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Young age in rage

Violent actions by students in India are raising alarming concerns about the mental well-being of our young population. The latest incident of shooting of a professor by a college student in Sonepat, coming close on the heels of the killing of a school principal by a Class XII student in Yamunagar, Haryana, last month, is quite perturbing.

Young age in rage

Cradle killers: A 19-year-old student opened fire at a school in Florida last month killing 17 persons. Such incidents are on the rise in the US photos: AFP



Abha Kohli

Violent actions by students in India are raising alarming concerns about the mental well-being of our young population. The latest incident of shooting of a professor by a college student in Sonepat, coming close on the heels of the killing of a school principal by a Class XII student in Yamunagar, Haryana, last month, is quite perturbing. These mindless murders have brought forth the disturbing issue of increasingly diminishing coping mechanisms among the Indian youth. In both instances, minor or inconsequential events triggered such horrific and violent outbursts. The professor in Sonepat, Rajesh Malik, was allegedly killed by a BA student, as he had scolded the student for harassing a girl in his class. Somewhat similar reasons were cited for shooting of the Yamunanagar principal, Ritu Chhabra. She had scolded the student a few times on disciplinary grounds.

This recent spate of murders — this is the third murder inside an educational institute in Haryana in the last six months — gives rise to a disturbing question, " Are we going the US way?" where such school shootings are a frequent and bloody phenomena. The latest being the killing of 17 persons at a school in Florida last month by a 19-year-old student. 

For decades, the West has influenced Indian youth, be it the need to establish one’s identity by defying authority, or make a style statement by aping the hip-hop culture. It is not a stretch of imagination to believe that reading about the increased frequency of juvenile violence in the West seems to have become an approval of sorts for the young adults in India. Thus, one sees in the behaviour of our youth a complete disregard for law and apathy towards human life.

The killing of a seven-year-old Class II student, in Gurugram in September last year by his senior, a 16-year-old Class XI student, just to get the examinations postponed shows the increasing desensitisation of our youth towards violence. Shockingly, the murder was pre-planned — the perpetrator had told his classmates that they need not study for the upcoming exams as the school would shut down.

Both the society and academia are aghast, and unsure how to come to terms with these events, not the least because these go against the traditional notions of childhood and education. 

At the root of it

Before we can think of solutions to this rapidly evolving menace, it is essential to understand the root causes of these negative behavioural changes in children.

Intense academic pressure to always excel at studies and competitive comparison with peers and siblings are taking a massive toll on the emotional well-being of students. Children are being forced to succeed even before they can comprehend what success means to them and what is needed for their true happiness. This leads to a sense of alienation from their true selves and the tendency to gratify urges instantly intensifies, which, in turn, deprives students of the opportunity to learn how to face the challenges of life more maturely. They cannot comprehend failure, and when they fail to meet the challenges on their own, they resort to drastic measures, including physical harm to others or themselves. Their behaviour is marked by anger, impatience, and increasing intolerance in interpersonal relationships. 

It is not surprising then to find that the teenaged Gurugram student who killed a young child in cold blood, was under psychiatric evaluation for anger for a year. This sense of alienation and anger is aggravated by the stress, frustration, and result in depression due to the inability to cope with peer pressure.

Unsupervised in a ‘grown-up’ world

The deleterious effect of unsupervised access to the “grown-up world” through media and online gaming content adds fuel to the fire that is raging within the children’s minds. The recent craze of the Blue Whale challenge, which took participants through 50 ‘dares’culminating in suicide, is a classic example of gaming content exploiting the mental vulnerabilities of children who are unprepared to face them.

Over-sexualised media content introduces children to many adult concepts at a very impressionable age and stirs their curiosity. The media and gaming content often glamorises violence, often using action-packed content by lead characters to defeat evil. This may indoctrinate children with the idea that acting tough is essential to being a do-gooder. With screen-based gaming replacing physical activities in the backyard or playgrounds as an outlet for pent-up emotions, these games draw children into a restless, sedentary lifestyle early in life. How do parents and teachers react to these realities that surround their children?

Along with the collapse of the joint family system in India, which provided a natural outlet for emotional balancing among kids, is the rise of individualism which threatens traditional notions of adults as guardians and mentors to young children. This makes it all the more essential for parents to take a balanced approach to the control and care of their wards. 

Consider the Blue Whale game mania that gripped children — 60 per cent of Google searches about this game originated from India! The lesson learnt from the self-harm committed by children, who took part in this game, is that not only does this type of gaming content entrap emotionally vulnerable children, adults should also be aware of these vulnerabilities. They must know how to help children cope up before allowing access to such media. In other words, adults should redefine their own roles in the lives of children under their care to face the realities of the modern world.

Whenever incidents of violent crime by children are reported from schools, fingers are quickly pointed at school authorities. However, forward-looking schools have already developed measures to help parents, students and teachers deal with the new roles that the evolving emotional needs demand. At such schools, regular counselling sessions create a common understanding about the needs of all the stakeholders, and bridge the gaps between them to avoid confusion.

New programmes introduced for the emotional well-being of students include mentoring programmes, peer mentoring, anti-bullying campaigns, and safe-school environment programmes. More importantly, many of these schools now focus as much on developing and enhancing resources for the emotional well-being and support of children, as they do on achieving academic goals. 

— The writer is a school counsellor with Shiv Nadar School, New Delhi


Signs and symptoms of aggression

  • Putting self over all other aspects of human existence.
  • Desire for instant gratification.
  • Inability to deal with delay.
  • Poor self-image.
  • Lack of emotional stability.
  • Disturbed and traumatic childhood.

Ways to control violent behaviour

  • Parents and teachers should try to establish connect with children and build a relationship based on respect so that each child feels loved and valued.
  • Strengthen the child’s self-worth and highlight his strengths. 
  • Feedback about limitations should best be shared in a constructive way, giving concrete, practical suggestions on how to do better.
  • Being genuine is the foundation stone for establishing a trusting relationship with the child.

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