A Class I student’s performance highlighting unemployment, corruption and the absence of democracy has become the subject of an official inquiry in Madhya Pradesh after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), objected to the presentation and demanded an apology from the school.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has now issued notices to state government officials and the management of the missionary school in Guna, bringing an elementary schoolchild’s political expression under official scrutiny.

The controversy began at Christ Senior Secondary School in Guna, where the student participated in a fancy-dress competition with a cloth tied over her mouth and a placard reading, “Unemployment and Corruption: Present, Democracy: Absent.” The presentation, titled Sarkar ki Pathshala (Government’s Schoolhouse), used a roll-call format to draw attention to pressing public issues.

The placard listed 10 issues, including unemployment, hatred, corruption, terrorism, inflation, poverty, vote theft, paper leaks and scams, as “present”, while democracy was marked “absent”. Rather than addressing the concerns raised by the performance, the ABVP responded by demanding a public apology and accusing the school of involving children in politics.

ABVP workers visited the school, submitted a memorandum and set a 72-hour deadline for an apology.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, ABVP worker Divyansh Bakshi alleged that children had been deliberately used to play politics and described the performance as reflecting an “urban naxal” mindset. Bakshi also demanded an apology from the girl’s parents.

The intervention by the NHRC has added to the pressure on the school. A bench headed by NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo took cognisance of the matter under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Notices were issued to the principal secretary of the Madhya Pradesh school education department, the Guna district collector, the district education officer and the school’s missionary management, the newspaper reported.

The action raises concerns over whether a young student’s performance addressing unemployment and corruption is being treated as a disciplinary issue because its message challenges the prevailing political narrative.

The ABVP’s demand for an apology, followed by the NHRC’s intervention, has shifted attention away from the public issues highlighted by the child and towards the school’s decision to allow the presentation.

Christ Senior Secondary School principal Babu John said the incident was being taken seriously. He stated that the class teacher had been issued a notice and that a written explanation had been sent to the district education officer. However, district education officer Samar Singh Rathore told the newspaper that no such explanation had reached his office. He said a committee would be formed and action would be taken based on its findings.

The episode has thus placed the school under scrutiny after a child used a classroom platform to comment on governance and public life.

Instead of allowing the issues raised in the performance to be debated, the ABVP’s demand for an apology and the NHRC’s notices risk turning a student’s expression into a controversy requiring official intervention.