Shamsad Mortuza

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University, and former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).

We cannot let violence silence our daughters

What is perhaps more insidious than the acts themselves is the language that now surrounds them. The lexicon of liberation has deliberately opted for expletives.

5d ago

Understanding the university ranking mismatch

We need to change our mindset and up our game to improve our universities’ standing.

2w ago

When leisure turns lethal

The alarming number of deaths gives Cox’s Bazar bad press.

3w ago

Rising crime, institutional failure, and the bystander effect

The collective numbness contradicts the spirit with which the masses stormed the streets in July last year.

1m ago

In search of a vice-chancellor

Central to the formation of the panel is the objective of minimising political interference in the selection of top university managers.

1m ago

JnU crisis exposes the rot in our higher education system

Central to the JnU crisis is a list of broken promises.

1m ago

We need more than air purifiers to clean up Dhaka’s air

It’s easy to dismiss Dhaka as an unliveable city. The challenge is to replace that tantrum with the determination to make the city better.

2m ago

The crisis of a fossilised education system

It will be a crime to miss the post-uprising zeitgeist and not to overhaul our educational sector.

2m ago
January 8, 2022
January 8, 2022

When the protector becomes the predator

“Money can open every DoE door”—I read out the news heading in this daily only to trip over the last two words. The stuttering tongue-twister made me chuckle.

January 1, 2022
January 1, 2022

When the masks come off

Will the Covid-19 masks finally come off in 2022? The ever-evolving nature of our little big enemy makes it difficult to say if the mask mandates will remain effective in this new year.

December 25, 2021
December 25, 2021

Lifting the trophy of Bangladesh’s rise

In October 2019, The Guardian featured an article titled “The rise and rise of Bangladesh” with a string attached in its title, asking, “But is life getting any better?”

December 18, 2021
December 18, 2021

The trophies and atrophies of the Covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19 deserves a trophy for virtually connecting many of us during these atrophy-ridden times.

December 11, 2021
December 11, 2021

From Disgrace to Grace

The recent announce-ment and endorsement of the resignation of two high-profile figures have rocked the political boat. A mayor and a state minister have given up their offices—or should I say, they have fallen out of grace to fall on their own swords.

December 4, 2021
December 4, 2021

Prof Rafiqul Islam: A great chronicler

There was a 10mm glass wall at ULAB that separated Prof Rafiqul Islam’s office room from mine for more than three years.

November 27, 2021
November 27, 2021

Protecting our Students from the Wrath of the Titans

Every time I pass by the Banani flyover area, I look at the worms that have come out of the deep to rear their heads to announce the underpass underneath, and ask myself why the much-hyped pedestrian tunnel has not been opened to the public yet.

November 20, 2021
November 20, 2021

The digitalisation of our birth

“Do you know that you cannot die without being born first?”

November 13, 2021
November 13, 2021

Our development and the middle-class dilemma

The planning minister recently used an onomatope—a word that imitates the things signified. He referred to the economic growth of the country with the sound image of “shonoi, shonoi,” which can be literally translated to “by and by.”

November 6, 2021
November 6, 2021

A lemonade for the illusion of confidence

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.