Ali Riaz

The government has not only curtailed freedom of expression and assembly, but it has also used state institutions to silence its critics and political opponents in a brutal manner.

It is imperative that we pay respect to him but what we need to recall is what was written on his bare chest and back, writes Ali Riaz.

The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Bangladesh Constitution provides an opportunity to examine whether the country practised constitutionalism since the constitution came into effect.

Can citizens be told that their rights are now available because the executive branch of the state is offering them as a gift?

As Bangladesh, facing an unprecedented economic crisis, has entered a negotiation with the IMF for a USD 4.5 billion loan package, a few discussions have ensued in the country.

The protests are not only about the economic woes but also about the system of governance.

A fortuitous combination of several factors in the past few months have brought down the Imran Khan government in Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s abstention in the vote on the Ukraine crisis at the United Nations’ emergency special session on March 3, 2022 deserves much more scrutiny than it has received thus far.

Globally, democracy is in crisis. An array of countries, from newly democratised nations to consolidated democracies, are experiencing severe backsliding.

The 12th Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh, headed by KM Nurul Huda, completed its tenure on February 14, 2022.

It seems like deja vu in Bangladeshi politics. As President Abdul Hamid is holding dialogues with various political parties to seek suggestions for members to form the search committee for the next Election Commission, it has brought back the memories of 2012 and 2017.

Since the US Department of Treasury and the Department of State imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and seven of its current and former officials on December 10, the future of the Bangladesh-US relationship has become a topic of analysis and intense speculation in Bangladeshi media.

This is not how the day marking the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on the United States was expected to be commemorated, but unfortunately, the day has turned out to be not only a day of remembrance, but also of reckoning.

The government’s decision to open educational institutions is a welcome development. All educational institutions have remained closed since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the promise of online education has failed miserably to deliver.

The Taliban has returned to power in Afghanistan. The spectacular fall of the US-backed government has caught everyone by surprise, although for years it was conventional wisdom that the war was lost in Afghanistan.

The founding anniversary of any organisation offers an opportunity for introspection; a centenary makes introspection an imperative. In its centenary, the important task Dhaka University faces is identifying its most significant achievement in the last hundred years.

To the average reader, Mohiuddin Ahmed is better known as the founder of University Press Limited, a reputed publishing house in the country.

The news that the Dhaka University authorities said they will take legal action if the university and/or its vice-chancellor, Prof Akhtaruzzaman, is mocked in social media is quite shocking.

"Last year, in February-March, a lot of experts had said that India will be the worst-affected country, there will be tsunami of cases.

An institution of higher learning in Pakistan had to cancel an academic conference about 1971.