Normalizing forced extractions in the name of justice does not advance accountability; it advertises that power can dispense with law
As we enter the final phase before elections Jamaat-e-Islami may be poised to win far more votes than previously predicted. There is still time for BNP to regain the momentum if it appreciates the situation and pivots accordingly. But there is little evidence that it does so.
It is often the person of colour who has to bring up colonialism in the room. To name racism even when it makes everyone uncomfortable. To remind people that representation is not neutral, and that curiosity does not absolve power.
The right to live in peace is not a gift from empires. It is a demand, shouted into the barrels of their guns. It is a world, built stone by stone, in the ruins they leave behind.
The axes of Bangladeshi politics have shifted dramatically. Where do the political parties line up in the new dynamic?
The uncomfortable truth is this -- America is the capital of a global corporate empire. But the real rulers are not politicians but corporations, whose loyalty lies only with money. The Transnational Private Sector -- TPS -- is not a mere American phenomenon. It’s a global empire, and its influence reaches every corner of the planet.
The India-Bangladesh relationship is undergoing not rupture, but delayed normalization. Bangladesh is asserting the right to disagree without permission. India is confronting the limits of informal hegemony
Her entry into politics in the early 1980s was a response to national crisis, not personal ambition. She became more than a political leader. She became a symbol -- of democratic resilience, of refusal to capitulate, and of the belief that political legitimacy must come from the people, not from force.
For a nation like Bangladesh, the challenge is not whether to depend on others, but how to manage that dependence intelligently. The question, then, is not how to escape vassalhood, but how to master it.
The message for Bangladesh's policy-makers is clear: ground this decision in data, not delusions of grandeur. Commission and publish an independent, peer-reviewed fleet plan.
Bangladesh has turned a page in its political history and a new phase of political governments is about to start. This may therefore be a good time to think about the future socio-economic tasks.
As a Bangladeshi Millennial, looking towards 2026 gives me the feeling I used to get before riding a roller coaster in my childhood. I fear it’s going to be a horrifying ride, but I can’t skip it now because I’m at the front of the queue and the next turn is mine.
Governments have changed. Elections have come and gone. Political narratives have shifted -- sometimes dramatically. Yet NCTB has remained reliably unable to perform its most basic function.
If NCP grows too strong, it risks becoming a genuine rival. My sense is that Jamaat has neither the intention to reform itself nor the willingness to allow such growth. Jamaat will remain the benchmark of right-wing politics in Bangladesh, while exploiting the NCP whenever a secular shield becomes necessary. The greatest casualty of this alliance will be July itself.
Tarique Rahman’s return is undeniably historic. But history alone does not guarantee success. The comparison with 1972 is not about personalities -- it is about the structural burden placed on returning leaders in moments of national uncertainty.
