The increasing intolerance at school!

Published by

Rachna

July 2, 2009

My son had a very strange experience and his first taste of discrimination in school day before yesterday. He came home and told me that some boys had beaten him in school. I thought it must be one of the tiffs that children normally get into. He was in tears but he becomes teary-eyed real easily. He said that some boys from the 4th Std., he is in 2nd Std. picked up a conversation with him when he was standing in line for Assembly. They asked him if he knew Kannada. When he said no, they said “Why don’t you know Kannada, living in Karnataka and some such rants”. They started hitting my son including on the head. Siddharth started crying and then a couple of friends came over and inquired. They complained to a teacher who just scolded the boys, obviously unaware of the reason for the altercation. I was quite taken aback and so was Siddharth. He incidentally developed fever the same evening and has not gone to school since the past two days.

He does not even know the boys! This is a clear case of ragging a younger boy and also of discrimation. I don’t know whether it is what the children learn at home through their parents or friends or through the media but for them to accost an innocent child is unpardonable. I went yesterday to speak with the Principal of the school and to also submit a written complaint to him. He seemed to take the issue seriously and promised me that he will pull up the boys. He can take further action once Siddharth goes to school and identifies the boys.

I think the teachers ought to take violence among kids a little more seriously instead of saying that children are fooling around. Also issues of religious and linguistic diversity should be regularly addressed among children so as to rear them as unbiased individuals ready to mingle in society. Any instances of ragging should be dealt with very severely as we have seen how ragging in colleges has taken lives.

Upsetting surely! I did not know that all the rhetoric of local language hooliganism would come to haunt my son.

22 responses to “The increasing intolerance at school!”

david

November 24, 2010

I think this is a kind of war we have to face forever. And in these battles, I admire people like you who never tires and don’t bows your head, letting others take advantage of our loved ones. I am glad your son has you, someone who protects and teaches him to hit, because we cannot wait until this type of situation changes!

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Rachna

November 25, 2010

@David You are so right. We cannot take these situations lightly, or they could leave a lasting impression on the child’s mind. Thanks for your warm words.

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Dagny

July 1, 2013

My God! That’s so terrible! For an eight year old to be beaten for such a petty reason. I also pity the kids who beat him up… what kind of life are they creating for themselves with such narrow attitudes.

The worst of it all is the casual handling of the teacher. I swear sometimes I think some of them leave their effing brains at home when they come to work! Make sure you create a stink. This can’t be tolerated… I am so pissed off!

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1. Rachna
  
  July 1, 2013
  
  Thank you Dagny! Yes, I had raised shit. And luckily the Principal took it very seriously. The boys were given a dressing down and parents were called. Teachers, I believe, should have a tuning that helps them see an urgent situation when they see one. But sadly they didn’t. And it was a nightware while it unfolded. That was 4 years back!
  
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BhavanaDiary

July 1, 2013

Such a strange world really!
I have heard abuses on locals from people of other states in corporate world.In some work places I have heard that workers should not speak in Kannada at all to even each other and in other case they should not listen to Kannada songs in office.
I have heard some managers talks in hindi during meetings when there are south Indians who do not understand hindi very well even when they know most south Indians cannot understand hindi very well. These situations causes rift and we cannot deny it.
Even here outside India, Indian people when introducing themselves thinks we know hindi as we are from India. When will people learn that there are indian states who speaks their own languages? This attitude does not go well with me at all!

One hand your story which is terrible what happened to your son and other hand these kinds of situations. These kind of behaviors I feel will become counter productive sometimes. Why cannot people learn to respect others and then they live a happy life?

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1. Rachna
  
  July 1, 2013
  
  Bhavana, I understand what you are saying. But someone else’s obnoxious behavior does not justify our inculcating the same in our kids. I will never ever tell my kids to hate this person or that person based on the language they speak. Even when the incident unfolded a few years back, my anger was not directed to someone speaking a particular language, but to these set of parents who were filling their kids with such discriminatory poison. If only we’d all try to be better ambassadors for our own language, religion and culture instead of doing arm twisting, we’d serve their causes much better.
  
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  1. BhavanaDiary
    
    July 1, 2013
    
    very true. That I am giving an examples of how issues can become counterprodutive and not supporting such terrible behaviour of one kid against other.
    If I have a kid and it goes through all this here, then I would be angry as well. and I am also wondering what kind of examples such parents are becoming to their kids?
    I can bet from here itself that parents of such children would not read kannada literature themselves much or watch kannada movies or any other good things kannada as language has to offer.
    Blind love creates this superiority feeling, if a person has true love for a language then they will never behave like this or let their children behave like this, they will lead by example.
    It is shameful and not all kannadigas are like that…:-( I hope you have seen better kannadigas…
    
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  2. Rachna
    
    July 1, 2013
    
    Absolutely, you know me better than that :). I love Bangalore and the people who make it. And a few rotten eggs never ever reflected on the entire basket. One day I hope to be as fluent in Kannada as another average person. And my son has taken Kannada at school as well :).
    
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Destiny’s child

July 1, 2013

That’s terrible. I don’t understand where this violent streak comes from. I hope Siddharth gets well soon. I am also worried for those other kids – just in 4th std and bullying a little kid. Very sad.

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1. Rachna
  
  July 1, 2013
  
  Thank you DC! This is an old post. I wrote it 4 years back. Sid got better in time and the Principal took stern action. But like you I worry about the growing intolerance, about what we are teaching to our kids and about how far this rabidity with go. Imagine such little kids doing something this serious.
  
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  1. Destiny’s child
    
    July 1, 2013
    
    Thank God it’s over. And let’s hope no child faces this kind of treatment!
    
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  2. Rachna
    
    July 1, 2013
    
    Amen to that!
    
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nabanita21

July 1, 2013

Disgusting…!! I know of so called educated people in my very own office who say that my not knowing Kannada means I disrespect Karnataka… No amount of deliberation is able to make these people see the light of the day…Sometimes all I want to do is hit them (silly I know) !! And its even sad to see that such thoughts are propagated in the minds of kids too, undoubtedly through their parents or what they see on television perhaps….I don’t know what the resolution is to this issue when education too seems to fail in changing mindsets…

Just in case those kids didn’t change even now, tell Sid that Aunty Naba will gladly come and teach them a lesson 😀

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1. Rachna
  
  July 1, 2013
  
  Aww Thank you Naba! This incident happened in 2009. And due to Principal’s swift action, it was sorted out. It is so sad what happens in the name of local and outsider in our cities. And language, I thought, was a binding factor, not something to bicker and fight over. Very sad how even educated people don’t hesitate taunting you not understanding that not knowing a language is not meant to be disrespectful towards it.
  
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Dr Roshan

July 1, 2013

It is sad that this attitude just keeps persisting. Honestly, what kind of upbringing goes on in the house where the kid in 4th standard feels he has the right to beat up a kid he has never even met just for the heck of it. And usually, all the authorities do is bury it without saying anything… I hope there have been no other such issues since for your son.

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1. Rachna
  
  July 1, 2013
  
  Thankfully no such issues happened so again so far, Roshan. And in this case, the Principal took swift action. Yeah, but the fact that such young kids were involved makes one sick in the gut.
  
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Rickie

July 2, 2013

Ok, it made me feel slightly better that this was an old incident and the Principal took appropriate action. Nevertheless, what an awful thing to happen.

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1. Rachna
  
  July 2, 2013
  
  A truly awful incident. It shook us quite a bit. The anti-outsider sentiment fanned by some fringe outfits had become quite intense a few years back.
  
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Diwakar Narayan

July 2, 2013

Such things children learn from their parents, their elders, teachers and whoever elders. I don’t believe a boy in 4th standard even knows what discrimination is. Maybe, such things are rooted in them or he learns them from some unwanted leaders!

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1. Rachna
  
  July 2, 2013
  
  It is difficult to believe that a 9-year-old would know about discrimination. But if it is talked about at home then kids do pick up the resentment.
  
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alkagurha

July 3, 2013

Good lord, this is happening in school? Sad.

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1. Rachna
  
  July 3, 2013
  
  It was really very shocking! Little kids doing this.
  
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I’m Rachna

Welcome to Rachna says, my first abode on the internet where I share snippets of my mundane life, as I navigate empty nest with my husband. You can also get my recipes at my food blog, Rachna cooks.

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