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Shobhaa De is an established writer, columnist, opinion shaper and social commentator, who is considered an authority on popular culture.)
"Mummy, mummy... I am not feeling well.... something is paining... please take me to doctor uncle.... I don't want to go to school.... Mummy , pleeeeease... make the pain go! I hate school..."
This could well have been what the traumatized six-year-old girl from Bengaluru said to her mother after her tiny body was brutally violated by a sex-fiend she trusted in her school. The monster has finally been identified as a skating instructor, 30- year-old Mustafa (Munna), married and the father of a three-year-old daughter.
More than 5,000 outraged citizens registered their protest at a rally outside the prestigious school and demanded action from Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar. Had that demonstration not taken place, Mustafa could still have been at it with other defenseless victims, given his history (he was reportedly sacked from another school for inappropriate conduct). Mustafa's deviant behaviour has been disclosed by the police after seizing his mobile phone and laptop containing evidence of child pornography in photos and videos.
Why did a reputed school employ a paedophile in the first place?
Why was this person not thoroughly screened given that he'd been dismissed from another school after questions were raised over his character?
Why did this school take so long to react to such a serious charge by a parent?
Whose responsibility is it to ensure children are safe in schools?
I would say the buck stops with the school management. Our children are in their sole care once they enter the school gates. School authorities are obliged to ensure every child on the premises is safe and secure at all times - whatever it takes. Unconditional trust is what parents invest in when they pay those fat fees to get their kids into a 'good school'. In this case, the six-year-old allegedly suffered from a learning disability. Which means the school ought to have shown an even higher level of responsibility/sensitivity towards her safety. If that has not happened, the school must be penalised.
In other parts of the world, a school that is seen as being callous and negligent towards those in its care would risk losing its license. In India, it works differently. Most 'good' schools behave like they are doing parents a favour by admitting their kids. Such schools become a law unto themselves and operate in such a high-handed fashion, it's virtually impossible to hold them responsible for all the wrongs they get away with. Parents don't have the guts to challenge school authorities. And those very authorities mock parents for their legitimate concerns, since very often such schools 'accommodate' children of politicians, police officers and bureaucrats.
It is time to demand complete transparency from our pampered private schools. They must disclose the antecedents of teachers and instructors on their payrolls. Background checks of bus drivers and other service providers must be made mandatory. The Principal has to be held accountable when a crime takes places on the premises.
Why should parents be compelled to take to the streets before cops respond when a child is abused? How is it possible that nobody but nobody noticed Mustafa's perverse tendencies, considering there were other victims who have now come forward with similar charges against him?
Let this be a landmark case. It takes one six-year-old to break the ominous silence and nail a criminal. Well, this frightened little girl has done just that. Here's hoping the Bengaluru child rape incident opens society's eyes to all that is abysmally wrong in the system. Schools are our children's second homes, principals and teachers their foster parents. Protect our kids - that is not just your job, but a deep and abiding moral responsibility.
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