In present-day India, hate culture is the rage

The shocking incident of a seven-year-old Muslim boy being slapped by fellow classmates on the order of the teacher taking the class must not be seen as an isolated event. That the school is a small private one in a remote village in Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh cannot be a reason to treat this bigotry as an aberration as has been rightly pointed out by one and all. The video that has gone viral shows us that the teacher-cum-owner of the school is seen explicitly identifying the boy as Muslim and asking his classmates to come forward one by one to hit him.

Why was the student singled out? The incident has evoked outrage across the country and the general observation has been that it is a symptom of the hate politics proliferating in the country. While it is true that the poison of hate is spreading through society, the specific way it is manifesting and affecting the educational system as far as Muslims are concerned must be understood. The argument of the Left on the issue is very specific and highlights the dangers involved in it. Several political parties have criticised it but the local MP from the BJP who visited the school immediately after the incident came to light and met the teacher had the audacity to declare it as a minor incident blown out of proportion.

This is not corporal punishment which is quite common in our schools despite rules against it. This is simple and plain bigotry. If a student does not come to school and or is not up to the expectations of the teacher, it cannot be because of his religion. Targeting Muslim teachers has been increasing in the BJP-ruled states.

If an individual teacher does an anti-Hindu act, it is blown out of proportion and the blame becomes applicable to all Muslims. If that is the yardstick, this should apply to all Hindu teachers now. But no one in the right sense says so. Last year, in the Government New Law College in Indore, four Muslim members of the faculty were attacked for spreading Islamic propaganda and love jihad. They were suspended and an inquiry was ordered. Further, the principal, who was also a Muslim, was forced to resign on baseless charges. The home minister of the state openly supported the allegations made by the student wing, ABVP, in this regard.

Another Muslim principal of a school in Vidisha was removed in October last year after Bajrang Dal members made various allegations against her. In Karnataka, the BJP government in 2022, prohibited hijab-wearing students from studying in government schools and colleges. Recitation of a poem of Iqbal in a school in UP led to the suspension of the teacher sometime back. Another principal was suspended in Gujarat for allowing students to wear skull caps in a play at school on Eid Day. Looks as though there is no room for diversity any more in any corner of the country. The role that the mainstream media plays in promoting this hate culture is not insignificant. Even from the Moon we can see this hatred Sir. Stop this nonsense!