In a riverine land such as ours, mainstream might be a more evocative term -- BNP represents the confluence of various cultural, historical, social milieus that continue to flow through us. As Mrs Zia has memorably put it, BNP situates itself to the left of the right, and to the right of the left.
The most dangerous question remains unasked: What norms, procedures, and moral commitments should replace what we are dismantling?
Bangladesh rejected Israel’s recognition not because it could afford to be principled -- but because it could not afford not to be strategic. Somaliland should take note. The lesson is clear: recognition divorced from coalition-building and regional consensus can be worse than no recognition at all.
As the nation approaches another election marked by controversy and uncertainty, the composition of its candidate list serves as both a warning and a mirror. It reveals not only who seeks power, but why they seek it.
Echoes of the 1979 Islamic Revolution are loud and clear, except this time the ayatollahs are on the receiving end. To save this nation from calamity, it’s time for Khamenei to leave.
India has not merely provoked a cyclical wave of anti-India sentiment; it has actively contributed to giving it a permanent, structural form. The alienation is no longer just about borders -- it is about sovereignty.
The deepest fault line is not between secular and religious, or even between rival nationalisms. It is between a society that aspires and a system that no longer feels responsive. Whoever speaks to this issue will have the heart of the Bangladeshi voter.
The Jagannath University election, therefore, is not merely a matter of victory or defeat. It raises a deeper question -- what lessons will political parties draw from the changing realities of student politics? That, more than the numbers themselves, is the most critical issue going forward.
I’m not against using AI, I never was. I just want you to use it cautiously. Because the more you are replacing AI with your own mind, the more it will take space in your soul. If we keep asking AI solutions for every simple problem, our mind will become too fragile to face challenges.
The question for a republic is whether it can learn to look away from the dazzling, authoritarian image long enough to see -- and rebuild -- the dull, demanding, and essential foundations of a reality-based politics.
Second chances are possible. But history does not reward clever positioning or carefully worded distance. It honors courage, sacrifice, and fidelity to truth -- especially inconvenient truth.
What is ultimately at stake is not merely the ease of obtaining visas. It is how Bangladeshi citizens are perceived as participants in the global order.
Rumour is part of politics and society but now it can be magnified and curated at speed in the age of the (un)smart phone. Compared to the digital control of the previous regime what we have now is the information bomb.
In this episode, Jon Danilowicz and Zafar Sobhan sit down with Dr Shamaruh Mirza for a wide-ranging and insightful conversation on India–Bangladesh relations, questions of justice and reconciliation, and what lies ahead as the country looks toward the upcoming elections.
In this episode, Jon Danilowicz and Zafar Sobhan sit down with Dr Shamaruh Mirza for a wide-ranging and insightful conversation on India–Bangladesh relations, questions of justice and reconciliation, and what lies ahead as the country looks toward the upcoming elections.