Interviews

Interviews

‘Independent body needed to protect human rights defenders’

Odhikar Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan talks about his experience under the Awami League regime in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star.

2d ago

Human Rights Day 2024 / ‘We must challenge not just regimes, but also oppressive legal machinery'

Human rights lawyer Taqbir Huda talks about the current state of human rights in Bangladesh and the potential way forward.

1w ago

Interview / External forces must not interfere with the media

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), speaks with Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star.

1m ago

‘Karnaphuli tunnel is a white elephant for Bangladesh’

Prof Md Shamsul Hoque talks about the practicality of undertaking megaprojects like the Karnaphuli tunnel with The Daily Star.

1m ago

Will Trump's return change Bangladesh-US ties?

Michael Kugelman discusses the implications of a second Trump presidency for Bangladesh with The Daily Star.

1m ago

‘Domestic gas exploration is the most economical option’

Dr Badrul Imam, honorary professor at the Department of Geology in the University of Dhaka, talks about the reasons behind the ongoing gas crisis and the possible way out in an exclusive interview with Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star.

1m ago

Interview with Freddy Guevara / Venezuela’s experience with democracy

Venezuelan politician Freddy Guevara shares why his country could not successfully transition to a democracy.

1m ago

‘There should be a central coordinator to oversee flood management’

Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, former National Project Director of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) and adjunct faculty at Dhaka University, talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the weaknesses of our flood management efforts this year as well as the importance of stronger coordination and better flood forecasting.

2m ago

‘Society is evolving; we have to evolve with it’

Renowned novelist Selina Hossain, after retiring as the director of the Bangla Academy, has recently been reappointed as its chairperson. In a conversation with Emran Mahfuz of The Daily Star, she talks about the academy, the Ekushey Book Fair, society, culture and more.

2y ago

‘My agenda has been to uphold democracy’

Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar speaks with Mohiuddin Alamgir of The Daily Star about various issues related to the outgoing Bangladesh Election Commission, as well as the elections held during its five-year tenure, which expires today. This is the last of a two-part series of interviews marking the occasion.

2y ago

‘The EC can’t hold elections if it probes all the electoral allegations’

Election Commissioner Md. Rafiqul Islam talks to Mohiuddin Alamgir of The Daily Star about various issues and allegations that marked the five-year tenure of the outgoing Election Commission, which ends on February 14, 2022. This is the first part of a two-part interview series intended to mark the occasion.

2y ago

‘There can be no excuse for not formulating the EC law’

Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar is global vice-president and country director, The Hunger Project, and secretary of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan). In this interview with Eresh Omar Jamal of The Daily Star, he talks about the constitutional obligation of formulating a law to establish the Election Commission and why politicians so far have ignored it.

3y ago

‘Mental health has always been a neglected issue’

Dr Mehtab Khanam is Honorary Professor, Department of Psychology, Dhaka University, and a renowned psychotherapist. In an interview with Eresh Omar Jamal of The Daily Star, Dr Khanam talks about the state of mental health awareness in Bangladesh and how much it affects general well-being.

3y ago

‘Continuous assessment without remedial assistance will be futile’

Prof Siddiqur Rahman, former director of the Institute of Education and Research (IER) at Dhaka University and member of the National Education Policy 2010 formulation committee, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about the challenges we may face in implementing the new school curriculum, the outline of which was recently approved by the prime minister, and how we can solve them

3y ago

‘Blended learning is what we will need in the coming days’

Professor Dr Kazi Shahidullah, chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), former chairman, department of history, Dhaka University, and former vice chancellor, National University, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about how universities can recover from learning loss as they are resuming in-person classes and why our universities should continue with online education alongside classroom education.

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

Prolonged school closures to have repercussions on child protection

The Covid-19 pandemic has undone a lot of progress towards ending child labour, globally. What can Bangladesh do to recover some of that progress?

3y ago

‘Institutional reforms are central to effective budget implementation’

Does the proposed budget make adequate provisions for the new poor that have been created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and do you think the expanded social protection measures will reach them?

3y ago