April 5, 2021
Bengali Muslims and their identity: From fusion to confusion
One of the grand paradoxes facing Bangladeshis is expressed in the negotiations and contestations on the simple question about who they are, particularly in the context of the strains caused by the...
March 28, 2021
Development in Bangladesh: A most pleasant surprise
Bangladesh illustrates a most intriguing and delightful puzzle in international development. After its independence in 1971, it was dismissed
December 16, 2020
Secularism in Bangladesh: The troubled biography of a constitutional pillar
The ubiquity of the word “secularism” (it is mentioned in more than 75 of the world’s constitutions as an ideal the State promotes, or an organising principle that it affirms), and the passionate...
October 14, 2020
Contra capital punishment even in this ‘rapedemic’
The demand was predictable. Given the outrage that has been generated by the vicious acts of assault and dehumanisation that have been inflicted on women over some time, it even appears justifiable.
August 24, 2020
ANIS BHAI: TEACHER
Dr. Anisuzzaman’s life was a radiant gift to us, his departure an irreparable loss. The usual metaphors that have been applied (tower of strength, conscience of the nation, a reassuring lighthouse...
June 26, 2020
Racism in America: Police Chokehold is Not the Issue
The American project was founded on rank hypocrisies. On the one hand, President Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the stirring words in the Declaration of Independence that upheld “these truths to be...
June 1, 2020
On free speech and the imperatives of democracy
It is almost axiomatic that free speech is indispensable to democracy.
April 21, 2020
Bern baby Bern: The struggle goes on
On April 8, Bernie Sanders was compelled to fold his bid for the Presidency. Consistent with his decency as a human being, his graciousness as a
February 27, 2020
In Defence of Politics
The word “politics” is much maligned and stigmatised. It suffers from a huge image problem both in the world as well as in Bangladesh.
August 30, 2019
A simple, straightforward reading of South Asian history
Dr Nurul Islam has been a towering presence in the intellectual landscape of Bangladesh. He has graduate degrees from Harvard, and held prestigious fellowships at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Yale and...