New Delhi: Eleven -year-old Shanno went into a coma on Tuesday after her teacher thrashed her and made her stand in the sun for two hours. She never recovered. All because she hadn't completed her homework.
Corporal punishment is a crime in India. But it took the horrific death of an innocent, vulnerable child to get the police to finally file a case of culpable homicide against the teacher, who's now on the run.
Shanno's father Ayub Khan is in no mood to forgive the teacher. "We want that he should suffer the way we are suffering now," he says.
Despite the laws, it seems our schools are incapable of getting rid of corporal punishment.
Says Renuka Chowdhary, Women & Child Development Minister: "It's a collective failure."
Congress leader Krishna Tirath adds: "Strict action should be taken against the teacher so that we set an example."
Is there anything that will make us stop hitting children?