Mahfuz Anam

He was at his prime. Dynamic and full of energy, he was a man on a mission. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's surprising and insightful decision to nominate a nonparty man for the vital post of one of the two mayors of the country's capital turned out to be a brilliant one. Given the opportunity, he was determined to prove that he was a worthy choice.

In this special issue of Star Weekend, we tried to cover the persecution of the Rohingyas from various aspects. Written by renowned scholars with expertise in different fields, the articles argue for a more nuanced understanding of the crisis and suggest possible ways forward.

Myanmar, on its part must, realise that blaming all the current atrocities on the so-called terrorists and claiming that its security forces had nothing to do with the crimes committed, in spite of unvarying accounts of thousands of refugees to the contrary, is neither credible nor helpful in solving the situation.

Is history too much with us? In some sense, yes, but in its broader and deeper sense, no.

Nations fall into deadly intellectual traps – and we seem to have a special knack for doing so at regular intervals – when they try to judge historical events in accordance with the political convenience of the present. The memory of Bangabandhu is a classic example of how a national hero becomes a victim of politicisation of history.

As we observe the 42nd anniversary of Bangabandhu's most cruel and gruesome murder we are humbled by the memory of the man

We hope that instead of a knee-jerk reaction, the present ruling leadership will see the merit of the criticisms made and do their own homework so that all the vital organs of our constitution can work together and establish a functional state under law.

I did not know Faruq Ahmed Choudhury the diplomat, though I heard he was among the best that there could be – I will let others

Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to India during April 7-10 is turning out to be perhaps her most important bilateral visit to a country that surrounds Bangladesh from three sides, making it the only neighbour in all but physical sense.

A newspaper's strength is its readership, and thanks to you all, we have been and still are very strong. Though we have been made to

Yesterday the pro-ruling Awami League's student body, Bangladesh Chhatra League(BCL), celebrated its 69th birth anniversary. We

President Abdul Hamid will start his dialogue with BNP in order to constitute a new Election Commission due in early February

The interest, the patience, the discipline, enthusiasm shown by the Dhaka audience and the capacity to understand and appreciate the intricate renditions of a particular raga, displayed by our listeners with instant applause, speaks of the growth of a large number of genuine classical music enthusiasts that we never knew existed.

Twenty-six years ago the autocratic rule of Gen. Ershad came to an end in the face of years of mass agitation leading to the restoration of democracy and reinstatement of the representative government in 1991. Since then 6th December has been celebrated as Democracy Restoration Day.

How much of a game changing impact will Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Bangladesh, 30 years after the last such visit, have on politics of this region and beyond?

There was something eerily familiar about watching the present US election as a Bangladeshi. We have seen it all several times

The challenge now before all of us is to determine how deep and wide the spread of extremist ideologies is, how entrenched is the threat and, more importantly, how we can effectively fight it.

Fahim's was always a larger than life presence. Never a moment without his infectious smile, always the first to come up with a joke suitable for the occasion, never shying away from pulling someone's leg, almost always taking us by surprise with his ready wit and always able to turn a rather serious encounter into a more pleasant occasion with his superb social skills.

Most of our greatest politicians were parliamentarians like AK Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Dhirendranath Datta, Ataur Rahman Khan, not to mention Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, M Mansur Ali and many others.

As we step into the 64th year since the fateful day of February 21, 1952, we take the opportunity to reflect on the long road we have