A home tutor, identified as Pratibha, has been indoctrinating young kids (some below the age of 5 years) with political propaganda and anti-Modi hatred.
The matter came to light after videos of children spewing vitriol against India’s Prime Minister and sprouting political rhetoric of the Congress party went viral on social media.
It is evident from her Instagram page (username: @pratibha_edu-squad) that Pratibha is brainwashing the young, impressionable minds for social media traction and her own political opportunism.
Interestingly, her Instagram bio reads, “Indian Administrative Service (IAS)” and “The UPSC Odyssey”. However, OpIndia could find no publicly available information about Pratibha clearing the IAS exam and becoming an officer.
It is thus unclear whether she had amassed 44,900 followers by misleading her viewers as an ‘IAS officer’ while teaching in a makeshift classroom or by weaponising children for her political content.
But one thing is crystal clear. Pratibha did not post content using children as ‘political props’ until the unrest and chaos were unleashed in India’s National Capital by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
On 14th July, the ‘home tutor’ published her first politically charged video. She claimed, “Hunger strike is the last resort for anyone. Imagine the condition of a country where people need to take to the streets and fast to demand the resignation of a Minister.”
Pratibha had also tagged the Instagram handles of Abhijeet Dipke and the Cockroach Janta Party in that video. The video fetched around 148 likes.
Soon after, the make-believe ‘IAS officer’ realised that she could capitalise on the growing wave of public resentment and increase her Instagram following. As such, she deserted her motivational reels and shifted her focus to politics.
Pratibha had started receiving an average of 200-250 likes per reel on Instagram. Her fortunes changed on 16th July when she used children, who used to take tuitions in her classroom-cum-garage, to appeal to Sonam Wangchuk (who was on a hunger strike at that time)
That video amassed a whopping 7,900 likes for the first time. While Pratibha was elated by the traction, she was further encouraged by CJP supporters in the comment section to indoctrinate children with their political ideology.
It has been more than 2 months since that day, and Pratibha has not stopped using underage children for her politically charged videos. Some of her videos have fetched upwards of 1 lakh likes. This begs the question – Are anti-Modi propagandists going to now normalise use to children in this fashion?
The caption of one video reads ‘Sharm karo Modi Ji’ while another says ‘Modi Baba Chor.’
Another video features kids saying that Narendra Modi has destroyed India completely. It is clear from the footage that the children are tutored by Pratibha to mock and berate the Indian Prime Minister.
While we often complain about the downfall of political discourse in India, Pratibha has hit a new low by using minors as political pawns and exploiting them to her advantage.
Almost every student who joined her class was used in malicious political propaganda videos. Kids who were a little more articulate than the rest were featured in multiple videos to make politically charged remarks.
A child who is unable to speak coherently is forced to say ‘Gande Uncle Vote Chor.’ Another kid is heard saying, “Modi hatao Desh bachao.’ Two other students were forced to mock ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is unclear whether Pratibha is being paid by certain political parties for this vicious level of propaganda. But there is no iota of doubt that the political grooming of underage children, their indoctrination and strategic brainwashing is not just immoral but illegal.
OpIndia had previously reported how coaching centres had weaponised their students for political objectives, including incitement of violence during protests over the Agniveer scheme and paper leaks.
However, the antics of Pratibha take it to a whole new level. The students who were brainwashed by the coaching centres were adults. The ones she is indoctrinating with political vitriol are underage children, which makes it even more heinous
As such, it raises serious concerns about lapses in parental supervision as well as the child protection department. This unchecked use of children as pawns for ulterior motives by a tuition teacher is alarming and needs immediate legal action.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights should take immediate cognisance of the matter and protect the well-being of the children against this rabid form of political exploitation.
As for Pratibha, she should face the music of the law for pushing vulnerable kids to the path of destruction.
