The democracy in Bangladesh, bashed and brutalised!
The recently held July 17, 2023, by-election at Dhaka-17 vacant seat that witnessed a vicious attack on an independent candidate, Mr. Hero Alom, revealed two contrasting trends – a missed…
Bangladesh
Modi’s visit to the United States: From the perspective of Bangladeshi media
by Ashish Kumar Singh & Kamruzzaman Introduction Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit (June 21-24) to the United States was expected to deepen and diversify ties between the two…
Dead Man Walking: One Poet’s Struggle for Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh
On the 26th of April 2023, Mohammad Mofijul Islam, the officer in charge of the Jatrabari police station of Dhaka Metropolitan Police in Bangladesh, recorded a general diary alleging that…
Is a US-Sponsored “Regime Change” in the Offing in Bangladesh?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen in Washington on Monday, April 10th (Blinken had asked Momen to meet him) to discuss the current state…
Mass protests in Bangladesh against brutal cost of living increases
Tens of thousands of people protested in Dhaka on December 10 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government and to call for new elections over…
Graduate Unemployment and Skill Mismatch in Bangladesh: A Broader Context
The staggering rate of unemployment among university graduates in Bangladesh, and the difficulty faced by employers in securing a skilled workforce, pose a conundrum for the country’s development journey, with…
Bangladesh people’s struggles in 1947-1971: The dynamics
Life, of individual and of class, doesn’t move without contradictions. And, people’s life doesn’t sit immobile. Life and contradiction, thus, is inseparable. Dynamics in people’s struggle moving on the matrix…
Two leaflets of February 1952 in Bangladesh
Immemorial February 21 produced significant political literature. The literature is evidence of political, and to be definite, class position of concerned parties; be it a group or political party, a…
Bangladesh’s Response to the US Sanctions: Matured or Imprudent?
On December 10, 2021, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Bangladesh’s elite paramilitary force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and seven of its current and former officials accusing of human…
Should Bangladesh Lease Land from South Sudan?
For a long period of time, Bangladesh has been striving to ensure food security at home by planning to shop farmland abroad. Recently, South Sudan, an African country, has expressed…
U.S. hounds Bangladesh to join military pact
With its latest steps, America runs the risk of being branded as a nation genetically predisposed to harming the homeland of 165 million Bengalis, many of whom still vividly remember…
American Sanctions on Human Rights Violators in Bangladesh: A Backlash to Bangladesh or China?
The frustration of those who lost hope of any retaliatory action against human rights violators in Bangladesh has finally been eased, at least partially, by the recent US Treasury Department's…
Bangladesh: Two Million Lives That Could Have Been Saved, but Were Not
How Nixon and Kissinger failed to respond to urgent need for course-correction from their own senior diplomats This year events relating to the liberation of Bangladesh have been recalled time…
Bangladesh @50 — Why Hide So Many Things?
Some facts for some ‘secular protestors’ Bangladesh is so near and so far, and the border, though we hear it is very porous, is also very opaque or even illusive…
Bangladesh – A victory and questions unresolved
Within hours, Bangladesh will begin celebrating that hour of victory – December 16, 1971 – that marks one of the glorious moments in the Bangladesh people’s history of bravery, struggle,…
India-Bangladesh ties at inflection point
In the life of a nation, perhaps, the first fifty years ought to be regarded as marking the rites of passage through adolescence. India can congratulate itself for helping navigate…
Courage, Caution and the Spirit of 1971
Most wars are not justified. However 50 years ago, as India prepared for war during the greater part of 1971, these preparations were well justified, and were in fact necessary…
China’s Policy Towards Liberation of Bangladesh
During about 8 to 9 months of 1971, the Pakistani Army and its local collaborators killed nearly 2.5 million people , raped over 3 lakh women and uprooted nearly 10…
Bangladesh Liberation: Modi’s Claims: A peep into the past
Bangledesh has completed 50 years of its liberation from the grip of West Pakistan, now Pakistan. It organized a grand program in which among others India’s Prime minster Narendra Modi…
How Crucial USA Interests Were Harmed by the Foreign Policy of Kissinger
Whenever it is recognized that foreign policy distortions of one or more superpowers have led to serious human rights violations and humanitarian crisis in developing countries, the focus has been…
Follow-Up Actions Needed to Further Strengthen India-Bangladesh Ties
It is good that recently initiatives have been taken by both India and Bangladesh to repair damage and prepare the ground for again strengthening close relationship. The geographical conditions of…
Why the Full Story of Mujibur Rehman’s Killing Cannot be Told Officially
When Banglabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman , the first President of Bangladesh, also called the Father of the Nation and revered by millions as such, was assassinated on August 15, 1975…
50th Independence Day of Bangladesh is a Time to Remember Contributions of Great Courage
On its 50th Independence Day ( March 26) Bangladesh can take well-deserved pride in the advancement in terms of several important development indicators achieved in the middle of many-sided difficulties.…
Who Was Behind the Killing of Banglabandhu Mujibur Rehman?
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was not just the first President of Bangladesh. Called Banglabandhu and Father of the Nation, he had played a very courageous role in resisting domination and repression…
Bengal Muslims: History of Betrayals
Scottish historian Sir William Hunter (1840-1900) wrote in 1871 that “a hundred and seventy years ago (In 1700), it was almost impossible for a well-born Musalman in Bengal to become…
Al Jazeera’s Tele-documentary, the Bandit Brothers and Bangladesh’s Dossier of Abuse
On February 1, 2021 the Qatar based TV outlet, Al Jazeera aired a tele documentary, “All the Prime Minister’s Men.” The tele documentary that included several sting operations involving convicted…
Conversation around controversies: a quest for objectivity and maturity in Bangladesh
Top Left: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman giving his penultimate speech on 7th of March 1971 at Racecourse Maidan, Dhaka, (then East Pakistan) Bangladesh); Top Right. Major (then) Ziaur Rahan announcing independence…
Is there any alternative to anti-government outburst in Bangladesh?
In the politics of Bangladesh, opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party frequently say that massive movement will be carried out to oust the government, whereas the ruling party,…
Pandemic, recovery efforts and significance of good governance in Bangladesh
Good governance, a much talked–about concept in political and development discourse in the contemporary world and closely related to the concept of ‘governance’ that usually indicates the process of decision–making…
Of national visions and international status of Bangladesh
National vision, which usually reflects long-term goals of progression, is crucial for planned development of any country including Bangladesh. A well-developed national vision provides overall development targets to be achieved…
The Begumganj (Bangladesh) Gang-rape and the Big Picture
I don’t know who drew this this rape-map of Bangladesh, but this is a telling geography of rape epidemic which as can be see here, has spread widely and reached…
The Bangladesh Crisis: Growth Without Development, Youth Bulge, and Degeneration
In view of the prevalent political deadlock, growth-oriented economic development, or growth-without-development – which is simultaneously stagnating and misleading due to inflated GDP growth estimate by the Government – and…
The Top Brass is Shattered in Bangladesh: Aftermath of a Retired General’s Interview
Although neither the puppet and illegitimate government of Sheikh Hasina nor the pro-Indian Deep State, which has been running Bangladesh for the last twelve years, gathered enough courage to broadcast…
Hasn’t Hasina’s Gambit Backfired? Isn’t Bangladesh Today a Battlefield of Sino-Indian Proxy War?
Bangladesh since its birth has gone through too many intra-military and intra-civilian conflicts to mention in one breath. As on 14th July, Bangladeshi Lt General (ret) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy revealed…
While Mandarins Run Amok in Bangladesh
As late as the 16th century, the Chinese indigenised “mandarin”, a variant of Sanskrit “mantri”, Malay “mantiri” via Portuguese “mandarim”, which stands for minister, counsellor, or a very high government…
Victory 1971: The traverse of Bangladesh
Class struggle defined traverse of the Baangaalee people’s victory-1971 in Bangladesh. The people’s War for Liberation achieved the victory by defeating Pakistan in 1971. Dynamics of class struggle also determined…
Disorderly Bangladesh: Is Anarchy Lurking Behind Extrajudicial Killings?
Extrajudicial killings of dissidents and outlaws by states is as old as civilization. The recent world history is replete with such killings. As Hitler had his Waffen-SS and Gestapo, so…
Pranab Mukherjee Tells It All!
India’s immediate past President Pranab Mukherjee (82) in his The Coalition Years, 1996-2012 – his twelfth book – tells his own tale about the last 16 years of his…
Wake Up Bangladesh, It’s Time For A Foreign Policy!
To some, the title of my column today might be utterly ridiculous, as it suggests it’s time for Bangladesh to have a foreign policy. They might raise eyebrows at…
Bangladesh’s Governance Decay: A Case Of Leadership Betrayal?
The sad thing about democracy is that every time you vote, a politician wins and for Bangladesh its tryst with ‘democracy’ its politicians have been anything but happy. Most…
What’s So “Interesting” In Bangladesh Today?
Interestingly, “interesting” is an English expression, which may hide one’s actual opinion about something one considers “interesting”. What I read in Bangladesh media in the last one month is very…
Bangladesh, Social Media And Longings In A Bizarro World
It definitely looks like law enforcement in Bangladesh--as also apparently in many other countries, e.g. reference: the British Home Minister's recent opinions regarding social media, not forgetting similar persistent…
Bangladesh-March-1971: Not The Theater Of The Absurd
“Portraying the current crisis [the political development in 1971-Pakistan] as something from the theater of the absurd, he [Bhutto] observed that framing a constitution for Pakistan without the participation of…
ISIS Attacks Bangladesh: Denial, Deceptions, And Delusions
It has happened again! In the wake of the latest rounds of ISIS terror attacks in Bangladesh, authorities in the country have again started denying the existence of any ISIS…
Modus Operandi And Modus Vivendi In Bangladesh
As government leaders sashay between paltering and prevarication---as they’re wont to do around the world---the people get bombarded, often everyday, with a substantive number of stunners. Just like Mr. President…
Between And Betwixt Freedom And Fear In Bangladesh
Since women and men don’t live by bread alone it obviously follows that they can’t live only by economics either. And even that is coming under pressure for any…
Bangladesh: The Truth Is Right Here
Apparently, and especially as gleaned from the verbal declarations of the leaders of myriad types and various ranks, the government in Bangladesh has assumed a schizophrenic tendency. It wants its…
Bangladesh: Rekindling The Spirit Of independence
The Battle Cry: Independence is humanity’s yearning. Independence is humanity’s lifeline. Independence is bud for humanity’s blooming. Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, a poet from Bengal under British boot, affirmed the position…
Understanding Indigenous People’s Issues In Bangladesh
Vidya Bhushan Rawat In Conversation with Chakma MK from CHT, Bangladesh Chakma MK is a Human Rights activist working with indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of…
The Role Of The UN And The Western World During Bangladeshi Military Coup In 2007: An Empirical Research
Shuttle and excessive diplomacy of western world especially the 'Tuesday Group's activities deteriorated 2006-2007 political situation in Bangladesh. Additionally, it was possible to declare the State of Emergency by Army Chief Lt.…
Is Popular Support For Suicide Terrorism Growing In Bangladesh?
It’s absurd! It’s preposterous to suggest that around 40 per cent of Bangladeshis favour suicide terrorism. Yet this is what some American think tanks and “expert analysts” have recently…
The Present Dire State Of Bangladesh
It was a classic instance of bolting the barn door after the horse had made its getaway… But wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s begin at the…
Political Responses And Interventions To Dhaka café Terror attack: A critical perspective
The article will critically examine and explore the recent Dhaka café terror attack. It will specifically examine the role of the law enforcement agencies in handling the crisis and…
Three Killed In Terrorist Attack In Bangladesh
In a terrorist attack near a mass Eid prayer gathering in Kishoreganj in Bangladesh two policeman and a woman were killed and 13 people were wounded. One attacker had been…
Carnage In Istanbul, Dhaka And Baghdad
The month of Ramadan witnessed unspeakable carnage in three Muslim cities in three different countries. On 28 June 2016, 41 people, both locals and foreigners were killed in shootings and…
Terrorism Gains Foothold In Bangladesh: What’s The Way Out?
Bangladeshi politicians, analysts, intellectuals, and media should do the following three things for the sake of durable peace and order in the country: a) stop denying the existence of terrorism,…
Who’re Killing Freethinkers In Bangladesh? Some Unresolved Issues
Of late, terrorists or unknown assailants have killed freethinking writers and bloggers, a couple of foreign nationals, and two LGBT activists in Bangladesh, around 36 people since February 2015. And…
A Bangladeshi MP Plays Judge-Jury-Prosecutor!
A Bangladeshi MP – who paradoxically represents the ruling coalition as well as its opposition in the parliament – recently played the proverbial role of the judge, jury and prosecutor.…
Defiance Of Law And Impunity In Bangladesh
Karl Marx, among other critics of imperialism, had some kind words for British colonial rule in India, especially in regard to the prevalent rule of law in the colony. The…
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