UP: In the wake of a disturbing video that went viral depicting a schoolteacher in Uttar Pradesh instructing her students to physically harm a Muslim classmate, the teacher has yet to express remorse for her reprehensible actions.
Tripta Tyagi, the Principal of Neha Public School in Muzaffarpur, Uttar Pradesh, was captured on video directing her second-grade students to slap their fellow classmate. The distressing footage also captured her making inflammatory remarks as the young children took turns assaulting the 7-year-old boy under her encouragement.
As the child stood there in tears, Tyagi could be heard saying, “…these Muslim children…Why don’t you all slap him with full force?” as she urged the class to continue the assault on the helpless child.
In a recent interview with NDTV, Tyagi shockingly defended her actions and declared she felt no shame, asserting that the people in her village supported her. She stated, “I am not ashamed. I have served the people of this village as a teacher. They all are with me.”
Furthermore, Tyagi insisted on advocating for the use of violence to discipline students. In her interview with NDTV, she stated, “They have made laws, but we need to control the children in schools. This is how we tackle them.”
An FIR (First Information Report) has been filed against Tyagi based on a complaint from the parents of the injured child. She has been charged under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult), both of which are non-cognizable offenses. These charges are bailable and do not lead to immediate arrest.
Earlier, Tyagi attempted to justify her actions by claiming that the video had been manipulated to stir up tensions. She also alleged that she had been compelled to resort to such actions due to her physical limitations, asserting that she could not reach the student who had failed to complete his assignment. She explained, “…there was pressure from the child’s parents to be strict with him. I am handicapped; I can’t get up…he was not doing homework for the last two months…so I made 2-3 students beat him up so that he would start doing his work.”
The Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate, Arvind Mallappa, reported that a complaint had been lodged, and the child was receiving counseling sessions. During the investigation, it was discovered that the viral video had been recorded by a member of the victim’s family.
The father of the 7-year-old victim, while calling for legal action, emphasized that the incident should not be viewed through a religious lens, stating, “This is not a Hindu-Muslim matter. We want the law to take its own course.”
Meanwhile, opposition parties attributed the incident to what they saw as the divisive politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed concern, stating that the incident was a disturbing consequence of the BJP-RSS’s divisive politics. Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, criticized the teacher’s actions, emphasizing the importance of promoting love and unity among children.
The Samajwadi Party accused the BJP and RSS of fostering a climate of hate that allowed a teacher to instruct her students to harm a minority student based on his religion. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav demanded the immediate dismissal of the teacher, referring to her as a “blot on teacher society.”
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O Brien alleged that Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah were responsible for “hate factories” across the country. His party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government of sowing the seeds of communalism among children and youth.
Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, in response to the incident, underscored the disturbing message being conveyed to young minds, stating that it perpetuated the idea that it was acceptable to humiliate a Muslim without consequences.