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).

Time to rethink media transformation

Media today has transformed into a spectacular performance focused on visibility.

2d ago

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.

1w ago

Understanding the university ranking mismatch

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

3w ago

When leisure turns lethal

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

1m 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
November 28, 2020
November 28, 2020

On being ‘silly’

On a day like this, 33 years ago, I became a man. To be precise, on November 28, 1987 at 12:10 pm in the emergency ward of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), I became a man.

November 21, 2020
November 21, 2020

The Shame of Being a Man

I woke up with a colleague’s hesitant post on Facebook wishing his friends well on the International Men’s Day. The comment thread is filled with issues ranging from locker room banter to the high theory on the dominant form of masculinity.

November 14, 2020
November 14, 2020

Never waste a good crisis

One more circular. One more extension. The opening of the educational institutions is further delayed; this time up to December 19.

October 24, 2020
October 24, 2020

An Unnatural Death

Have you ever put your ear to the rail to listen to the rumbling sound of an approaching train? I have. Many of us have.

October 10, 2020
October 10, 2020

HSC results without exams: The pros and cons

You have near perfect vision, or 20/20 vision, if you can see the letters of an eye-chart from a 20 feet distance. 20/20 is an exciting cricket game if you can add two ounces of cricket with one ounce of baseball and garnish it with pom-poms.

September 26, 2020
September 26, 2020

A game of kabadi against corruption

As the old joke has it, there is no lid in the mouth of hell where the Bengalis are kept.

September 19, 2020
September 19, 2020

No onion, no cry

In his Ode to the Onion, the Chilean Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda praises onions as “the miracle” that happens under the earth.

September 12, 2020
September 12, 2020

A Corpse of Love Doesn’t Sink in Water

The title alludes to a very famous folk song by Abdul Alim, Premer Mora Jole Dobe Na. The song pits true love against so-called flings, suggesting that mere water cannot drown the “body” who is in love.

September 5, 2020
September 5, 2020

Rage, rage against the ragging in the campus

English professors are known for being sticklers for rules. Even if I try to disassociate myself from the grammar Nazis, there are times when I have to wonder about the usage of certain words.

August 22, 2020
August 22, 2020

Losing a Loved One: When Doves Cry

“And my last ask is: if you’re someone’s sister, the next time you see your brother, please hug him… as tightly as you can, for as long as you want, because that’s all I want to do every time I see those photos. But I will never be able to hug Fahim again.”