Both incidents highlight a lack of leadership. To be honest, given what I saw in the school (‘80 to ‘94), I’m surprised it took this long for such a scandal to emerge. Neil O’Brien is very much part of the old guard — he did nothing to control or question Alney, who, in my opinion, was unquestionably corrupt and dishonest. When there’s corruption and dishonesty at the very top of the organization, then it will naturally spread to the rest of the organization. I have less of a problem with caning — as long as it was done in appropriate circumstances, and the boy and his parents had been given warnings re: his behaviour and indiscipline.

There’s a new Board now. One of the new Governors is ex-Army and an Old Boy — hope he can make a difference.

The Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta is the custodian of all assets of La Martiniere Schools.They have full powers to change the management of the school.Unfortunately the Bishop of Calcutta is exercising these powers for his own personal benefits.
As the saying goes power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absulutely.Apart from the removal of Mr Neil O Brien & Mr K S David,the appointment of Mr S Dhar as Secretary flouting all accepted norms,is testimony to this.Various Orders of The High Court have been flouted impudently.

Over the past few days like most of us I too have been following the events unfold both on Facebook and on TV. The loss of the young life cant be justified and my deepest condolences to Ajay and his family; their loss is irreversible and the feeling which they live with is way beyond any of our imagination as there is no prosthetic for it.
But this trial by media is another extreme. I’m no judge or jury to take sides and there are very clear laws on corporal punishment which is why I choose not to comment all these days. To me it was as difficult as choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea.
In the past hour I was watching Headlines Toady and I had to post this as its finally got the better of me.
Mr Neil O Brien comments came across as more of a personal grudge as over the past few days across channels he keeps on saying “I was dropped from the board…. and my stand on corporal punishment is clear” in every interview… “hello” its clear for all of us. Its extremely irresponsible of the media to interview a person who has just been released of his duties. Its but obvious that he will have very extreme opinions about the school. If he had an iota of respect for the institute more than his chair he would have at least made an attempt to prevent the institute from being tarnished for a case which is limited to certain individuals.
And the melodramatic anchor was out of his mind he wanted a reason as to why ICS board should not remove the accreditation of La Martiniere’s from its list… hey “wiseman.. thank me for not knowing your name, but spare a thought for the thousands of kid’s who study there before even thinking of such a thing, once you get time from sensationalising tragic events.” Seems HT’s TRP did not improve even after running re-runs of episodes in which they claimed Arushi’s father had killed Arushi. According to him La Martinier has not issued a statement expressing solidarity at the sad demise.. The first line says “deeply regrets” .. do your research dude.. it’s a more important part of your job than theatrics.
In All my years in have been in the school Mr Gunnion came across as a very strict person but I cant remember him hitting even the worst of the guys we knew.. and trust me when I say there were some bad ones, so when I saw his name in the list it came across as a shock to me. Cant comment on the other teachers as they probably joined after I left in 93 or might have been teaching the junior classes.
All those years in LMB and I have seen two boys getting canned once and those were days when parents gave a free hand to the school to take any action they felt fit for the students, canning was more of a deterrent than a practice.
It a great institute it will correct its self of any wrong doing which may occur today and in the future and overall there is law in this country and justice will prevail, and I firmly believe that the school will come out much better.
Lets face it La Martiniere is like the Sha Rukh Khan among schools which is why its become such a big case for the media, even my friends from other schools feel the media is going overboard and these are guys who were full on into school rivalry and even today they would not mind having a go at LMC.
Spare a thought for the kids who study there and are not at fault in any way, they must be having a thought time even going out to play coz most kids would be taking their case not to mention some insensitive adult family friend who might even crack a joke.. At this hour the best I’m hoping for is for a bit sensitivity from everyone.. it’s a very sad time for a family and a very dark hour for all linked the school. Lets spare a thought for a Martinian we have lost while not forgetting the thousands who’s future we all need to nourish.