Defence against violence at its worst

It is said not for nothing that violence takes place in the mind. When mind goes deranged, a person can do the unthinkable. Even then there should, for rationality's sake, a limit to cruelty a human being is capable of. Well, provocation may at times bring out sadism at its worst in a person. But this too should not cross any rational limit. In human relations, it is not easy to forget that a victim subjected to the worst type of atrocities is not different from the violator in terms of the flesh and blood - the constituents of human body.
How come that physical pains suffered by such victims as a result of wrath unleashed on them go totally amiss. When a 11 years old boy named Rajon was doubling up with each blow he received, his tormentors laughed and jeered. Sadism is not enough to describe the barbarity perpetrated.
In a similar incident, a teenage boy of 15 was killed for an alleged crime of a pigeon theft in the city's Mirpur area. A video tape released after about three months has shown that the torturers hold a lighted match stick against the victim's face to see if he is still alive. When in excruciating pain, the boy somehow utters 'water, water', the killers kick the motionless boy into river water. His body was recovered near Rupganj three or four days later.
In yet another case, a husband gouged out one of his wife's eyes with electrical tester. He did it because his demand for dowry money was not met from the family of the wife's parents. The savage is not alone in giving expression to his own inability in the form of violence against the woman he has taken as his wife. Thousands in this part of the world make it a point that they would take advantage of the nuptial tie in order to exploit their married ones and their families. What is worse is that the man draws ample support from his family to make a hell of the life of the newly married. Disfiguring wife's face or body with acid and burning alive by dousing kerosene are some of the most horrific methods followed.
The psychology behind such savageries is difficult to comprehend. More people are getting educated nowadays, poverty is less biting in society. As a consequence such crimes should have shown a perceptible decline. In fact, such crimes are on the rise. Why? One simple answer is human greed or avarice. Education in the conventional term of the meaning is dangerous because it teaches one to be selfish instead of broadening the mental horizon. What happens is that every educated youth runs after money. The more it is the better. No matter how it comes.
Desperation in making money has its disastrous fallouts. Society gets polarised with the educated opportunists claiming an unfair share of the cream. The half-educated and little educated ones are left out but thanks to aggressive promotion of consumerism and materialism, everyone wants to possess as much wealth as possible. But not all can be provided even moderately when their demand is sky-high. This is exactly where deviant bend of mind gets worked up to commit the most outrageous crimes one normally cannot think of committing.
There is no denying the fact that technology also has a part to play in inciting violence and sex crime. Some genres of western films simply portray violence and pornographic pictures in their mind-boggling ingenuous ways. Culturally incompatible, they have done a lot of harm to the indigenous tradition, values, social mores and culture. Real education combined with promotion of healthy culture could be an answer to this deviant trend. But it needs social leadership at all levels to nurture indigenous culture. Sports are yet another area that can give free expression to youthful exuberance.
The bottom line is that education has to be comprehensive enough to take care of the young generation's mental health. A synthesis of education, art, sports, culture and entertainment right from the beginning of school age can do the trick. This calls for reorganising the entire system of education.