Dogs of war

Sir — The shadow of war refuses to lift from the Oscars. If it was Michael Moore last year, it was Errol Morris this time (“Night of glittering predictability”, March 2). There are interesting parallels between the last Oscars and this one in this respect. Most of Hollywood toed the mild “war-is-bad” line last year, with a few exceptions like Moore. This time too, few were willing to be vocal against the war in front of the camera, preferring to speak backstage instead. But most intriguing is that Morris, like Moore, happens to be a winner in the best documentary feature category. Is it that in Hollywood, only documentary filmmakers possess conscience and guts?

Yours faithfully,
Aleena Dasgupta, Calcutta

Marked by the cane

Sir — Ishani Bhattacharya, the child who was allegedly beaten with a wooden ruler by her schoolteacher, appears either to be badly traumatized or a very good actor. The latter seems unlikely, given that she is only six years old. One look at the photograph of her slumped over in pain sent my mind reeling. I remembered that I had also been caned for being naughty in school. Unfortunately, instead of deterring me, the incident led me to find new ways to annoy the teacher who had punished me. Teachers who resort to caning and beating ought to be tied up, while the kids have some fun with them for a change. Personally speaking, I love the idea.

Yours faithfully,
Navendu Singh, Singapore

Sir — I found the views of Basudeb Bhattacharya in the “Letters” section of The Telegraph downright shocking (“Cane and do”, Feb 24). How can a learned man, and the principal of a school, say that “corporal punishment” (read caning) is mandatory? According to Bhattacharya, “the element of fear in any administration” is necessary. I whole-heartedly agree, but that fear should be the fear of the administration and not of the cane. Saying that during “British rule, people worked to the best of their capacity for the fear of losing their jobs” is irrelevant. Education and employment are two different things. I agree with Bhattacharya that students are not what they used to be 25 years ago, but the difference lies in the fact the students these days are more mature. Corporal punishments are not solutions to their misdemeanour. Regular discussions with parents in private, at times along with the students, are a better way of handling such situations. Teachers should try to get at the place in the student’s psyche from where the misdemeanour and fears spring. But Bhattacharya’s proud declaration that he uses the cane only on senior students, takes the cake. Students in classes X, XI and XII — the classes Bhattacharya mentions — are in their crucial teenage years when they are more susceptible to trauma and other psychological disorders than at other times.

Yours faithfully,
Shruti Goswami, Durgapur

Sir — What Basudeb Bhattacharya has to say about corporal punishment in schools does not impress. The role of discipline, and that of schools in teaching children to be self-disciplined, cannot be discounted. But, as the American national association of school psychologists says, “evidence indicates that corporal punishment negatively effects the social, psychological and educational development of students and contributes to the cycle of child abuse and pro-violence attitudes of youth”. By Bhattacharya’s logic of sustaining the fear-element, murders should have been wiped out from our society by the existence of the death penalty. Effective discipline comes from instruction rather than punishment. The sooner the schools realize this, the better.

Yours faithfully,
Sunil Garodia, Calcutta

Sir — In 1994, I went to India for a few months and sent my daughter to a school in Salt Lake named Nandan. My daughter was beaten by a teacher. When confronted, the teacher did not deny the charges, but claimed that she had the right to beat a child. The principal also supported her. My daughter is 16 now and she still remembers the trauma after the incident. Teachers who cane deserve to lose their jobs.

Yours faithfully,
Sarbani Basu, Houston, US