Bot Opinion

Bot Opinion

At 50, Bangladesh is a land of opportunities and promise

I am delighted to be returning to Bangladesh in its Golden Jubilee year, and I look forward to celebrating the tremendous achievements of the past half century with friends old and new.

3y ago

Proposed revisions in the EU-GSP scheme: Implications for Bangladesh

As is known, the current provisions of the EU’s Generalised System of preferences (EU-GSP) scheme are being revised at present in anticipation of the new scheme to be put in place as of January 1, 2024.

3y ago

What does it say about our society when a child bride sets herself on fire?

Upon reading the news headline for the incident I am about to discuss, I only felt a momentary, dull pain in my gut or thereabouts. Because while it is a shocking incident that would rob you of hope, the elements of the story are all too familiar to us all.

3y ago

Can the Great Powers avoid war?

As tensions over the Taiwan Strait mount, everyone needs to think about whether war is inevitable. Ukrainian revolutionary Leon Trotsky once said: “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” And if we slip into war by what World War I historian Barbara Tuchman called the March of Folly, can the Great Powers step back from mutual nuclear annihilation?

3y ago

Reinvigorate efforts to end TB

The year 2020 marked a watershed in global efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2030. First, it was because, by 2020, the TB-affected countries aimed to achieve the first set of “End TB” milestones: a 35 percent reduction in TB deaths, a 20 percent

3y ago

Lost home, abandoned nation: Fighting for a Bangladesh for all

I have been feeling unwell since October 13. After the mayhem in Cumilla, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. With a broken heart, my father-in-law and I, along with my son, decided to continue with our tradition of puja visits and mandap-hopping, yet we were all deeply disturbed, witnessing the carnage unravelling with a helpless rage.

3y ago

National Road Safety Day / A plea for safer travels

Today, on October 22, we celebrate National Road Safety Day. But why? Not why we care about safety—the devastating toll of accidents makes it clear why it is important—but why call it Road Safety Day? If we are using roads to travel from place to place, and we want to be able to do so safely, why not call it Safe Travels Day?

3y ago

Climate anxiety and the rights of future generations

I was around 10 when I first heard about the idea of, as it was then known, global warming and how Bangladesh will one day go underwater as sea levels rise.

3y ago

Does the G-7 summit outcome mean anything for Bangladesh?

Coming out of Trump’s “America First” policy, US President Joe Biden is robustly engaging his allies in his global vision. After the virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April, three months after taking office, he joined the G-7 summit in Cornwall, UK on June 11-13.

3y ago

Street violence and gang culture 2.0

A female student of mine walked out of her dentist’s chamber at Bailey Road at around 8pm on June 7, 2021.

3y ago

The G7 Vaccine Charade

In a recent essay on Samantha Power, President Joe Biden’s new administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times writes, correctly,

3y ago

Mohiuddin Ahmed: An institution in himself

To the average reader, Mohiuddin Ahmed is better known as the founder of University Press Limited, a reputed publishing house in the country.

3y ago

‘A polarised nation is a paralysed one, and we’re dangerously headed in that direction’

A lot has changed since the start of the pandemic. For many of us, it has come to instantiate the kind of epoch-making events that upend not just life but also perspectives, leaving a profound mark on the civilisation. As a writer and thinker, what has it altered or reinforced about your view of our society?

3y ago

Humanity should not be separated by borders or water

We all share one planet, and so essentially we are all neighbours, yet the inequality between affluent nations and impoverished countries is stark.

3y ago

‘The state has always deemed universities hostile to its interests’

In your long illustrious career, you’ve written extensively on many issues, but I find your enduring interest in poverty, rights and justice fascinating. Has there been any personal motivation for pursuing what has been your lifelong crusade against the forces feeding off people’s sufferings?

3y ago

The sinkhole of unpredictable regulation in Digital Bangladesh

he telecoms law is going to be amended for the third time to wipe out the residues of notional regulatory independence. The authorities have uploaded a draft amendment in their websites ostensibly for public consultation,

3y ago

We must support and enable those at risk of cyberbullying

A 17-year-old girl in India hanged herself after a friend posted intimate photographs of her on social media to take revenge.

3y ago

Remittances have helped villages bounce back

With the World Bank identifying Bangladesh as one of only three big economies, along with Pakistan and Mexico, with increased remittance inflow in 2020, and with remittances making up a substantial share of the country’s income for long,

3y ago