Students at the Government High School in Bhatigwan village, Maihar district, Madhya Pradesh were served their Republic Day mid-day meal puri and halwa not on plates or clean leaf platters, but directly on torn and ink-stained pages of notebooks and old books.
Video clips of the incident that circulated widely online sparked widespread public outrage over hygiene hazards and the indignity inflicted on children during a national celebration meant to uphold dignity and equality.
District authorities have ordered a probe, proposed the suspension of the school’s principal, issued show-cause notices to midday meal officials, and deducted one month’s salary from a block resource coordinator. Political leaders, including the state Congress unit, condemned the incident as emblematic of administrative insensitivity. Officials have vowed stricter enforcement of midday meal norms to protect students’ health and dignity.
Republic Day Feast or Shame?
On Monday, 26 January 2026, as the nation celebrated its 77th Republic Day, a routine school celebration in rural Maihar took a shocking turn after a video surfaced showing young students sitting on the ground eating lunch served on torn pages from old notebooks and books.
The footage, widely shared on social media on Tuesday, 27 January, depicts rows of children with puri and halwa placed directly on scraps of paper that appear to still carry ink stains and writing a blatant violation of basic hygiene norms. According to reports, funds for purchasing plates in proportion to the school’s student strength had already been released, but not a single plate was visible during the meal service.
Parents and locals expressed shock and embarrassment, asking how such a lapse could take place under the watch of education officials and midday meal supervisors. Anxiety over health risks compounded outrage, with experts warning that printing ink contains lead and other harmful chemicals that could leach into hot food, posing potential health threats to children.
District Project Coordinator Vishnu Tripathi initiated a preliminary probe after the video went viral, submitting his findings to District Collector Rani Batad. Based on this report, the collector has forwarded a proposal to the Rewa divisional commissioner to suspend the in-charge principal, Sunil Kumar Tripathi. A block resource coordinator, Pradeep Singh, had one month’s salary deducted, and show-cause notices have been issued to midday meal officials in the district panchayat for negligence.
Officials underscored that the incident was a serious breach of both hygiene and dignity standards. “Strict action has been initiated, and such lapses affecting children’s health and dignity will not be tolerated,” a senior district official said, adding that education department officials have been instructed to enforce compliance with meal service protocols across all schools.
Political Fallout and Systemic Failures
The incident triggered immediate political reactions, with the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee condemning the government’s handling of the midday meal scheme. The party shared the video on social media, calling it not only “an insult to the children” but “an insult to the education system and constitutional values the Republic Day stands for.”
Former Women’s Commission member and Congress spokesperson Sangeeta Sharma questioned the government’s governance and sensitivity, asking rhetorically whether such negligence should be tolerated under any administration.
This is not the first time mid-day meal lapses in the state have sparked outrage. In November 2025, a government primary school in Hullapur village, Sheopur district, served meals on scrap paper a case that led to the suspension of the school in-charge and cancellation of the self-help group contract managing meals after similar viral exposure.
Critics point to a broader pattern of administrative lapses in rural school welfare programmes. Beyond Mawhar and Sheopur, additional controversies have arisen elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh, such as footage from Katni district showing goats eating from steel plates intended for children an image that ignited concerns about hygiene, monitoring, and the actual implementation of welfare funds.
Experts also warn that state and national midday meal data may not reflect on-ground realities. Reporting under India’s flagship PM Poshan (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) scheme for January 26, 2026, showed that not all schools submitted meal data indicating potential gaps in monitoring and oversight that could mask violations like the one at Maihar.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
On a day dedicated to celebrating equality, dignity and constitutional pride, witnessing children eat on torn and ink-stained paper is not merely an administrative lapse it is a moral failure. Welfare programmes such as the midday meal scheme are not discretionary benefits; they are rights guaranteed to children to ensure nourishment, safety, and the dignity essential for developmental well-being.
The Maihar incident reveals that systemic challenges, from inadequate monitoring to weak accountability mechanisms, continue to undermine these rights. While disciplinary actions against individuals are necessary, they must be accompanied by structural reforms that ensure transparency, community oversight, and robust implementation of hygiene and dignity standards in every school.
