Has Narail—the land of the Chitra River, Mashrafe Mortaza, and artists Uday Shankar and S.M. Sultan—become a haven for religious fanatics? Does no one's heart bleed at the sight of an innocent principal being paraded with a garland of shoes around his neck, right in front of the police? Who incited the students and the mob of religious extremists to commit such a despicable crime against their own teacher? How many of the thousands of teachers in this country have protested this villainy and the humiliation of a fellow educator? How many human chains or protest rallies have been held in this country? What action did the law enforcement agencies and the administration take against these fanatics?
I am speaking of Swapan Kumar Biswas, the acting principal of Mirzapur United College in Narail Sadar Upazila. A student of his college had posted a controversial Facebook status in support of Nupur Sharma, a BJP leader from India. Based on the false allegation that the principal had sided with the student, the students and some locals not only set his motorcycle on fire but also forced a garland of shoes around his neck. All this happened in the presence of the police and administration. The video and pictures of the incident are circulating on social media. Driven by religious slogans and mob mentality, we seem to be building a country of bigots, inhuman people, and uncivilized fools. This incident in Mirzapur, Narail, is a major warning sign. After Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, Hridoy Chandra Mondal, Amodini Pal, and Sunil Chandra Das, Principal Swapan Kumar Biswas has become a victim of the same vicious game. Are the extremists specifically targeting Hindu teachers? Do they want to make the country devoid of Hindu teachers? This country has not yet recovered from the void left by the teachers and doctors who migrated during the partition of 1947. Yet, the contributions of Hindu philanthropists and teachers to the spread of modern education in this country are in no way less than those of Bengali Muslims; in many cases, they were even greater.
Murari Chand College, the oldest institution of higher education in the Sylhet and Assam regions, was founded by Raja Girish Chandra. Before the establishment of Dhaka University, he founded not only Murari Chand College on his vast estate in 1892 but also the Raja Girish Chandra High School in Sylhet city in 1886.
In Mymensingh, the Bengali educationist and social reformer Ananda Mohan Bose founded the Mymensingh Institution in 1883, which later became known as Ananda Mohan College. In Barisal, prominent politician, social worker, and education enthusiast Ashwini Kumar founded Brojomohan College in 1889.
In July 1902, the education enthusiast Sri Brojlal Chakraborty (Shastri) founded B.L. College in Khulna. Rajendra College in Faridpur and Michael Madhusudan College in Jashore were established in 1915 with the initiative of Ambica Charan Majumdar.
In Mirzapur, Tangail district, the philanthropist Ranada Prasad Saha founded 'Bharateswari Homes,' a renowned educational institution for women. The contribution of Kishorilal Roy Chowdhury, the zamindar of Baliati, is also known for the establishment of Jagannath College (now a university) and Jagannath Hall at Dhaka University. The majority of the ancient educational institutions in this country were founded by Hindu philanthropic landlords. During the British era, when Bengali Muslims were politically distant from modern education, the advanced Hindu community played a significant role in spreading modern education and building society. Yet, today they are being insulted and humiliated? Are they being driven out of the country? This is happening not under the rule of Jamaat-BNP or Hefazat, but under the Awami League, the very party that the Hindu community blindly loves for its non-communal ideology. This is what causes such astonishment. Is the Awami League as a party gradually straying from its ideological path? If not, why is the Awami League government not showing zero tolerance towards those who create this religious terrorism and violence?
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