On July 21, the unthinkable happened. A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 jet 鈥� a relic of Cold War-era military hardware 鈥� fell from the sky and slammed into Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka, killing at least 33 people, most of them children. In a...
ONE of the most corrosive legacies of Bangladesh鈥檚 political misrule has been its transformation into a toll state 鈥� where power is monetized and citizens are coerced into paying for what should be theirs by right. Toll extortion 鈥� coerced payments...
THE Financial Times revealed this month that a cabal of Israeli investors, one of the world鈥檚 top business consulting groups and a think-tank headed by former British prime minister Tony Blair had been secretly working on plans to exploit the ruins of Gaza as prime real estate...
I teach literature, a subject that is closely related to everyday life and hence cannot be divorced from political happenings. When interpreting literary texts, I often draw examples from political contexts...
IN A quiet courtroom in the Hague, history stirred. A legal ripple, as gentle as a sigh from the Pacific, reached the shorelines of global governance. The International Court of Justice declared, in an advisory fashion though, that one country may, indeed, sue another for climate change. The words hung heavy in the air, stirring both celebrations and scepticism. Rightly so...
JUST weeks after a temporary pause in the Israel-Iran war through a fragile ceasefire, Israel has attacked Syria, under the pretence of protecting the Druze community. The Israeli attack denotes Israel鈥檚 ambition to expand and perpetuate its war in the Middle East...
THE Milestone School and College jet crash of July 21, 2025, is a national tragedy of unspeakable proportions 鈥� one that transcends the conscience of the entire nation. The tragic and untimely deaths of our children have plunged the country into profound grief. For the families affected, the loss is irreparable, and those who survived will undoubtedly carry the trauma...
IT IS hard to decide what is more surreal: that the United States is threatening 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian imports in the name of 鈥榬eciprocity鈥� or that global markets, once jittery at the mere whisper of Trumpian trade tantrums, are now brushing off these ultimatums with a shrug and record-breaking rallies...
WE HAVE all seen children dress up as their heroes or pretend to be doctors, teachers, or other professionals during playtime. What seems like simple fun is actually something far more significant. It is how children make sense of their world, acting out experiences, ideas, or stories. Imagination, which lies at the heart of children鈥檚 role play, is even more vital than simply acquiring knowledge...
DEMOCRACY is not a one-time achievement secured through the ballot box; it is an ongoing process of institutional development, civic engagement and the constant renegotiation of power and accountability. In Bangladesh, the democratic journey has been both inspiring and turbulent. While the country has made notable strides in economic development and social...
CLIMATE change stands as one of the most pressing global challenges of the twenty-first century, with its impacts reverberating through both the natural environment and human societies. To understand, predict and potentially mitigate these impacts, scientists depend heavily on climate models. At the very core of these models lies mathematics, an indispensable...
THE Fourth Industrial Revolution promises a dazzling future: hyper-connected cities, intelligent automation, ubiquitous sensors and AI-driven efficiency. For Bangladesh, embracing these technologies is not merely aspirational; it is considered essential for economic leapfrogging, enhanced governance and improved quality of life for millions. Yet, as we rush headlong into...
THE odious idea of a camp within a camp. The Gaza Strip, with an even greater concentration of Palestinian civilian life within an ever-shrinking stretch of territory. These are the proposals ventured by the Israeli government even as the official Palestinian death toll marches upwards to 60,000. They envisage the placement of some 600,000 displaced and houseless...
The crash of the F-7 aircraft over Dia Bari is not merely a tragic accident; it is the tragic symptom of a deeper and chronic institutional pathology. What we are witnessing is not the result of a single point of failure, but rather the slow-motion collapse of an organisational logic that tolerates decay, rewards negligence and defers accountability 鈥� until the cost is measured in human lives...
CONVENTIONALLY, a parliament member鈥檚 responsibilities tend to be seen in terms of scrutiny of legislation, development and constituent service. Observers talk about their formal roles. How about informal and less visible responsibilities? My collaborative research with the University of London, SOAS (2014-17), on this issue suggests that the MPs do their duties around...