Contributed by: Dr. Equbal Wajid
The method to pay the salaries in Insan School/College was a source of torture. Despite being low paid the teachers had never been paid timely. There was no any time-frame for payment. There was a pick and choose method to pay the salaries. This always hurt the sentiments of the teachers. Only the new employee could get their salaries on time. It goes for only few months. In the history of Insan School/College the salaries had never been paid on time. If somebody needs money he has to ask Dr. Syed Hasan and then he should go to remind him, he has to wander around him for at least a week, then it could be possible for him to get the salary. All the staff were habituated with this process. When the teachers see someone following Dr. Syed Hasan they guess that he wants money. At the time of vacation most of the dues were being cleared. There were many people who were shy by nature, they could never get salaries unless they ask and wander about Syed Bhai for this.
What could be the reason behind this attitude Allah knows better, but the immediate advantage was obvious that in the whole History of Insan School the teachers always cried for a timely payment not for the other rights. They had always been kept hold of this artificial problems so that they could never know their real problems. Indirectly through this method scores of problem has been prevented by Dr. Syed Hasan. He never wanted the teachers to enjoy theirs. He kept them in constant tensions only to divert them form the approaching problems of their life.
The teachers were customized to this payment system. Was it not a humiliation for the teachers to beg for Salary and then wander around Dr. Syed Hasan for many days to get it out? Although he ever justified his action saying that he tries to give money firstly to the needy, and who is more needy was judged by the numbers of days they wander.
Even in the case of severe miseries the purchasing and leveling of land never stopped. The land which he use to purchase even too far away from the existential site of the school, became a source of advertisement of the School.
People talk to each other:
“DEKHO INSAN SCHOOLYAHAN TAK ZAMEEN KHAREED LIYA’
[See, Insan School has purchased land up to here.]
It was an evening time. I saw Dr. Syed Hasan sitting under a shed made of bamboos near the big pond. Dr.Qmrul Huda and a guardian from Gaya Syed Manzoor Alam were sitting on an wooden bench. It was hard to me to ignore them and pass by. So I took a hello effect and sat with them. Dr. Syed Hasan was talking to Dr. Qamrul Hoda:
“GUZASHTA DO TEEN MAHEENO MIEN HAM NE JETNI MITTI BHARWAI HAI UTNEY MIEN DO TEEN TRACKTOR KHAREDEY JA SAKTE THEY”
“In the past three to four months I have paid such a big amount to rent the tractors to unload soil for the leveling of the land that I could have purchased 2 or 3 tractors instead.”
“KEON?” [ Why?] asked Dr.Qmarul Hoda.
“IS LIYEY KE MERE LIEY YEH AA SSAN HAI KI THORA THORA KAR KE PAISE DOON. EK SAATH UTNA PAISA NIKALNA MUSHKIL HAI”
[ Because it is difficult for me to arrange such a big amount at a time, and to pay the Contractors in installments is but easy for me.]
Dr. Qmarul Hoda commented nothing on this answer. The guardian also kept silent. After a little while I left them and searched my colleague Nayeem Bhai and Jahangir Bhai to spend the evening with them.
The teachers have spend so many Eids and Baqreeds [ Eid Alfitr and Eid Al Azha] in the campus with their families that they were not able to purchase new clothes to their beloved ones, neither they have had cash to bring some sweets or meat to celebrate the festival. Once, I remember that the morning of the Eid Al Fitr was dawned and still there were nothing in the house to cook special. I saw that Dr. Hasan himself was rounding about the campus. He distributed Rs200/- per family as advance. I took Rs200/- and rushed to market to bring some meat, as I assume that without eating meat the festival cannot be enjoyed.
One kilogram of meat will do nothing but at least it will make a taste change.
It was January 1994, the college was virtually collapsed. New admissions had stopped. I hadn’t got my salary for two years. In those days of hardships I had no way to manage food for my family. Once I asked Haji Aarif of village Burhi Mari [Kishanganj] for some help, he send a 100kg bag of rice through his bullock cart. This was like Eid for me. Now I was peaceful for three or four months. A 100kg bag of rice was in the house, I felt satisfied. Now I have only to manage some oil, species, and vegetables. In those days of distress few students of graduation from Marwari College came to me for tuitions. Rs 400 was the rate of notes of B.A. Urdu course. I use to complete it in a week and I get Rs400/- form the student. As I finished coaching one, I was astonished to see that the other student was ready to take tuitions and so far as, a chain was there, and I earned some money through which I was able to buy vegetables, oil, and spices.
The time came that the 100kg rice bag lasted. Now again the house was empty. There were two more families besides my Quarter. Mr.Abul Hasan [English] and Syed Shahid Ahmed Sami [Commerce]. Abul Hasan’s father was a rich man so he used to bring grain form his house from the village Bijhara, Barsoi. Syed Shahid Ahmed Sami was doing some business, so he also had money. These families were too kind to us. Whenever they got smell that we are starving they immediately send some thing for us. I and my family was of the mind that we let not tell anybody when starving. We kept our children at home and let not allow them to go to the houses of these two neighbors. When my neighbors feel that my children are not coming out to play with their children they certainly believe that we are starving, and they try to gather more clues and then plan to send some food to my house.
As a regular basis I was reading the Hadees [ Sayings of Prophet Mohammad Peace Be on Him] in my family. My children use to sit around and listen carefully. One day I read out a Hadees which means that if someone is starving and he never discloses it to any one Allah will open the door of his mercy up on him and he will never starve again. We wanted to get it in practice. We prepare our children to practice on this Hadees.
One day passed without food. Nobody was knowing. My children was going to school empty stomach. When they came back from school there was nothing to eat. Next day morning again dawned on starvation. I was going to drop my elder daughter 10years and son 8 years to the school, on their way to the school they both sat on the soil and vomited out of starvation. Nothing came out from the stomach but a little water. I was much shocked. I took them back form half of the way. In the house I find signs of vomiting at five or six palaces. I asked my wife:
“YEH KIYA HAI?”[What’s it?]
“BACHCHON NE MATLI KIYAHAI” [The children have vomited] She answered.
When the sun was about to set on the third day of our starvation, my wife called one of my colleague who was a teacher in the same school , Jahangir Mallick. She gave him a golden tops of her and said with tears:
“LEEJIEY JALDI SE ISKO BECH KE KUCH LAA DEJEYE ABB BACHCHON KO DEKH KAR BARDASHT NAHIEN HOTA HAI”
[Sell it quickly and bring something to cook, now it is unbearable to look at the children.]
Jahangir Bhai took the gold, sold it for some money and then he brought some grain and other food items for my family.
Next day I came to know that the founder of Insan School /Insan College Dr. Syed Hasan has left for Delhi to attend a meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education Government of India, to which he was an advisor member. I was thinking about the speech that the respectable man and the expert of education would deliver in the conference. I thought, whether Mr. Anil Bordia, the then Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Human Resource Development [an admirer of Dr. Syed Hasan], the Education Minister Bihar, and other attendees of the Central Advisory Board of Education could know the coverts of this big personality.?
Malika Rehana the Lecturer in History who joined Insan College when she was bachelor. She got married with her cousin Jamil Ahmed but was not ready to live with him at the cost of leaving the Institution. She scarified her life in love with Insan College. His husband never came to Insan College except once, nor Rehana ever thought to depart the Institution. Both spend their life separately. She was alone in her Quarter allotted by the College. Being a woman she could have paid regularly or some arrangements should have been made for her.
When her miseries crossed the tolerance level she went on Hunger Strike. A petition was written, addressing the District Magistrate Kishanganj, that she is going on hunger strike in the Campus for her such and such grievances. The main grievance was to clear off her due salaries. The Superintendent of Police was also alert as if a law and order problem takes places. There was not a single police man to watch over the situation. In Kishanganj this news was spread as a ‘hot news’.
Dr. Syed Hasan was trying to pressurize Malika Rehana by all means to call off the hunger strike, and it so happened, in the night at 8pm Malika Rehana suspended her hunger strike. Off course, it was a dishonor for Dr. Syed Hasan that one of her women staff dared to go on hunger strike against him. This also helped decline his image as a Philanthropist. Later on Malika Rehana left the campus and took out side living. Allah knows how she managed to pass her lively hood. The hardships which Rehana has faced in her life while working in Insan college is neither known to Akhlaqur Rehman Qidwai, the Former Governor of Bihar, who was a senior of Dr. Syed Hasan at Jamia Millia Islamia and who had recommended Dr.Syed Hasan’s name for the Padama Shree award nor those hardships could be obvious to Karpuri Thakur, the Ex Chief Minister of Bihar who said that he notices the AATMA [soul] of Mahatma Gandhi in the body of Dr. Syed Hasan. [to be continued]
Disclaimer: The content of the article is the personal views / experience of the author (contributor). Kishanganj Blog (Md Mudassir Alam) is not responsible for any type of personal remarks or any objectionable statement made by the author.
