Black, White and Grey
Lu’s visit: Old message, only louder
Secretary Lu’s visit, against these backgrounds, reiterated the message of the past year that the US would like to see a fair and inclusive election in Bangladesh and that it is concerned about the shrinking civic space.
One Year of US Sanctions: Denial and Defiance
The government has not only curtailed freedom of expression and assembly, but it has also used state institutions to silence its critics and political opponents in a brutal manner.
Sanctions against Rab and the shifts in US policies
Since the US Department of Treasury and the Department of State imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and seven of its current and former officials on December 10, the future of the Bangladesh-US relationship has become a topic of analysis and intense speculation in Bangladeshi media.
Schools are finally reopening, but what’s next?
The government’s decision to open educational institutions is a welcome development. All educational institutions have remained closed since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the promise of online education has failed miserably to deliver.
Three concerns about Taliban 2.0
The Taliban has returned to power in Afghanistan. The spectacular fall of the US-backed government has caught everyone by surprise, although for years it was conventional wisdom that the war was lost in Afghanistan.
100 Years Of Dhaka University: The illusive autonomy and the partisanship
The founding anniversary of any organisation offers an opportunity for introspection; a centenary makes introspection an imperative. In its centenary, the important task Dhaka University faces is identifying its most significant achievement in the last hundred years.
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.
A press release that bares it all
The news that the Dhaka University authorities said they will take legal action if the university and/or its vice-chancellor, Prof Akhtaruzzaman, is mocked in social media is quite shocking.
Impeaching Trump: ‘To be or not to be?’
The opening phrase of a soliloquy uttered by Prince Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1 of the play Hamlet—“To be or not to be?”—was about life and death, not about politics; yet perhaps this aptly captures the current US political scene. Facing a decision of great significance, the Democratic Party leaders of the House of Representatives seem to be in the same quandary.
New wave of radicalisation or taking advantage of the trust deficit?
The wave of terrorist attacks in Sri Lankan churches and hotels frequented by foreigners, which killed at least 290 people and injured around 500, is astounding both in scale and sophistication in planning.
It is not the system but its misuse that is at fault
The idiomatic expression, “Don't throw the baby out with the bath water”, is not something we expect to use every day. The origin of it
DUCSU Election - Let us not become the ostrich
What happened in the Ducsu “election”—which was made into a farcical show by the Dhaka University authorities, including the Vice Chancellor and the teachers of the institution—requires no elaboration.
DNCC Election: The alternative facts and life imitating art
Oscar Wilde wrote in his 1889 essay “The Decay of Lying” that, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” Little did he know
Hefazat leader's plea: More than just a statement
Shah Ahmed Shafi, head of the Hefazat-e-Islam (HI), is in the news again. In a sermon delivered to the parents of the Darul-Ulum