AS a student of seventh standard in Islamia High School Srinagar, I and my classmate, Gulzar Ahmed Gojri, were one summer day brutally beaten up with sticks, by the learned and respected teacher late Molvi Nooruddin. He was a brilliant theology teacher, was assigned additionally to supervise and check the attendance of school students offering Zuhar Namaz, noon prayers, at historical Jamia Masjid, Srinagar; that lies in close proximity of the school. It was mandatory for all students of the school to offer noon prayers. Absentees were punished corporally by the teachers. A proper register was maintained for each class for the purpose. Teachers of the school were assigned to mark the attendance at the small exit of the mosque. Mostly Non Muslim teachers were by rotation given the task. I remember my form teacher late Kashi Nath, with a well built physique, making our attendance at the gates. Late Narianjun Nath Kaul alias Nera who was a renowned band master, usually turbaned, having a hawk’s eye; he too assigned the same job.
Obviously, under such circumstances students would always attend the noon prayers, those not attending would be punished either corporally, or fined. Me and my classmate would also attend the prayers without fail; some how that unfortunate day we missed the Namaz by few minutes and opted to move straight to school, hence the punishment; that for my frail body was too much. I was injured, both my buttocks were bruised. Initially first 5 rounds of canning were well tolerated, but non stop beating made me wet my pants, and subsequently I fainted. My friend Gulzar tolerated well the ordeal, and was also subjected to 100 sit-ups. I regained my consciousness after four or five hours at home. I saw my parents were in tears, and my father was giving choicest of abuses to school authorities.
Parents in those days would believe that corporal punishment sets clear boundaries and motivates children to behave in school. Children were better able to make decision about their behavior, exercise, and self control. Not only this, the parents would then blindly accept and appreciate the teachers’ in all the matters, including use of force to discipline children.
I still remember our teachers saying; spare the rod, and spoil the child.
After this terrible ordeal, my father lodged a complaint with the school management. Late Mufti Ghulam ud Din, a gentleman figure, an able administrator, and highly trained and qualified teacher, who was the principal of the school, personally apologised to my father for the incident. Molvi Nooruddin, remained in hiding for days together, to keep out of reach of the long arm of the law, and my father’s wrath.
The incident was a turning point in my school life, as my parents decided to get my admission in an uptown school, that was considered a very good school then – DAV high school Srinagar. There, I studied up to 10th grade.
Things have drastically changed all these decades, something that was easily acceptable in past would be considered absolutely unacceptable today. Corporal punishment is prohibited almost everywhere in the world, but unfortunately its use by teachers in classrooms in many countries remains rampant, including India.
The news of the death of three boys in one of the areas of Mumbai in 2014 after being canned by their physical instructor shocked the city. The teacher used to hit the students according to the marks they got in their exams and used to threaten them of drastic consequences if they did not do well next time. He is presently behind the bars.
In a survey in India by National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, it was found that 65 percent of school going children are subjected to corporal punishment. In Pakistan a bill was passed by the National Assembly banning corporal punishment for children fallowing reports of school children being badly beaten in schools, religious institutions and other work places. Similarly in September 2018, Nepal adopted the act relating to children abuse which prohibits corporal punishment of children in all settings.
Corporal punishment and psychological violence are extremely common around the world, but variations across countries are large. No matter the circumstances my story, all children have the right to be protected from violence, exploitation, and abuse.