Bhajanlal Sharma’s model of governance buries seven children in rubble

New Delhi: In the heart of Rajasthan, where the sands whisper tales of valour and resilience, a chilling silence now prevails over Piplodi village in Jhalawar district.

On July 25, 2025, the very foundations of a government school crumbled, not just literally but metaphorically, burying seven innocent children under the debris of systemic neglect and administrative apathy.

This was not a tragedy; it was murder by the state, a bloodstain on the conscience of Bhajanlal Sharma's government, which has now forfeited any right to parade its hollow, manufactured achievements.

The collapse of the Government Upper Primary School building during morning prayers is a damning indictment of a regime that prioritises photo-ops over public safety.

While Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma rushed to express grief and launch probes, the grim reality is that this disaster was not an act of God but a consequence of years of governmental indifference.

The school, a symbol of state responsibility, turned into a death trap, its walls weakened by a blatant disregard for safety norms.

The blood of these children is on the hands of an administration that has failed spectacularly in its most basic duty: to protect its citizens, especially its most vulnerable.

Let us not be swayed by the predictable platitudes from Sharma and his cohort. Grief, in this context, is a hollow word when it comes from a leader whose governance has been characterised by a series of empty promises.

The investigation he speaks of is nothing but a smokescreen, a desperate attempt to deflect blame from a system that has long been rotten to the core. The fact that 29 other children were injured, some critically, is a testament to the scale of this failure.

Despite this, the government was seen repairing the road leading to the school, only to prepare for VIP visits.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expression of sorrow is equally hollow. His government, which claims to champion the cause of education and infrastructure, must also bear the burden of this failure.

The central oversight, the funding, the policies, all have failed to translate into tangible safety for children under the Sharma government.

The chest-thumping about development projects and the manufactured narratives of progress ring false in the face of this tragedy.

The people of Rajasthan deserve better. They deserve a government that does not treat their children as collateral damage in the game of political survival.

They deserve leaders who understand that governance is not about grandiose announcements but about ensuring that every school, every hospital, every public space is safe.

As the flames of the last rites consume the remains of these young souls, they also consume the last vestiges of credibility for Bhajanlal Sharma’s regime.

The system has murdered these children.

In a video statement, Sharma said that instructions have now been issued to officers to ensure that no school building in Rajasthan remains in a dilapidated condition, in order to prevent such incidents in the future.

But this statement, made in the aftermath of an unspeakable tragedy, only serves as further proof of his government’s incapability. If it takes the systematic murder of seven innocent children to prompt such basic action, then the rot runs deeper than mere negligence, it is institutional failure masquerading as governance.