Meghna Pant's column: What will happen to our bright future if cruelty starts to fill even children?

There are some videos that, after watching, one wishes they had not been seen. Not because they contain gruesome scenes, but because they reveal a disturbing truth. To what extent we have come to accept cruelty as normal. The attack on a poor, innocent, six-year-old girl – who was also specially-abled – by an eight-year-old boy is one such horrific incident. It shook the entire country. This has raised many questions. What was the surveillance system like in the school in Panchkula, where the girl was attacked so fearlessly? Where were the teachers? How did the child get into such an unsafe situation? And what are we teaching our children about sensitivity, aggression and the importance of another human being's life? We have to ask these uncomfortable questions, especially because the perpetrator of the crime is still a child. What has this child seen in his home? What has he seen in school? What has he seen in society? What has he seen in the media and social media? What kind of behaviours has he been exposed to? How is his understanding of violence, consent, compassion and the consequences of his actions being shaped? Children do not grow up in a vacuum. Their behaviour is influenced by their environment, experiences and upbringing. Then comes the even more difficult question of juvenile justice. The law recognises that children are separated from adults and their rehabilitation should be of central importance in juvenile justice. But rehabilitation cannot mean indifference. It also cannot mean that the sufferings of the victim should be considered secondary. If someone can commit such a heinous crime at the age of eight, what will an adult do? The acts of those with psychopathic tendencies cannot be tolerated just because our justice system considers them minors. In this case, accountability must be fixed within the framework of law and morality, psychological assessment should be done and punishment should be given according to the seriousness of the crime. The system has to send a strong message that if you commit a crime, you will have to face the punishment – so that no child dares to do it again to another child. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this incident is what is happening in the comments on social media. People are dragging politics into it. Some people are trying to show through religious signs that the violence is related to the victim's community-identity. A six-year-old girl has been saved and our first reaction is to weaponize her suffering for our political prejudices? True? It's not a case of finding a convenient villain or victim. It is a question of a far greater failure – a failure to teach sensitivity, a failure to supervise children, a failure to protect the vulnerable, and a failure to recognize that cruelty should never be allowed to become the norm. We say over and over again that children are the future. But what kind of future are we building if we can't ensure their safety in the present? A six-year-old girl should be worried about toys, school, birthday parties. Not about whether another child will try to take her life or not! (These are the author's own thoughts)