Odommo Chattagram
Chittagong's rich past recalled
It's a city of 1,400 years, says Abdul Karim
(From left) Asian University for Women (AUW) Vice Chancellor Kamal Ahmed, Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at AUW Dr Kathleen Hewett-Smith, Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam, former principal secretary to the prime minister Abdul Karim and AUW teacher Dr Joanne Janssen at a discussion at AUW auditorium in Chittagong on Monday. The event was organised as part of "Odommo Chattagram" festival.Photo: STAR
A colourful programme was organised at Asian University for Women (AUW) on Monday evening as part of the 12-day “Odommo Chattagram” (Indomitable Chittagong) Festival, an initiative of The Daily Star to promote culture, history, heritage and potentials of Chittagong. The programme included a discussion, a question-answer session, where the students of AUW put different questions to Mahfuz Anam, the editor and publisher of The Daily Star. At the discussion, Abdul Karim, former principal secretary to the prime minister, thanked The Daily Star for arranging this mega initiative [Odommo Chattagram]. He said Chittagong has a very rich past as it is a very old city. Dhaka is a city of 400 years but Chittagong is a city of 1,400 years, he said. Traders and businessmen from different countries used to come to this city from a very early period, he said, adding that that's why the language of Chittagong has been enriched with words from different languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Portuguese and Persian. The anti-British revolutionary movement in the South Asian region started at first from Chittagong, Karim said recalling the anti-British hero Masterda Surya Sen. He said Chittagong is the most prosperous area in this region, adding that Chittagong is the right place for a university like Asian University for Women. Quoting Ibn Battuta, Karim said the culture of Chittagong is the richest in this region, adding that Battuta had discovered Chittagonian culture in China. Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam, in his speech, advised students not to waste a single moment. “This is the most beautiful phase in your life,” he said, adding, “Don't waste a moment.” He advised the students to keep open the door of the window of their mind. “If you neglect sound, you will diminish yourselves,” he said. “The more you learn sounds the more you can communicate,” he said, adding that a language is not just mere a means of speaking, it is a means of showing history, literature and music. Sound and colour make life beautiful, he said. He said AUW is a platform for mutual understanding as over 400 students from 12 different countries are studying there. He urged the students to build themselves as friendly and modest persons to make themselves citizens of the 21st century. Mahfuz Anam also called upon the students to gain courage to challenge power. “Without being ability to challenge power and orthodoxy, your intellectual learning will be meager,” he said. Terming this century "the century of ideas", he said, "You don't have the power but you can be successful by applying your innovative ideas." About the definition of democracy, the editor said democracy should not be limited with the right of majority, it must protect the right of minority too. After the meeting, a question-answer session was held where the students of AUW asked different questions of Mahfuz Anam. Shakila, a student from Pakistan, said while watching the Bangladesh-Pakistan cricket match in Mirpur Stadium, she had found a placard where the Pakistanis were asked to seek pardon for 1971 acts. “Why did they bring politics into a cricket match?” she asked. Shakila urged doing something to change this trend through newspapers. In reply, Mahfuz Anam said the Bangladesh of today has no ill feeling towards the Pakistan of today. But it has a lot of hatred for Pakistan in 1971, he said, adding, “As a young Pakistani [citizen], you should judge what happened in 1971.” Meher, another student from Pakistan, asked the same question. “When I came to AUW I heard that the Bangladeshis hate Pakistanis,” she said, adding, “What is my fault as I was not born in 1971.” It was the government who did the massacre in Bangladesh and people did not know much about it as the media were not free, she said, adding, “Yes, we deserve hate for what our government did in 1971.” “The [Pakistan] government did it, that does not mean that I am bad [as its citizen],” she explained. In reply, Mahfuz Anam said it is the purpose of a university to make students from different countries to be close together. Pakistan should apologise for what it did in 1971, he said, adding that Germany had apologised for the act in the Second World War. He urged Meher to take the initiative from her end at first to break the ice with the Bangladeshi students. A colourful cultural programme was held with the participation of AUW students from different countries immediately after the question-answer session. Acting Vice Chancellor of AUW Kamal Ahmad, assistant professor of Literature at AUW Dr Joanne Janssen and Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at AUW Dr Kathleen Hewett-Smith were also present at the programme.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments