There is a peculiar form of perverse joy that Indian teachers derive from physically punishing their students. This is especially common in tier-2 towns and rural areas, where the day often starts with students bowing to their teachers, elevating them to a sacred, revered position from where the ‘gurus’ draw their unchecked powers. As the popular mantra goes: “Guru hi Vishnu, Guru hi Shankar, Guru hi Parbrahma, aur mein aise Guru ko pranam karta hu“, The Guru is Vishnu, the Guru is Shiva, the Guru is the supreme Brahman, and I bow to such a Guru. However, underneath this respect lies the quintessential Indian perspective rooted in the caste system — the ‘respect’ is intended for the profession rather than the individual.
Recently, a 60-year-old teacher named Tripta Tyagi in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar was captured in a viral video instructing her students to ‘slap’ a seven-year-old Muslim student. ‘Harder’, she says at one point.
In another incident, which received comparatively less media coverage, a Class 10 student in Jaipur belonging to the Dalit community took his own life, allegedly because of the incessant bullying by two of his teachers, Vivek Yadav and Rajkumar Yadav. The student had reportedly told his father that the two teachers not only humiliated him but also used casteist slurs and derogatory remarks.
These incidents cannot be seen in isolation, as they highlight a larger problem within the Indian education system as well as in society’s attitude.
Also read: Indian education system creating new forms of inequality. Caste, class lines now more defined
Hallmark of good education
In the towns of Rajasthan where I grew up, severe forms of punishment were regularly inflicted on students. There is a particular incident that comes to my mind. Once, after morning prayers, the principal approached the podium and called out the names of five students—four boys and one girl—to come onto the stage. A hushed silence enveloped the assembly while all of us were perplexed. When they reached the stage, the principal spoke: “These five students,” he declared, “have failed their classes. Look at their faces. They are the failures, and we know how to deal with failures.”
The punishment was then revealed: the four boys were made to assume a position called “murga” where they had to squat while holding their ears, and the girl was instructed to stand with raised arms. Then, the students were subjected to beatings with long sticks. The situation escalated to the point where one of the boys started crying and even expressed thoughts of ending his own life on stage. In response, a relatively ’empathetic’ teacher reprimanded him and tried to explain the rationale behind such disciplinary actions, claiming they were necessary for a better future for him and his family.
Many of my readers who grew up in small towns must have experienced either similar or more extreme forms of corporal punishment.
I also remember cases where students had to be hospitalised due to violence inflicted by teachers.
What made it rough for students is that parents in my town actually supported such punishment and routinely advocated for their children being beaten up as a routine measure to enforce discipline. They believe violence is the only way to instil good manners.
Many parents, who haven’t been able to achieve their own aspirations and were raised in financially difficult households, were desperate to break free from this cycle. They firmly believe that education is the only way out. And that beatings are a necessary hallmark of ensuring good education.
I have often heard family members instructing both home tutors and school teachers: ‘If he gets low scores, feel free to beat him as much as you want’. This permission allows teachers to impose on students the worst manifestations of their toxic attitudes and beliefs.
During my time in school, the only way to avoid a teacher’s beating was to take private tuition from them. If you pay for private tuition, you’d be spared the beatings and even treated favourably or with a bit of respect in the classroom. It felt like paying a bribe to a recovery agent so that he doesn’t end up at your place to beat you up.
In any case, a good education system shouldn’t rely on private tuition; learning at school should be sufficient.
Also read: Indian education wedged a huge Hindi vs English class system. Only Rahul Gandhi can break it
A messy system
Every student, regardless of their background, could be a target of such physical violence, but the probability of becoming a target tends to be higher for those from marginalised backgrounds. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that some teachers carry their own religious and caste biases into the classroom.
It is indeed puzzling why there isn’t a sense of urgency displayed by officials and the government to reform the education system and pave the way for a fairer and more compassionate approach. Perhaps a good starting point would be to revamp teacher training academies, where educators are equipped with the fundamentals of how to conduct themselves in the classroom.
But then it’s ironic that teachers who beat students also teach them civics: a course that emphasises the basic rights and duties of a citizen. Maybe the uncurbed powers given to such insensitive teachers have their roots in the inane desire within the subcontinent for strong and authoritative ruling figures. Compassion is seen as weakness and the idea of ruthlessness is regarded as the ‘smart way’ to bring order to the chaotic republic.
Even more ironic is the fact that Hitler’s Mein Kampf is a bestseller in India and is very popular among management students who read the book to understand “self-improvement and management strategy guide for aspiring business leaders”.
The entire system is a mess.
There is a saying: “It is only with the sword of education that we can fight the evils of society”. In the Indian context, perhaps this should be changed to: “The evils of society are fighting against the sword of education.”
Anurag is a multimedia artist and host of Anurag Minus Verma Podcast. He tweets @confusedvichar. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)