THE Sri Lankan government is rebuilding the cyclone-devastated lives, livelihood and infrastructure in the country after the immense destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah. The president Anura Kumara Dissanayake is providing exceptional leadership by going into the cyclone affected communities in person, to mingle directly with the people there and to offer...
WHILE the banking sector struggles with an alarming level of defaulted loans, recovery efforts appear to have remained largely entangled in legal procedures and loopholes. After the central bank’s adoption of international standards, shortening the default recognition period from 270 days to 90 days, Tk 6.45 lakh crore, about 36 per cent of total outstanding loans, has...
THE Memorial Volume Honouring Titled Freedom Fighters (Janata Bank Limited, 2012) documents the lives of the heroes of 1971, including UK Ching, a distinguished freedom fighter from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Alongside UK Ching, who was awarded the Bir Bikrom gallantry title, many other Indigenous fighters from the hill regions displayed exceptional courage during Bangladesh’s Liberation War...
BANGLADESH is no longer an object of anyone’s neglect. Half a century ago, the world looked upon this land through a mixture of pity and predicted failure, as if the newly liberated nation were destined to remain buried beneath the rubble left by genocide, famine, poverty and structural destruction. Today, when Bangladesh celebrates Victory Day, it stands among...
BANGLADESH is not for beginners. Even the memes tell you that. Step outside, and chaos meets you immediately — traffic snarls, honking horns, voices screaming, endless crowds colliding in every direction. Every day demands stamina, attention, presence. It is exhausting, infuriating, relentless. People argue endlessly. Intolerance simmers quietly in corners. Ideas that are not immediately practical are dismissed. Questioning...
THIS soil of ours has witnessed agitation, bloodshed, death and pledges to build the nation anew since 1947. The fairest of the demand was turned down; the most vibrant voices were silenced along with the chanters, drenched in gore, the most celebratory moments blackened by treachery. Thus, this nation, liberated from a discriminatory rule for 23 years in 1971...
THE observations of the heads and members of the commissions that the interim government set up to effect reforms in state governance, noting that the expected reforms have not come about despite people’s aspirations because of bureaucratic resistance and the unwillingness of certain quarters opposed to reforms, including some political parties, are points to ponder...
BANGLADESH celebrates its 54th anniversary of national independence today, the most significant day in the collective history of the Bangladeshis, for it was on this day that Bangladesh was born through a bloodied people’s war against the occupation forces of the erstwhile Pakistan in March 1971. The war began immediately after the Pakistan’s West-based...
THIS year, the United Nations turned 80 years old. But as secretary-general António Guterres launched his latest reform effort, the ‘UN80 Initiative’, there was little to be celebrating. At the same time as commemorative events praised the UN Charter and its foundational importance for peace, development and human rights, the UN system was facing draconian funding...
THE enactment of the Cyber Security Act, 2023 in Bangladesh, promoted by officials as a contemporary framework to address digital crime, in fact, signifies neither substantial reform nor authentic modernisation, but instead a superficial rebranding of existing repressive laws with merely trivial alterations. Essentially, this act retains the fundamental structure of its...
IN THE quiet corners of rural Bangladesh, beyond the bustle of main roads and marketplaces, lie untapped opportunities for food security and sustainable livelihoods. Many homesteads remain partially underutilised, with fertile land that could sustain families year-round but often sits idle due to lack of technical know-how, irrigation planning, or optimised cropping...
