The first incident was in Khubbapur in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Here, Tripti Tyagi, a teacher who’s also the principal of the school, ordered children, one by one, to slap a seven-year-old Muslim boy because he, allegedly, had not done his homework. And all the while she spoke pejoratively and tauntingly of “Mohammedan children’’ whilst encouraging the other children to hit him harder. All of this is on video and incontestable.

The second incident happened in Bani in Jammu and Kashmir. Here, a 10-year-old boy wrote Jai Shri Ram on a blackboard. According to the first information report (FIR), when Farooq Ahmed, the teacher, saw this he “in front of the other students, took the child to the ground and beat him badly. He then took the boy to the principal’s room and both of them locked the room and beat the child. They told him that if he does such a thing again, they will kill him”.

Both incidents are horrifying. Whilst we know only a little of the second, the first has dominated the news. Before the government ordered the clip of the UP incident be taken down, it attracted millions of views on social media. We, therefore, know a lot more of the response to the beating of the seven-year-old Muslim boy. Therein lies my second concern.

Rather than demand justice for the boy, his father appears under pressure to compromise, even forgive and forget. Some of this is from the champion of the farmers’ struggle, Naresh Tikait. He’s told the father to “compromise” because “the teacher meant no ill-will”. Asked if she should, at least, apologise, he reportedly replied, “Apology is a big word but she has expressed regret.”

The response of village heads from the area surrounding Khubbapur is more depressing. This is what Narendra Tyagi, of Pura village, said to the seven-year-old’s father: “Stop this drama now. We don’t want the media in the village. I want you to go to the police station and tell them you don’t need an FIR. Get it expunged…or you will be the one facing consequences.”

Even the UP police have done the bare minimum. The case was registered under sections that do not permit arrest without a warrant or investigation without court approval. The Muzaffarnagar police say this is because Tripti Tyagi, the teacher, “did not have malicious intentions”.

Finally, when Sanjeev Balyan, the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament, calls it “a minor issue” you can guess what the government’s response will be. With elections seven months away, it wants to forgive and forget.

But I would hope you and I can’t. Nor should we. The victims are little children. Not only have they suffered physically, but the mental trauma inflicted on them could be deep and ineradicable. It will take time and love to heal. But worst of all their tormentors were targeting them as Muslims and Hindus. That’s an attack on India itself.

Finally, this is not acche din. This is not the siren call of Amrit Kaal. But this could be the gateway to purgatory. That’s why these teachers must be taught a lesson. It’s the least we expect of our government.

Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story The views expressed are personal