WITH the fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 long-standing authoritarian regime in July 2024 鈥� toppled through a mass uprising after around hundreds of citizens were killed by state forces and Awami party workers 鈥� many in Bangladesh hoped for a democratic rebirth, one grounded in pluralism, justice, non-discrimination and civic respect. Yet, in the months that...
Donald Trump is turning the United States into an authoritarian regime, an Oscar-nominated director warned as his documentary about George Orwell was screened at the Cannes film festival Monday...
I WAS not surprised when Columbia University鈥檚 interim president Katrina Armstrong caved to the demands of the Trump administration. She agreed to ban face masks or face coverings, prohibit protests in academic buildings and create an internal security force of 36 New York City Police officers empowered to 鈥榬emove individuals from campus and/or arrest them when...
The country as a whole is going through one of the most difficult periods, created by the previous authoritarian regime through corruption and money laundering and it has left a deep scar on Bangladesh鈥檚 overall economy and financial system...
HASINA鈥橲 return to power in 2008 was not just the return of a leader; it was the return of something darker, more insidious. As the caretaker government retreated quietly, she swiftly reasserted control over every arm of the state, her will bending institutions like pliable clay. The dream of democracy, nurtured with such care in the days following the...
THE police personnel who lost their job during the 15 years of the authoritarian Awami League regime, toppled in a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, have held protests for a couple of days seeking their reinstatement in the job. The sacked police personnel also held a protest in front of the police headquarters in Dhaka on January 12 to press home their...
THE fall of authoritarian leaders in the contemporary world, particularly in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Syria, highlights a common and broader disconnect between the priorities of ruling elites and the aspirations of their people. While all three cases are situated in Greater Asia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh experienced British colonial rule, whereas Syria was under...
THE call for constitutional change in Bangladesh has intensified, not merely for refinement but as a profound demand for democratic renewal. Reforming the 1972 constitution within its current framework overlooks a critical reality: the document is itself embedded with principles that have enabled authoritarianism rather than safeguarded against it...
Speakers including journalists and activists at a discussion in Dhaka said on Monday that the 鈥榩ropaganda machinery鈥� of the Awami League was spreading misinformation and disinformation even after the fall of the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina amid the July mass uprising...
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...
Chittagong University reopened on Sunday three months after it was shut amid the anti-discrimination student movement that toppled the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina on August 5...
CULTURAL practice, considered pivotal in building an inclusive society and youth development, has largely been neglected since the fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime as the sector has run into trouble with most publicly funded cultural institutes having closed or been largely inactive. The Shilpala Academy, considered the centre of cultural...
THE rule of law, accountability, transparency, equality, social justice, etc are key elements of good governance. Previously, even democratically elected governments became unpopular due to a lack of accountability and transparency. However, the common people want the overall success of the interim government, which assumed office after the fall...
UNPRECEDENTED inflation rate in a few years has eroded people鈥檚 purchasing power, leading to a decrease in food and health spending. After the fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime, inflation eased in August but remained at over 10 per cent, as prices of goods and services continued to skyrocket. In an effort to contain prices, the interim government...
UNABATED rights violations, including custodial torture, extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearances, at the hands of the law enforcement agencies, which characterised the authoritarian Awami League regime, are where reform is expected. The reported allegation that a leader of Juba Dal, the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died in...
FOLLOWING the fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime in August, one challenge Bangladesh faces as it moves forward is the sheer size and untenable budget of the Bangladesh Civil Service. The budget for the financial year 2023鈥�2024 reveals that 22 per cent of our national budget goes into public administration, which is a clear marker of the...
IN THE recent rise of secular authoritarian government and the rise of religious orthodoxy in response to the so-called development-focused regime, let us take a step back and reread Lalon Fakir (d. 1890) to find what he professed and practiced in a similar situation. Lalon鈥檚 reformulation of the concept of spiritual practice was informed by the...
THE forced resignation of heads of educational institutions 鈥� often unseemly and, therefore, ignoble 鈥� keeps happening in breach of government directives. Against the backdrop of such happenings that began after the downfall of the authoritarian regime of the Awami League on August 5 amidst student-mass uprising, the education adviser to the interim...
Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te warned on Wednesday that China鈥檚 鈥榞rowing authoritarianism will not stop with鈥� the island and urged democratic countries to unite to curb its expansion...
A COUPLE of advisers to the interim government, which has yet to clearly define its tenure, reforms agenda and the terms of reference of the government installed after the downfall of the authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina, have聽 already given a reaction that is reflective of an apparent resent when they have been asked about the issues...