Counterpoint

Can Bimstec Replace Saarc?

Md Mustafizur Rahman

Regional integration is not only about infrastructure. It is about people. It requires a feeling of belonging -- a common identity. The Bay of Bengal region does not yet have that. Its countries differ widely in political systems, economic capacity, governance standards, and historical experience.

Food Insecurity and the Erosion of Food Sovereignty in Bangladesh

Lubna Ferdowsi

Hunger rarely appears alone; it is accompanied by indebtedness, illness, labour precarity, and social exclusion.

The Making of Bangladeshi Foreign Policy

Ashraf Ud Doula

The country maintains an extensive diplomatic presence, with around 83 missions abroad, including embassies, high commissions, and consulates.

The Women Who Lit the Fire

Suborna Akther Laboni and Mahbuba Islam

Who decided what the new Bangladesh would look like? And were the women who built it in the room when that decision was made?

Why BR Ambedkar Is the Battleground for Modern India's Soul

Arman Ahmed

Ambedkar is not simply a historical figure. He is a living political question. The Republic of India today is built on his constitutional architecture -- and is increasingly governed in ways that undermine it.

Is South Asia Entering a New Cold War Without Realizing It?

Md Shihab Uddin

In this low-grade, slow-burning rivalry, silence does not equal absence. It usually means that the game has already started.

The Long Shadow of Hasinomics

Jyoti Rahman

Not only is the government expected to manage the current account deficit, but it is also expected to service the debt obligations it has inherited and pay for its electoral commitments, and yet somehow manage to bring inflation down.

The Shattering of Iran-UAE Ties and Its Future

Afshin Molavi

Iran and the UAE are bound by historic trade and migration networks and, more recently, by Dubai's role as a key hub for Iran to the global economy. Iranian missiles have shattered those ties.

A Budget for Bangladesh in Fragile Times

Suvojit Chattopadhyay

The BNP government has now inherited the institutional resistance it generated and will need to find a way to manouvre around it. Bangladesh will find it extremely hard to finance its development ambitions unless it significantly improves its tax collection systems and addresses the political economy of doing so.

The Paper Trail to Tehran 

Apurba Jahangir

It begins, as so many things in modern Iran begin, with a woman and a song

Bangladesh at a Crossroads: Confronting Corruption to Unlock Its Future

A Gafur

Bangladesh has all the ingredients for success -- a dynamic private sector, a young and hardworking population, and a strategic geographic position connecting major markets. Its achievements over the past decades demonstrate what is possible when determination and policy alignment come together.

The Quiet Crisis We Keep Ignoring

Shazia Omar

Universities need to fund counselling services as a genuine commitment, not a box-ticking exercise. Policymakers need to allocate budget to mental health as a first-order public health priority. The private sector needs to stop treating employee wellness as a branding exercise and start treating it as a structural responsibility.

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.

What the Interim Government Gave Bangladesh

Farhana Sultana

What Dr. Yunus and his team of advisers stepped into was not a functioning state awaiting a caretaker, it was institutional wreckage requiring reconstruction.  What followed was a period of institution-building that, whatever its imperfections, deserves recognition.

Is the US-Bangladesh Trade Deal the Best We Can Do?

Mustafizur Rahman

US remains Bangladesh’s single-most important export market, major source of FDI and a key development partner. US is also a market with substantive export potentials as far as Bangladesh was concerned. Remaining engaged with the US should be the way to go forward.

The Time Is Now Ripe For Reform

Riaz Osmani

I am hoping against hope that the issue of LGBT rights in Bangladesh can be viewed by most people in the country through the lenses of anti-discrimination and not through that of any special rights, and certainly not through any notions of promotion. There is nothing to promote here.

10 Questions for Bobby Hajjaj

Omar Shehab

The education system of Bangladesh is not merely a ministry. It is one of the largest social systems in the world. Running such a system is not simply a policy challenge. It is an administrative challenge of almost unimaginable scale.

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.

The Energy Crisis and the Imminent Rise of the Multipolar World Order

Sohel Nadeem Rahman

The final irony of our current moment is that while the world watches the dramatic surface conflicts and the crises that dominate headlines and social media feeds, the deeper system is already adjusting, already adapting, already moving towards a different configuration.

Two Wings and a Prayer

Jyoti Rahman

55 years ago today, Pakistan as it existed then came to end as the Mujibnagar Government was formally formed. Two generations on, the peoples of the two countries share a common yearning for democracy. On both wings of the erstwhile Pakistan then, a prayer for democracy.

The Iran War and Beyond: Three Exiles, Three Threats, Three Ideas

Sujaul Khan

The economic man treated nature as a storehouse. The social man must learn to treat it as a home -- and eventually, as an authority.

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.

A Contingency Plan for Our Migrants

Md Shihab Uddin

An extended war would not only upset the oil market, but could also disrupt development projects. Our workers, mainly in construction, cleaning and other blue-collar professions, are thus at high risk of mass layoffs.

Bad News and Good About the LNG Crisis

Taukir Aziz

The war shut down every long-term supplier in a week. But the permanent damage may not be Bangladesh’s problem.

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.

Development Begins Where Human Potential is Nurtured

H.M. Nazmul Alam

In a world driven by technology and innovation, the value of human intellect far exceeds that of raw materials. Countries that fail to recognize this shift risk being trapped in cycles of dependency and underdevelopment.

Not All, But Men

Shanim Tasnim

Petitions are circulating now to remove these sites from search engines. Outrage is building, slowly. But it is not enough. But the real shift needs to start within us, in these awkward conversations. Stop correcting the numbers, stop making excuses and start confronting what actually happened.

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.