Politics and Bureaucracy
Dwellers in both way crisis : Stoves fail to Ignite, yet electricity bill continues to climb
Last week, a lengthy line formed outside the Rural Electrification Board office in Hili, Dinajpur. Not all individuals were present to settle their electricity bills. Many simply held their bills, inquiring about the same issue: Why has my bill increased so significantly?
Presidents who resigned in Bangladesh's history
President Mohammad Shahabuddin unexpectedly resigned before completing his constitutional term, without any prior public announcement on 24 July.
Retirement, dismissal, and immortal tale of administrative grace
There is a well-known Bengali proverb: "All is well that ends well." In our administrative reality, however, it may now deserve a revised version: "If it ends with a promotion, who cares about the past?" Merit, responsibility, competence, and discipline seem increasingly destined for the dictionary rather than the civil service. In practice, they have been replaced by a mysterious philosopher's stone whose touch can breathe new life into retirement and transform dismissal from service into a stepping stone to promotion.
Kingdom of notifications: Minister, ministry or the magnificent rumour
The administrative history of Bangladesh has always been marked by peculiar incidents. However, the recent occurrence involving the Ministry of Commerce stands out as a particularly unusual case, prompting the average citizen to question who is truly in charge of the state's administration.
M A Manzur's involvement in assassination of President Ziaur Rahman still unclear
President Ziaur Rahman was violently assassinated by a faction of army officers at the Chattogram Circuit House during the early hours of May 30, 1981. This marked the second assassination of a President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh within a decade following the nation's independence. A key figure in this incident was Major General M.A. Manzur. It is important to note that after the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman, M.A. Manzur assumed responsibility for the entire event and orchestrated a rebellion in Chattogram. He also put forth four demands, which included the declaration of martial law. Furthermore, he proclaimed the establishment of a revolutionary council. However, M.A. Manzur soon lost control amidst the unfolding events. Subsequently, he was also brutally killed in the Chattogram Cantonment on June 2. Former army officer Major General (Retd.) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury Bir Bikram candidly discussed these events in 2012, 31 years after the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman. It is essential to highlight that Major General (Retd.) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury was a close associate of President Ziaur Rahman, both professionally and personally. He fought alongside Ziaur Rahman during the Liberation War in 1971.
Mamata Banerjee: which path after the fall?
A significant chapter in the political history of West Bengal came to a close on May 4, 2026. The BJP won 207 out of 294 seats, forming the government in the state for the first time. The Trinamool Congress was reduced to just 80 seats.
Measles disaster in Rajshahi: Bureaucratic stagnation or structural violence
Measles — medically defined, it is a highly contagious virus that is entirely preventable. However, in the current context of Rajshahi, this term has transcended its clinical meaning — it has evolved into a testament to systematic administrative failure. Over the past month and a half, more than 53 children have succumbed to complications from the disease at Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) Hospital. Reports from the state-run news agency BSS and major media outlets indicate that 44 lives have been lost to measles within a mere two weeks. Furthermore, in the 48 hours leading up to the completion of this article, three more innocent children have tragically passed away while waiting in lengthy ICU queues.
44 small coffins and a locked file: Who is responsible for structural murder?
When two-and-a-half-year-old Nusayba from Chatmohar in Pabna passed away on March 12, her father received a call from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital exactly four days later. He was informed that a bed had been allocated for Nusayba. This ‘posthumous call’ regarding a bed for a deceased child is a significant indictment of our governance in the 21st century. The same unfortunate situation has occurred with Nahid from Terokhadia and 10-month-old Jihad from Durgapur, who have been denied access to a mechanical ventilator despite waiting endlessly. The disheartening admission from the medical team indicates that there have been 53 deaths in the past two and a half months; of these, 44 young lives were lost prematurely in the two weeks from March 10 to 24 due to insufficient intensive monitoring. The greatest irony of progress is that just a few kilometers away from where children are dying daily due to inadequate treatment, a modern specialized children's hospital with 200 beds, constructed at a cost of approximately Tk35 crore in the Ghora Chattar (Behrampur) area of the metropolis, has been fully operational since 2023. Despite having state-of-the-art facilities, including 56 intensive monitoring beds and a central oxygen system, the hospital is awaiting approval for its manpower structure (organogram) due to bureaucratic delays. This official inaction has become more significant than the lives of children today. It is particularly astonishing that the 12-bed child intensive monitoring center currently functioning in the main hospital lacks official approval; it is being operated under its own special management. Is a file concerning a manpower structure on the administrative desk of a state capable of executing large-scale projects worth thousands of crores of taka more important than the lives of 44 children?
Blueprint for extermination of Bengalis under guise of duck hunting
The prosperous Indus civilization was founded around the Sindhu River. Larkana in Pakistan is one of the cities that have developed on the banks of this river that stretches across India and Pakistan. It is one of the most prosperous and important cities in the country's Sindh province. This important chapter of the independence movement of the Bengali nation is associated with this city, thousands of miles away. Because it was in this city that the blueprint for the Bengali genocide was finalized instead of handing over power to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The day was February 22, 1971. On the day that President Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and top Pakistani army officers finalized the plan to teach the Bengali nation a bloody lesson with heavy feasts, colorful drinks and intoxication with power.
People's verdict and a new horizon: Service must become the mantra of politics
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is moving towards forming the government by securing an absolute majority with the people's overwhelming votes in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. This victory is not merely the success of a political party; it is the deep trust, confidence and dream of a new tomorrow for millions of people. The people have placed their hopes and aspirations in BNP's hands with immense expectations.