Badiuzzaman Bay

OF MAGIC & MADNESS

Badiuzzaman Bay is Assistant Editor, The Daily Star. He can be reached at badiuzzaman.bd@gmail.com

Who will restrain prices in the month of restraint?

If the government really wants to control or bring down prices during Ramadan and afterwards, it must be willing to go after its 'own people.'

2w ago

Who will restrain prices in the month of restraint?

A government’s job is not to preach about people’s food choices, but to keep food prices stable and reasonably down. When it starts to preach, more often than not it is trying to deflect scrutiny of what it cannot achieve through actions.

2w ago

‘Will you be my Valentine?’ and other expensive offers

In the end, love is a personal matter and it should remain so, regardless of how it comes out on February 14 and in the days that follow.

‘There’s a huge difference between DSA and CSA’

Mohammad Ali Arafat, the newly appointed state minister for information and broadcasting, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star.

Word of the Election Year: Dummy

Politicians provided a steady supply of obnoxious, potentially title-winning examples

Can BNP survive the pre-election meltdown?

BNP's retreat to the back foot amid mass arrests and convictions was as remarkable as it was rapid.

Voters without choice are just glorified dummies

You’ve already met the dummy candidates, aka independents. Now, meet dummy voters.

How to make dissenters out of citizens

Awami League has always found justification in the Nietzschean theory of cultivating or “inventing” enemies

November 2, 2023
November 2, 2023

Can bureaucrats be neutral in a win-or-lose-all battle?

Let me put it another way: is a fair election possible even if Awami League “allows” it?

October 9, 2023
October 9, 2023

Soft openings, hard politics

As the political landscape heats up in anticipation of the general election, the ruling Awami League seems to be pulling out all the stops

August 17, 2023
August 17, 2023

Road safety, transport politics, and a curious policy U-turn

The latest policy rollover on unfit vehicles seems to be the result of our policymakers remembering that they have interests to protect.

August 3, 2023
August 3, 2023

A Lunch Date Gone Wrong

The apparent hospitality offered to BNP leaders Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Amanullah Aman has caused reactions both funny and speculative.

July 23, 2023
July 23, 2023

A nation off-guard: Why is dengue still a non-issue?

Can we respond to a public health crisis with the same urgency as the crisis over our electoral future?

June 28, 2023
June 28, 2023

Books and bureaucrats are a dangerous mix

Few people are perhaps aware that there is a specific government institution responsible for overseeing non-government libraries.

June 6, 2023
June 6, 2023

Sacred Corruption: The Unqualified and The Unscrupulous

Corruption in hajj management has come to the limelight after the publication of two reports

June 5, 2023
June 5, 2023

Living in the land of dying rivers

What's happening to our rivers is not driven just by necessity, but also greed, a general disregard for the sanctity of life, and a reckless can-do-ism.

April 14, 2023
April 14, 2023

Is there a Bangalee way to celebrate Pahela Baishakh?

The “Bangalee way” in the sense of a single, linear way is a myth at best, and nationalist propaganda at worst.

April 11, 2023
April 11, 2023

In times of crisis, journalists must double down on facts

Facts, once the prerogative of the media, used to be sacred. Now, they are just fodder in an increasingly hostile war of narratives.

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