Tamanna Jasmine Riva and Razia Sultana, president and general secretary of the BCL's Eden Mohila College unit, were accused of hall seat trading, extortion, "blackmailing students into carrying out unethical activities," and torture. There were also issues regarding the other faction of BCL.
Essentially, if someone expresses a critical view of the achievement of Bangladesh’s Liberation War, or the country’s relationship with another nation in a Facebook status, or even in a private message between friends on WhatsApp, that individual could be subjected to criminal punishment under the DSA, intrusive surveillance under the data protection law, or censorship under the digital, social media and OTT platform regulations.
Sri Lanka is facing one of the worst economic crises in its history.
What hope is there for a country—soon to become a middle-income one—to be a safe one for its citizens if people are being killed on roads daily, with little intervention from authorities besides what’s on paper?
Making cities like Dhaka women-friendly and climate-proof requires a whole-of-society approach.
Those who were born after Muktijuddho (Liberation War), to whom do they go, to fully realize its true spirit? To answer this, we can talk about the dusty books from the libraries, memoirs written by our ancestors, or the articles printed in newspapers.
The second song of Coke Studio Bangla, titled “Prarthona” (Prayer), was released on the eve of Ramadan this year. It was the same time when both the mainstream and social media flooded with updates, news, and views on the harassment of a Hindu female college teacher by a Muslim male police constable for wearing a teep on her forehead.
If Bitcoin is indeed a commodity, why does the Bangladesh Bank have overlying regulations on how it can be managed?
Life in Dhaka provides a thousand reasons to feel hopeless and frustrated. Still, we can find hope amongst it all.
It is time to reimagine our city—a city where I can ride my bike without being run over or recorded by a stranger, where Lata can wear whatever she wants, and Meem can ride her scooter home safely without being questioned about her clothes, her movements or her company. We cannot wait for the patriarchy to be fully “smashed” before we can imagine this city and claim it as ours.
Apart from trade relations, the US has also contributed to Bangladesh's development since the inception of their ties. Immediately after the Liberation War, the US provided aid and assistance to a war-torn Bangladesh.
In 2017, UNESCO announced Bangabandhu’s March 7 speech as one of the most historic speeches in the world, worthy of being enlisted in the "Memory of the World Register”. The significance of the speech could not be clearer -- as a nation, Bangalees received a united purpose, a call-to-arms for self-determination, and a pledge to never surrender.
"This time the struggle is for our freedom. This time the struggle is for our independence."
Bangabandhu’s role in the 1952 Language Movement was not explored in detail before his unfinished memoir came to light decades after his assassination. And, it never came out so vividly before the graphic novel portrayed those stories.
Posing as the protector of democracy, the Myanmar military accused Suu Kyi’s party of vote-rigging and irregularities. However, a big question remains on what stepping stones they laid to protect democracy.