Tongi Incident: Rashed Khan Says Unwanted Behaviour Suits Neither Teachers nor Political Leaders
Amid nationwide discussion over an allegation that a teacher kissed a seven-year-old child at a madrasa in Tongi, Gazipur — and an incident in which the child's father slapped the teacher — Rashed Khan, political assistant to the Prime Minister, has published his views. In a message posted on Facebook on Saturday, he commented in detail on child protection, institutional dignity and social codes of conduct.
In the post, Rashed Khan wrote that such unwanted behaviour suits no one, whether a teacher or a political leader. A child, he said, is a sacred trust to every parent, so it is natural for parents to feel intense anger when that child's safety is compromised.
At the same time, he called on everyone involved in such a sensitive situation to maintain the highest responsibility and awareness. As discussion of the incident grows, questions are being raised both about the child's safety and about the manner of the reaction — and his post touches on both.
He also requested that the blame for one individual's offence not be placed on the madrasa system as a whole. In his view, it is improper to run a negative campaign against religious education over an isolated incident.
Rashed Khan noted that the father of the child concerned had himself made the matter clear in his own statement. Against that backdrop, he expressed the hope that the country's madrasa teachers would themselves take the initiative to ensure a lasting solution to such incidents and play an effective role in rebuilding public trust.
Raising the influence of social and political behaviour, he further commented that the public display of affection introduced by the head of a political party could be followed in a different way in a social context — the part of his post captured in its headline, saying that a party chief has introduced a culture of public kissing.
He warned that even when such behaviour is done out of affection, opportunistic and dishonest people in society may take the chance to misuse it where children are concerned. He also noted that in the current social reality, such behaviour in public can create uncomfortable situations.
On that basis, Rashed Khan called on the political leader concerned to reflect on the matter. What message political leaders' behaviour sends to society is one of the central questions of his post.
The Tongi incident has already generated wide discussion on social media and in various quarters — anger over the allegation of unwanted behaviour toward a child on one side, and divided opinion over the slapping of the teacher in reaction on the other. A comment from someone in a responsible position such as the Prime Minister's political assistant has added a new dimension to that discussion.
The main messages of his post on child protection are that the alleged behaviour is unbecoming whoever commits it, that a parent's anger is natural but everyone must remain responsible, and that the allegation against one person should not be loaded onto an entire institutional system.
Attention now turns to what decision the authorities take over the Tongi incident, and whether any initiative to rebuild trust comes from madrasa teachers — which, in Rashed Khan's expectation, is where such an initiative should come from.
