Analysis & Insights

With the resignation and cowardly escape of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), under its imprisoned Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, has fulfilled its historic duty toward the people of Bangladesh. Braving 17 years of struggle, torture, murder, extra-judicial killing, extraordinary rendition, repression by law […]

Israfil Khosru On 28th of October 2023, we all witnessed a reprehensible unfolding of events where brute force was employed by the state apparatus of Bangladesh to thwart a peaceful public gathering organized by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The ensuing violence led to unfortunate deaths of party activists and a police officer. The juggernaut […]

S Alam In Bangladesh, the current hot topic is the Boycott of Indian products as many people are tired of Indian Hegemony and are reluctant to their democracy. Not only democracy but also India is trying for a colonial attitude in this territory. And Bangladesh is not the only country trying to resist the Indian […]

Major Shafayat Ahmed (Retired) I have always considered myself a strong individual; both mentally and physically. Hailing from a military family, I have grown up seeing my father and his colleagues dealing with hardships. I have grown up hearing stories of battles, of bloodshed and of death. I have seen my bereaved friend or classmate […]

Shakespeare was a big part of my schooling. My otherwise affable English Literature teacher was quite irate when I wrote an entire essay misspelling the Bard’s name (I omitted the last “e”). We struggled through Hamlet in Class 5 without worrying too much about poor Ophelia’s torment or the indecisions of the Prince of Denmark. […]

The party’s undisputed supremo has given an unequivocal ultimatum to the all powerful government, while an ironclad commitment has been made to the party rank and file that victory is imminent. Political temper is reaching an unprecedented level. Resistance has spread to even the remotest village, and the government repression is just as oppressive and […]

On the eve of the third consecutive one-sided election, there is some chatter about whether the democratic opposition —the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies —should have participated. For many, criticising BNP for the ‘dummy election’ is just the continuation of their lifelong habit of blaming the party for whatever ails Bangladesh. Blaming BNP is, […]

S Alam The development discourse has been going on in Bangladesh for the past decade. What do you mean by the development of the country? Only if the country’s roads are developed, which will be built on the one hand and destroyed on the other? Or will there be many power plants – we don’t […]

The last time I spoke with Manik, he had just gotten out of jail. He called me and we chatted about his time in prison. I asked, “Have you suffered a lot in jail?” Manik was silent for a while. He replied, “Bhai, I was in a very bad condition. There were more prisoners than […]

Fifty-two years after 1971, as Bangladesh stumbles towards a future where a legitimate government that reflects the mandate of the people seems like an unachievable dream, everything around us seems a little faded and dim. The festivities are lackluster. The celebratory music is muted. The tributes to Bangladesh’s finest, who gave their lives to bring […]

A general election is expected in Bangladesh this winter, but if it is anything like the last two elections, most Bangladeshis are not expected to vote. The election in January 2014 was boycotted by the main opposition, who feared widespread rigging. The ruling Awami League attained a majority before the election day as 153 of […]

Ever since Donald Trump broke into the American political scene, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter has been a key avenue of official communications. Of course, the platform is also a venue for passing thoughts, not always well-informed, of individuals —private citizens as well as individuals holding public office or representing governments. Whether […]

Imtiaz Mirza After dominating the tournament for several weeks, India crashed out to Australia in the final of the recent men’s one-day-international World Cup cricket final. This had sparked a large celebration in Bangladesh, shocking and perhaps hurting the feelings of many Indian fans. A good deal of online mudsling has ensued since. Abstracting from […]

Dr. Md Nurul Amin Bangladesh is gearing up for a controversial national election on 7 January 2024. This election is an important inflection point for the country’s future, affecting things like democracy, human rights, and economic development. Stakeholders, including the ruling party Awami League, the opposition party BNP, other political parties and other relevant entities […]

In any country, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Governor of the central bank are two seniormost technocratic positions responsible for economic management. In most countries, the finance minister, and ultimately the Prime Minister (or the head of the government), are the ultimate decision-makers. The Secretary, however, is in charge of producing […]

The public is enduring severe repercussions due to excessive inflation while our unelected Prime Minister continues to trivialize their suffering. During her farcical press briefings with a select group of sycophantic media individuals, she consistently diverts attention by discussing new food “recipes.” Although sharing recipes might not be entirely negative, the issue lies in the […]

Sherlock Holmes famously said that it is a capital mistake to theorise before one has sufficient data. The movement for democracy in Bangladesh has entered a new phase in the past couple of days, and it’s an understatement to say that things are in a flux. However, as this piece is being written (evening of […]

The state of health of Begum Khaleda Zia is quite critical. Leaving subtlety for a moment, we can say she is at death’s door. In a recent press conference, the board of physicians and medical experts supervising her treatment provided a detailed picture of her medical condition. They emphasized that Bangladesh doesn’t have the facilities […]

Facing an economic slow-down, Chinese young adults are increasingly moving back home with their parents and becoming “full-time children.” For some of them, this may be a temporary reprieve before they jump back into the job market. Others may make it more a long-term life choice, accepting an allowance from their parents and focusing their […]

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister spent a fortnight in Washington DC and New York recently. She is currently in UK in a similarly lengthy sojourn. The undisguised reason for such a lengthy stay in USA and UK just a couple of months before the crucial national election is that she wanted to drum up western support for […]

  In an interview with a local TV station on 23rd September, Peter Haas, the United Stated Ambassador to Bangladesh, said that he fears for the physical security of his embassy staff and the embassy itself. A clip of the interview section where he expressed such apprehension is embedded below.   The Ambassador has genuine […]

In the last decade, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has gone through a stress test that is unprecedented in its history. The stresses have laid bare inadequacies in the very founding structures of the republic. Not just politics but the whole state of the nation has fallen far from the founding ideals. Democracy is at […]

In his recently published interview in the Road To Democracy September 2023 issue, BNP’s Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman criticized the much touted recent ‘development’ of Bangladesh economy as non-inclusive, unsustainable and hollow. He said that BNP would return Bangladesh’s economy on firm foundation of inclusive and sustainable growth if voted into power, similar to the […]

Ehtesham Haque In just the last one week, Sheikh Hasina took a selfie with President Joe Biden and had everyone blatantly lie about it, her daughter was caught falsely advertising herself as possessing a doctorate degree, Hasina’s blatant nepotism in pushing her daughter for a top post at the WHO was further exposed, Amanullah Aman […]

Nationalism has long been a much-cited discourse in Bangladesh, with Muslim, Bengali and Bangladeshi identities being the subject of debates. Ziaur Rahman presented the idea of Bangladeshism to the people through his concept of Bangladeshi nationalism and its associated political and economic agenda. It was under the leadership of Ziaur Rahman that post-Liberation Bangladesh embraced […]

In Bangladesh, commodity prices are skyrocketing. The government has increased prices of gas, electricity, diesel, and petrol in several stages. Even fertilizer prices have doubled recently. Prices of edible oil, sugar, and poultry are also the highest in the South Asian region, making out of reach of common people. Job opportunities are shrinking, and farmers […]

William Branigin, a young journalist for The Washington Post, was roaming around in the villages of Sonargaon in Narayanganj in the first week of June 1981. Soon, he realised, the village was weeping. Even one week after President Ziaur Rahman’s death, a sense of despair prevailed in every corner of the village. He penned down […]

During the month of April, the people of Bangladesh celebrate the Bangla new year. Over the last several decades, the Bengali new year celebration underwent a radical transformation. For hundreds of years, in rural Bengal, Bangla new year celebration meant a Village fair, Haalkhata (Opening of a new account book) in the Township market places […]

The Bangladesh Data Protection Act (“Data Law”) and the Regulation for Digital, Social Media, and OTT Platforms (‘Content Regulation”), both in their draft form, have faced a deluge of criticism, including from C.R. Abrar, the prominent academic, and Peter Haas, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh. Critics have rightly pointed to their shortcomings regarding the safeguarding […]

Repression has been a hallmark of all autocratic regimes throughout history. Over the years, autocrats have used repression to increase the costs of disloyalty and make political mobilization more challenging for opposition activists. In this age of digital technology, digital authoritarianism involves repression using digital media, including social media, messenger apps, surveillance software, artificial intelligence, […]

Efforts to create a debate around the role of Ziaur Rahman during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 have become a trend among the rank and file of his political opponents. Zia’s identity as a freedom fighter is being questioned by a vested quarter who even had the audacity of not only claiming that […]

When President Ziaur Rahman was killed, he was only 45. But within this short life span, he contributed enormously to Bangladesh. His catalytic role in initiating the mass revolt among Bengali members of the armed forces after the brutal military crackdown of 25th March 1971 and his contribution as a military leader of Bangladesh’s war […]

New Wave of AL Propaganda: Vilifications of Zia Hasan Mahmud, then Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary, while speaking at a discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in 2014, commented that Ziaur Rahman worked as a ‘Pakistani spy’ during the Liberation War. He also claimed he had the ‘proof’ of Zia’s involvement with the Pakistani intelligence […]

The discourse around Ziaur Rahman is, quite unsurprisingly, full of malicious slanders pushed by Awami League propagandists. And when slander is preposterous or insufficient, the regime’s thought police resorts to airbrushing him out of history. For example, it is not possible to deny that Major Ziaur Rahman was a decorated freedom fighter who received the […]

It was a night in 2003. A cricket world cup was taking place in Africa. Yet, most of Bangladesh’s cricket fans, who were crazy about cricket, were in deep sleep. Bangladesh’s devastating performance in the world cup was the reason. Bangladesh could not win a single match in that tournament. It was a wake-up call. […]

The Prime Minister, in her characteristic cantankerous manner, commented recently that everyone is now an expert on the central bank’s foreign currency reserves. Well, even a broken clock can give the right time twice a day, and occasionally even Mrs Hasina Wajed’s utterings can contain some merits. Central bank balance sheet is, indeed, a technical […]

There is no alternative to a caretaker government-supervised national election to restore democracy in Bangladesh. Fifty-plus years of political history of Bangladesh and dozen-plus national elections held during these years provide us sufficient sample space to reach such a conclusion with ease. In the history of Bangladesh, under ruling party-held elections, incumbent regimes never lost […]