A classmate of Rizwanur Rehman from his days at St.Xavier’s College, Calcutta remembers the eager young scholar devouring Indian novels in English. He was not called Riz then, but Rizwan. He had wanted to become an English professor. The first setback he suffered was his graduation results. The marks were not high enough for him to pursue a coveted Masters in English at Calcutta University. Then he had turned introspective and a bit touchy about life. He used to come to Calcutta University to meet his first girl-friend. She was doing her Masters. Then, the friend says, things started falling apart. And he next saw Rizwan’s photo in the news-papers. When we were in college, the friend reminisces, we had thought that we will all be around till at least the early 2030s. But this is a bolt from the blue. He broke down remembering a classmate. Rizwan did not have to die.

I had written twice before in these pages about the Rehmans, the Todis and the whodunit of Rizwanur Rehman’s death. Who killed Rizwanur Rehman? The CBI has submitted a sealed report to the Calcutta High Court. According to The Times of India, the CBI has named the businessmen duo — the Todi brothers, and one Mainuddin alias Pappu for abatement of suicide. Priyanka Todi’s father may be jailed for a maximum of ten years if the charges against him are proved true. Apart from the legal aspects, the case has human and social angles to it.

The law has provisions for punishing those who abate suicide. This is no doubt a great evil. But one wonders how stable a marriage will ever be if one of the parties cannot sustain inhuman pressures. Not that such pressure is justifiable or even slightly acceptable. But would you, my discerning reader, marry your child to a person who easily crumbles under pressure? Now that Rizwanur Rehman is dead and gone, one wonders about the fate of Priyanka. With her father possibly thrown into jail, and her husband whom she once called the love-of-her-life gone forever, what happens to her?

Then there are the hate mongers, both Muslims and Hindus. They want to stir up communal feelings. Look how the Hindus have treated a Muslim guy; one group cries. Look how a Muslim boy has trapped our Hindu girl, says another group. The politicians with their roving eye on the vote bank say one thing one moment and then flip to another position even before one can blink. The police men including the erstwhile Police Commissioner of Kolkata, were too eager to protect the rich Todis and hit out at Rizwanur, are now in the focus of incessant high level enquiries. Then there is the angry Rukbanur, who wants to protect his own reputation. Priyanka Todi had lashed out at him for not being really affectionate with his brother.

But the real issue is not all these, the reality is that love has been defeated in the face of societal norms. Grand passions seem to be best in movies.

Via: TOI

Image: Pics Crazy