Justice for Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique

Times are so disjointed that even the demand for justice cannot be made in a loud voice. Every conscious person is living in an unknown fear

It has been more than a month Professor Rezaul  Karim Siddique was murdered – murdered in broad daylight, in a city where every three or four years one professor meets this fate, in a country where once or twice in every month someone meets this fate but nobody gets justice. So why am I writing for justice? I am writing to reiterate that there is no justice. When there were the waves of protest in different parts of the country, particularly in the Rajshahi University campus where he spent nearly four decades of his life, both the police and the media seemed to be very active.
But, with the passage of time, when the instant flow of spontaneous reaction started to recede, which is a very natural law of human life, three ministers and some high officials of law enforcement agencies visited that death valley to further pacify the outcry of the aggrieved people by making very strong promises of justice which presently seem quite futile.
Later on, when the police claimed they were on the verge of solving this case with the arrest of a member of the so called JMB extremist, another suspect of this murder, who was caught earlier, died in the police custody to the much suspicion and dismay of the general people. Though his death has been reported as the result of a health issue from which he had been suffering, it could not assure the people who are demanding justice for Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique; rather it has intensified doubt in their mind as many of them have felt that the authority is deliberately trying to hide something. And this doubt has now turned into a firm belief for many with the declaration from the police of the death of a killer of Professor Siddique in crossfire.
Accordingly, the latest progress of this case, as it seems to me, is leading us nowhere near justice. Saying so, I do not mean that there is no possibility of witnessing any trial – perhaps someday police will submit the chargesheet and even the final verdict from the highest court of the country may come, but I have every doubt in my mind whether the real architects behind this murder will ever be brought to trial, though if the suspects have got to be killed in crossfire one by one, ultimately there will be nobody to bring to trial. So perhaps we will never know the actual motive of this murder.
On the other hand, the motive that many of us have already speculated, i.e. religious bigotry, may not lead us to any destination, for if we really want justice for him, we have to try all the people responsible for this socio-political and economic system of the country that empowers and encourages religious extremism. However, without complicating this issue any further, I make my statement very simple, that is, all the signs of justice for Professor Rezaul
Karim Siddique are, at this
moment, shrouded by doubt and uncertainty.
I have chosen the title of this writing from the Facebook page created by the former and present students of Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique (popularly known as RKS Sir among them) who are demanding for his justice. And I am demanding for his justice not merely as one of his former students but also as a conscious citizen of the country. My personal involvement with him as one of his direct students may affect my overall approach to this issue, yet I shall try to remain unbiased so that my arguments do not lose their validity on the ground of being emotional or biased.
First and foremost, I would like to put a special emphasis on this murder among all such murders of the recent time. Why do I think that the murder of RKS Sir is so special, especially when most people outside his university or even the department heard his name for the first time after he had been murdered? It is evident that he was neither a public intellectual nor a so called highly acclaimed academician, yet I think he was one of the best in his profession.
In a sense it was an unbelievable success for him to remain unknown in this society where most people hanker after popularity and extravagant show off to raise their market value. As far as I have known him or heard about him, I have found him to be a truly devoted person to teaching, study and music.
  He could easily be a highly recognized figure had he not been absorbed himself in the silent pursuit of knowledge and art. He never craved for that type of popularity or fame and the conventional material success. Perhaps he defined success in his own way which the acquisitive and self-seeking people like us will never understand. Nonetheless, we can definitely recognize him as an extraordinary teacher because of his unbelievable concerns for the students, yet I do not want to glorify or highlight his greatness by focusing on his involvement with the students because already much has been talked about this. Moreover, these are not the reasons why I think his murder so special; we can attribute these qualities to some other teachers as well. In my opinion, one of the reasons why the murder of RKS Sir has special significance is his position – in his being a Professor / scholar, for a person like him does not come to this position overnight.
Thousands of days’ hard work and sacrifice can make a truly dedicated and knowledgeable person like him. Here I find his legacy when we see so many of his students to protest his murder with extreme anger and grief. Many of their reactions may give the impression that they have lost their father. So when does a person become as important as or even more important than the biological father? It only happens when someone becomes so dear and influential to his students like the biological father.
But, this is also not the main reason why I think the murder of RKS Sir so important or a matter of great concern. I give a special emphasis on this murder because of its symbolical significance – it symbolizes the rotten state of a country. In a country where a person like Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique meets this fate, then one can easily surmise the condition of the others or the overall condition of the country. More importantly, it signals that the dark period has already begun which we have so far deliberately ignored. This is why we demand justice not only for RKS Sir but also for everyone else because if we do not take a stand against this now, we shall never be able to stand again in future.  
Times are so disjointed that even the demand for justice cannot be made in a loud voice. Every conscious person is living in an unknown fear. Now, if the government does not realise the gravity of the situation, I am afraid it may be too late to make it right. Everybody has to understand that the death of Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique is not any personal loss for his family members only or the loss for any particular institution; it is the loss for the whole nation. If education is the backbone of a nation, then the backbone of Bangladesh has been weakened by this heinous action.
Therefore, I do whole-heartedly condemn this evil deed and demand for justice so that we can stop this now and forever. If we fail to play our role in history, the future generation will severely blame us for our failure.         

The writer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Daffodil International University. Email: [email protected]

Justice for Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique

Times are so disjointed that even the demand for justice cannot be made in a loud voice. Every conscious person is living in an unknown fear

It has been more than a month Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique was murdered murdered in broad daylight, in a city where every three or four years one professor meets this fate, in a country where once or twice in every month someone meets this fate but nobody gets justice. So why am I writing for justice? I am writing to reiterate that there is no justice. When there were the waves of protest in different parts of the country, particularly in the Rajshahi University campus where he spent nearly four decades of his life, both the police and the media seemed to be very active. But, with the passage of time, when the instant flow of spontaneous reaction started to recede, which is a very natural law of human life, three ministers and some high officials of law enforcement agencies visited that death valley to further pacify the outcry of the aggrieved people by making very strong promises of justice which presently seem quite futile. Later on, when the police claimed they were on the verge of solving this case with the arrest of a member of the so called JMB extremist, another suspect of this murder, who was caught earlier, died in the police custody to the much suspicion and dismay of the general people. Though his death has been reported as the result of a health issue from which he had been suffering, it could not assure the people who are demanding justice for Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique; rather it has intensified doubt in their mind as many of them have felt that the authority is deliberately trying to hide something. And this doubt has now turned into a firm belief for many with the declaration from the police of the death of a killer of Professor Siddique in crossfire. Accordingly, the latest progress of this case, as it seems to me, is leading us nowhere near justice. Saying so, I do not mean that there is no possibility of witnessing any trial perhaps someday police will submit the chargesheet and even the final verdict from the highest court of the country may come, but I have every doubt in my mind whether the real architects behind this murder will ever be brought to trial, though if the suspects have got to be killed in crossfire one by one, ultimately there will be nobody to bring to trial. So perhaps we will never know the actual motive of this murder. On the other hand, the motive that many of us have already speculated, i.e. religious bigotry, may not lead us to any destination, for if we really want justice for him, we have to try all the people responsible for this socio-political and economic system of the country that empowers and encourages religious extremism. However, without complicating this issue any further, I make my statement very simple, that is, all the signs of justice for Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique are, at this moment, shrouded by doubt and uncertainty. I have chosen the title of this writing from the Facebook page created by the former and present students of Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique (popularly known as RKS Sir among them) who are demanding for his justice. And I am demanding for his justice not merely as one of his former students but also as a conscious citizen of the country. My personal involvement with him as one of his direct students may affect my overall approach to this issue, yet I shall try to remain unbiased so that my arguments do not lose their validity on the ground of being emotional or biased. First and foremost, I would like to put a special emphasis on this murder among all such murders of the recent time. Why do I think that the murder of RKS Sir is so special, especially when most people outside his university or even the department heard his name for the first time after he had been murdered? It is evident that he was neither a public intellectual nor a so called highly acclaimed academician, yet I think he was one of the best in his profession. In a sense it was an unbelievable success for him to remain unknown in this society where most people hanker after popularity and extravagant show off to raise their market value. As far as I have known him or heard about him, I have found him to be a truly devoted person to teaching, study and music. He could easily be a highly recognized figure had he not been absorbed himself in the silent pursuit of knowledge and art. He never craved for that type of popularity or fame and the conventional material success. Perhaps he defined success in his own way which the acquisitive and self-seeking people like us will never understand. Nonetheless, we can definitely recognize him as an extraordinary teacher because of his unbelievable concerns for the students, yet I do not want to glorify or highlight his greatness by focusing on his involvement with the students because already much has been talked about this. Moreover, these are not the reasons why I think his murder so special; we can attribute these qualities to some other teachers as well. In my opinion, one of the reasons why the murder of RKS Sir has special significance is his position in his being a Professor / scholar, for a person like him does not come to this position overnight. Thousands of days hard work and sacrifice can make a truly dedicated and knowledgeable person like him. Here I find his legacy when we see so many of his students to protest his murder with extreme anger and grief. Many of their reactions may give the impression that they have lost their father. So when does a person become as important as or even more important than the biological father? It only happens when someone becomes so dear and influential to his students like the biological father. But, this is also not the main reason why I think the murder of RKS Sir so important or a matter of great concern. I give a special emphasis on this murder because of its symbolical significance it symbolizes the rotten state of a country. In a country where a person like Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique meets this fate, then one can easily surmise the condition of the others or the overall condition of the country. More importantly, it signals that the dark period has already begun which we have so far deliberately ignored. This is why we demand justice not only for RKS Sir but also for everyone else because if we do not take a stand against this now, we shall never be able to stand again in future. Times are so disjointed that even the demand for justice cannot be made in a loud voice. Every conscious person is living in an unknown fear. Now, if the government does not realise the gravity of the situation, I am afraid it may be too late to make it right. Everybody has to understand that the death of Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique is not any personal loss for his family members only or the loss for any particular institution; it is the loss for the whole nation. If education is the backbone of a nation, then the backbone of Bangladesh has been weakened by this heinous action. Therefore, I do whole-heartedly condemn this evil deed and demand for justice so that we can stop this now and forever. If we fail to play our role in history, the future generation will severely blame us for our failure. The writer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Daffodil International University. Email: [email protected]