The chief justice of India, Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, has issued a stern warning against the ill effects of corporal punishment from personal experience as a victim.
Speaking at a seminar in Kathmandu last Saturday, he recalled when he was caned at school. The eminent lawyer is now 65. The incident occurred when he was a Class 5 pupil!
That time-lapse alone speaks volumes about its evil. Corporal punishment is never forgotten, only pushed to the side and every effort made to push it to the side and forget it.
When Dhananjaya was a youth, ignorance of the effects corporal punishment had on the human body and mind was relatively unknown and was up there with bloodletting, and Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) as being beneficial.
Corporal punishment was performed by (“this is going to hurt me than it’s going to hurt you”) loving parents because they knew no better. It was the done thing. It was what parents and their parents before them did.
They labeled it discipline, so that gave it a socially acceptable face. But similar to the DDT insecticide used in agriculture to destroy the bugs that ate the crops and worked wonders on the surface; underneath an entirely different nightmarish story evolved.
Even 50-years after DDT was banned in most countries (not all) the poisonous effects are still present in the food chain today. Despite the massive amount of evidence against corporal punishment (more than DDT ever had) children are still victims of the evil abuse and subject to life-long damage mentally, physically, and emotionally in all sorts of ways.
Our greatest assets
Allegedly the children are a nation’s greatest assets (indisputably) and the future of the nation (indisputably), why they should be treated with such disrespect is totally incomprehensible. Why there isn’t a total ban on corporal punishment in ALL countries over night is mind boggling.
Some claim they beat their children out of love… to set proper guidelines… to put them on the right path towards becoming respected members of society. These are more to be pitied than laughed at. Like oil and water, it’s impossible for love and abuse to mix.
The learned Chief Justice Dhananjaya told his audience: “How you treat children has a deep impact on their minds throughout their life.” He then went on to relate a day in which he was caned at school.
“I was learning craft and didn’t bring the right sized needles to class for the assignment,” he said. “I still remember asking my teacher to cane my bum and not my hand,” he added, but the ‘teacher’ did not heed his request. Feeling shame, he did not tell his parents and hid his injured right palm for 10 days.
“The physical wound healed, but left an everlasting imprint on the mind and soul. It is still with me when I do my work. The impact of such travesty on children is so deep,” he said.
“The way people treat children leaves a lasting impact on their minds,” said, the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India.
The chief justice shared the incident while speaking at the National Symposium on Juvenile Justice organised by the Supreme Court of Nepal in Kathmandu.
Corporal punishment is evil
It is not an exaggeration to state that any form of Corporal punishment is evil, degrading, unjustifiable and a gross violation of the rights of children. Corporal punishment offers no solutions, only problems; offers no positive benefits, only disadvantages and disturbing memories that could last a lifetime.
Prohibition of corporal punishment is still to be achieved throughout India in the home, some alternative care settings, day care and some schools.
Laos has just become the 66th nation to legally prohibit corporal punishment to children. Violence on children in Laos was prevalent; especially in rural areas. Now it’s shed its bad reputation and become the first in Southeast Asia to officially outlaw corporal punishment. This new law fully protects children from all forms of violent punishment, recognizes their importance, and safeguards children’s rights.
Congratulations to all in Laos for bringing common sense and humanity to the surface and making the ban possible.
By Sir Frank Peters
Sir Frank Peters, is a former newspaper and magazine publisher and editor, an award–winning writer, and humanitarian.
