Analysis

The $5 Billion Pivot: A Sovereign Solution to Rescue the Delta’s Energy and Water Future

There is a blueprint for restoration. It lies in the very veins of our land: the 20,000 kilometers of canals that define our geography. We can transform these waterways into a 36-gigawatt sovereign circuit.

A (Darwinian) Manifesto for Dhaka’s Walkers

Dhaka’s walkers are not Darwinian subjects -- they are Darwin’s teachers. They have mastered the art of evolving within the apocalypse, turning every sidewalk and sewer into a classroom.

Why I Am Not Officially Observing The 2026 Election

Foreign observers will not, and cannot, answer the big questions. At best, they can marginally increase the reputational cost of blatant fraud. At worst, they offer political elites an easy scapegoat, deflecting public anger away from those who truly failed.

Why BNP Is Well-Positioned to Win -- If It Finishes the Job

The lesson of recent first-past-the-post elections, from Britain to South Asia, is that victory belongs to the party that combines breadth with discipline. BNP has achieved the former. The task now is to execute the latter: Defend marginal constituencies, prioritize candidate quality, and treat every seat as winnable.

NCP and the Perils of Losing One’s Way Too Soon

The NCP is still young. Its leaders are young. When it was launched, the response was electric; crowds gathered wherever it went. That energy is now waning. The atrophy has begun -- but it is not irreversible.

Do Games of Thrones Ever End?

Nothing in recent geopolitical trends suggests pressures on Bangladesh’s economy are going to get simpler. Everything points to a need to accept that simply returning to the status quo will be insufficient. The economy must exceed both performance and expectations of the past if the nation is ever to hope to catch up with its competitors.

The Changing of the Guard

After liberation in 1971, the decisions made in those first years shaped the country for decades. The people who rise to state power or prominence in the next few years will define Bangladesh's trajectory for a generation.

Let's Not Turn a Blind Eye to the Kol Displacement

The Bengali nation is one of the largest in the world, a people of immense resilience and rich culture. Our greatness is not diminished by lifting up our smallest communities; it is defined by it. To stand with the Kol people today is to affirm the sentiment captured on a wall during the recent peoples uprising: "This country doesnt belong to any one group. It belongs to all of us".

How Religion-Based Politics Harms Women

Rejecting religion-based politics does not mean denying religion; rather, it means taking a stand for equality, human rights, and justice. Without women's liberation, no society, no state, and no politics can be truly just.

The French Connection

Our future cannot be entrusted to outrage merchants on YouTube. It must rest with leaders and citizens who understand that justice is built through patience, responsibility, and steady labor, not performed for clicks and applause.

The City That Kills You on Your Walk Home

Ashfaq Chowdhury Piplu’s death is a question thrown at our feet by the city we are building. The falling rod asks: What do you value more? The abstract future value of a building, or the concrete, present life of a person walking?

The Jamaat Factor

Jamaat has emerged as one of the two main parties in the current dispensation. Its student wing has won student council elections in five universities. Its online activists dominate the cyberspace. It has consistently polled sufficiently well to emerge as the main opposition in the next parliament if not outright win the election.

When Welfare Becomes Withdrawal

In the hands of Jamaat-e-Islami, a five-hour workday is not welfare. It is soft patriarchy, cloaked in empathy. Bangladesh should not repeat the mistakes of others when better models are already visible.

Diplomatic Chatter and the Distortion of Political Truth

The notion that Jamaat-e-Islami is on the cusp of ruling Bangladesh tells us less about Bangladesh’s politics and more about the fantasies and anxieties of those observing it from insulated rooms.

A 5-Hour Workday for Mothers Is Welfare Policy, not a Patriarchal Plot

Bangladesh’s working mothers deserve a serious conversation about policies that ease their load and secure their economic future. They deserve thoughtful engagement, not reflexive dismissal. For once, let us debate the policy instead of demonizing the policymaker.

When Citizenship is Redefined by Faith

The path forward begins by refusing to accept the silent exclusion as normal. It requires naming the disagreement for what it is: an attack on the pluralistic foundation of the state.