Chattogram-based politicians observed on Saturday that the country鈥檚 political parties had yet to formally adopt a gender equality charter to ensure women鈥檚 meaningful participation in politics and economy, despite women having historically played a central role in Bangladesh鈥檚 social and political movements...
WHILE the youth leaders of the victorious July uprising against the autocratic regime of Awami League, a year ago, announced that the spirit of their struggle was to establish a democratic polity and, that too, in the light of Bangladesh鈥檚 historic promise to establish equality, human dignity and social justice, the Jamaat-e-Islami and its political allies at a huge gathering on July...
IN THE political history of Bangladesh, election periods have always been of paramount importance. From the Pakistan Movement to the birth of Bangladesh, the mass uprising of the 1990s, or the aftermath of the 2024 鈥楯uly Uprising鈥�, the right to vote has consistently been at the centre of political discourse. Although the three elections after 1990 were considered free...
WHEN Sheikh聽Hasina鈥檚 16-year hold on Bangladeshi politics snapped during the student-led uprising in July-August, 2024, few in South Block were prepared for the geopolitical whiplash that followed. After she escaped to India, the interim government of Bangladesh demanded the extradition of Hasina, which India has so far rejected. This, along with hundreds of other...
COLLEGES and universities are caught in a moral and political dilemma. Students are encouraged, on the one hand, to engage in party-affiliated or factional campus politics. And, on the other hand, that very political involvement becomes a black mark when they apply for government jobs. Many of us advocate student politics on campus, yet the same political affiliations...
HISTORY, for all its weight, often sits uneasily in the present. In Bangladesh, that tension has resurfaced with the recent revival of the International Crimes Tribunal and the sweeping amendments passed on May 11. On paper, the goal remains the same: justice for grave crimes. But peel back the legalese, and what emerges is a murky debate...
THE politicisation of police and the exertion of political control over law enforcement undermine the integrity and impartiality of policing. When police forces become subject to political influence, their priorities may shift from enforcing the law equitably to serving the interests of particular political groups or individuals. This erosion of neutrality can lead to selective...
THE picturesque town of Pahalgam, once fondly dubbed the 鈥楽witzerland of India,鈥� now bears the weight of a tragedy that marks a troubling shift in India鈥檚 socio-political landscape. The deadly gun attack in this Himalayan resort town, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people, including foreign nationals and a naval officer, is not merely another terror incident. It is a...
In the dimly lit corridors of the developing world鈥檚 politics, truth often walks with a limp 鈥� scarred, bent, and barely audible 鈥� while power parades in a blinding spotlight, gilded with slogans, spectacles, and silence. The question 鈥� what holds more value in political culture, 鈥榩ower鈥� or 鈥榯ruth鈥�?鈥攎ay appear philosophical, but its answer, as Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman...
ANGLADESH is in urgent need of a democratic transition. It is pertinent to commence this discussion by examining global examples of democratic transitions in previously undemocratic states. Such transitions have typically been made possible through four key measures: prioritising national interests above political considerations, eliminating hegemonic influences from...
THE shifting tides of global politics have always been dictated by the convergence of interests among great powers. Recently, a new strategic alignment has emerged 鈥� one that promises to redefine the balance of power and reshape international relations. The growing understanding between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin...
SINCE the Communist Revolution in 1949 till February 1972, the United States has not recognised Mao Zedong鈥檚 China. It has accepted the People鈥檚 Republic of China (Taiwan) as the legitimate Chinese government. In 1953, the Soviet Union and China together fought a war on the Korean peninsula against the US-led coalition. The Soviet Union and China fell apart...
DONALD Trump in the United States is showing how, in a democratic polity, the winner of the people鈥檚 mandate can become an unstoppable extreme force. Critics of the National People鈥檚 Power government frequently jibe at the government鈥檚 economic policy as being a mere continuation of the essential features of the economic policy of former president...
THE decision of the Khulna University of Science and Technology to uphold the ban on student politics amid clashes allegedly between Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the Students Against Discrimination appears shortsighted and it carries the risk of curtailing students鈥� right to organise on campus. The clashes took place...
THE clash between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the Students Against Discrimination, which led the July-August uprising that toppled the Awami League government, at the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology on February 18 is shocking. The clash, which reportedly broke out over an altercation...
The authorities of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology on Wednesday upheld its previous decision to ban student politics on the campus amid a tense situation over Tuesday鈥檚 clash between Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Students Against Discrimination...
Tension gripped Khulna University of Engineering and Technology campus on Wednesday morning a day after clashes between general students and Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 student wing Chhatra Dal over the demand of banning student politics...
SOUTH Asia鈥檚 hydro-politics is marked by a complex web of transboundary rivers, riparian positions, and power dynamics, often leading to disputes over water sharing. The situation is particularly strained between India and China concerning the Brahmaputra River and between Bangladesh and India, which share 54 transboundary rivers...
The loan under the government-to-government negotiation from China and India is increasingly influenced by geopolitics, challenging Bangladesh to successfully implement its infrastructure projects...
A TASK force that the government instituted in September 2024 submitted its report, Re-strategising the Economy and Mobilising Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development, on January 30. The task force, composed of 12 members, in the sixth chapter of the report titled 鈥楻eaping the Benefits of Demographic Dividends: Investment in...
A recently published task force report on re-strategising the economy recommended that the government should develop and implement a single university admission test for all public and private universities in the country...
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, was admitted to The London Clinic in the United Kingdom on Wednesday for advanced treatment.
THE important promises of the NPP government to the people includes addressing the problem of corruption and waste. This was the centrepiece of the Aragalaya protests that brought down the government in 2022. The government made many other promises too when it was in the opposition. But unlike in the case of these other promises...
Veteran labour leader and president of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre Shahidullah Chowdhury died on Friday noon in his residence in Dhaka.
South Korean investigators abandoned their attempt to arrest impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on Friday over a failed martial law bid, citing safety concerns after a standoff with his security team.
Concerns are growing in the UK as tech billionaire Elon Musk takes an increasingly close interest in Britain鈥檚 political scene, appearing to cosy up to hard-right firebrand lawmaker Nigel Farage...
No reason was given in the Burkina Faso鈥檚 ruling military leader's decree for the dismissal of Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, who was named as premier in October 2022 after the coup that brought Captain Ibrahim Traore to power...
France鈥檚 lower house of parliament Wednesday started debating two no-confidence motions in a session widely expected to topple the minority government of prime minister Michel Barnier in a historic vote...
A special committee consisting of eminent personalities has begun its work to examine the nature and form of political activities on the Dhaka University campus...
THE reality is harsh, and the manipulation is not just subtle 鈥� it is deliberate, ingrained in the very fabric of power itself. As I read through the analysis presented by Commodore Abdur Razzak in 抖阴精品 and Sharbari Z Ahmed in Netra.news, the underlying dynamics that shape the political landscape of both Bangladesh and the wider world become...