A burning flame of enlightenment for 100 years

Guests and dignitaries on stage during the 100-year jubilee celebrations of church-run St. Nicholas High School in Gazipur district near Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Jan. 2. (Photo: Robin Noel)

Subir Kashmir Pereira is disappointed that he missed out on an event that he had been looking forward to for years: attending the centenary jubilee celebrations of his beloved alma mater, St. Nicholas High School.

Geographical distance and other complications restricted him from attending the Catholic school's reunion in the first week of January.

Pereira, 49, is a Bangladeshi-born American citizen who settled in Maryland in 2007 with his wife and daughter.

St. Nicholas, where he studied from 1988 to 1991, is located in Nagari in Gazipur district of central Bangladesh, about 40 kilometers from the capital Dhaka.

"When the school marked 75 years [in 1995], I could not attend due to personal reasons. I told myself that I would have to attend the 100-year jubilee, but I missed out again. This failure is likely to upset me for the rest of my life," said Pereira, a Catholic.

Employed at a pharmacy of a multinational company in the US capital Washington, Pereira was a youth activist back home. He is also a seasoned poet with several titles published in recent years.

He credits his days at St. Nicholas, run by the Brothers of Holy Cross, for laying the foundation for what he has become today.

"I joined the school because I wanted to become a Holy Cross brother, which I didn't. But the quality of education, co-curricular activities, discipline and moral formation in the school enlightened my mind and heart, and made immense contributions in my later years in Bangladesh and then in America," Pereira said.

The school, one of the most celebrated church-run educational institutes in Bangladesh, held its jubilee program from Jan. 2-4.

Despite his inability to attend the celebrations, Pereira contributed to making the event a success. In 2018, he and other alumni started a fundraising campaign for the school. He was involved in the editorial team tasked with producing an anniversary souvenir magazine.

"This school has given us a lot, so we wanted to do something in return," he said.

Monjur Kader Khan is a deputy inspector-general on the Bangladesh police. His late father Abdul Latif Khan passed school finals in 1941 and he followed the same path in 1976.

"My father greatly admired St. Nicholas and so it was my dream to study there. My village in Gazipur was about 10 kilometers away and the journey was challenging. After getting admission, I managed to get a place in the school hostel, which made things easier," said Khan, a Muslim.

Khan noted that the school's high standard of education, discipline and co-curricular activities, including sports, helped many students to achieve great success in their lives.

"St. Nicholas holds a special place in my heart — so much learning and many memories. All I can hope and pray for is that this institution continues to enlighten many lives in the future," he added.

Like Khan, thousands of alumni and their families joined hundreds of current students and dignitaries, including senior government officials, parliamentarians, Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka and apostolic nuncio Archbishop George Kocherry, for the centenary celebrations.

Cardinal D'Rozario described the school as "a burning flame of enlightenment" and "a promoter of harmony" in Bangladesh.

"This school has enlightened the minds, hearts and souls of thousands of pupils irrespective of faiths and ethnicities, promoted harmony and paved the way for establishing a communion. It has produced great personalities over the years and they have greatly enriched the society and the country," Cardinal D'Rozario said in his speech.

Humble beginning

The journey of St. Nicholas High School is closely associated with the history of St. Nicholas of Tolentino Catholic Church in Nagari, covered by Bhawal Region of Dhaka Archdiocese.

Bhawal Region, comprised of nine Catholic parishes in Gazipur and Dhaka districts, is one of the oldest and largest Catholic settlements in Bangladesh, where Christianity dates back to the 17th century thanks to evangelization by Portuguese and local Catholic missionaries.

Set up in 1695, St. Nicholas of Tolentino Church is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the country. Here, Portuguese Augustinian priest Manuel da Assumpsao penned Kripar Shashtrer Orthobhed, a Bengali catechism book written in the Roman alphabet and printed in Lisbon. It was the first Bengali book in print.

During this time, a small chapel dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua in nearby Panjora village became something of a legend. Today it is the most popular Catholic shrine, attracting thousands of devotees all year round.

In the early 20th century, the local church authority set up a primary school attended mostly by children of illiterate farmers and fishermen in adjacent areas. There was no other school within 10-15 miles and the school was run with support from the Church and the local government.

In 1920, Father Bernard D'Cunha, the Portuguese parish priest of Nagari, decided to upgrade it to a high school, set up a hostel for faraway students and affiliated the school with Calcutta University.

From 1920-51, all headmasters of the school except one were Hindus. In 1951, the school was handed over to the Brothers of Holy Cross, the largest religious order in Bangladesh. Since then, the school has excelled even more.

"Education is the most effective tool to create a developed and enriched society and country. At St. Nicholas, we have been trying to educate minds and hearts of students in every possible way so that they create a better society, country and world," said Holy Cross Brother Prodip Louis Rozario, an alumni and current headmaster of the school.

"St. Nicholas has welcomed thousands to get an education for life and sent them out to serve the world. We are glad to celebrate the 100-year jubilee of the gem-yielding mother."

Famous alumni

Over the past decades, St. Nicholas has produced great personalities.

Most famous among them is Tajuddin Ahmad, a veteran politician of the ruling Awami League party and the first prime minister of Bangladesh, who led the country to independence from Pakistan through a nine-month war in 1971.

Ahmad studied at St. Nicholas in the early 1940s before being transferred to St. Gregory's High School in Dhaka.

Chittya Francis Rebeiro, an alumni and writer, noted that 69 students of the school became freedom fighters during the 1971 war and 10 of them became martyrs.

"I believe the influence of Tajuddin Ahmad was a factor. The lesson of morality and standing for justice from the school was instrumental for the call," Rebeiro said.

Although a tiny minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh's population of more than 160 million, Christians are held in high esteem for their contributions to education, health care and socioeconomic development.

The Catholic Church alone runs one university, 12 colleges, 579 secondary and primary schools, and 13 vocational training institutes, which cater annually to nearly 100,000 pupils, mostly Muslims.

Original Articles:

UCAN: A burning flame of enlightenment for 100 years

LCI: A burning flame of enlightenment for 100 years