Counterpoint

Can Bangladesh Afford the Fall of Sittwe?

Ahnaf Hussain

As the crisis in Rakhine worsens, Dhaka should consider drawing on that combat experience. This is not to pursue meaningless adventurism, but to formulate an internationally credible response to ensure safety, stability and humanitarian access in Arakan.

One More System We Don’t Need to Build

Omar Shehab

The real problem is not device ownership. It is device access. And how you design that difference determines whether a policy quietly succeeds or loudly fails

How Bangladeshis are Being Trafficked to Fight in Ukraine

John Quinley and Maria Tomak

Russia’s war has already caused immense suffering. It should not be sustained through the exploitation of vulnerable people.

When is a Coat More than a Coat?

Apurba Jahangir

The question is whether Bangladesh has the courage to apply the same scrutiny to every class of collaborators past and present, left and right, secular and religious and to build a republic where proximity to power is no longer the country's most valuable currency.

BJP’s West Bengal Sweep Was Broad, But the Numbers Reveal a More Complicated Story

Aparna Bhattacharya

The BJP’s victory was structurally broad, its final scale may have been amplified by UA deletions in specific close contests, but TMC’s losses in Muslim-majority constituencies also point to a genuine political swing. A warning sign that may matter well beyond this election.

The Conquest of West Bengal

Samrat Choudhury

The BJP campaign, like the one in 2021, was conducted in a manner reminiscent of an invasion rather than an election. Television channels and newspapers, many of which are openly and enthusiastically aligned with Modi’s party, framed the elections as a conquest of Bengal by him and Shah and the Hindutva party they lead.

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.

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.

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.

Can Bangladesh Build a People-Centric Bureaucracy?

H.M. Nazmul Alam

The path ahead is neither simple nor short. Decades of accumulated practices cannot be undone overnight. Yet the absence of immediate transformation should not become a justification for inaction.

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.

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.

Data Shows SIR Helped BJP Win Bengal

Aparna Bhattacharya

In 150 seats, more than half of West Bengal’s 294, total deletions were greater than victory margins, and BJP won 99. In 2021, it had won just 19 of these.

Bangladesh’s Border Anxiety After a BJP Victory in West Bengal

Ragib Anjum

A double-engine BJP government could no longer blame West Bengal’s opposition for delays. If New Delhi and Kolkata are aligned, Bangladesh will expect results on both the Ganges and Teesta. The Teesta dispute, long blocked by Mamata Banerjee, is especially symbolic. With the Trinamool Congress out of power, Dhaka would expect movement.

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.

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.

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.

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.