UNB, Dhaka :
Dhaka University Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed on Wednesday expressed his displeasure over a decision of Karachi University (KU) baring him from attending a conference and termed it a barrier to freedom of speech.
“I got surprised hearing the decision, but nothing to do,” he told UNB over phone on Wednesday.
He was supposed to present the keynote paper at the conference titled ‘Challenges of Transition in Social Sciences’ yesterday organised by KU faculty of social sciences.
“I was supposed to fly for Pakistan on December 1
but they asked me not to go,” said Prof Imtiaz, a teacher of International Relations and Director of the Centre for Genocide Studies at Dhaka University, adding that it was also embarrassing for the university.
Responding to a question, he said either Jamaat-e-Islami or local organisation, probably raised questions about his writings on the Liberation War of 1971, and the university authorities apparently accepted their suggestion.
“It’s very natural an academic will keep on writing. I didn’t write anything against the people of Pakistan. I wrote about the role of Pakistan during 1971 which is known to all,” he said.
However, many in the Pakistan expressed dissatisfaction over the decision, said the DU teacher.
“It seems that the issue of freedom of speech is gradually falling in trouble in the entire subcontinent,” he added.
The administration of Karachi University (KU) has stopped Bangladeshi scholar Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed from participating in a conference organised on the campus on Wednesday, reportedly giving in to pressure from a student organisation, reports The Dawn.
“The university administration had some concerns relating to his participation and I was requested to politely convey the message to the senior professor, which I did,” Prof Moonis Ahmar, the dean of the faculty of social sciences, KU, said and confirmed the information but declined to comment further.
University registrar Moazzam Ali Khan, however, expressed his unawareness of the matter and said: “I am not aware of any university administration’s concerns. Usually, when such events are organised, respective departments submit a list of speakers invited to the event but that was not done in this case.”
Sources said that the university took the step following a meeting of the vice chancellor with representatives of a student organisation that strongly objected to the professor’s participation in the conference.
Their opposition, the sources said, had stemmed from the Bangladesh government’s handling of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.
President of Karachi University Teachers Society Prof Jamil Kazmi said teachers in principle supported the freedom of speech, and no student organisation should be allowed to interfere in academic matters.
“Having said so, I do believe that concerns relating to Dr Imtiaz Ahmed have some genuine grounds considering his work; some of which is available on the internet. His work is controversial and, to some extent, against our country and ideology,” the report quoted him as saying.
“I got surprised hearing the decision, but nothing to do,” he told UNB over phone on Wednesday.
He was supposed to present the keynote paper at the conference titled ‘Challenges of Transition in Social Sciences’ yesterday organised by KU faculty of social sciences.
“I was supposed to fly for Pakistan on December 1
but they asked me not to go,” said Prof Imtiaz, a teacher of International Relations and Director of the Centre for Genocide Studies at Dhaka University, adding that it was also embarrassing for the university.
Responding to a question, he said either Jamaat-e-Islami or local organisation, probably raised questions about his writings on the Liberation War of 1971, and the university authorities apparently accepted their suggestion.
“It’s very natural an academic will keep on writing. I didn’t write anything against the people of Pakistan. I wrote about the role of Pakistan during 1971 which is known to all,” he said.
However, many in the Pakistan expressed dissatisfaction over the decision, said the DU teacher.
“It seems that the issue of freedom of speech is gradually falling in trouble in the entire subcontinent,” he added.
The administration of Karachi University (KU) has stopped Bangladeshi scholar Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed from participating in a conference organised on the campus on Wednesday, reportedly giving in to pressure from a student organisation, reports The Dawn.
“The university administration had some concerns relating to his participation and I was requested to politely convey the message to the senior professor, which I did,” Prof Moonis Ahmar, the dean of the faculty of social sciences, KU, said and confirmed the information but declined to comment further.
University registrar Moazzam Ali Khan, however, expressed his unawareness of the matter and said: “I am not aware of any university administration’s concerns. Usually, when such events are organised, respective departments submit a list of speakers invited to the event but that was not done in this case.”
Sources said that the university took the step following a meeting of the vice chancellor with representatives of a student organisation that strongly objected to the professor’s participation in the conference.
Their opposition, the sources said, had stemmed from the Bangladesh government’s handling of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.
President of Karachi University Teachers Society Prof Jamil Kazmi said teachers in principle supported the freedom of speech, and no student organisation should be allowed to interfere in academic matters.
“Having said so, I do believe that concerns relating to Dr Imtiaz Ahmed have some genuine grounds considering his work; some of which is available on the internet. His work is controversial and, to some extent, against our country and ideology,” the report quoted him as saying.
