Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee

Trumpeted as a champion of democracy over the last 15 years by her party colleagues and followers, Sheikh Hasina, 77, has become a pariah overnight.

Bangladesh’s iron lady of 15 years bowed out to a people’s uprising yesterday. Serving as the prime minister since 2009, Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country as hundreds of thousands marched towards Dhaka defying a curfew amid a continual morning drizzle.

The government may decide to reopen the educational institutions and lift the curfew in most places after Friday as the last weekend saw large-scale violence over the quota-reform protest.

Leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League and its associate bodies will take positions at their respective unit offices across the country from early morning today and remain vigilant against blocking of roads and highways.

At a time when graft allegations against government officials are making the headlines, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shared a personal anecdote yesterday.

The government is considering a “logical reform” in the quota system in the public service, but it will not take any initiative to that end or give any assurances until the matter is resolved by the Supreme Court.

Over the first six months of this year, there were on average more than two incidents of infighting every day in Awami League. These conflicts accounted for 94 percent of the total 440 incidents of political violence during the same period.

While the corrupt hoards wealth beyond our wildest imagination, ordinary people are barely surviving the onslaught of rising costs.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to ensure the arrest of all those linked to killings that occurred during infighting within the ruling Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said corrupt people will have to shoulder the responsibilities of their deeds.

The Awami League, one of the oldest and largest political parties in the country, is set to celebrate its 75th founding anniversary today.

The 1940s was a tumultuous period in Kolkata politically and economically. The man-made famine of 1943, the Hindu-Muslim riots and the great Calcutta killings ravaged the socio-economic fabric of the society in east and west Bengal -- the effects of which are still felt.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who returned from New Delhi on Monday after attending the oath-taking ceremony of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, is likely to visit India again in September, according to sources.

In its first proposed budget after assuming power for a fourth consecutive term, the Awami League government skirted round some of the promises the party made in its election manifesto for the January 7 parliamentary polls.

Several key partners in the Awami League-led 14-party alliance yesterday came down heavily on the ruling party, and rejected an AL plan to go for joint programmes until the ruling party changes its attitude towards the allies.

In an interview with The Daily Star during his recent visit to Dhaka, Goutam discussed the golden era of Bangla films, their present and future, the difficulties Bangla film productions face, as well as his own vision. The director, widely known for his films like “Padma Nadir Majhi”, “Antarjali Jatra”, “Moner Manush”, “Sankhachil”, “Ma Bhumi”, “Paar” and “Kaalbela”, stated that the international standard of Bangla films has declined.

it is high time for the Awami League to do some soul-searching.

A section of top Awami League leaders think there might be some “political equations” behind the US sanctions on former army chief Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members.

Shifting focus from its earlier position to keep relatives of its lawmakers from the upazila election, the ruling Awami League now seeks to minimise internal feuds centering on the polls and increase the voter turnout.

Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam talks to The Daily Star about his achievements and failures during the four years of his mayorship.