Noman sir
Prof Noman
possessed a unique talent in the field
of institutionaliased dispensation of learning
Mujahidul Islam Selim
While remembering the great personalities who had helped me move ahead and had illuminated my mental faculties, the name of Professor Mohammad Noman comes to the fore; though I had him as a direct teacher for a very short period of time.
It was in the year 1965 that I completed my school days and entered a new phase of life as a college student. I had chosen Dhaka College as it was then the best college in the country. Prior to enrolling myself in the college, I had dreamt many a colorful dream about this new phase in my life. I had imagined of many bright pictures that would adorn my life in the college; and the image of my future professors featured prominently in those portraits.
But alas! I was exposed to the shocking experience that painting imaginary pictures and real-life situations remain poles apart. After entering college, I searched in vain the flowers that I had dreamt of in my youthful dreams. Where are the unhindered avenues of searching knowledge and wisdom? Where are the sources of free intellectual pursuits? Where are the wide open windows of patriotism and progressive thinking? In reality, I had suffered the agony of shattered dreams in all respects. It was from these agonizing experiences that had ultimately opted for the process of protects and resistance.
In the desert of all these pains and agonies, I was fortunate to find a peaceful oasis in Noman Sir. The images of ideal professors that I had painted in my dreams became a reality in the form of Prof Noman. He emerged as a singular flower, a blissful diversion to heal my hurt feelings. For me, Prof Noman was the source of courage and inspiration. And he remained so till the time I was expelled from Dhaka College a year later.
Prof Noman possessed a unique talent in the field of institutionalized dispensation of learning. Yet, he was not the one to limit him in being a good lecturer1 within the confines of the syllabi; rather, he was an outstanding personality in all senses of the term. For us he was an ideal torch-bearer in the wider school of our life. He had intimate and affectionate relations with his students - a quality that had put him to extraordinary heights in the hearts of his students. He had the unique quality of making his presence felt even in his physical absence. This sense of his presence amongst us inspired us to bravely overcome all hurdles and move forward. Noman Sir was the silent source of the flow of an element of freedom in the suffocating atmosphere of Dhaka College.
The then Ayub-Monem autocratic regime had sternly restricted the activities of mainstream student organizations in Dhaka College and the activists of Chatra Union and Chatra League were not allowed to work under their own banners. So, they were constrained to run their programs using the banners of Agradoot and Jagaroni
respectively. We were the members of Agradoot, representing Chatra Union. Though the college administration was dead against carrying forward the progressive students movement, Noman Sir was happy at Agradoots victory in the college students body elections that year.
Dhaka College was then a burning example of repression and regulations and everyone was scared of the iron rule of Jalal Uddin, the Principle. We had to organize clandestine meetings; our activists used to stick posters at night times with their faces shrouded. Open meetings, processions and strikes were absolutely unimaginable. Yet, we were adamant to break those shackles; and in those difficult days we always found in Noman Sir a sympathetic ally; a source of inspiration.
Whenever I remember the fateful day of my expulsion from Dhaka College, the hurt look on Noman Sirs face reflects in the depths of my heart. We, the students of Dhaka College, joined a strike program at the educational institutions countrywide to protest the raise of tuition fees at government colleges. As part of the event, all the students of our college boycotted classes on the day of strike, convened a large students rally at the campus and even took a procession from there to attend the central program at Dhaka University.
The following day, four Agradoot activities including me were dragged from the college canteen to the corridor facing the Principals office and handed TCs (Transfer Certificate) as a punishment for our role in the students strike. We were then locked in a room and police were called to take us. When all these things were happening, I noticed that hurt look on Professor Nemans face; he seemed restless, pacing in the teachers room nearby like a wounded tiger. But, as the principal was waiting in his room for the police to arrive, Noman Sir hastened to the room where we were locked in, unlatched the door from the outside, and signaled to us to flee. That was my last day at Dhaka College. But I could not ever forget that melancholy face of Noman Sir, that hurt look, that manifestation of sympathy and affection, and those tearful eyes.
Now, whenever I remember that face, I need nothing else to find courage, confidence an inspiration.
The writer is a political leader
