As an Indian national, I am asked almost routinely by Japanese friends and others how it is that Indian children can do two-digit calculations in their head, and whether that makes them superior to Japanese. Let me shed some light on this:

• Indian children are taught two-digit calculations largely in rural India. The new English public schools schools in India do not teach double-digit mathematics.

• Reciting and remembering traditionally has been a trusted method that was never foolproof. In fact, older people like me remember days in school when our teachers would punish someone who could not recite 29 times 29 properly. As a result, by the time children left school, many had forgotten how to apply mathematics to daily life.

• India is a society where customer exploitation is common. If children are going to do any buying, traveling or shopping, it becomes a must that they know proper calculations. In the comparatively safer Japanese environment, if children take a ¥10,000 currency note to a shop and buy some small-value items, they will definitely get proper change.

• As a result, extensive negotiation is done in India when shopping, while in Japan one usually buys at indicated prices. What's more, bar-code scanners in Japan at the point of sale do the job of calculating for children and elderly alike.

• Calculator use in general is much less in India than in Japan.

I personally don't think Japanese students are inferior when it comes to mathematics. All children are subjected to learning that enables them to survive in their own environment. For example, I am amazed at how beautifully Japanese children cope with some 1,800 kanji characters. That's enviable, too.

The debate about who's superior is wrong. Indian children are lovely in mathematics, so let them be. To create harmony for both communities, we should collectively try to eliminate any hype in this area that has been created.

shrikant atre