State and Politics
Politics of hilsa: Rumours, silence and reality
In October 2025, just before Durga Puja, the price of a one-kilogram hilsa rose to around Tk2,900 at Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar. Yet the fisherman who spends night after night casting his net in the Meghna estuary often cannot afford to put even a piece of hilsa on his own children’s plates for months on end.
President of Bangladesh: Limited powers, extensive privileges
Voting to elect Bangladesh's 23rd President is taking place today, Thursday. Polling will be held in the National Parliament chamber from 2pm to 5pm. However, with the ruling BNP holding more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the election is largely expected to be a formality. The numbers suggest that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP's recently retired Secretary General and the party's candidate, is set to become President.
Six months of BNP government: Promises under weight of reality
Tarique Rahman took oath as prime minister on 17 February. Exactly six months, or 180 days, have passed since then. In numerical terms, six months may seem like a relatively short period, but for a state, such a span can sometimes feel as weighty as a decade.
Bhutto’s attempt to reunite broken Pakistan
In the last week of June 1974, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Dhaka. Although visiting the Savar National Memorial was part of the official protocol, Bhutto initially expressed his unwillingness to go there. However, under the firm insistence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bhutto was compelled to visit the memorial to pay tribute to those who had been martyred in 1971. Yet the shrewd Bhutto did not go to the memorial in formal attire; he went wearing a T-shirt and a golf cap. He objected to the playing of a bugle, the laying of wreaths and a gun salute.
Arming neighbours in name of checking enemy: Pakistan's perilous game under guise of peace
A state possesses firearms, which is a natural occurrence. These firearms are accompanied by regulations, uniforms, a hierarchy of command, and, ideally, a system of accountability. Police conduct can be scrutinized for misconduct, military actions can be subject to discussion, and a government's security strategies can be contested in legislative bodies or judicial courts.
Does decline in pass rate necessarily mean decline in quality of education?
After a record 82-day wait, the results of this year’s SSC and equivalent examinations have finally been published. The combined pass rate across all education boards stands at 62 per cent. Of nearly 1.8 million candidates, just over 1.1 million passed. In terms of the SSC results, this is the lowest pass rate in the past 20 years. Compared with 2021, the rate is 31 percentage points lower.
Foreign lord holds the helm as Hayatullah breathed his last in desert
The desert burned beneath a blazing mid-summer sun. It hung overhead like an enormous ball of fire, as though it could scorch everything in sight into ashes. In every direction stretched endless grey sand, shimmering under the relentless heat. There were no trees, no shade, no homes—nothing to suggest that life had ever existed there. Far ahead, a glimmer on the horizon promised water. But the closer one walked, the clearer it became that it was nothing more than another trick of the desert, another ribbon of sand masquerading as hope.
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?
Ensure access to justice for female migrant workers
Rehana Akter ( 26), a Bangaldeshi divorcee poor woman of Ibrahimpur village, under Keraniganj subdistrict in Dhaka. She has two minor gilr children. After being divorced by her husband for unable to pay dowry, she found no option to survive. Once her neighbor advised to fly abroad for a lucrative job with high salary.
One reel, a teacher, and the deep-rooted illness in our society
What began as a few seconds of personal expression has evolved into a revealing portrait of a society struggling with intolerance, digital vigilantism and deeply entrenched gender bias.