EVERY year, Bangladesh braces for disasters 鈥� cyclones in the Bay, floods in the lowlands, droughts in the north. Each time, thousands of families lose crops, livestock, or homes. Relief operations come swiftly, yet the fundamental question persists: how can vulnerable communities rebuild their lives?...
THE death of another worker caused by police action over unpaid wages demonstrates the government鈥檚 continued disregard for worker rights. At least 25 others were also injured in the clash with law enforcers at the Uttara Export Processing Zone in Nilphamari on September 2. While the family and fellows of the victim claimed that the deceased was shot by law enforcers...
THE High Court verdict of September 2 that directed the government to establish a separate secretariat in the Supreme Court and to vest full disciplinary control over subordinate court judges in the apex court is a welcome development. The judgement came in response to a public interest litigation writ petition filed by a group of Supreme Court lawyers after the fall of...
FOR decades, voters have heard promises of integrity, justice and accountability. These promises have come with every election, but they have invariably ended in disappointment. Investigations have faltered, commissions have been wound up and the very leaders who promised to end corruption and impunity have, too, often joined the ranks of those who...
SOMETIMES, history moves not through bold declarations but through quiet recalibration. That is what unfolded in Tianjin on August 31, when Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit...
BY HABIT, the choreographed Indian crowd began to chant 鈥楳odi Modi鈥� at an event for the Indian prime minister鈥檚 two-day visit to China. The Chinese hosts, on the other hand, greeted him with a knowledgeable display of Indian classical music, something Indians would struggle to reciprocate if it ever came to that. There鈥檚 a trade deficit, and there鈥檚 evidently a cultural...
THE world is observing the 8th Rohingya Genocide Remembrance this year to honour the genocide against the Rohingyas that occurred in Myanmar鈥檚 Rakhine State. The Rohingya crisis, often considered one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges of the 21st century, has attracted global attention to the plight of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh. Beginning in...
THE High Court鈥檚 recent directive to restore the River Dhaleshwari and hold encroachers and polluters accountable is a welcome step. The river is under severe threat from unchecked encroachment and industrial pollution. The High Court directed the National River Conservation Commission, the deputy commissioner of Dhaka and the Inland Water Transport Authority...
THE call that government officials, development partners and rights activists have put out for a comprehensive social protection system covering all marginalised groups to build an equitable society is what the government should heed, especially at a time when Bangladesh, now a lower middle-income country, is set to graduate out of the bloc of least developed...
The Chinese People鈥檚 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was a comprehensive national war of resistance declared by China against the Japanese invasion. This year marks the 80th anniversary of China鈥檚 remarkable victory in the human...
THE recent surge of violence in Bangladesh reveals a deeply troubling pattern that has intensified since the mass uprising of 2024. Across the country, innumerable incidents ranging from attacks on political figures and assaults on minorities to the...
鈥極f all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.鈥� Martin Luther King Jr spoke these words in 1966, yet they remain painfully relevant today. When life-saving medicines are out of reach, the price is paid not merely in...
A SOCIO-ECONOMIC survey conducted in 2024 on the well-being of 300 returnee migrants in two districts and four upazilas presents a troubling account of the challenges they face in rebuilding their lives. The micro-study reveals family, financial, occupational and...
IT IS disconcerting that the education system in Bangladesh still cannot ensure the rights of children with disabilities. Teachers, students and parents have long been talking about the lack of infrastructural support and other resources needed for children with...
IT IS alarming that fresh tensions are erupting almost every day across the country, with clashes making frequent headlines. On August 31, incidents of violence occurred at three universities 鈥� the University of Chittagong, the University of Rajshahi, and...