KOLKATA: For five years, a 47-year-old Muslim academic has been visiting 240 temples in Bengal, 28 in Bangladesh and 12 in Nepal. His reason – to unravel the mystique of Lord Jaganath in the Bengali consciousness. Sk Makbul Islam, painstaking post-doctoral research has now earned him a D.Litt degree from Utkal University on April 13.

Islam’s love for Odisha, particularly Lord Jagannath, started under curious circumstances. “I was teaching Bengali in the St Paul’s Cathedral Mission College in Kolkata. A good section of my non-academic Oriya. Speaking and interacting with them, I slowly realized Oriya became my second mother tongue. My PhD thesis, which I completed in 1997, was on the comparative folklore of Bengal and Odisha. It was sometime, in 2006, I had gone to Utkal University for a lecture. I interacted with academics and local people and then an idea stuck me, it was perhaps two Bengalis – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Iskon founder Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – who had done the most to propagate the teachings of Lord Jagannath beyond Odisha, yet there is little research and documentation on it,” Islam says.

In 2008, Islam also registered for his post-doctoral research in Utkal University. Luckily, UGC too accepted his proposal. “The UGC project, helped me with the funds. The research involved exhaustive travel. Nepal, particularly, was a challenge due to the terrain. Without UGC’s grant I couldn’t have made it. But even after completing the UGC project, I kept working on it. The final findings I submitted to the Utkal University. I was informed that my work has qualified for the D.Litt degree,” he says. And since the news broke, he has been inundated by appreciations. Islam, a member of the West Bengal Council for Higher Education, has been felicitated by his college colleagues. Calcutta University V-C Suranjan Das also called him to congratulate Islam. The VC reportedly told him he is intrigued by his research subject. His fellow academics joked with Islam that they are yet to find a D.Litt in St Paul College’s 150-year-old employee roster.

For Islam, along with his work, the experience too was exhilarating. He did enter the Jagannath temple in Puri several times. “What I realized is that the restrictions are overhyped. The sanctum sanctorum, like other temples is off-bounds for all, not just me. So is the kitchen, where Lord Jagannath’s food is prepared. There is no restriction on the premises,” he says. But for Islam, the experience in the rural villages in Bengal where he spent days and nights documenting and researching, which left him awe-stuck. “Frankly, I too was unsure what lay ahead. I am from a different community. Though I speak their language, I was skeptical whether they will open up to me. But my experience was different,” he said.

“Maybe the fact that I was a Bengali speaking Muslim who wanted to study about a Hindu God and history made them welcome me with open arms. Everywhere, I went they helped me,” he said. A prolific writer, Islam wrote several books as his research progressed. In the end, he has five books – all on Lord Jaganath’s influence on the Bengali mind, both in folk life and literature and similar influences in Bangladesh and Nepal. “I felt there was a huge gap in documenting Lord Jagananth’s influence in the Bengali psyche. Hopefully, I have been, to some extent atleast, been able to bridge it,” he says.

Islam now takes up his next challenge as he tries to unravel the footprints of Lord Jagannath in North East India. This UGC funded project ends in 2017. Faruque Ahamed, Editor-Publisher, said, “In Islam’s 23 years of research life, he has already written over 33 books. He has also authored several scholarly articles. His feat, hopefully, will enthuse others in the community to take up academics.”

