From Cosmos Sangma
TURA: Being a part of the teaching profession guiding young students for 16 long years seemed to have emboldened 45 year old high school teacher Iqbal Rafique to make a stand for truth in the face of militants’ threat and subsequent ordeal of five days captivity.
In place of fear he gave moral lessons to his abductors in the hope of weaning them away from a life of crime. The reward he received was an apology from his abductors at the time of his release on Thursday afternoon.
Senior English teacher of the oldest missionary school in Garo Hills- Christian Girls Higher Secondary School, Rafique was abducted at gunpoint by a group of 4-5 armed men in the early morning hours of February 1 while going on a morning walk from his home in Mancachar, Assam, towards the Ampati road inside West Garo Hills District.
“I had walked around 3 kms from Mancachar towards the Ampati road at around 6 AM on a foggy morning when a group of young men in an auto rickshaw overtook me and suddenly came out threatening me with pistols,” said Rafique while narrating the sequence of events.
He was pushed inside the three-wheeler and driven off in the direction of the Ampati-Betasing road from Mancachar before arriving at Damalgre village. From there the very same vehicle took a left turn just outside the Praharinagar BSF camp into the Balonggre-Dakopgre road which ultimately brought him to an isolated area close to the banks of a stream where four armed men kept guard over him.
Compelled to sleep in the open without the warmth of a blanket, the only comfort being the dying embers of a bonfire lit by his captors, the teacher made best use of the time spent with his captors by interacting with them.
“I told them that I am a teacher serving the people in the oldest missionary school of Garo Hills and asked them why they were indulging in such activities which endanger their lives. Why don’t you continue studies and get a job and serve your people? I asked them,” said Rafique who was even kept concealed inside a cowshed during the day.
The militants, shaken by the sermons of the school teacher, are learnt to have confessed to him about the lack of education facilities due to abject poverty. One of the militants even mentioned that he was the only one from the group to have cleared the Class X exams.
During his time in captivity the leader of the group, who routinely arrived on a motorcycle with a full helmet, accused him of being a police informer and demanded that he share his family’s wealth with them.
The teacher, whose elderly father had only recently returned from a crucial medical examination in south India, tried to reason with the abductors.
“They accused me of being a CID man, said I had a lot of wealth with my family and even asked how much I could pay. I told them the truth that I am a simple teacher earning my living by teaching young children of Garo Hills,” said Rafique.
The pathetic condition of the kidnappers could be gauged from their lifestyle. At the time of his abduction they had snatched his wallet and taken Rs 2500 found inside.
Despite challenging times he faced in captivity, Iqbal Rafique highlighted the significance of education for one’s progress and urged upon his armed guards to abandon the path of violence.
When the time came for his release, Iqbal asked his captives to loan him some money which he could use for his travel back home. He was released in a jungle area of Danakgre after having spent the previous night in an open field without any warm clothes.
“I did not demand of the 2500 they took from me when they kidnapped me. Instead I asked them to only loan me some money to reach home. One of them gave me Rs 100 and I promised him that one day I would repay that loan. He said it is not required and said sorry for the trouble they had put me through,” said Rafique.