When abuse becomes applause, a nation loses its soul.
There are moments that compel a nation to pause… not because of politics, but because they expose the steady erosion of our values.
The recent incident in which children used filthy, abusive and deeply offensive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, even more disturbingly, against his late mother, has left us shocked and saddened.
Political leaders are not above criticism. In fact, they must be questioned, challenged and held accountable in a healthy democracy but hurling vile abuses at a 75-year-old man and dragging his deceased mother… who had absolutely nothing to do with politics into the gutter is not dissent. It is a collapse of basic human decency.
This editorial is not about defending a political leader. It is about defending the values that hold a society together. The most painful question is not what these children said. The real question is: Who taught them to say it?
Children are not born hateful. They learn. They imitate. They absorb. Their language is often a reflection of the homes they grow up in, the content they consume, the conversations they hear and the behaviour society rewards.
Somewhere along the way, we have normalised vulgarity. We have mistaken abuse for boldness, hatred for conviction and personal insults for political expression. Today, the loudest abuse often receives the loudest applause. Social media algorithms reward outrage, shock and sensationalism while civility struggles to find a voice.
Equally alarming is the reality that children today have unrestricted access to virtually every kind of content at an increasingly young age. With a smartphone in hand, they can consume abusive videos, toxic influencers, explicit language and deeply polarising content within seconds. Without parental supervision, digital discipline and value-based guidance, the internet becomes their teacher… and algorithms become their moral compass.
Technology itself is not the problem. Our failure to guide children in using it responsibly is. Families cannot outsource parenting to smartphones. Schools cannot restrict education to marks while neglecting character. Society cannot celebrate indecency simply because it targets someone with whom it disagrees politically.
Let us also remember an important principle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be criticised. His policies can be questioned. His government can be opposed. That is every citizen’s democratic right but no civilised democracy is strengthened by abusing someone’s mother… especially one who is no longer alive and had no role in public life. The moment we begin justifying such behaviour because the victim belongs to the “other side”, we abandon principle and embrace hypocrisy.
Today, it is the Prime Minister and his late mother. Tomorrow, it could be anyone. When the next generation learns that abuse is applause-worthy and disrespect is entertaining, we are not merely witnessing political polarisation… we are witnessing a moral crisis.
Middle Class Hub believes this incident should serve as a national wake-up call. It is time for parents to reclaim their role as the first teachers of values. It is time for schools to place equal emphasis on character and academics. It is time for society to stop glorifying hatred and start rewarding respectful disagreement.
The greatest tragedy is not that such words were spoken. The greatest tragedy is that some children believed there was nothing wrong in saying them. If that is the culture we are passing on to the next generation, then we have not simply failed politically. We have failed as families. We have failed as a society. And we are failing our nation.
