Damage of Image! Rahman Nasir Uddin

Damage of Image!

Rahman Nasir Uddin

Published on February 13, 2007

The Daily Star printed a news as ï¿½Police yesterday arrested BNP-aligned Rajshahi University teacher Prof Mia Muhammad Mohiuddin of geology and mining department at his teachersï¿½ quarters house in connection with the killing of his colleague Prof S Taher Ahmedï¿½(05/02/06). ï¿½Professor killed a professorï¿½-what a shame! What a horror! What an image of university teacher!

Dr. Taher killing can be, I sturdily believe, a factual case to comprehend the nature, and emerging culture too, of university, university teachers and the implication of political interfere in the state of affairs of public universities in Bangladesh. The image of university teachers assembled with peopleï¿½s admiration, respect and aspiration has been unmasked with this killing case. If any reasonable and sensible person analyzes and examines the causes, background, arrangement and way of implementing this killing, s/he can find a repulsive scenario about whatï¿½s happening inside our public universities. It is really a matter of indignity that a university teacher even can murder his colleague to remove the impediment only for the sake of promotion. There have several types of allegation already been publicly disclosed against university teachers including sexual assault, corruption, irregularities with examination, nepotism, and recently the connection with the outlaw organization of Islamic militants etc. But, killing, notably own colleague for cleaning the path of promotion, is a latest and sensational addition to the image of university teacher. It pitches many questions before us. So, whatï¿½s the difference between a killer and a university teacher? Who are responsible for this killing? Is only the killer? Who are the real criminals? How can we protect our universities from this alarming process of decaying? How can we keep alive our hopes and aspirations by saving our university for building the future of nation? We should ask ourselves as citizens of this country as we are paying our labored earning to run these universities. And we are all, implicitly or explicitly, an indispensable part of this damage and decay as organically we are interconnected to each other in social institutions.

Bangladesh, due to consecutive destructive-events and horrific evidences, has been losing its moral landscape and century-long image of history and cultural heritage. Within 35 years of independence, she has been gradually declining her images that gained in 1971, and through long movement before that, through a glorious liberation-movement in the recurrent history of the world. Now, Bangladesh frequently appears, before the local and global audience, as a country of bomb explosion, Islamic militancy, for the ever best corruption, emerging extreme-fundamentalism and constant political unrest etc. Despite these considerable depletion, public universities and their teachers still have little positive, honorable and intellectual image, though it is mostly fake, among the countrymen. Itï¿½s undeniable truth that university teachers have admirable contributions in all progressive social-political movements, creative writings & literature, in-dept research and publications, advancement of science and technology, and finally building scholarship etc. But, recent event of Dr. Taher killing and its entire killing management, cause and background, has brought this image of university and university teachers under a big question. It is a question of morality, integrity, quality and spirit of teaching. This event disclosed the insider decaying palpitation of university and the image of university teachers. I donï¿½t agree to make sweeping comments, or even to absolutely blame, on all the teachers in an analogous line of thought. Additionally, I donï¿½t incline to censure Dr. Mohiuddin alone for this occasion anyway. Rather, I am apprehensive to look at the practice of being Dr. Mohiuddin. We should deeply think of it. What are the reasons influentially functioning behind it? I strappingly believe that simply saying the only reason is the political interfere of our central political leaders in the state of affairs of university despite of its being constitutionally an autonomous body.

This criminalization of university and university teaching begins from the recruitment of its teachers. At the time of recruitment, university authority is enforced and compelled to appoint the political cadres as a teacher. As VC and Pro-VC are the posts of political nomination, they are always blessed with central political leaders, they always follow the order emerged from top. They, VC & Pro-VC, virtually think of keeping their chairs safe rather than the greater interest of university. Therefore, they become unconditioned followers of the Hukum (order) of their political Guru (leaders). In consequences, the cadres recruited to the post of teachers can never be personalized with the moral spirit of teaching. They throughout their service remain cadres as they tag along the order of their god-fathers and bow their loyalty towards our nasty politics and corrupted politicians. I suppose and believe that a person who regularly takes classes and faces the fresh-students having dream of building a new world canï¿½t be a killer. A person who possesses the minimum spirit of teaching canï¿½t be a killer. A teacher who has the moral values and dedication towards his profession canï¿½t be a killer. A teacher who keeps the minimal level of honesty, responsibility and patriotism towards his society and country canï¿½t be a killer. A teacher who thinks of being the eligible of trust of students canï¿½t be a killer. I would like to believe, a university teacher, in any contemplation in any circumstance, canï¿½t be a killer. So, the killer and cadre, reported teacher, is never composed himself as a teacher. A cadre is a cadre and all through he is cadre anyway. Teaching is not his/her profession but means of earning money and livelihood only. Teaching is not his/her service, to serve the student, to serve the society and the country, but a podium of fulfilling his/her voracity and aspirations. Teaching is not his/her obsession but also a utensil of using its reflection and fortitude for his/her vested interest. Teaching is not his/her profession but a fake-identity to exploit its image and acceptability among the people and in the society. S/He is in university not for teaching but being an agent to implement the political order of god-father, and mother, to expand and establish the hegemony of political party. So, the teacher who can kill other teacher is not really a teacher. Thatï¿½s why, I donï¿½t fully agree, or course I agree that there is an alarming trend of decaying the real spirit of teaching inside university, with those who are in voice claiming that the damage of image of university and university teachers in connection with this killing.

Now, we should raise the question who/what is the real killer? If a teacher can kill his/her colleague, who/what reason is responsible for this killing? Who/what is responsible to over politicize the university campus? Who/what is intentionally forcing university authority to recruit a cadre instead of a teacher? Who/what is responsible to patronize and provoke a university teacher to be a killer? Who/what is liable to generate this event in university campus? Who/what is playing influential role to damage the image of university? Who/what is illegally interfering in the state of affairs of university despite of its being an autonomous body? Who/what is responsible to drive the real teachers out from the university? We have to, as it is high time, find out the answer of these questions to prevent, of course to regain, the image of universities and teachers as well as expectation of people still we have from completely damaging and decaying. The future, as still it is strongly perceived that university is making and building the future for nation, of this country, and university too, rests upon the answer of these questions and its affective solution. Because, I, definitely many like me, still believe that teaching is not only a profession but also a mission to build the nation.

Rahman Nasir Uddin: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Chittagong. He is currently Ph.D. Candidate at Kyoto University of Japan.