‘I will never want to go to Dhaka University again’: Dr Zafar Iqbal

Amid the ongoing nationwide movement demanding quota reform, a note written by renowned author and educationist Dr Muhammed Zafar Iqbal has sparked discussion on social media.

In his handwritten note posted on his website, Dr Zafar Iqbal expressed his deep disappointment with the recent events at Dhaka University. "Dhaka University is my university, my beloved university. But I think I will never want to go to this university again. Whenever I see the students, I will think, perhaps they are 'razakar'. And as long as I live, I do not want to see the face of any razakar. We only have one life, why should I have to see razakars again in this life?"

The handwritten note by Dr Muhammed Zafar Iqbal. He has confirmed TBS that the note is written by him.

The note reflects Dr Zafar Iqbal's profound distress over the use of the term "razakar" by students at Dhaka University. The term refers to collaborators who facilitated genocide carried out by Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War.

Dr Zafar Iqbal's note was shared widely on Facebook on 16 July, igniting further debate and discussion among netizens and stakeholders in the ongoing quota reform movement.