Why we should be asking more 'Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi Na' questions

The “Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi Na” dialogue has long been a part of the country’s pop culture, deeply rooted in commercial Bangla movies Photo: Collected

Suppose you are a university teacher who has to set a question on the topic 'hegemony' for Honours first-year students. 

You have two options: Ask a question which will challenge the analytical ability of the students and make them borrow examples from their cultural context to explain how hegemony works in real-life situations, or simply tell them to write down the literal definition of hegemony.  

As a former student of the Social Sciences faculty at the University of Dhaka who has just completed his Master's programme around four months ago, I can share my personal experience. 

From what I have seen during my academic life in the so-called 'No.1 educational institution of the country,' most teachers go for the second option. 

That means students would have to memorise from their textbooks (or sheets or PowerPoint presentations) what a term stands for and write it down in the answer scripts, but with some unnecessary introduction and irrelevant examples to make the answer appear lengthier, and ensure good grades in the process. 

There is only a handful of teachers left in our academia who still opt for the first option, and tweak the question in a way to allow students to let their imagination run riot, and come up with answers unique in nature, but also apt for the vastness and greatness that the word "university" stands for. 

One such question was recently set for a midterm examination of Bangladesh Studies at the University of Barishal. The question, set by Assistant Professor Mehedi Hasan, went as follows: 

"Saytan Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi na' and 'Saytan Deho Pabi, Chinta Pabi na.' Briefly examine in the light of 'British Hegemony' in the Indian Subcontinent."

There's no point in creating a fuss, or futilely claiming that this dialogue is taboo. It has very much become a part of our culture over the years. We should rather appreciate the line of thought that takes such seemingly silly dialogue to analyse a critical situation, and open the doors to new discourse.

For the uninitiated, the two sentences in quotation marks mean "Devil, you may get control over my body but not my mind" and "Devil, you may get control over the body, but not my thoughts" respectively. 

Now, this is what can easily be described as a multilayered question. 

To be able to answer this properly, knowing or memorising what hegemony stands for is not enough. One also has to have a good knowledge of the history of the Indian subcontinent before, during and after the British Raj. And then they also have to know what "Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi Na" truly symbolises.

But even if one is aware of all the aforementioned topics, it wouldn't be sufficient – unless they can think critically. 

Only if they can think critically and dive deep into the subject matter presented before them, drawing a parallel between the given quotations and the concept of hegemony, will they succeed in articulating an in-depth answer, ticking all the boxes. 

And only then can we say that they have acquired a solid education regarding hegemony, which is not a luxury but a necessity for students attending university. 

Setting such questions should be the standard, one would assume. Then why has this question been making headlines for the last few days?

Turns out, many people, students and masses alike, are not happy with this kind of question. To them, the quotations used in the question are obscene and inappropriate, and signify the "famine of aesthetic taste" the country has been going through. 

That the country has been witnessing a "famine of aesthetic taste" is a fact that really can't be challenged. But does the question in question portray that? 

Not really. 

The "Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi Na" dialogue has long been a part of the country's pop culture, deeply rooted in commercial Bangla movies containing "routine rape scenes." There is hardly anyone in the country who hasn't heard this line for once.

Still, if you have doubts, you can simply type the sentence on either Facebook, Google or YouTube, and hundreds of search results will flood your device screen. 

So, there's no point in creating a fuss, or futilely claiming that this dialogue is taboo. It has very much become a part of our culture over the years. 

We should rather appreciate the line of thought that takes such seemingly silly dialogue to analyse a critical situation, and open the doors to new discourse. 

But then again, we should also try and think why some people are unable to see the creativity in this, and are busy criticising the teacher concerned. 

It actually showcases the dearth of content in our curriculum that enhances critical thinking and analytical ability of our students. Since childhood, we have been taught, or perhaps forced, to memorise information, without perceiving a single thing. And now that has become the norm for many. 

These people are too lazy to look beyond the obvious. They are not interested in indulging in debate based on logic. But this can't go on forever. It is high time we reconsider what university-level education should look like, and act accordingly. 

We need to make sure that university students are being trained to think critically, instead of just memorising from their textbooks. We need to make sure they are being provided with enough opportunities to analyse real-life situations, as well as apply their knowledge in their everyday practical life. 

And for that, let's first appreciate the question that is being undeservingly lambasted.

Jannatul Naym Pieal is a journalist, Illustration: TBS