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Opinion


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Why colonial-era laws still rule

A SINGLE district police memo tells the story. The language of ‘permission first,’ the stress on ‘orders,’ the presumption that authority flows in one direction: these are not quirks of one officer on one day. They are the reflexes of a legal order built to govern subjects rather than to serve citizens. Much of Bangladesh’s day-to-day criminal justice still runs on statutes...

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A justified demand or overreach?

THE statutory audit of financial statements — mandated by law — is a critical function to ensure transparency, accountability and stakeholder confidence. Globally, the right to perform statutory audits is restricted to professionals who meet rigorous legal, technical and ethical standards, often under a formal ‘charter’ or licensing regime...

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Famine in Gaza: no middle ground on genocide

ISRAEL war of genocide is not about October 7; it is not about freeing Israeli captives. It is, first and foremost, about preserving a racist Jewish governing coalition and seizing a historic opportunity while a submissive administration in Washington looks the other way. The aim is to advance a biblical expansionist project and create the conditions for ‘self’ ethnic cleansing...

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Accelerating artisanal economy

BANGLADESH’S artisan economy is not a relic of the past; it is a living industrial system spread across Narayanganj–Sonargaon’s Jamdani belt, Tangail’s saree heartland, Sirajganj’s handlooms, Rajshahi’s silk corridor, Rangpur’s shataranji, and shital pati weaving in Sylhet and Jhalakathi. Framing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s ongoing engagement with these...

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No road home for Rohingyas

EIGHT years after the military purge that forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the crisis remains unresolved. On 25 August 2025, refugees in Bangladesh will mark another year in limbo, with more than 1.15 million people still confined to squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar and the remote island of Bhasan Char. Bangladesh has displayed exceptional...

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Salt on the wind

THE first hint is often a taste — tea brewed with brackish water, a sting on the tongue after a long walk home from the embankment. In Khulna, Satkhira and Barguna, families now measure seasons not only by rain and harvest but also by the creeping line where salt replaces sweet. Bangladesh’s coast, once buffered by mangroves and silt-heavy rivers, is becoming...

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Israel’s assassination of memory

AS ISRAEL ticks off its list of Nazi-like atrocities against the Palestinians, including mass starvation, it prepares for yet another — the demolition of Gaza City, one of the oldest cities on Earth. Heavy engineering equipment and gigantic armoured bulldozers are tearing down hundreds of heavily damaged buildings. Cement trucks are churning out concrete to fill tunnels...

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A day of reflection and uncertainty

MYANMAR’S military campaign caused more than 700,000 Rohingyas flee to Bangladesh, beginning this day eight years ago.  The Rohingyas, the most persecuted ethnic community that time and its defenders the world over observes Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day today, making it a occasion for reflections on the horrors, the need for justice and accountability...

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Financial literacy for rural communities

IN THIS fast-changing economic environment, financial literacy has been elevated from a skill to a critical necessity. Nearly two-thirds of Bangladesh’s population resides in rural areas, where the lack of introductory financial knowledge impedes development and perpetuates poverty cycles. Abecedarian financial literacy is still unknown to millions of people living...

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Shifting gears in higher education

IN RECENT years, Bangladesh has witnessed a significant reform in higher education policy with the introduction of outcome-based education across both public and private universities. This approach, long embraced in advanced education systems around the world, marks a shift from traditional content-heavy curricula to a more learner-centric framework that...

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Understanding inequality across history

EARLIER this month, scholars working at the London School of Economics argued, ‘It’s time to face up to power in the debate about wealth inequality.’ The authors note that of the various ways we could frame the problem of inequality, the framing that has most resonance with people ‘focuses on the problem of Unfair Influence. That is, it places the emphasis on...

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Preparing for cloudburst disasters

PICTURE a tranquil afternoon in a Himalayan village. The mountains are draped in mist, the air feels crisp and the clouds seem to drift without purpose. Then, in an instant, the heavens rupture. Sheets of water cascade with an intensity that defies belief. Rivers rise like unleashed beasts, hillsides collapse, homes vanish and people flee for their lives. This is no ordinary...

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Local path to climate resilience

BANGLADESH lives with the harsh reality of climate change every day. In recent years, the country has faced more intense floods, heatwaves, storms and droughts. Climate change is not some distant threat; it is already here, reshaping millions of lives. In rural communities, farmers are struggling to grow crops, coastal families are losing their homes, and children are...

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Big brother never left

‘BIG brother is watching you.’ What George Orwell wrote in 1984 as a work of dystopian fiction has, for many, come uncomfortably close to reality in Bangladesh. The sense of being watched, tracked and recorded is no longer just paranoia. It is institutionalised, systematised and, most alarmingly, legalised. Surveillance in Bangladesh has not only survived political...

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Corbyn’s challenge to neoliberal politics

A SIGNIFICANT shift is emerging in the political landscape of the United Kingdom, as former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana have announced the launch of a new left-wing political movement. In July this year, the duo unveiled Your Party, which...