Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan

During every high tide, thousands of people from different parts of Mongla Upazila rush to the Pashur River with dinghies and fishing nets. Those who cannot afford dinghies, wade through the river as far as they can with handheld fish traps. Even women, children and elderly people join this race to secure a place in the river or a foothold on its shallow shore. This race is not to catch fish but to catch the shrimp

On January 23 this year, at around 6:00am, the inhabitants of Gulishakhali village awoke terrified to the blood-curdling howl of a Bengal Tiger very close to their village. Soon afterwards, the six-foot tiger was seen roaming freely around the village in the Morelganj upazila of Bagerhat district. It roared fiercely as it searched for food, and its frustrated hunger made it charge at doors of several houses,scaring their

Around 30,000 people gathered in front of the gate of Anis Bari Jame Mosque located at Ghatiadanga village in Satkania upazila, Chittagong on May 15, 2018.

When many prominent leaders of Awami League were imprisoned, including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,

Jiboner Bone Bone (In the Forests of Life) is a heartfelt autobiography written by Nuruddin Ahmad (1920-2010), one of the first Bengali-Muslim officials of the Indian Forest Service (IFS). The tales of his eventful life take in the growth and coming to being of Bangladesh, his observations on Bengali middle-class society and how he worked his way to the top of the Forest Department in the midst of hostile British and Pakistani governments.

Almost a decade had passed before Abdul Mannan returned to Soudkhali this year. His ancestral village in the Sharankhola upazila in Bagerhat was one of the areas worst affected by the ravages of cyclones Sidr and Aila. During the super-cyclone Sidr in 2007, Abdul's younger brother, his father and mother were swept away and their bodies were never recovered. With the donations he received at the time, Abdul had built a new home with the surviving members of his family.

It's 11 am. Mosammat Ayesha rushes to the classroom of grade four to take attendance. After the roll call, she asks the students to open their English grammar book and go through a grammar lesson. While the students fumble through their books, Ayesha quickly moves to the classroom of grade five. There, she again takes the attendance and asks the students to open their mathematics books. Instructing them to solve some arithmetic problems, she returns to the classroom of grade four to help students with grammar lessons.

Five years ago, over 1,100 garment workers lost their lives and hundreds became permanently disabled. The collapse of Rana Plaza, the deadliest disaster in the global garment industry, shook the world, revealing that low-price Bangladeshi garments came at a tremendous cost—workers' lives. At the time, many promises were made by all relevant stakeholders to ensure the rights and safety of the garment workers in Bangladesh and reform the RMG sector.

On March 8, Thursday, when the entire country was looking forward to enjoying the weekend, things were quite different in the Sal forest of Gazipur district. A troop of at least 20 soldiers in camouflaged uniform and armed with assault rifles was seen blocking a road that passes through the forest. The roadblock was guarded by two heavily armed bunkers built on both sides. Suddenly, a group of armed rebels, yielding Kalashnikovs and machetes, were

Last Sunday (March 25, 2018), university students all over the country brought out a unique procession. Putting all their educational certificates around their necks, they took to the streets with mops and brooms. As the procession moved forward, the students started sweeping the streets. Hundreds of thousands of university and college students brought out this unique, peaceful demonstration all over the

On March 22, many organisations and leaders of Bangladesh widely celebrated Water Day. Ataul Karim, a Bangladeshi entrepreneur and owner of ABM Water Company, has conceptualised a way to face the challenge of the severe drinking water crisis in Bangladesh. He says, “At my locality in Sylhet, the drinking water has a high concentration of iron. At first, I didn't have the know-how, but, I started to explore the field of water resources. So, I studied

"The city wrapped in starlight, was in deep slumber. The night was as pleasant as a spring night in Dacca could be. The setting was perfect for anything but a bloody holocaust. At around 11:00 pm, the local commander [Dacca] asked permission to advance… everybody looked at his watch. The Operation Searchlight began with great cunningness, surprise, deception and speed combined with shock action…

It is rare for women to be at the top, period. And even rarer for that woman to have worked their way to the top—more commonly, those who hold privileged positions often inherit their family businesses. Here, we feature women in diverse industries who have worked their way to the top, in a man’s world.

In the first part of this series the Star Weekend revealed, how huge amounts of waqf (an endowment made by a Muslim to religious, educational or charitable cause) properties in Bangladesh have been completely grabbed by illegal occupiers. We found that 122,294 acres of endowed estates are now under illegal occupation and Bangladesh government's waqf administration has lost control over 90 percent of these estates.

In the early twentieth century, when Calcutta's political and social elites were protesting against the formation of a university in East Bengal, which would educate the “uncouth, working class”, the Nawabs of East Bengal came forward. Dhaka's Nawab Khwaja Salimullah donated 600 acres of land to establish necessary buildings for the university. The property also included Nawab's gardens and court buildings (now Madhur canteen and Shahbagh area). Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury of the Nawab family of Dhonbari, Tangail even mortgaged a part of their estate to collect funds for the university.

A mysterious phenomenon rocked the southern coast of Bangladesh in the 19th century. It was a phenomenon which was experienced by

Mursalin Kabir, a child of only 11 years, attended three admission tests in the first two weeks of January. After completing his Primary School Completion exam from a primary level kindergarten school

"No, no, no, all rubbish. They are determined to bring Bangladesh down. They only find wrong in government policies. They don't see development in the country,” said Finance Minister AMA Muhith in a burst of anger when

The neighbourhood around Dhanmondi Lake is a quiet residential area. On each side of the narrow roads, there are only residential buildings, a few grocery stores and the tranquil greenery of Dhanmondi Park.

Have you ever imagined what would it be like to not be able to see your surroundings, the faces of your loved ones, the pages of your favourite books? According to a 2011 study, there are at least 200,000 youths in Bangladesh