Ahrar Ahmad

Dr Ahrar Ahmad is professor emeritus at Black Hills State University in the US, and director general of Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation in Dhaka.

December 16: Proudly celebrated, not seriously studied

The cruelties of the genocide, and the heroism of the resistance were all parts of the people’s lived experience.

2d ago

After the euphoria, the concerns

An incredible opportunity has been created to build a more democratic, just and beautiful Bangladesh.

4m ago

Citizens, elections, democracy: The Bangladeshi conundrum

Even though transparent, participatory and competitive elections are a constitutional right, the realities today have vitiated those expectations.

1y ago

What makes a great university?

A great university inspires and prepares students for a rich and fulfilling experience in a changing and challenging world.

1y ago

The great Padma story

Shorn of its sacred grandeur the Padma has embraced its secularised and earthier image with some muscularity, audacity and flair.

1y ago

What makes a classroom great?

A great classroom is one that is conducive to learning.

1y ago

Deciphering the student-learner

What makes a good student? A definitive answer to this question is difficult.

1y ago

What makes a good teacher in the 21st century?

Today, the question of being a 'good teacher' generates a new vernacular.

1y ago
September 26, 2022
September 26, 2022

Student politics in private universities: To be or not to be …

On September 2, the student front of a political party announced its intention to form committees in 16 private universities.  It was greeted with apprehension and alarm. 

August 13, 2022
August 13, 2022

The Unheroic Antics of Hero Alom

Under what authority can the police make such a demand and compel its acceptance?

May 19, 2022
May 19, 2022

Violence in Bangladesh: The picture is disturbing, the wounds are deeper

If Marcellus saw the picture of college students brutalising an innocent man, he would surely have said to Hamlet that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

April 18, 2022
April 18, 2022

Early dreams and rude awakenings

Prof Rehman Sobhan (RS) continues to amaze.

January 3, 2022
January 3, 2022

An intellectual by instinct, a revolutionary by choice

Badruddin Umar may not necessarily be a very popular person. That statement is a little ironic for two reasons. First, he is the pre-eminent “popular” (people’s) scholar and second, given his tastes and preferences, he would probably wear that judgement as a badge of honour.

October 29, 2021
October 29, 2021

A spectre is haunting Bangladesh, the spectre of communalism

Given the doubts, confusions and anxieties of the modern age, it is perhaps expected—and certainly obvious—that there is a resurgence of religiosity almost everywhere.

August 23, 2021
August 23, 2021

‘Lessons’ from Bangladesh today

Bangladesh offers many important insights and perspectives in these grim and uncertain times. They indicate the uniqueness that defines us as a people, and the original contributions we are making to the world of politics and governance.

July 8, 2021
July 8, 2021

The politics of anti-politics: Corruption, democracy and the universities

I am fortunate, indeed blessed, to have been a part of Dhaka University (DU) as a student and a teacher from 1967-75.

April 5, 2021
April 5, 2021

Bengali Muslims and their identity: From fusion to confusion

One of the grand paradoxes facing Bangladeshis is expressed in the negotiations and contestations on the simple question about who they are, particularly in the context of the strains caused by the Universalist claims of their religion on the one hand and the particularist demands of their ethnicity and culture on the other.

March 28, 2021
March 28, 2021

Development in Bangladesh: A most pleasant surprise

Bangladesh illustrates a most intriguing and delightful puzzle in international development. After its independence in 1971, it was dismissed