STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING
Who killed democracy in Bangladesh?
The recent by-polls represent the state of democracy in our country fairly accurately.
US SANCTIONS / A ‘tonic’ for our security forces?
It is unfortunate that security agencies have been used in a manner that has generated more fear in people’s mind than confidence and faith in them.
Please spare us your ‘khela’
We do not know what exactly the Awami League general secretary means when he warns the BNP and advises his cadres to gird for khela on December 10.
Next Election: A Replay of Old Politics?
It is apparent, from what has transpired in the last fortnight, that any attempt to exercise political rights, and to seek space, will be curbed by force.
What have we done with our strategic assets?
Strategic assets are those that demand attention from the highest levels of the state.
Democracy means more than the ability to vote
Unfortunately, winning an election has become the synonym for achieving power.
Another ring in the shackle to gag the media
Is not the media already under duress, and its function heavily encumbered by the Digital Security Act (DSA), without needing a new law which is now on the anvil of the Bangladesh Press Council (BPC)?
Our skewed legal system
Time and again, it has been proven that, when it comes to justice in Bangladesh, some are more equal than others.
Don’t take voters’ apathy lightly
ndifference and apathy are even worse than hatred. And when those are directed to a system rather than an individual, it is dangerous and ominous, even more so when its significance is either not comprehended or disregarded wilfully.
A recipe for further conflict
Like many of President Trump’s actions in the last three years, the recently rolled out “Deal of the Century” is a farce. The so-called peace plan was crafted by the President’s son-in-law over the last three years, drawn up without the participation of the only other stakeholder—the Palestinians.
Promises, promises and more promises
The Dhaka city mayoral elections may be local but they nevertheless evince keen interest at the national level because of the symbolic value that the office of the mayors carry with them.
Trump may start a war with Iran but can he end it?
Did Donald Trump really mean what he said—that it was to prevent war, and not make one, for which a top Iranian military commander was hit in Baghdad on his instructions?
Who will rid us of the syndicates?
We are in the clutches of syndicates whose pernicious presence pervades almost every walk of our life.
The answer is blowing in the wind, my friend
Readers might be wondering why I chose this line from the famous song immortalised by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez as the heading of this article.
One good turn deserves another
I venture to pen my thoughts on an issue knowing fully well that a recent Facebook posting critical of the Indo-Bangladesh MoU which allows India to draw water from the Feni River to the tune of 1.82 cusec, cost the life of a Buet student at the hands of some reprobates belonging to the BCL cadre.
Casino Bengal and a deep-seated malignancy
What we have wit-nessed over the last week, namely, the “discovery” of a large number of casinos, is another instance of the prevalent corruption in, and of, our society. While we have often heard the prime minister expressing her resolve to make the country
Republics under threat, globally
Even the most powerful democracy in the world, whose values had instigated coining of the term “American Exceptionalism” exemplified by the ideals of individual rights and freedom in America, is witnessing a sort of redux of absolutism forcing many to query whether we are seeing the beginning of the end of democracy in that country.
ERSHAD: A mixed legacy
There are certainly many better persons than I who can assess former President HM Ershad more insightfully and, perhaps, more eloquently.
