Click to play videoNew Delhi: In a bizarre incident in West Bengal a 10-year-old student of class IV has succumbed to injuries after he was beaten up by one of his classmates during school hours.
Ten-year-old Somnath Karmakar was desperate to seat on the first bench of his class and that desperation got him killed.
Somnath was punched by one of his classmates over an argument regarding the seat when the class was in full swing last Saturday. But Somnath succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night.
Though petrified, the accused has hardly attained the maturity to realise what he has done.
There are many reasons behind this sort of violent behaviour especially in urban schools in India. The Centre for Media Studies says the violent cartoons could perhaps be a reason. In fact, there is a pattern that has been detected that the students under the age of eight, who view violent cartoons regularly, replicate that behaviour in real life.
Clinical Psychologist Aruna Broota agrees that the media do have a role. “Even we have gone through lots of studies that show that the violence through media – whether it is cartoon network or any other serial that the children watch, or any other programme that the children watch, they are influenced definitely by it. But I want to add that when children not only view but also experience a lot of violence at home within the family, it is then that they become very aggressive and very violent,” said Broota.
“And another very serious reason is that, when parents frustrate a child at home to match by demeaning him with too many do and don’ts by being aggressive and violent with the child himself, the child is bound to get into violent behaviour outside,” she added.
There is a reality show called Power Rangers, in which lots of violence and hatred are shown. But really the effects of those violence are not shown, so it’s sort of blurred the difference between reality and make belief.
“When students unable to decipher reality from fiction, it’s then they are guided into aggressive behaviour themselves,” said Broota.
Many of such programmes like Power Rangers talk about destruction rather than creation. “Somewhere down the line they do influence the child’s thinking because that is the developing age of the child,” said Modern School Class XI student Mansi.
Regarding the influence of Internet, Mansi said, “It depends what you end up doing on the Internet. If you are doing something constructive stuff then it may take you to the developing side. But then if you keep on looking at the same thing and seeing the destructive part, then it dose affect you somehow.”
That is why, Mansi’s mother didn’t buy a PC for Mansi, when she was a child, fearing that it may have ill effect on her. And Mansi at this stage does agree with her mother’s decision. “I give her the credit, it does affect one’s psychology,” said Mansi.
So, parental guidance is very important. “When children are absolutely unsupervised and they are watching TV totally unaided by an elderly person around, the totality of the situation makes a child violent outside. Because he thinks, violence gives him power,” said Broota.
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