Schoolchildren across the country mourn Peshawar deaths

NEW DELHI: Schoolchildren across the country on Wednesday observed a two-minute silence and offered prayers for the young victims of Taliban’s barbaric attack at a school in Peshawar.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to all schools across India to observe two minutes of silence as a mark of solidarity with Pakistan.
In Bengaluru schoolchildren took part in prayers for those killed in the terror attack at Peshawar’s Army Public School.“I don’t understand the claims of terrorists that they’re trying to build a good future,” said Shashankka Tewari, a DPS North student. “They’ve wiped out the future of their country themselves. The Pakistan government should seriously take up the job of punishing the guilty so we can do some justice to those children.”
Sujata Mohandas, principal, Sishu Gruha Montessori and high school, Bengaluru, said some parents told her their children had cried while watching the visuals on TV. “We’re shell-shocked,” she said. “It’s a global tragedy. Children have no religion, no country. We cannot even call this animal behaviour as even the animal kingdom has certain rules.”
In Mumbai several schools paid their respects to the victims of Tuesday’s attack. At Asmita School, Jogeshwari, about 650 students remembered the dead. After the morning assembly, the students lit candles and pledged to contribute, in whatever way possible, to deal with the threat of terrorism. About 500 students from Balmohan Vidyamandir, Dadar, observed silence in the school’s auditorium, said Sheetal Nerurkar, head of the community school.
Schools across Chennai paid homage to those who were killed by observing a two-minute silence during the assembly. About 700 students from Everwin Vidyashram in Kolathur lit candles to express their solidarity with the victims and their parents.
All educational institutions in Kolkata, including the Calcutta University, observed a two-minute silence as mark of respect for the victims of the terror attack. Schools that had closed for the winter vacations gathered office staff to pay respects to the departed. “We’re on holiday,” said Sunirmal Chakravarthy, principal of La Martiniere for Boys School. “Those who were present in school — which includes the staff members of the principal’s office and officials — said a prayer to remember the children who died on Tuesday.”
Supriyo Dhar, secretary of the board of governors of La Martinere School, said: “We also prayed for the quick recovery of the injured students and the grieving family members. There should be more compassion among elders. This is despicable.” Silence was also observed by teachers and students of Calcutta University, Rabindra Bharati University and some of the city’s premier colleges.
In Hyderabad, all schools remembered the victims. In Gitanjali School, Begumpet, students were encouraged to talk against terror strikes. “All schools under the organization which ran classes today maintained silence,” said Srinivas Reddy of the Telangana Recognised Schools Managements Association. About 500 students took part in a ‘silent’ peace rally from Chaitanyapuri Cross Roads to Dishuknagar.
In Lucknow over 50,000 students took part in condolence assemblies organized at all the campuses of City Montessori School. Students of Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal offered prayers and staged protests at Eidgah to condemn the terror attack. Pupils of Unity Mission School took out a candle march against the massacre and terror outfits such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
In Gujarat, about 1,380 schools in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and other major towns and cities observed a two-minute silence. These included more than 1,000 schools in Ahmedabad and 280 in Surat. “At all our schools, children observed two minutes of silence in solidarity with the victims and their families in Peshawar,” said Tejal Amin, managing trustee of Navrachana Education Society, which runs a chain of schools in Vadodara.
Pankaj Jani, managing trustee, Shreyas Samarpan Vidyalaya, said: “All our children participated in a special prayer meeting for Peshawar terror victims. We pray the souls of innocent children rest in peace.”