1971
The nation had to pay a heavy price for the creation of JASAD
Writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed is both a historian and a valiant freedom fighter. Among those who have written, analysed and researched most extensively on the political context of post-independence Bangladesh, he is one of the foremost. He is the only political writer in Bangladesh who wrote a book on the 1973 election, titled Tiyattorer Nirbachan (The Election of ’73). He also wrote Lal Santras: Siraj Sikder o Sarbahara Rajniti (Red Terror: Siraj Sikder and Proletarian Politics), Pratinayak Sirajul Alam Khan (Antihero Sirajul Alam Khan), Awami League BNP Kon Pathe (Which Way Awami League and BNP), JASADer Utthan Patan: Asthir Samayer Rajniti (The Rise and Fall of JASAD: Politics of Turbulent Times), among others. He continues to write on contemporary politics.
What impact could this DUCSU election have on future politics of Bangladesh
From 1924 to 2025, in the hundred-year history of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU), is this year’s DUCSU election going to be the most important? It is difficult to determine which historical events are more significant than others. Often such decisions cannot be made immediately. In the long course of history, many important events fade into obscurity, while some seemingly minor issues shine brightly. Perspective, analysis, bias—all combine to produce different interpretations of events. Even so, it can clearly be said that DUCSU has played a notable role in our national liberation movement, and especially in shaping the society, culture and politics of the Bengali middle-class educated Muslims after Partition.
An unconstitutional govt can never be democratic
The Liberation War of 1971 comes up repeatedly in various ways. That was a time of great hardship. Each of us was in grave danger. Every day, every night, even every moment was filled with terror. We thought about our own safety, at most we were occupied with concerns about our loved ones. We exchanged news, wanted to know what was happening where, listened to the radio, thought about how to help the freedom fighters, while those who were at war were fighting for their very lives. There was work for all of us. Danger pursued us, but we also had dreams. There was a dream ahead. A collective and enormous dream. We hoped we would drive the invaders out, that we would be free, and towards that goal we worked. Everyone wanted to contribute in whatever way they could.
Still waiting for death-defying Rumi…
August 29, 1971. It was around midnight. There was a terrified silence in the city of Dhaka under the tight security of the Pakistani occupation forces. On that day, Shafi Imam Rumi returned home just after evening. He told his mother that his friend, guerrilla fighter Hafiz, would be staying the night. The darkness of night was deepening. In his younger brother Jami’s room, the radio was on. Suddenly the airwaves rang out with the song “Ekbar bidaay de ma ghure asi…”. Rumi was startled. He thought—why has this song been played several times today? Surely some accident has happened somewhere. With heavy hearts, everyone went to sleep—father Sharif Imam, mother Jahanara Imam, younger brother Jami, Rumi and a few others.
Let conspiracy theories on Zahir Raihan’s murder come to an end
One of the indispensable elements of war is propaganda. War means terrorising with information, distorting information. War means the constant attempt to occupy the psyche with distorted and false information. War means the battle of forgetfulness against memory. In the twentieth century, Hitler’s Propaganda Ministry (Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda), headed by Joseph Goebbels, set an extraordinary precedent in war propaganda. His central philosophy was: If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.
India-Bangladesh cultural exchange: Memory, identity and future
build and change upon this landscape. Agriculture is culture, cooking is culture, and therefore even fishing is culture. That is why I do not know whether we should see as cultural exchange the recent incident in which 95 people lost their way into the seas of Bangladesh, were caught by police of the other country, and, as I heard, were returned after being beaten severely. If it is an exchange, surely it is not an example of “lawful” or mutually desired exchange between two countries.
Sheikh Mujib: A visionary of extraordinary foresight
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s personality was exceptional. Those close to him, and even his adversaries on a personal level, were drawn to him. Some senior officers of the Pakistani military were also inclined towards his stance. This is why, before the genocide began, Major General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, serving as the head of the army in East Bengal, resigned; and SM Hasan of the Navy was replaced by Tikka Khan as governor and military ruler. Tikka Khan had earned the title ‘Butcher of Balochistan’, a title he rightly deserved, and he came to East Bengal in the same capacity – as a ‘butcher’.
Mass uprising of 2024 did not fulfill people's aspirations
The departure of a patriarch does not mean the end of patriarchy. Dismantling patriarchy requires a social revolution—something that has yet to happen in our country. Equality of rights among people has not been established; nor is there any immediate hope of decentralizing power. Securing the fulfillment of people’s basic needs still remains a distant dream. And because social ownership has not replaced private ownership through a social revolution, the real foundation of inequality remains intact.
What are industrial entrepreneurs to do amid the gas crisis
The gas crisis is worsening day by day. Many factories are shutting down due to the gas shortage. New entrepreneurs no longer have the courage to invest. Despite repeated assurances from the government, the continued failures speak for themselves. According to the Bangladesh Chamber of Industry (BCI), gas shortages have reduced production in factories to below 60 percent. Alongside the gas crisis, bank loan interest rates have also risen. Banks are labeling borrowers as defaulters if they miss interest payments for just three months. In such a situation, industrial entrepreneurs are facing an extremely disheartening reality.
Speaking from a place of ownership
If there's another election in Bangladesh, then hear me out—I will cast my own vote, not you. I will not sell my rights, nor will I become anyone’s slave. If you sell your vote, you're not just betraying yourself—you are enslaving millions like me. No more of this! I can't even go back to Bangladesh, because what awaits me there is humiliation and insult. Do you know why? Because I refuse to be anyone’s servant—I cannot, and I will not! We fought for our independence, not to bow down to new masters.