Counterpoint

The Post-TRIPS Reality

Tashzid Reza

Bangladesh will not experience a shock, but it will face a shift -- from a system dominated by generic competition to one where intellectual property plays a more active role in shaping market access and industrial upgrading.

Thirty Billion Reasons Bangladesh Needs a Ministry of Remittance

Sudarshan Suvashish Das

The workers did their job. Now the state needs to do its part. Our remittances are as big as our garments. So why does one get a ministry and the other get a circular?

Dhaka Alone Cannot Carry Bangladesh Forward

A Gafur

A farmer in Rangpur, a student in Barishal, an entrepreneur in Khulna, or a patient in Sylhet should not feel disadvantaged simply because they live outside Dhaka.

BJP in Bengal: Back to the Future

Partha Ghosh

Does it mark the end of an era, or return to a bygone era in which Hindu-Muslim clash was a celebrated theme? The Muslim-majority Bangladesh next door, which has just survived a massive political upheaval, adds urgency to our query.

A New Day in Bangladesh–India Relations

Md Mustafizur Rahman

For Bangladesh, diplomacy has now become more important than ever before. It will require a sophisticated neighbourhood policy that combines realism with prudence. Emotional reactions or reactive nationalism unlikely to serve Bangladesh’s long-term interests well.

India’s Projection Problem

Apurba Jahangir

What India did for us is real. What India has done to us, and what it has told itself to justify that, is the projection.

Competitiveness, Consumption, and Currency

Tashzid Reza

Exchange rate changes are often misunderstood, leading to exaggerated expectations. Policymakers need to clearly explain that depreciation does not fully translate into inflation or export gains.

A Rational Break, Not a Rebellion

Shafqat Aziz

Leaving OPEC was a symbolic declaration to the Gulf that Abu Dhabi can no longer stay a passenger in the oil vehicle supplying the world.

Bangladesh's Next Budget

Mohammad A. Rab

The immediate steps are neither mysterious nor technically complex: Broadening the VAT base by reducing exemptions, strengthening the Large Taxpayer Unit to capture income from professionals and the informal wealthy, and automating tax administration to reduce discretion and corruption.

Between Innocence and Immorality

Jaglul Ahmed

Gen Z or Alpha loves beauty and boldness, not beast, humility with harshness when necessary, eloquence, not quiet. The leaders who hide behind humility or show arrogance from the pulpit to conceal the purpose of rule are obsolete.

Why Bangladesh’s Urban Workforce is Quietly Gaining Weight

Fahima Hossain Muna

This economic progress is worth celebrating, but it is arriving with a metabolic cost that the nation’s healthcare system is not equipped to handle yet

Why Is Osman Hadi’s Image Triggering Negative Reactions?

H.M. Nazmul Alam

It feels unjust to see a human life reduced to a symbol of negativity, especially when that reduction is driven by forces beyond the individual’s control. Yet the reaction itself cannot be dismissed as irrational. It is the product of a pattern that has become too consistent to ignore.

Creatine: Beyond the Gym Supplement

Raisa Mehzabeen

In an era dominated by misinformation and aggressive supplement marketing, creatine stands apart as a rare example of a supplement supported by decades of rigorous scientific investigation.

The Delusion of History for the Children of the West

Jaglul Ahmed

The endurance to hardship, spirit and skills to fight when forced, maturity to restrain, legacy of history to forge their own system of governance rather than blindly copy from the West, are the forte of these old but rich civilizations. They enrich their people not only with their own histories but also with the warring histories of the West, so that they can choose the good from the bad.

How More Bangladeshi Students can get to the US

Shahreer Zahan

The goal is to have a unified and cohesive story, an antithesis to the common phenomenon of students accumulating certificates like trophies, so that when they finally face their goal, the student does not essentially become a detriment to the system.

Why Bangladesh Needs a Layered Approach to Truth, Justice, and Healing

Md. Zarif Rahman and Durdana Chowdhury

When institutions operate without transparency or accountability, they forfeit their legitimacy and become the very source of the wounds they were meant to heal. For the post-uprising state to heal the nation, it must first heal itself, by dismantling these deeply rooted practices of exception and institutionalized violence.

The Rooppur Meter is Running. The Electricity is Not.

Mahtab Mashuq Tonmoy

After the 2024 uprising, there was a genuine window to order a forensic audit of Rooppur's finances. That window was not used. The interim government moved on. The contracting architecture remained intact.

An Open Letter to the Hon’ble Foreign Minister

Zakir Kibria

The compact’s energy architecture amplifies rather than mitigates geopolitical shock exposure. A rational energy-security doctrine would diversify suppliers, transit routes, and contract structures; this agreement funnels us toward a single, unbuilt source over which we possess zero strategic control.

Rewriting the Narrative? RAB’s Conduct in a Nation on Edge

Mirza R. Ahmad

In July 2024, when the entire country erupted in protest, when over 1,400 lives were lost, and when Dhaka became a city under siege, RAB did not revert to familiar patterns. They did not conduct midnight raids. They did not trigger mass disappearances. Instead, they acted as a containment force. That contrast is not just noteworthy, it is historic.

Three Million or Three Hundred Thousand?

Serajul I. Bhuiyan

Seeking a clearer understanding of history does not diminish the legacy of the Liberation War, but honors it more completely. A nation willing to examine its past with honesty shows confidence in its own story.

The Extremely Sustainable Lifestyle of the Burnt-Out Feminist

Sushmita S Preetha

Though the International Brotherhood of Mediocre Men appears to be doing a competent job of setting the world on literal fire, feminists remain the preferred explanation for why everything is burning.

Shanghai Spirit and Westphalia

Syed Hasibuddin Hussain

When the world's sole superpower declares itself a pirate, it may be time to dust off a 17th-century peace treaty.

A 90-Day Report Card on the Prime Minister

Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed

All things considered, Mr. Rahman receives a “meets expectations” grade. The BNP government, as a team, receives a “needs improvement” grade, but not a failing one.

Why the Iran War Will Be Decided at Sea

Syed Misbah Uddin Ahmad (Retd)

For Bangladesh and other maritime-dependent nations, the lesson is clear. Security can no longer be conceived in predominantly territorial terms. It must be understood as a function of connectivity, resilience, and access -- all of which are fundamentally maritime.

Banking Crisis and Private Power

Jamil Iqbal

This piece talks about how bad loans, political patronage, and cosmetic accounting turned Bangladesh’s banks into a public crisis.

The Miracle and the Squeeze

Jamil Iqbal

This first article in a three-part series argues that Bangladesh’s celebrated growth story was always more fragile than it looked. Now that growth is slowing and investment is yielding less, the hidden costs of that model are becoming harder to ignore.

Capital Flight, Inequality, and Who Pays

Jamil Iqbal

This third article in a three-part series argues how wealth leaves the country, why the gains of growth narrow at the top, and what a fairer settlement would actually require.

Time for Industry and Academia to Read from the Same Playbook

Imran Rahman

There is a real gap between what universities teach, how students learn, and what employers increasingly need.

Why the World Watches but Rarely Acts

H.M. Nazmul Alam

The systems that govern the world are powerful, but they are not immutable. They derive their strength, in part, from acceptance, from the belief that they cannot be altered.

Child Abuse, Religious Power, and the Silence of Institutions

Lubna Ferdowsi

A society in which the “honour of the huzur” matters more than a child’s cry has not yet learned justice. A state in which poor families are afraid to seek justice has not yet learned equal protection.

The J-Z Show| Episode 21

Zafar Sobhan

Jon Danilowicz and Zafar Sobhan discuss the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings, global and domestic political developments, and the wider implications of conflict—from historical reflections on war to the current tensions surrounding Iran.

The J-Z Show| Episode 20. Ceasefire

Zafar Sobhan

In this episode of “The J-Z Show,” hosts John Danilowicz and Zafar Sobhan examine the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran—and the fragile ceasefire currently at risk.

The J Z Show। Ep 19: Bangladesh's Post-Election Landscape and Regional Cooperation

Zafar Sobhan

Counterpoint Generations | Ep 10

Zafar Sobhan

In Episode 10 of Counterpoint Generations, Zafar Sobhan and Professor Rehman Sobhan examine a range of pressing legal and political developments shaping Bangladesh today.

Counterpoint Generations | Ep 9

Zafar Sobhan

Episode 9 of Counterpoint Generations reflects on the immediate post-election landscape, examining voter participation, the formation of the new cabinet, and the institutional challenges facing the incoming government as parliament prepares to begin its term.

Counterpoint Generations | Ep 8

Zafar Sobhan

In Episode 8 of Counterpoint Generations, the discussion explores Bangladesh’s electoral journey from the 1970 election to the present, examining how voting behaviour, political participation, and institutions have evolved over time. The episode also addresses contemporary questions around minority voting patterns, and why opinion polls often fail to predict real outcomes. A reflective conversation on elections, uncertainty, and democratic change.