MANY people are now openly saying that the government and the state are not functioning well. There is no reason to brand everyone making such observations as fascists or their sympathisers. A significant portion of those who directly participated in or supported the anti-fascist movement in the past are also openly voicing such concerns, motivated by their...
A FAIR, Gazi Kalu-Champabati Mela, having been held for about two hundred years, at Jagannathpur of Kumarkhali in Kushtia has remained suspended since May 20 after it began on May 17. A clash between the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which wanted a permanent end to the holding of the fair, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which wanted the fair to continue, has...
NEARLY six months have passed since the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement began a sit-in inside the partially destroyed Panthakunja Park, one of the capital鈥檚 last parks, calling for a halt to the construction of a section of the Dhaka elevated expressway from the Film Development Corporation to the Plassey crossing. Protesters say that the construction of the elevated...
THERE was a time, not long ago, when Benjamin Netanyahu fancied himself as the architect of a brave new region. It was a vision unencumbered by either geography or morality, and centred squarely around one man鈥檚 delusions of grandeur. From podiums...
THIS name is none but emeritus professor of political science of Rowan University, New Jersey, Dr Muhammad Rashidzuzzman, who breathed his last on May 21, 2025, in his residence at Glassboro, New Jersey, at the age of 89, due to old-age complication.
THE Bangladesh-India borders have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent Bangladeshis. A less bloody form of human tragedy that has been enacted at the borders is what is called 鈥榩ush in鈥�. This simply means, Indian Border Security Forces (BSF)...
GLOBAL narratives of Bangladesh鈥檚 development often centre on the garment industry and the vital contributions of its diaspora. These sectors, while crucial, only tell part of the story. A slower but equally consequential transformation has...
MICROFINANCE has long been recognised as a vital tool for combating poverty and empowering low-income populations, particularly in developing countries. By extending small loans to individuals who are often excluded from formal financial systems, microfinance...
A BRIEF spell of moderate rainfall brought vast areas of Dhaka to a standstill on May 22 as a grim reminder of the city鈥檚 chronic water stagnation problem. Roads went under water, forcing people to wade through knee-high water. Rickshaw pullers struggled...
THE chief adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, has reasons to be unhappy about certain recent developments, political and otherwise, leading to his discontent to the extent of contemplating his resignation. The developments...
IN SOUTH Asia, power rarely wears the mask of neutrality. It either comes cloaked in populist nationalism or camouflaged in a strategic alliance. Bangladesh, wedged between two troubling neighbours 鈥� India and Myanmar 鈥� is increasingly a frontline state, not just in terms of geographic vulnerability, but as a theatre for the contest between sovereignty and...
BANGLADESH continues to face significant challenges in ensuring quality education, universally recognised as the cornerstone of national development, for all. Despite commendable progress in the enrolment rate, the dropout rate remains high, especially among girls and in marginalised communities while learning outcomes lag behind regional peers. The key to...
ANY assault on teachers is unacceptable as it happened when students of the National University attacked the vice-chancellor on May 21. And, further unacceptable is the reason that prompted the event as the students on the day assaulted the teacher, soon after he had got off his car at the administrative building on the university campus in Gazipur, demanding...
PERSISTENT food inflation, largely caused by a fragmented, inefficient market system, has placed millions of fixed- and low-income people in a precarious situation. Market experts, the consumers鈥� association and independent studies have for long pointed out the issue. Now, the Bangladesh Bank says that an inefficient market system, characterised by supply chain...
THE tragic and brutal murder of Shahriar Alam Samya, a bright student from the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University, has struck a deep blow to the nation鈥檚 conscience. Once the torchbearer of progress and a hub for democratic movements, Dhaka University now finds itself grappling with an unsettling darkness that falls over its campus...