IN MY small town, Bheramara, Ekushey February was a ritual. Barefoot we roamed, demanding the same of every passerby 鈥� a shedding of shoes, a mark of respect. Bangla, bhasha shaheed 鈥� these weren鈥檛 just words, they were close to the heart, a pulse. And how could they not be? Bangladesh, a nation birthed from language, its very being woven into the...
IN THE quiet spaces between history and memory, where the weight of time presses heavily, there are forces unseen but deeply felt. Military might, cold and calculating, intertwines with the raw, untainted zeal of youth, pulsing with the hope of a future unshackled. From the dust and blood of 1971 to the turbulent echoes of 2024, the struggle for sovereignty...
BANGLADESH鈥橲 2024 national Victory Day (16 December) is significantly different from all such days in its past. It is an outstanding moment of national achievement and celebration; it is a critical point for political learning and truth-telling; finally, it is an occasion for nurturing wisdom, unity and courage in the face of what is happening across...
AN IMPORTANT factor in the liberation war of 1971 was the sharp economic disparity between the then West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The proclamation of the liberation war, therefore, spoke about the desire to establish equality, human dignity and social justice. The country gained independence through the liberation war, but even after 53 years of...
THIS piece is not about the crisis or the chaos that the country is now facing after successfully toppling the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina. Rather, it is about the crisis of confidence and social capital or trust 鈥� interlinked, nonetheless...
WHAT started as emancipatory self-expression was soon subjected to the dominant aesthetic regime. What started as 鈥榗hika mara,鈥� a signifier of direct state repression, was soon turned into a sanctioned practice. But graffiti remains graffiti by virtue of its unsanctioned nature 鈥� the defiance and the subversive potential it...
EARLY on July 15, I woke up in Washington, DC to Facebook posts from Dhaka friends about Bangladesh Chhhatra League members ruthlessly attacking and beating up students at Dhaka University who were peacefully protesting to reform an outdated and regressive job quota system which shut them out of employment...
THE saying 鈥榓 bad apple spoils the whole barrel鈥� perhaps applies to any group of people. This means that, in certain circumstances, it takes only one or a few elements to ruin the reputation of an entire community...
ON AUGUST 5, the world witnessed a significant political upheaval in Bangladesh, as the long-standing autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country amid a revolution led by students and citizens. Her 15-year rule had deeply corrupted and politicised various government institutions, including the...
ON A pillar of the metro station in Shahbagh, within view just after the flight of stairs by the side of the Pubali Bank, is a graffiti. While the form has drastically exploded in popularity during and after the July uprising of Bangladesh, there remains a political distinction. This one, evidently hastily sprayed on well after the fall...
AS THE euphoria surrounding Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 ouster to India slowly died down, we have slowly begun to excavate the wreckages of her authoritarian rule in our surroundings as well as our collective memories. If we look critically, the immediate past 鈥� the period immediately preceding her departure 鈥� appeared to be...
BANGLADESH experienced its first transition from autocratic rule after the fall of the regime of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975. The second instance of transition from autocratic rule commenced with the fall of president Ershad in 1991. The third transition from autocracy to democracy has started with the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5 this year...
INDIA鈥橲 sheltering of Sheikh Hasina following the mass uprising in Bangladesh will shape the future of India-Bangladesh relations. The collapse of Hasina鈥檚 government also signifies a decline in India鈥檚 dominance over Bangladesh. However, it is an oversimplification to view India鈥檚 relationship with Bangladesh in such...
THE World Bank measures per capita national income using the Atlas method. The total national income (GNI) of a country in local currency is converted into US dollars. In this case, the average exchange rate for three years is adjusted, accounting for inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rate. There is often a difference...
INDIA is now grappling with the delicate task of finding a sanctuary for the ousted Sheikh Hasina, who had long been a steadfast and trusted ally in South Asia. The decision is aimed at preventing further deterioration in its already strained relations with Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the new interim government, led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus...
