Opening of Rangpur University
Friday, 28 November 2008
Mohd. Mostagousul Haque
The present writer has not studied in Carmichael College but had gone there for admission, during the late 70's, and as a young boy from a remote village admired the monumental buildings. It looked so tall and huge, magnificent in its structure. Line of unknown trees, rows of teachers' bungalows were all so vivid until he last visited the place during 2006.
As recently as on October 22 last, the college was officially declared a university. The college built by some Zemindars on 300 acres of land bears the style of Mughal architecture. Much earlier than the premier Dhaka University, the college was built after the name of the first Governor of Bengal Lord Carmichael with donations amounting Rs. 750,000 in 1916. The Bachelor of Science courses started in 1925.
In the face of much opposition from powerful Hindu quarters and eminent personalities including Rabindranath Tagore, the establishment of the Dhaka University was initiated by the Muslim Nawabs of Dhaka in 1921.
Today's greater Rangpur is an epitome of poverty, destitution, impoverishment and unspeakable human sufferings. Who would believe that the district's Zilla School was established in 1832? And the woman, who is the pioneer of education for Muslims in the whole of Bengal or for the entire Muslim community in greater India, was born on the flank of this district town at Paira Bond.
The Chilmarir Bondar mentioned in the popular Bhawaiyya, 'Hoki garial bhai, hakao gari tui Chilmarir Bondore', and sung by unforgettable Abbas Uddin, is gone. Gone also are all its prestige and dignity. The condition of the people here is no better. Thousands are living in poverty and deprivation due to lack of economic activities and the fury of nature that has been continuously devastating the homesteads and properties of the people in the deltaic plane washed by the Teesta and the Jamuna in greater Rangpur. They flee their places that were once their homes in buses and trains to any possible destination that can provide them a piece of bread, a fistful of rice just to sustain their lives. What a human calamity that has befallen the people of these districts!
After about a hundred years of its establishment, Carmichael College has now got the recognition of a university on a rented premise. Though 75 per cent of this magnificent heritage will now be mutilated with obscure constructions to house the classrooms, the people of Rangpur still hope that it will not repeat the bad precedents created by some institutions of learning of contemporary origin.
It was an emotional experience for the writer, who took a tour round the area, which appeared to him so small and so little for the purpose.
Zamindars who donated 750 thousand Rupees (in today's terms as its present value would be roughly more than Taka 70 billion, it also demonstrates how wealthy Rangpur was a hundred years ago.
Our successive governments did precious little to improve our education. On the contrary, they rather pampered and bred bundles of cronies, their own sympathizers.
Though much hated, it was during the regime of Ayub Khan that most of the great educational institutions of the country were built or initiated (consider the design of Jahangir Nagar University), while our famous (!) nationalists failed to even 'whitewash' them. They rather destroyed them literally.
Once this scribe asked a popular writer born in this district, if he had any write-up or book on Carmichael College. The answer was 'no, sir'. When he asked another famous poet who was born in a district on the bank of the Padma that often made thousands of his neighbours or his own folks, he was silent.
A singer, all of whose albums have in the collection of this writer, said on a TV show, "I am from Gaibandha, but now settled in Dhaka". What does this settlement mean? This scribe would have no hesitation to say that despite their many credentials they are much delinked from their roots, not only physically but in their thinking as well.
Even the offspring of that great singer (Abbasuddin), his daughter and sons are well-known people, yet it can be said with due respect to them that Rangpur's woes did not lead them to play their desired role in this respect. The writer had the feeling that all was lost. He asked the driver to leave and since then have been expressing feelings at personal gatherings or in a few blogs.
In the media people are crying over 'monga' and other sufferings the people of the district of Rangpur are exposed to. But there is really no serious thinking about the problem. Had there been any real effort, the one hundred kilometers of irrigation canals that was built, again by another dictator (who happen to be from this district) would not have dried up or its sources wouldn't have let to be silted.
There was not enough attention for men and women, even who fought so bravely during the liberation war.
If what this writer is informed of is correct, an amount of Taka 160 million was spent to start a university. Compare with the private contribution made by those Zamindars a hundred years ago and its present value, it is undoubtedly a paltry amount. What this amount is supposed to do? Is it a mere political ploy or just belittling the prestige of such a monumental institution (albeit with all its underutilization)? The amount is not enough for even a primary school these days!
We have to rise and voice demands for good classrooms, where thousands of students from middle and lower middle class section of society can get quality education to equip themselves to fight poverty, physical and psychological hunger, bring back their lost glory and above all, a good, skilled and productive labour force.
The highest taxpayer Bharsha Pramanic, the world famous model/ designer Bibi Russel, eminent singers, writers, judges, popular actors, all should forge unity to look into the issues that are crippling human lives in their forefather's land. They should come out of their current tunnel vision and embrace the issues to critically analyse and produce solutions for the wellbeing of their own people and the future of their own children.
The writer can be contacted at: haquetm83@yahoo.com
The present writer has not studied in Carmichael College but had gone there for admission, during the late 70's, and as a young boy from a remote village admired the monumental buildings. It looked so tall and huge, magnificent in its structure. Line of unknown trees, rows of teachers' bungalows were all so vivid until he last visited the place during 2006.
As recently as on October 22 last, the college was officially declared a university. The college built by some Zemindars on 300 acres of land bears the style of Mughal architecture. Much earlier than the premier Dhaka University, the college was built after the name of the first Governor of Bengal Lord Carmichael with donations amounting Rs. 750,000 in 1916. The Bachelor of Science courses started in 1925.
In the face of much opposition from powerful Hindu quarters and eminent personalities including Rabindranath Tagore, the establishment of the Dhaka University was initiated by the Muslim Nawabs of Dhaka in 1921.
Today's greater Rangpur is an epitome of poverty, destitution, impoverishment and unspeakable human sufferings. Who would believe that the district's Zilla School was established in 1832? And the woman, who is the pioneer of education for Muslims in the whole of Bengal or for the entire Muslim community in greater India, was born on the flank of this district town at Paira Bond.
The Chilmarir Bondar mentioned in the popular Bhawaiyya, 'Hoki garial bhai, hakao gari tui Chilmarir Bondore', and sung by unforgettable Abbas Uddin, is gone. Gone also are all its prestige and dignity. The condition of the people here is no better. Thousands are living in poverty and deprivation due to lack of economic activities and the fury of nature that has been continuously devastating the homesteads and properties of the people in the deltaic plane washed by the Teesta and the Jamuna in greater Rangpur. They flee their places that were once their homes in buses and trains to any possible destination that can provide them a piece of bread, a fistful of rice just to sustain their lives. What a human calamity that has befallen the people of these districts!
After about a hundred years of its establishment, Carmichael College has now got the recognition of a university on a rented premise. Though 75 per cent of this magnificent heritage will now be mutilated with obscure constructions to house the classrooms, the people of Rangpur still hope that it will not repeat the bad precedents created by some institutions of learning of contemporary origin.
It was an emotional experience for the writer, who took a tour round the area, which appeared to him so small and so little for the purpose.
Zamindars who donated 750 thousand Rupees (in today's terms as its present value would be roughly more than Taka 70 billion, it also demonstrates how wealthy Rangpur was a hundred years ago.
Our successive governments did precious little to improve our education. On the contrary, they rather pampered and bred bundles of cronies, their own sympathizers.
Though much hated, it was during the regime of Ayub Khan that most of the great educational institutions of the country were built or initiated (consider the design of Jahangir Nagar University), while our famous (!) nationalists failed to even 'whitewash' them. They rather destroyed them literally.
Once this scribe asked a popular writer born in this district, if he had any write-up or book on Carmichael College. The answer was 'no, sir'. When he asked another famous poet who was born in a district on the bank of the Padma that often made thousands of his neighbours or his own folks, he was silent.
A singer, all of whose albums have in the collection of this writer, said on a TV show, "I am from Gaibandha, but now settled in Dhaka". What does this settlement mean? This scribe would have no hesitation to say that despite their many credentials they are much delinked from their roots, not only physically but in their thinking as well.
Even the offspring of that great singer (Abbasuddin), his daughter and sons are well-known people, yet it can be said with due respect to them that Rangpur's woes did not lead them to play their desired role in this respect. The writer had the feeling that all was lost. He asked the driver to leave and since then have been expressing feelings at personal gatherings or in a few blogs.
In the media people are crying over 'monga' and other sufferings the people of the district of Rangpur are exposed to. But there is really no serious thinking about the problem. Had there been any real effort, the one hundred kilometers of irrigation canals that was built, again by another dictator (who happen to be from this district) would not have dried up or its sources wouldn't have let to be silted.
There was not enough attention for men and women, even who fought so bravely during the liberation war.
If what this writer is informed of is correct, an amount of Taka 160 million was spent to start a university. Compare with the private contribution made by those Zamindars a hundred years ago and its present value, it is undoubtedly a paltry amount. What this amount is supposed to do? Is it a mere political ploy or just belittling the prestige of such a monumental institution (albeit with all its underutilization)? The amount is not enough for even a primary school these days!
We have to rise and voice demands for good classrooms, where thousands of students from middle and lower middle class section of society can get quality education to equip themselves to fight poverty, physical and psychological hunger, bring back their lost glory and above all, a good, skilled and productive labour force.
The highest taxpayer Bharsha Pramanic, the world famous model/ designer Bibi Russel, eminent singers, writers, judges, popular actors, all should forge unity to look into the issues that are crippling human lives in their forefather's land. They should come out of their current tunnel vision and embrace the issues to critically analyse and produce solutions for the wellbeing of their own people and the future of their own children.
The writer can be contacted at: haquetm83@yahoo.com