Dedicated to Visionary Dr Ahmed Sharif and Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar
Dr Mizan Rahman (1932 September 16 – 2015 January 05), a Bangladeshi Canadian Mathematician and a prolific writer, is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He was born and raised in beautiful Bangladesh, the land of waterlilies. Beyond mathematics, Dr Mizan has profound interest in art, culture, literature, music, economics, politics, philosophy, rationalism, freethinking and community.
Dr Mizan Rahman’s innovations and contributions have enriched our scientific community, humanity and global social fabric in a very profound way. ‘When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.’ Simply, Dr Mizan has just done that eloquently and touched many lives to weave the tapestry of truth, time and space.
Further to teaching and academic career in mathematics, open-minded Dr Mizan meticulously painted the vivid glory and magnificence of our humanity through his prolific writings and farsighted journey. His mosaic of memoirs, philosophical angles, turns and twists portray the reflections of life and provoke our insights to realize our potentials to build a better tomorrow.
Picture 1: Dr Mizan Rahman, in a social gathering, Akhtar
Hussain and Rosie Hussain’s house party in Toronto, photographed by Monir Babu
2012 May 20
Achievements:
- “His book ‘Basic Hypergeometric Series’ with George Gasper has been very useful, in fact quite indispensable, to the graduate students and researchers in q-series and Orthogonal polynomials since its first publication in 1990.”
- Advanced the boundary of education, knowledge and farsightedness for uplifting human harmony
- Published a significant number of high quality thought-provoking publications in the field of mathematics, literature, and politics with a ‘philosophical flavor’.
Experiences:
- 1998 – to date Professor Emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada
- 1998 – Retired from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada
- 1965-1998 Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor at Carleton University in
Ottawa, Canada - 1958-1962 Senior Lecturer, Dhaka University, Bangladesh
Education:
- Ph.D. ‘The Kinetic Theory of Gases and Plasmas Using Singular Integral Equation Techniques’, University of New Brunswick, Canada, 1965
- M.A. in Mathematics / B.A. in Mathematics, Cambridge University, UK, 1963/1958
- M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics / B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics, Dhaka University, Bangladesh, 1954/1953
Honors and Awards:
- Life-time membership in the Bharat Ganita Parishad (Indian Mathematical Society)
- Award of Excellence from Bangladesh Publications, Ottawa, 1996
- Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Science in Carleton University, 2005
- Best Teaching Award, Carleton University, 1986
Picture 2: Monika Rashid and Dr Mizan Rahman at
Monika’s House Party in Montreal
Picture 3: Dr Mizan Rahman & Farhana Shanta, in a
social gathering, Akhtar Hussain and Rosie Hussain’s house party in Toronto,
photographed by Monir Babu 2012 May 20
Picture 4: Dr Mizan Rahman and distinguished guests in
a social gathering, Akhtar Hussain and Rosie Hussain’s house party in Toronto, photographed
by Monir Babu 2012 May 20
Dr Rahman also writes on various issues, particularly on those related to Bengali cultures in multiple media. He contributes to internet blogs and e-magazines: ‘Karamara’, ‘Mukto-mona’, ‘Notundesh’, ‘Porshi’, ‘Parabaas’, ‘Sahityacafe’, … predominantly in Bengali language. He also serves the advisory board of the Mukto-Mona, an internet congregation of freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists and humanists of mainly Bengali and South Asian descent.
Dr Mizan Rahman currently lives in Ottawa. Besides maintaining a regular routine, he swims regularly to stay fit.
VisionCreatesValue.blogspot.com and biggani.org are delighted to present Dr Mizan Rahman’s visionary interview. Here is a snapshot of our electronic interactions:
1. Shafiul Islam SI: Greetings Dr Mizan Rahman – welcome to ‘visioncreatesvalue.blogspot.com’ and ‘biggani.org’. Tell us about your birthplace, childhood, education and the most inspiring childhood memory.
Mizan Rahman MR: I was born in a rented house in old Dhaka, in 1932. My first schooling was in my mother’s loving lap, till I was ready to go to school, Govt. Muslim High School, straight in class 3. We couldn’t afford junior schools, nor the tuitions at Muslim High. Thankfully I, along with my siblings, was bright enough to qualify for stipends and special poor funds that allowed continuing our education. I personally was probably a
little better than my fellow classmates—-received special attention from my teachers. I did fairly well in my exams, nothing spectacular, but reasonable, perhaps showed future promise.
My most vivid memory of childhood was the devastating famine of 1943. In a way that was one single event that formed my mind for the rest of my life. I saw human misery, suffered through it myself, from close range. That solidified the foundation of my character and personality.
2. SI: You are a dad. What do you miss in your children’s childhood that you enjoyed most in your childhood?
MR: One of the fondest memories of my childhood is the ever-loving indulgence I enjoyed from my grandparents on both sides. My two sons got none.
3. SI: Tell us about your family. Have your children settled well in their profession?
MR: The older one, Babu, 46, is, because he has followed the traditional route to the highest degree in Mechanical Engineering enabling him to land a good job in California, as well as marrying a college graduate of his choice. No such luck for my younger son, Raja, 43, who hasn’t followed any traditional course of career, rather a very uncertain path of classical western music, with training in the famed Juilliard School of Music in New York. He makes a living, yes, but not a steady one; and yet unmarried with real possibility of never tying the knot in the standard way.
4. SI: Is it a good idea to save wealth for children’s wellbeing? If not, what should we do our wealth after we pass away?
MR: No, wealth is never a strong incentive for pursuit of a productive life for surviving children, in my opinion. Fortunately I haven’t had any desire for wealth and property, which allowed me to pursue a life of what is proverbially called “plain living and high thinking”. Thankfully my dear departed wife concurred with me completely on my thoughts of what constitutes a meaningful life. Whatever little money I’ll have left, if any, should help that musician son of mine ride over the rough edges of his existence. The rest of it will go to charity.
5. SI: When did you move to Canada? What was the primary motivation behind moving to Canada?
MR: In 1962. Mostly for higher education (I did my Ph.D. at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton), and partly to escape the constant infightings and squabbles in the family.
6. SI: What is your vision? Who has inspired you to your visionary journey?
MR: To aim for the top, to give everything you have to reach there, first for yourself, then for the entire society that has helped you accomplish that goal.
7. SI: What is your passion?
MR: To raise the bar from the lowest level of apparent reality to the higher, transcendental level, finally to man’s ultimate goal of total abstraction. Quality has always been my way of doing things in life, whether or not I always succeeded.
8. SI: Name your most favourite five farsighted visionary Bengali who contributed significantly for uplifting human harmony?
MR: Frankly I am all blank on this question. I can think of Lalan Fakir, Tagore, Nazrul Islam, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Aruzullah Matubbor. But I don’t know if they all deserve equal weights in terms of their overall
contributions.
9. SI: Name five most short-sighted Bengali who deliberately undermined human harmony significantly?
MR: This is one question I’d rather not attempt to answer. This will quickly become a very contentious issue.
10. SI: In your view, who is the most visionary leader of our time and why?
MR: You didn’t make clear whether you are talking about Bangladeshi leaders only, or worldwide. I assume you meant only Bangladesh. In that case my answer is: the only visible face, as far as I can see, is Professor Yunus, although he is probably not going to make a very good political leader if he ever tried. But he is a visionary leader. He is the one who coined the phrase: World poverty will belong to the museum in 15 or 20 years. Highly ambitious, and unrealistic of course, but very uplifting for the desperately poor. His model has been tried, with measurable success, in many countries, thus earning him accolades in more than one form. This, of course, is just my opinion. I’m quite aware of the humiliating treatments he has received at home.
11. SI: We are in the state of financial turmoil. How do you sense the evolution of global economy? In your view, who is the most visionary economist of our time and why?
MR: I don’t know much of who the top economists are, so I can’t give you an answer on that question. But world economy is in dire trouble because, in my opinion, most people have been duped into believing by their political and business leaders that you can buy anything you like on credit, even if you do not have a steady job. The present generation of “buy now pay later (or perhaps never)” believers have finally brought down the whole
edifice. Shall we recover? Have we learned the lesson never to repeat the foolish adventure into the world of debt? No. We haven’t and probably we will not. Sorry to be sounding so pessimistic.
12. SI: You are specialized in various fields of mathematics, such as hyper-geometric series and orthogonal polynomials. Tell us your journey in mathematics.
MR: My thesis topic was far removed from what I have been doing most of my professional life—–it was in Kinetic Theory of Gases and Plasmas. I never thought in those days following my graduation in 1965 with a Ph.D. that I’d be anything but a Kinetic theorist. However, it was my first three publications in this area that drew interest in some quarters in the US and UK. Then it was time for me in 1972 to go somewhere for research
collaboration with someone on my sabbatical leave. Fortunately an offer came from a Physics professor at Bedford College in the University of London, who thought we would be a good research team. His name is Michael Hoare, now a life-long friend of mine, a coauthor of many of my publications since 1974. He, along with a bright graduate student of his, dreamed up a lovely set of Markov chains which needed a mathematician to make further progress. So, here I was at the right time at the right place. I got a gold mine! This is how my new life as a hypergeometric man and as a pseudo specialist in orthogonal polynomials took off. Yes, I have had some success in my areas, nothing outstanding, but for my limited talents I think I have gone as far as I could. I consider myself a singularly fortunate man.
13. SI: You have a profound interest in many disciplines. Who are your most favourite artist, musician, writer, politician, philosopher and economist?
MR:Artist: Vincent van Gogh; Musician: Beethoven; Writer: Tagore, by a mile; Politician: Tajuddin Ahmad; Philosopher: Socrates; Economist: Keynes.
14. SI: Among them who is your most inspirational icon and why?
MR:
Tagore, of course.
15. SI: You are well connected to the community activities. Tell us about your community commitments. How did you turn those challenges into opportunities?
MR: It would be a gross exaggeration if someone said I’m well-connected with community work even today. I think I’m not good enough or modern enough to do anything for the present generation. However, in my youth I did have some zeal for our Bengali community in Ottawa, which got into a fever pitch during the 9 months of our war of liberation. Yes, I did my little part, as much as I could, like every other Bengali of those difficult times. My efforts were not more important than others’. Since then was I involved with our communities in an organizational way? Yes, I was, again like everyone else. Deeply involved with BACAOV, Bangladesh Canada Association of Ottawa Valley, until a whole flood of new immigrants came and eventually brought the thing wide down. Nothing special.
16. SI: According to you, who are the most promising politicians and prolific thinkers of our time? How they impacted and outreached us to make a difference. Have they influenced your thinking? How?
MR: I don’t know if you are asking about our Bangladeshi politicians. If you are, then, I’m afraid I’d have to draw blank. There is absolutely no one I know who I consider worthy of mention, let alone feel inspired by them.
17. SI: What are your research findings and how do they impact to sustainable education and knowledge creation?
MR: It would be highly pretentious to claim something obtained by my “research”. I haven’t done any systematic research on anything but my own narrow area of mathematics. But I do feel that the education system in Bangladesh needs major overhaul—–it has neither created a healthy generation of future citizens worthy enough to lead the nation toward a goal of greatness, nor an army of capable technocrats motivated by anything other than their own glory and fame.. All it did is divide the whole society into 3 classes of people: the large majority of have-nots who have no choice but send their children to religious schools; a sizable lower middle class whose children learn everything in Bengali, but almost no English; while a much smaller but highly powerful section send their children to English medium schools, who end up learning a lot of English but can barely speak Bengali. They are the ones who go to Harvard and Oxford and Yale, leaving the rest to rot in their land of birth, condemned to live lives of abject misery and drudgery. Do I have any way to influence the craze? No, I do not, unfortunately. Nobody is going to pay any attention to what I think or say. Nor do I have any missionary zeal or talent to go out and preach some lofty ideals to mostly unwilling and disinterested listeners.
18. SI: In your view, what are the current crises of our civilization? How can we overcome them?
MR: In my humble view the real crisis is the dearth of
big ideas in the field of building a robust, healthy society, and politics,
coupled with slow but relentless approach of technology to engulf the human
life. It has taken over, in many cases, our normal faculties of thinking our
own ways, leaving the simplest tasks to the machine. This, I think, is going to
be the catalyst of our ultimate demise as an intelligent human species.
19. SI: Today only 5% of people have command on 95% of world’s
wealth. Many people live in poverty. Majority people live under a dollar a day.
Has our education system failed to outreach majority people to build a civil
society in our global village? How can we overcome such extreme inequality in
our interconnected economy?
MR: The so-called free trade has produced this
unfortunate situation, in my opinion. It has brought immense benefit to a very
few, leaving the rest of us trailing far behind. It’s like a super-fast train
that can be boarded only with a first class ticket that the poor folks have no
means to afford. It is the colossal collapse of social conscience all over the
world, in my opinion, that has precipitated this dire crisis. Human greed was
always there in our gene, but they remained under control by certain some
farsighted social programs, which simply evaporated with the introduction of
free trade and the oft quoted jargon of globalization. I call it the
globalization of human misery rather than human good.
20. SI: What is
you view regarding the existing political condition in Bangladesh? Are we more
involved with politics of fear and torture or politics of development and
prosperity?
MR: I never had too much
faith in any politician in our country, other than Tajuddin Ahmad, whom the
nation saw fit to shoot to death while languishing in Dhaka jailhouse. Others
are mostly ignorant, illiterate, inept and thoroughly corrupt bunch, who have
very successfully managed to demolish whatever precious few institutions the
country ever had, including law and order, education, health, communication.
All they have left is a very crude form of name-worshiping that can inspire
nothing but amusement and chuckle in the international observers.
21. SI: Are you
optimistic about the ongoing crime against humanity trial during the
independence in Bangladesh?
MR: None at all. It is a
child’s game that’s going to fly flat against their face pretty soon.
Everything has a timing mechanism. Bangladesh lost the opportunity in
1972—now it is too late. A country, whose entire economic survival is
effectively mortgaged to South Arabia with their 50 lakh manual laborers,
cannot afford to put Golam Azam or any of his cohorts in jail still, and expect
to remain friends with the Islamic world. No, I don’t think anything will come
out of that trial other than a lot of gas and pompous statements.
22. SI: The
proliferation of reactive religious ideologies in Bangladesh and beyond has
undermined creative cultures and progressive thinking. What do you think?
MR: It is a sleeping
monster that will roar back to life in near future. Bangladeshi politicians
have been playing with fire for too long in trying to appease the religious
sentiments of ordinary people. They call our country “moderate Muslims”. In my
opinion there is no such thing as moderate Islam. Islam, by its very nature, is
intolerant to contrary views. They say, Bangladesh has freedom of speech. Oh,
really? Can I question the validity of the holy book in the context of a modern
society? Can I contest a single word in the Hadith or a single rule of the
Sharia? I can, provided I agree to walk without a head on my body. In this
country real democracy is never possible. Religions are fundamentally
incompatible with the principles of modern democracy.
23. SI: Can we break
the boundary of our so called traditional belief system that undermines our
uncommon thinking ability for stimulating innovation and knowledge creation?
MR: I’m afraid, no, we
can’t. Most of our lives are controlled by a congenital fear of death. If there
were no death there would be no need for a god or a religion. So the myriads of
cults that have sprung up from time to time, are simply a reflection of
deep-seated fright that we all suffer from. Unfortunately our poverty is going
to perpetuate this dogma till eternity, as far as I can see. In my opinion all
you can do is that you can hope to come close to cushioning the problem in a
massive education program all over the country, cutting off completely any
public funds to the religious groups. Is that possible in Bangladesh? It was,
in 1972, but not anymore.
24. SI: There should be one religion in the world. That is humanity.
What do you think?
MR: On world religion, your
utopian idea sounds great, but it is highly idealistic—-it will never work.
The greatest obstacle is humans themselves. Ordinary people, who form the large
majority of population, will have nothing to do with that idea. They have no
clue what you are talking about.
25. SI: Is Bangladesh
doing enough to protect her talented progressive thinkers? How do you see Dr
Humayun Azad’s situation? Why did we fail to prosecute the attackers of Dr
Azad?
MR: Your question sounds
like a joke. There was never any room for “progressive thinkers” in this
country. Can we ever forget our one and only one home-grown philosopher,
Aruzullah Matubbor, and the events that motivated him to raise deep questions
about his religion? Has the nation been able to honor that man with even a
token gesture of respect? At the very least, a statue in a prominent public
place? No, my friend, Bangladesh is not a land of thinkers, progressive or
otherwise. Our journey is back to the grim past of Islam, not to a land of
modern values of humanity and human rights. You have to remember it needs a bit
of talent to recognize talent. Unfortunately our political leaders never had
that, with just one exception that I know of—Tajuddin. You ask about Humayun
Azad. I never liked this gentleman personally, but I always had, and will
always have, the deepest respect for his ultramodern ideas about religion,
society, personal life, art, literature. He just happened to have been born in
a wrong country at a wrong time. Bangladesh didn’t deserve the likes of
Matubbor or Azad.
26. SI: How do you
evaluate Taslima Nasrin’s situation? Have we failed to protect her basic right
and freedom of speech? What should we do to protect her rights?
MR: Here again, the
wretched country of ours has come out with its true color. Taslima is a very,
very talented girl, whose poetry is better than her prose, in my opinion, but
certainly had the potential of turning out a major writer on her own. True that
she could use a bit more restraint in her personal behavior, but that is no
reason why she should be deprived of her rightful place in her country of birth.
Isn’t it a cruel irony that a man like Golam Azam should be welcome back to
Bangladesh, while a fiery girl like Taslima should be banished forever?
27. SI: Killing people is a crime. Yet the killers and their
collaborators become the popular politicians in Bangladesh. How do we expect
criminals can serve people?
MR: The question makes me laugh. You can’t be serious. My
answer lies in the question itself: an ideal criminal country, where the only
people who can roam around freely are the criminals.
28. SI: What lessons should we learn from killing Sheikh Mujib, the
founder of Bangladesh?
MR: This nation of ours isn’t very good at learning
lessons. It never did, and I don’t think it ever will. Besides, haven’t you
heard the famous adage: the first lesson of history is that nobody learns
anything from history? Seriously, though, yes, there was a lesson. One should
never take his popularity for granted and be tempted to impose an authoritarian
rule on his doting fans, just because he thinks nobody will think of raising
eyebrows. He didn’t pay attention to his only real friend, Tajuddin: “Mujib
Bhai, this unilateral act of yours (Bakshal) may ultimately lead to a restless
people who will find no other way to remove you from power, if they feel they
need to, but to use the barrel of gun against you. After taking your life they
will then take ours”. How prophetic his words turned out to be.
29. SI: What lessons should we learn from killing Colonel Taher, the
prominent patriot of Bangladesh who had a vision to transform our military and
engage them for enhancing our productivity?
MR: That two tigers cannot live in the same cage.
Similarly two military men, one with burning ambition of his own, the other
with a missionary zeal to introduce basic reforms to an archaic but comfortable
system, cannot coexist. Reforms are anathema to entrenched establishments.
Likes of colonel Taher will be always eliminated by one general or other.
30. SI: What is the contemporary role of military in Bangladesh? Are
they dedicated to serve our country or busy to doing business with countries
lucrative wealth? Today military claimed ownership of many lucrative locations
and business in our beautiful Bangladesh. This is quite different from Colonel
Taher’s patriotic vision. What do you think?
MR: I don’t know much about the present state of our
military. But one thing I do know. These boys are from the same roots as the
rest of the population. So they can’t escape reflecting the same character as
their parent population—–one of total indiscipline, insubordination,
unreliability, treacherous behaviour. Can we forget the events at BDR compound?
I fully expect the military to be just as corrupt as the rest of them. No
country has ever done anything, in the long range, to bring about a major,
fundamental change toward a better future for the entire country, through
military rule. You may mention Mustafa Kamal Pasha. But that was only in 1925.
Look at Turkey now—-once again an effectively Islamic state.
31. SI: Prof.
Yunus envisions that one day we will see poverty in the museum. Can
micro-credit eliminate poverty? If not, what are the other alternatives that
can make a difference? Do you see any shortcomings of Prof. Yunus’ micro-credit
system?
MR: I have great respect
for this visionary man of ours. He is a highly idealistic man, with scant
regard for reality, but he is the only one, at least the pioneering one, who
dared to sow the seed of hope in a desperately poor constituent
population—-he kindled a daring dream. But his model can only raise the level
a little bit, that will not work unless all hands join him with helping
attitude. Did he get any help from anywhere? He did, from outside his own
country, but not inside. His method of implementation was probably not perfect,
perhaps it was more because of his naivety than “evil” intentions, but our
self-promoting politicians will have nothing of it. They are hell bent to
destroy this man. He is a different kind of Humayun Azad, in my opinion, a much
softer and humbler kind. Not as defiant of course, but as revolutionary.
32. SI: As it
appears, is micro-credit another form of exploiting vulnerable poor people?
Will you take a loan at that high rate of interest? If not, how can a poor
people afford it and be free from that? Is it a business of poverty retention
or poverty eradication?
MR: Frankly I don’t know
the answer to that question. I understand the ideology a little bit, but not
the implementation part of it. I have no answer to why and, if, Dr.Yunus
imposed those high punitive interests on his poor clients. I’m as mystified as
everybody else is. I think it would be best to put the question to him
personally. But I’ll never accept that he intended it to be a money-grabber to
start with, that it was just a clever business tactic, that it was more
exploitation than eradication. I’d not hasten to pass that harsh judgment on
this man, yet.
33. SI: In light of your research, do you think we need more
socially responsible teacher-student and education-business model to address
our emerging issues like extreme economic inequality in the ever connected
integrated community?
MR: Tall order: these high-flowing idealist models of
yours. “Responsible” student-teacher, education-business model, etc., —are we
talking about the United States of America or the critically over-populated
country called Bangladesh? It sounds like a modern western country the way you
described your thoughts. No, sir, I don’t believe it will work well in our
country. It may work in a very limited sense in strongly urban areas like Dhaka
and Chittagong, but I can’t see how it can take root on rural areas where life
is almost completely controlled by the clergy, and by time worn series of
dogmas.
34. SI: I feel empathy is the missing link in our
contemporary education system to build a civil society. What do you think? Do
you foresee any change in our education system to build a more socially
responsible future generation? If so, what form of education model do you
recommend to overcome this crisis?
MR: Modern education is not just important, but vital.
That is about the main ingredient that is missing in our rotten education
system. You can’t expect to build a “civil society” with a bunch of bearded mollahs
and an army of veiled women. We can’t have a decent modern state while
salivating for a ridiculous “khelafate rashedin” state. We can’t join the club
of India and China and Brazil while remaining devoutly loyal to a madman called
Osama bin Laden.
35. SI: Not a long ago, only a few universities existed in
Bangladesh. Now we have more choices, but, many people question about the
motive and quality of education. They see education is more business than
building more socially responsible generation who will transform our future
with empathy and equality. They are hardly involved with knowledge creation.
What should Bangladeshi universities do to address these issues?
MR: Bangladeshi universities are helpless pawns in the
hands of their masters in the government and the ambitious businessmen who just
to make a million in the quickest possible time. No sir, our education system
has rotten beyond repair. It needs complete change, a totally radical approach
starting with a clear understanding of what exactly are the goals of this
nation—-to create good Muslims, or good technicians, technocrats, or good
hooligans, good street fighters, or just plain old-fashioned men and women, who
can compete with the rest of the world. Just make up your mind, is what I’d ask
our “leaders”.
36. SI: You have written a number of books both in Bengali and
English. Among them which one do you like most and why?
MR: It is hard to single out one book from the others,
especially by the author himself. But I have to confess to a special weakness
for the very first book of mine, “তীর্থআমারগ্রাম”, almost like a first love, with all its naivety, its imperfect
expressions, inept idioms, yet with so much raw emotion, so rich mosaic of
memories—it’s very palpable.
37. SI: Gandhi simply summarized his legacy as ‘my life is meeting
the truth’. Looking back, how would you summarize your legacy?
MR: You
asked me about what I’d like to be remembered with. I think all I’d say is
this: A humble man who tried to do whatever he could to make his own life as
meaningful as possible, and others’ around him as enjoyable as possible. To
seek beauty and harmony in all forms of human expression (poetry, art, music,
literature, architecture, science, mathematics, philosophy, everything) was one
of his compelling passions.
38. SI: What is your advice to a prospective student/teacher who
aims for higher education, knowledge creation and changing the world?
MR: Never forget that knowledge is about the only thing
in life that has no boundary. One who does a Ph.D. degree should never think
his/her education days are over. In fact, I believe, at the conclusion of the
highest degree one has finally learned how to learn, and not that you have
mastered anything. Then go out and teach how to learn to be free, how to think
creatively, and socially responsibly.
39. SI: We appreciate your valuable time today.
We look forward to our face-to-face meeting and interview. Anything do you like
to add?
MR: I like face-to-face stuff. There is
human contact. I really have nothing to add except to say that I do not
consider myself worth so much fuss as your elaborate questionnaire seems to
imply.
40. SI: Thank you for giving us your valuable
time today. We wish the very best of your endeavours.
MR: You are most welcome. It has been a
pleasure.
A few excerpts of Dr Mizan Rahman from our recent
email exchange:
“…I’m just an ordinary guy who happened to be at
the right place at the right time, and was lucky enough to take advantage of
some of the opportunities that came my way. Nothing more than what others
wouldn’t have done under similar conditions….”
“…I could never write about my “successes”, leaving that to
others who have seen me at close range. My standard request to friends and foes
is: If you have something negative to say about me please say it in front of
me, otherwise say it in my absence. No, it is not my modesty or humility, this
is what I am. I don’t believe in trumpeting my own drums if I am any good,
others will do it if they need to. It is neither necessary nor
important….”
Foods
for Thoughts:
Beyond
mathematics, Dr Mizan Rahman’s prolific writings have been sustained by his
keen interest in expressing the small moments of daily life, portraying a
mosaic of memoirs that speak both to tradition (his early years in Bangladesh),
modernity (his adopted home in Canada), and humanity (his visionary journey).
Still majority people, living under a dollar a day,
cannot fight for right. They face fear and torture. When will we end
exploitations and tears? When will people outreach peace and prosperity? How
can we weave our global social fabric together with human harmony? Are we open-minded to accept the challenge and endure the change that we
want to see in the world?
We have raised and addressed a wide variety of topics.
Dr Mizan’s reflections and points of view are quite unique in
perspective. Simply he reveals his secret of success. How has he
led this amazing journey? He is blessed to have an open-mind to unleash his
observations and turn challenges into opportunities. I’m delighted to compile
and present you the links to Dr. Mizan’s publications. Click on the links below
to explore and enjoy his epic journey.
As I explore Dr. Mizan’s featured insights, I am
amazed to realize how silently he has concentrated to weave the tapestry of our
glory and humility. I have rushed to conduct this interview as ‘time and tide
wait for none.’ At least we have tried to unveil some joy and inconvenient
truth of our time. And someday, if someone takes some time to reflect on it to
make a difference – then what can we expect more?
Dr Mizan Rahman’s farsighted thoughts and visionary
journey certainly pave the way to make a difference. They teach us ‘how to
learn to be free, how to think creatively, and socially responsibly.’May I thank you for allowing me to share your delightful treasures with
us?
As you continue to seek beauty and harmony in our
humanity, we salute you evergreen Mizan Rahman for your amazing visionary
journey. ‘The light that you emit might even light a star!’
Our quest for quality life continues as we weave our global
social fabric together. We dare to dream…. ‘We shall overcome….’
End Note: I have missed
the opportunity to explore all of these links in depth. If you notice any error
or mistake, please advise me, I’ll be delighted to correct them. Feel free to
share your thoughts. Thank you in advance.
Stay tuned. More to come….
Dr Mizan Rahman’s Selected Featured Insights:
Selected Articles on Mathematics:
Basic Hypergeometric Series – Cambridge Books Online …
Basic Hypergeometric Series – George Gasper, Mizan Rahman …
Basic Hypergeometric Series (Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its ..
Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS of George Gasper (George Gasper, Jr.) (2
Reproducing
Kernels and Bilinear Sums for q-Racah and q-Wilson …
Pacific Journal
of Mathematics Vol. 252, No. 2, 2011
AN INTEGRAL OF
PRODUCTS OF ULTRASPHERICAL …
[math/0303211] A second addition
formula for continuous q …
SOME SUMMATION
THEOREMS AND TRANSFORMATIONS FOR
Writers_Forum : Message: RE: [Writers Forum] The Mailbox by Mizan
…
F. Alberto Grünbaum, Mizan Rahman, “A system of
multivariable …
Theory and applications of special functions: a volume dedicated to …
An integral representation and some transformation properties of q …
Quadratic q-Exponentials And Connection Coefficient Problems
International
Press: Methods and Applications of Analysis
A q-analogue of
the 9-j symbols and their orthogonality
Ismail , Rahman
: An Inverse to the Askey-Wilson Operator
Enumeration of k -poles – The Abstract
On a Family of
2-Variable Orthogonal Krawtchouk Polynomials
THE ASSOCIATED
CLASSICAL ORTHOGONAL POLYNOMIALS …
A Simple Proof
of Koornwinder’s Addition Formula for the Little q …
55-66
Enumeration of k-poles Zhicheng Gao and Mizan Rahman
Basic Hypergeometric Series –
Academic and Professional Books …
F. Alberto Grünbaum, Mizan Rahman, “A system of
multivariable …
Download Basic hypergeometric series (by George Gasper, Mizan …
MIZAN RAHMAN, HIS MATHEMATICS AND LITERARY WRITINGS
The associated Askey-Wilson polynomials
Projection
formulas, a reproducing kernel and a generating function for $ q $-Wilson
polynomials
On a general< i> q</i>-Fourier transformation with nonsymmetric
kernels
An integral representation of A10φ9 and continuous bi-orthogonal 10φ9
rational functions
Product and
addition formulas for the continuous $ q $-ultraspherical polynomials
Diagonalization of certain integral operators II
George Gasper and Mizan Rahman, Basic Hypergeometric Series, 2nd
Edition, (2004), Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Its Applications, 96,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-83357-4.
Mizan Rahman,
His Mathematics And Literary Writings, by R Askey
School of Mathematics And Statistics, 2000 Annual Report
Special Functions, q-Series and Related Topics, Fields Institute
Communications, volume 14, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 1997.
Selected Books of Dr Mizan Rahman:
English
Books:
·
The Little Garden in the Corner (2012)
·
Basic Hypergeometric Series
(Co-author, 2nd Edition 2004)
- Special Functions, q-Series and Related
Topics (Co-editor, 1997)
Bengali
Books:
- শূন্য(Zero, 2012)
- ভাবনারআত্মকথন (Journal of Thoughts, 2010)
- শুধুমাটিনয় (Not Just Soil, 2009)
- দুর্যোগেরপূর্বাভাস (Winds of Trouble Ahead, 2007)
- আনন্দনিকেতন(House of Joy, 2006)
- অনন্যাআমারদেশ(Unequalled by None is My Country, 2004)
- প্রসঙ্গনারী(Topic: Women, 2002)
- অ্যালবাম(Album, 2002)
- লালনদী(Red River, 2001)
- তীর্থআমারগ্রাম (My Village, My Holy Shrine, 1994)
Selected
English Articles: Karamara.org
Ma: Mizan Rahman Once again the burners are on in the … – Karamara
The Sweater – Karamara
Single Mother – Karamara
The Little Garden in the Corner – Karamara
The Peace Bomb – Karamara
My village – Karamara
The Little Garden in the Corner
The Pocket Watch
Except One.pdf: http://karamara.org/Backup%20of%20Except%20One.pdf
The belly
dancers in the twilight[1].pdf: http://karamara.org/The%20belly%20dancers%20in%20the%20twilight%5B1%5D.pdf
The song of
the gutter[1].pdf:
http://karamara.org/The%20song%20of%20the%20gutter%5B1%5D.pdf
Rima’s Letter: http://karamara.org/Rima%5B1%5D.pdf
The refugee.pdf: It has been absolutely miserable weather the last few … – Karamara
The airport.pdf: These days I don’t go to the airport much. Used to go a … – Karamara
Whither Forward.pdf: We are in a race. A mad, mad race. Not just us. It’s … – Karamara
Except One: http://karamara.org/Backup%20of%20Except%20One.pdf
Selected Articles:
Multiple Media & Blogs
Mizan Rahman – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Mizan Rahman Speaks to VOA About His Writings
Dr. Mizan Rahman Speaks to VOA About His Writings | বিষয় | Bangla
‘নিঃসঙ্গতাইআমারএকধরনেরসঙ্গী‘-ড. মীজানরহমান
নিঃসঙ্গতাইআমারএকধরনেরসঙ্গী‘-ড. মীজানরহমান
‘নিঃসঙ্গতাইআমারএকধরনেরসঙ্গী‘-ড. মীজানরহমান – Weekly Shaptahik …
মীজানরহমান: সময়যারকাছেঋণী – শওগাতআলীসাগরএরবাংলাব্লগ …
মীজানরহমানএরবইসমুহ
||ROKOMARI.COM||
মীজানরহমান: সময়যারকাছেঋণী :: নতুনদেশডটকম
মীজানরহমান : শোভনপ্রচ্ছদ – নতুনদেশএরবাংলাব্লগ। bangla
blog …
মানবচেতনারতীর্থচারীএকজনমীজানরহমানএবংকিছুস্মৃতি « সোনার …
মানবচেতনারতীর্থযাত্রীমীজানরহমানেরজন্মদিন – নতুনদেশএরবাংলাব্লগ …
মীজানরহমান, পরবাস–৪৮ – Parabaas
মানবচেতনারতীর্থযাত্রীমীজানরহমানেরজন্মদিন –
Prothom Alo Blog
পূর্বসমুদ্রহতে
ঢাকাবিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ফোরাম, টরন্টোকর্তৃকবাঙালীরপিঠাউৎসবওবাংলা …
Bengali Times | Most popular Bangla newspaper in Canada.
News-Bangla – নিউজবাংলা – Bangla Newspaper from Washington …
DeshiTV NESW Network @ Deshi Television
SNAP Guelph – International Mother Language Day and Language …
The Little Garden in the Corner
Selected Articles: Mukto-Mona.com
মুক্তমনালেখক: মীজানরহমান–এরপ্রোফাইল
(The last lecture of Randy Pausch)
Mizan Rahman’s Article Page in Mukto-Mona
The list of Mukto-Mona Advisory Board & Editorial Board
A trip to Tornto for the love of Tagore – Mukto–mona
Anyone Remembers Nov.3 ? – Mukto–mona
Selected Articles: Parabaas.com
Selected Articles: Porshi.com
বিদায়বন্ধু • মীজানরহমান
বৃষ্টি, আরোবৃষ্টি • মীজানরহমান
মিছিমিছিলেখালেখি • মীজানরহমান
ডক্টরনোবডি • মীজানরহমান
শীতেরপাখি • মীজানরহমান
সকলবিশ্বেরসেরাবিশ্বআমাদেরইমহাবিশ্ব • মীজানরহমান
সকলবিশ্বেরসেরাবিশ্বআমাদেরইমহাবিশ্ব • মীজানরহমান
শুনতেপাচ্ছেনতো? • মীজানরহমান
গোয়েন • মীজানরহমান
ইউসেমেটি • মীজানরহমান
পথকেপেলামসাথী • মীজানরহমান
পথকেপেলামসাথী • মীজানরহমান
পথকেপেলামসাথী • মীজানরহমান
জ্বীমহারানী • মীজানরহমান
সুশীলসমাজ • মীজানরহমান
আজআছিকালকোথায়রব • মীজানরহমান
নিবন্ধ : বিশ্বায়িতবিভীষিকা • মীজানরহমান
নিবন্ধ : নতুনদিনেরসম্মুখে • মীজানরহমান
Selected articles: SahityaCafe.com
ডক্টরনোবডি
গদ্য: সাঁঝেরবেলারনর্তকীরা
জাদুঘর
হেমন্ত
বৃষ্টি, আরোবৃষ্টি
Pictures Credit:
Courtesy of Farhana Shanta and Monika
Rashid’s Facebook, accessed 2012 May 27. Dr Mizan Rahman and distinguished
guests, Toronto, photographed by Monir Babu 2012 May 20
Acknowledgement:
I am grateful to Monika Rashid, Montreal.
Monika has extended her help to communicate with Dr Mizan Rahman in Ottawa.
Also, many thanks to Shaugat Ali Sagor, Publisher & Editor In Chief, Notun
Desh (www.notundesh.com), who frequently
publishes Dr Mizan Rahman’s articles.
Keywords:
মীজানরহমান, Dr Mizan Rahman, Mathematics, Education, Economy, Politics, Philosophy, Literature, Freethinking, Knowledge
Creation, Vision, Religion, Multi-culture, Music, Art, Community, Humanity, Karamara,
Mukto-Mona, Porshi, Parabaas, SahityaCafe, Bangladesh, Canada.
::
শফিউলইসলাম ♪ Shafiul
Islam ♪ [email protected]
Cambridge,
Canada
2012 June 02
::
Published at
visioncreatesvalue.blogspot.com on 2012 June 03
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AMAZING AND WONDERFUL.