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Amin Al Rasheed

  • Journalist, researcher, column writer and documentary film maker

Amin Al Rasheed is a Journalist, researcher, column writer and documentary film maker. He is working with Nexus Television as Current Affairs Editor. Amin received some national and international awards for investigative reporting as South Asian Inquirer Award by Thompson Foundation of UK, Anti- Corruption Commission Award for investigative journalism, TIB Award for investigative reporting ETC. He achieved `Kali o Kalam Award 2021’ for his research book `Jibananander Manchitra’. Amin is a writer and editor of 15 books regarding constitution, parliament, politics, media ETC.
Why debate over party symbols of water lily and sheaf of paddy?
lily and sheaf of paddy

Why debate over party symbols of water lily and sheaf of paddy?

Before the 10th National Parliamentary Election held in 2014, in October 2013, the Bangladesh Nationalist Front–BNF, which was seeking registration with the Election Commission, applied for the symbol of ‘sheaf of wheat’. BNP opposed this, saying that the sheaf of wheat and the sheaf of paddy look similar. Therefore, voters for the sheaf of paddy might mistakenly vote for the sheaf of wheat. The reverse could also happen. In this reality, BNF applied for the ‘paddy plant’ symbol instead of the sheaf of wheat. However, they were not given either ‘sheaf of wheat’ or ‘paddy plant’; instead, they were told to keep their eyes on the television screen! That is, BNF was given the symbol of a television. On 18 November 2013, they were registered with the Election Commission. Their registration number is 42. However, on 16 February 2023, the newly registered Trinamool BNP was given the symbol of golden fibre.

Rohingya crisis: The maze of repatriation
Rohingya crisis

Rohingya crisis: The maze of repatriation

The Rohingya crisis currently stands as the greatest threat to Bangladesh’s national security and sovereignty. Recently, it has been further complicated by debates over transit corridors and incidents of push-in operations where India has forcibly sent some registered Rohingyas into Bangladesh. In March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Bangladesh’s interim government’s Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and gave hopeful messages about repatriating the Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine. There were reports that as many as 180,000 Rohingyas might be repatriated to Myanmar. However, those hopes quickly proved unrealistic. Moreover, since the interim government took charge nine months ago, at least 100,000 new Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh's burden is increasing, and the issue of Rohingya repatriation is becoming entangled in a complex web of regional and international politics, with no immediate resolution in sight.

‘Comfortable Eid journey’ in old arrangement
‘Comfortable Eid journey’ in old arrangement

‘Comfortable Eid journey’ in old arrangement

Development worker Abdullah Al Mamun wrote on Facebook at around 4pm on Thursday (June 5): “Couldn’t take the abnormal traffic jam anymore! Turned back via Gazipur! Celebrating Eid in Dhaka.”

Is distance between govt and BNP centring election only
BNP

Is distance between govt and BNP centring election only

BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, and Mirza Abbas have recently made some comments that make it seem as though BNP is the main opposition party to the interim government. Although BNP also played a major role in the process of forming the interim government led by Dr Yunus after the fall of the Awami League in the face of an uprising in August last. From the beginning, BNP has been saying that the interim government is their government; but, just a few months after this government assumed office on August 8 of last year, a distance or tension began to emerge between the government and BNP. This raises the question: is this distance between the government and BNP only about the election issue, or are there any more reasons behind it?

How easy will it be for deposed AL to make a comeback after uprising?
Awami League

How easy will it be for deposed AL to make a comeback after uprising?

The Awami League, the party that led Bangladesh’s Liberation War, has been ousted from power 53 years after independence through a mass uprising—an event with at least twenty contributing factors. While conspiracy theories and accusations of foreign interference continue to circulate, there is no denying that in recent years the Awami League became increasingly disconnected from the people due to rampant corruption, partisan favoritism, and nepotism.

'Inevitable reasons' for news shutdown and journalist's dismissal
World Press Freedom Day

'Inevitable reasons' for news shutdown and journalist's dismissal

Just four days before World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd, on April 29th, what happened at three television channels in Bangladesh raised serious questions not only about the statements of the interim government's Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the former Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam but also about journalists' freedom to ask questions, their authority, and the boundaries of that freedom.

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