Editor,
What are the measures taken by the state government to address the dreadful cases of bullying/harassment (both mental and sexual) leading to irreparable harm that has been reported in the past few years? With the rise of use of social media ever since the pandemic in 2020, such news saw almost daily coverage on all kinds of social media platforms, making it seem like it was a new phenomenon.
However bullying, especially in schools, was never a new thing – an undoubted fact. Bullying was normalised and any kind of rebuttal was regarded as ‘not being able to take a joke’ back in our days. But things are a lot different today – sensitisation to ragging by both public and private entities in every institution has become a part of admission procedures.
The government itself conducts various workshops on mental health and related issues. However, cases like the recent death of a 12-year-old boy, who too became another victim of school ragging, leaves a Pandora’s box of questions.
The question, therefore, is to the government, to our policymakers. Are there no policies/regulations to prevent such incidents? Why are educational schools/institutions often overlooked? Why are the minorities not protected in our state? What are the consequences of such cases? Are the victims served justice? Are the perpetrators punished according to law or held responsible? What are the implications on the institutional authorities? Are there no regulatory mechanisms to ensure accountability?
We all remember the VKV Sher case of 2020 where one young boy succumbed to bullying and harassment within the school premises. The question remains as to whether the victim and his family was even delivered justice? As far as I am aware, the school is functioning normally now as if the past does not exist. Why do the departments concerned allow such schools to continue to operate? Why aren’t they closed down to serve as a serious warning to all educators/educational businesses? Why isn’t the government focusing on such a serious matter?
These are big questions we all need to ask. Times like these remind me of this one ironical quote, “When kids die, we lose hope, but when adults die we lose their wisdom.” Are the adults really wise? I personally believe we’re losing and becoming more hopeless than we are actually losing wisdom.
Byabang Agnes