The appalling legacy of murder of Rajshahi University (RU) teachers has claimed its latest victim last Saturday. Dr Shafiul Alam Lenin, a professor of the Sociology Department of the university, was done to death by unidentified assailants when he was returning to his residence near the campus. On February 01, 2006 Dr S Taher Ahmed of the Geology and Mining Department was murdered and this followed the murder of Professor Mohammad Yunus of the Department of Economics on December 24, 2004. No other university in the country has witnessed such barbaric attacks on so many of its teachers in independent Bangladesh. The University of Dhaka also witnessed such an attack on Dr Humayun Azad. Why teachers of the RU are targeted for annihilation is not far to seek. It had long remained a hotbed of violence. The pattern of the attack on both Dr Yunus and Dr Shafiul is same. Both were stabbed when walking alone. In case of Dr Taher's murder, a teacher of the same department, along with two other, was sentenced to death for his role as a mastermind.
If the motive behind Prof Taher's murder was personal animosity, in the case of the murder of the other two reasons other than such a grudge are most likely. The fact is that all three teachers commanded respect for their learning and progressive outlook. Prof Shafiul Alam, a disciple of Lalon, was influenced by Sufism. A man of his calibre and with special bend of mind is likely to draw wrath from none other than the extremists. In fact, an extremist group named 'Ansar al Islam Bangladesh-2' has claimed responsibility for his killing. The police have already detained 15 persons, including the principal of a local college, for their suspected connection with the murder. What is now needed is to identify the killers, find out the motive behind the murder and punish the killers according to law.
What is so tragic and repugnant is the mentality of people who can carry out such criminal acts against teachers of the highest seats of learning. Student organisations have long been habituated to blood-spilling of their opponents almost with impunity. Even firearms and lethal weapons used in student clashes in which one or more of them are left dead are not recovered or their wielders arrested. Why? The seal of student gives no impunity to anyone. A murderer is a murderer and illegal arms-wielder is a criminal who should be brought to book without fail. Indeed, violent campus culture has taken the wage of sin off murders. Its ramification for education and student-teacher relations, thanks to infiltration of rotten politics, has been so lasting that such crime is not receiving the priority attention it deserves. Loss of respect for humanity and goodness of soul has eroded institutional sanctity. To restore this, there is a need for slapping a moratorium, even if is for a few years, on student politics on campus.
Murder of a university teacher
FE Team | Published: November 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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