Mahfuz Anam

Historian Yuval Noah Harari, of bestsellers “Sapiens”(2011) and “Homo Deus”(2016) fame, talks about the importance of stories in human history which have the power, he says, to transform the fortune of peoples -- turning groups to tribes, to communities, to nations and, to civilizations and make them achieve wonders.

Winston Churchill’s comment in November, 1947 that “democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried before” remains as pertinent today as it was when he stated it in the immediate post war period.

Aly Zaker, our most iconic theatre personality, has left us for eternity. He singlehandedly brought theatre out from an obscure corner of our cultural world to its very centre.

Aly Zaker, our most iconic theatre personality, has left us for eternity. He singlehandedly brought theatre out from an obscure corner of our cultural world to its very centre. He along with his co-actors in Nagarik, and fellow travellers in other theatre groups, made the stage the most powerful and effective vehicle of inculcating critical thinking and intellectual freedom so vitally needed for social change and progress.

Whether we have been able to build our Shonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) or not, Mr. Monir Hossain has certainly built his and earned himself the title of “Shona” (Gold) Monir in the process.

During the AL’s agitation for a caretaker government in the mid-90s, we carried a picture of AL leader Matia Chowdhury pinned down by the police on the Manik Mia Avenue, in front of Jatiya Sangsad, trying to protect herself from police assault while protesting against the then BNP government.

Stealing is bad, but stealing from the poor is perhaps one of the most depraved acts one can think of. But not so for those handling the government’s pandemic-related urgent cash assistance programme for the poor.

“Election is free and fair if I win it and rigged if I lose”. I wrote this sentence many times during our period of contested elections under the caretaker government system.

By the time this article goes to print, Joe Biden, the Democratic Party candidate, may have scraped through the race for the White House.

Nothing could please us more than to hear Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterate her commitment to the freedom of the press and democracy. But does it match with how the Digital Security Act operates, especially against journalists?

How is our coming of age to be measured? Is it just by per capita income or GDP figures or such indices? There are many other such numbers that show us in a favourable light. They are all very important and we are proud of those achievements. But what about some other signs of development—decent and safe roads, clean air, a dependable public transport system, safe water supply, reliable public healthcare, public education measured not by quantity but quality, and most importantly, safety for women?

Last Tuesday, the home ministry issued a statement warning social media users from home and abroad against spreading “false, fabricated, confusing and inciting statements about the government, military, police and other law enforcement agencies.

Article by Mahfuz Anam on the International Day of Democracy

The blunt statement on September 7 of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a virtual meeting with the Armed Forces Selection Board—that “we should exclude Martial Law from military lexicon”—was both surprising and refreshing.

The September 2 issue of The Daily Star had two contrasting stories that dramatically expose our hypocritical attitudes towards our expatriate workers.

It is quite astounding that he lived for only 55 years (1920-1975) and achieved so much. He may not have written treaties in philosophy, literature and science but he brought to life a social and political epic that transformed the life of millions of his people and channelled history in a direction that Bangalees only dreamt of but hardly believed that it would happen.

He was an editor’s dream of an investor. But he turned out to be so much more. Yes, Matiur Rahman and I run the two papers -- Prothom Alo and The Daily Star respectively -- but it was he who made them happen, with his principles, integrity, courage, steadfastness, strength of character, and unswerving faith in independent media without which, he intuitively knew, that democracy could not flourish.

The photograph, on the front page of yesterday’s The Daily Star, of a five-year-old named Shaon, lying dead on a gurney and his wailing grandfather on the floor of the entrance of Chattogram Medical College Hospital will make the heart of all parents, grandparents and ordinary citizens of the country cry out in pain, anger and frustration.

Yesterday, we published a caption story of the 24-year-old Jhuma sitting on the footpath in the vicinity of Shahid Minar in a state of near collapse, supported by her husband, Shujan, standing next to her.

He always finished his speech much earlier than we wanted him to.