teacher. The UP police in a statement has reportedly said that it has gone into the contents of the video, spoken to the principal of the concerned school and that the initial probe revealed that the teacher is saying "Muslim mothers who don't take care of their children's education end up ruining it".

Unfortunately the Indian school system has a certain degree of violence built into it, with teachers often beating students on small issues; and bullies attacking their schoolmates. School going children have faced both, and this trauma in itself contributes to the large percentage of school dropouts. Dalit children have faced the brunt of this violence in schools but usually the authorities step in to take some level of action, and protect the children from outright discrimination. There is a system of redressal, albeit weak. This kind of an incident recorded on camera, where the teacher herself is exhorting violence in a classroom is unprecedented and if it is allowed to escalate into a pattern, India and her children will suffer very deep damage.