Hookah, boat, sheaf of paddy do not mean success of Language Movement
Says Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman
(Sitting from left) Prof AMM Shafiullah, Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, Prof Dr SM Nazrul Islam, Prof Dr Sadekul Islam Bhuiyan and Dr Nooruddin Ahmed at the inaugural ceremony of Grand Reunion 2012 of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Alumni Association in the city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.Photo: STAR
The Language Movement cannot be termed a success as long as the country's ballot paper has hookah, boat and paddy sheaf, said former chief adviser to a caretaker government Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman yesterday. “As long as our ballot paper has hookah, nouka (boat) and dhaner shish (paddy sheaf), we have to understand that we have not yet achieved literacy and our movement for Bangla language has not yet been a success,” he said. Justice Habibur was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Grand Reunion 2012 of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) Alumni Association (BUETAA) in the city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. The former chief justice did not elaborate further on the matter. He, however, said Bangalees have a relation with many languages and this tradition should not be abolished. International Mother Language Day has a great importance for the minority language groups, he added. Engineer Dr Nooruddin Ahmed said although Buet was a unique institution and provided quality education to its students, it could not properly pursue the quest of gaining knowledge through research. “This is why Buet is not in the list of the top 500 universities of the world, not even in the top 100 universities in Asia,” he said, urging BUETAA to provide financial assistance in Buet's research sector as allocation there is limited. BUETAA President Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury said the authorities did not let BUETAA hold the reunion on Buet campus although reunion programmes of an institution are usually held on the institution premises. He also said BUETAA will work to bring Buet into the list of top ranking universities of the world. BUETAA Executive Director Prof Dr Sadekul Islam Bhuiyan, Prof AMM Shafiullah and Buet former vice chancellor Dr Mosharaf Hossain Khan also spoke at the ceremony. Former students along with their family members joined the fourth daylong get-together where crests were presented to Buet students and their meritorious children.
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