Biswadeep Bhattacharya: Pushed too far

Rajiv Chatterjee, in Class VIII at a reputed south Calcutta school, argues with his mother till she starts to beat him up. Then she breaks down.

She could be suffering from Explosive Personality Disorder — a condition that makes the patient break into a fit of rage and lose all sense of proportion.

Like Deepak Bhattacharya, arrested for the murder of his son Biswadeep, a 14-year-old table tennis champion. Bhattacharya wasn’t produced in court on Wednesday as he was unwell, but his wife Papia appealed to police that her husband be awarded “exemplary punishment”.

The father allegedly tortured Biswadeep when he lost a table tennis match or didn’t practice hard enough.

The mother of Rajiv, 14, also wants her son to be a super-achiever, but the daily dose of violence at home has turned Rajiv into a withdrawn and stubborn child, who can’t concentrate on his studies.

Behavioural analysts say several students across the city, particularly those in their teens, suffer due to the Explosive Personality Disorder in their parents, who believe their wards should be atop every list, from academics to extra-curricular activities.

The over-concerned parental attitude could be a killer, warn city-based psychiatrists. “Children who are at the receiving end of such violence tend to develop deep psychological disorders,” says Ranadip Ghosh Roy. “The kid suffers from a battered child syndrome.”

Experts say battered children develop certain problems. “They retreat into a shell and suffer from low self-esteem and constant anxiety. Confidence gone, they can become nervous wrecks,” says psychoanalyst Shiladitya Ray.

Child abuse is a proven precursor to mental illness. “It’s time special cells were created to make children aware of the issue and help them raise their voice against it,” says psychiatrist Ishita Sanyal.

Some schools are educating parents. “We will start a course on good parenting, so that children are not pushed into the rat race,” says Swami Atmapriyananda, vice-chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University.

“We have started sessions with parents to allow the child to breathe,” adds Gillian Rosemary Hart, principal of Welland Gouldsmith School.