Two months back, when the murder case of the innocent boy, Pradyuman was all over the news channels, a mother in me sat scared to see that a child was not safe in school also. In very less time, the police arrested the bus conductor and blamed him for sexual assault and murder. I remember that night I could hardly get any sleep thinking how will I protect my precious little baby in this cruel world. On Diwali, as my daughter was suffering from dengue, I thought of the boy’s parents. Here I was all hyper as she had fever, but what about those parents who would never be able to celebrate a festival with their baby.
Yesterday I switched on the TV to see the smog condition in the city when I saw the news that the CBI had arrested a Class XI student for murdering the boy. This news jolted me from within. The reason given was that he wanted to get the parent teacher meeting and the exams cancelled. This news raised so many questions in my mind and I could not understand where was this world heading to.
The first and the foremost thing that came to my mind was that what the hell did the Gurgaon police do. They trapped an innocent poor man and got him to confess a crime he never did. Did the police take money or was the poor man paid a handsome amount to accept the crime and secure his family’s future? What was his fault? I think I know the answer; he was a poor man in this world where all that matters, is money.
Secondly and more importantly, what are we exposing our children to and is there no humanity left? Did the Class XI student think taking someone’s life was a joke just because he was scared to write an exam? Did he consider it was cool to murder someone? I am no judge but I really wonder what all went in his mind and what his parents did about it. Newspaper reports say he was a porn addict and he often carried a knife. A knife in school? Did the school know about this and did they take an action? Obviously not, else this would not have happened.
Exam pressure has become so much for this generation and we as parents I feel do not equip them to handle stress in life. We would read suicide cases in the papers due to exams and results but now it is leading to murders also. The boy thought taking a life was easier than facing the stress. The murder was so brutal that I wonder did he plan it or was it a spur of the moment case.
This case raises questions about our education and family system. As parents and school, are we putting too much stress on the kids to excel? Are we as parents not available to our kids to share their concerns and discuss their fears? Exams and marks are a rat race and we need to help our children run it and not pressurize them to win it. We have to stop comparing our kids to others. Each child is unique and has his own positives. We have to learn to appreciate them for what they do well and not criticize for what they do not.
I also want to know did the parents and the school management know what had happened and they used their money and influence to mislead the investigations. Did the parents pay money to save their child? If this was true, I wonder what this boy would have grown up to. If you think money can buy everything and gives you the license to kill someone, you have failed as a human. The CBI has too many questions to answer. The case has shaken all parents and the country and has raised many questions.
Parents and teachers, let us try and raise responsible human beings. We have to show that money cannot buy education and values. Teach them to handle pressure. This world needs humans and not rats running in a race. We have to help them handle their fears and not add to their stress. We have to set positive examples for them.
“The most effective way to raise a nice child is to be a nice adult.”
