Long-Form

Bangladesh Bank Needs to Establish Policy Credibility. This is not How.

The Monetary Policy Statement was announced in the last week of June, and was almost immediately hemmed in by the circular announcing the spread cap -- a sequencing that signals incoherence. And that incoherence matters more than the actual policy. Macroeconomic policy cannot be effective in supporting growth or curbing inflation unless it is credible.

The Unfinished Promise of Police Reform

Abu Sayed's killing -- and the statement later made by the police officer convicted of his murder -- did not simply expose failures in the conduct of individual officers. Together, they illuminated deeper structural weaknesses within policing and compelled the nation to confront fundamental questions about accountability, professionalism, and the relationship between the police and the public.

Sheikh Hasina’s Last Dance?

Hasina has nudged New Delhi to define its position on her extradition and forced the BNP to confront, sooner than it may wish, whether it truly wants her back and, if so, on what terms.

Can We be an Alternative to the Strait of Malacca?

There is the India-shaped hole in the map. By excluding New Delhi, Beijing has made the corridor more diplomatically tractable, but it has also converted an economic connectivity project into a more explicit piece of the China-India strategic contest in the Bay of Bengal.

Life of a Paiki in Dhaka

For those unfamiliar with the cultural tapestry of Dhaka, your obligation as a paiki is to run as a spiritual messenger from one local shrine to another during the 7th to 10th day of Moharram -- entirely barefoot, enduring the burning asphalt and the direct heat.

Let's Get Real on Taxes

Taxation is not simply about extracting more money from society. It is about defining the relationship between the state and its citizens. Countries do not become middle-income merely because they collect more taxes. They succeed when taxation strengthens the social contract rather than weakens it.

Whose History Gets to Stay on the Wall?

Historians genuinely disagree about how much of the Bengal famine's death toll is attributable to policy versus war-driven scarcity that no government could have fully solved, just as historians and communities genuinely disagree about how the Nakba should be contextualized alongside the displacement of Jews from Arab lands.

The Doctor on the Motorbike

The image of Aall remains striking precisely because he was an outlier. He did not speak the language of diplomatic balance. He spoke about calories, mortality and responsibility. He insisted that humanitarian action was not morally neutral when people were dying.

From the Classroom to the Street

Bangladesh has always educated its citizens twice -- once in its institutions and once in its streets. The classroom teaches what the nation wants to be. The street teaches what the nation truly is.

Sugar in the Daal

History’s most captivating chapters are often lived in tranquil drawing rooms or in the kitchen of minorities who refuse to blend in completely. When we examine the 1947 Partition, most stories are about violent fractures and Hindus in thousands fleeing to India due to communal riots.

Diplomacy Afresh: H.E. Dinesh Trivedi

It is prudent for the Indian government to appoint H.E. Dinesh Trivedi, a former politician, as the High Commissioner to Bangladesh at a time when relations between the two countries are experiencing turbulence over the ouster of the last government. 

The Case of the Garo Community

Bangladesh cannot claim to protect cultural diversity while systematically demolishing the indigenous land system that supports that culture.

The Role of Collagen

Collagen, a fibrous protein composed primarily of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, is particularly important during the proliferative and remodeling phases. Without sufficient collagen synthesis, wounds may heal slowly, remain fragile, or become susceptible to infection and reopening.

Looking Beyond LCs

Bangladesh Bank’s circular issued on June 11 represents a timely, strategic, and forward-looking shift toward the development and facilitation of alternative trade finance mechanisms.

Why the Dollar Remains Inevitable

Stability is not achieved through currency redesign, but through effective liquidity coordination and risk management within the existing global monetary framework.

The Missing Number in the Budget

The first BNP budget allocates billions for growth, infrastructure, and social protection. But its success will ultimately be judged by whether it creates employment for Bangladesh's growing workforce.