There are moments when the world suddenly feels unbearably heavy. Moments when a single piece of news breaks something inside us – a delicate child harmed in ways our mind refuses to comprehend.
Recently, the tragic incident involving a three-year-old girl from a village near Malegaon shook me deeply.
It was impossible to read about it and then simply move on. For hours, my mind could not settle; fear, sorrow, anger, helplessness, and disbelief all rose and fell like waves.
Some people can detach quickly. Some scroll past. But for those with sensitive hearts, such news does not remain outside; it enters the inner world and stays there, demanding reflection.
It is this painful reflection that led me to write these thoughts – not as a journalist, but as a human being.
The Innocence That Deserved a Better World
A child at that age knows only trust. Her world is made of parents, play, trustfulness, soft laughter, and small dreams.
A child is a flower – happy, beautiful, unprotected against cruelty. When something so brutal happens to one so delicate, it feels like an attack on humanity itself.
We can just imagine her confusion, her fear, her pain, her helplessness. She would not even understand what was happening to her. She would had simply cried out for her parents, her protectors, but alas, no one could come to save her, and that thought alone is enough to shake the strongest mind.
Such incidents force us to confront a truth we often avoid: evil exists among us, hiding in plain sight, waiting in the shadows of society.
What a Sensitive Heart Feels
When I first read about the tragedy, my breath felt heavy. My hands trembled. I prayed to Jagadambe Mata – the Mother of the whole world.
I asked why she didn’t save this child. In my daily prayers, I always ask for the safety of everyone, especially children. Yet here was a proof that the world is unpredictable in its cruelty.
There was sorrow, yes. But also fear – a deep, unsettling fear.
Fear of the world.
Fear of human beings.
Fear of the possibility that anything can happen to anyone.
The mind spirals quickly when there is silence after a storm. Slowly – hours later – calmness returned. But the sadness remained like a stain on the heart.
The Decline We See Around Us
I have often observed this – especially in Nashik but should be true for countless towns and cities across India – a growing atmosphere of aggression, insensitivity, and lack of moral grounding:
- Young men wandering without purpose
- Alcohol or in worst cases maybe even drugs, and wrong company
- A culture of petty fights, roadside quarrels, and an obsession with instant gratification
- A dangerous masculine aggression that lacks compassion
- A society that has started to tolerate disrespectful behaviour, vulgarity, and aggression as “normal”
This is not about one city or one community. It is a larger social decline, a loss of character, patience, and empathy.
When such delinquent seeds grow, the results can be frightening.
And yet, parallel to this degeneration, I have also seen people in Nashik who are deeply kind – people who help strangers, neighbours who look after each other, elderly people who show compassion, and ordinary citizens who donate food, save animals, or guide children.
This duality is the strange reality of our times: goodness and cruelty living side by side.
The Hard Question: Why Does the Divine Allow This?
This question has shaken human beings across centuries:
“If God exists, why does He or She allow such brutalities to take place”
There is no single or clear answer, however, with my little understanding, I feel Dharma offers some perspectives:
- Human beings have free will – they can choose good or evil – and they face the consequences accordingly.
- Karma is complex and stretches across lifetimes, not just one moment or life.
- The world is a mixture of light and darkness; good and evil.
- Even gods do not always interfere in human choices.
Yet, when it comes to a child, none of these explanations soothe the heart. The mind demands retribution; the heart demands justice.
All we can do is continue praying – not expecting miracles, but seeking strength to respond to the world with courage, not fear.
The State Must Wake Up: Outdated Laws, Endless Trials, and Delayed Justice
In India, justice is painfully slow. Even the most brutal cases or those involving children go on for years, sometimes decades.
Outdated procedures, understaffed courts, and endless appeals mean that even the worst criminals can drag the process indefinitely.
For crimes against children, the system must be urgent, uncompromising, and swift.
Not out of anger, but out of moral duty:
- Special fast-track courts
- Timelines that cannot be extended
- Zero tolerance for procedural delays
- Psychological support for victims’ families
- Strong preventive measures in vulnerable areas
- Swift action against offenders
Society cannot heal if justice itself takes a lifetime.
Many people express that for crimes of this nature, involving extreme cruelty against a child, no punishment except the death punishment is morally appropriate. The legal system must reflect the gravity of such acts.
Why We Must Continue Living – And Not Become Numb
After the initial few hours of shock, pain, helplessness and depression, our mind and heart gradually return to normal.
“Is it right that we feel someone’s pain for a while and then return to normal life?”
The answer is probably yes – because that is human nature and how our mind, heart and our thought processes function – and it is necessary for survival.
But returning to normal does not mean forgetting. It means carrying the lesson forward:
- Stay compassionate
- Protect children in your surroundings
- Stay alert to danger
- Raise your voice when needed
- Support good policing
- Advocate for legal reforms
- Remain sensitive, not cynical
If these tragedies leave a mark on our heart, it means we are still alive from within.
Little Pradnya in the Divine Care of Ma Jagdamba
Let this my article serve as a gentle memorial for the dear child – a reminder of her innocence and the injustice she faced. Let it also be a reminder of our responsibilities as individuals, communities, and as a nation.
May little Pradnya’s soul find peace.
May her parents find strength.
May society find its conscience again.
May children everywhere be safe.
And may we, as individuals, never allow our sensitivity to die – because that is the only way darkness grows.
A Prayer for Little Pradnya – Resting in the Arms of Ma Jagdamba
In my heart, I keep returning to one thought – that little Pradnya is now held in the arms of Ma Jagdamba, the mother of the whole creation, who never abandons her children.
Whatever cruelty she faced in this world, it could only touch her body for a moment; her aatma is now far beyond the reach of any darkness. In the realm where Ma Jagdamba resides, there is no fear, no pain, no loneliness – only warmth, protection, and infinite love.
I like to believe that the Goddess herself lifted Pradnya into her lap, soothed her, embraced her, and whispered to her that she is now safe, cherished, and eternally protected by the Mother Goddess who watches over every innocent being.
This thought does not erase the injustice, but it gives a small ray of peace: Pradnya is with the Divine Mother, and the Divine Mother is with her – now and forever!.
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