Despite our numerous achievements in domestic and international spheres, the following refrain has refused to go away in the last several decades: “why is Bangladesh so bitterly divided as a polity? Why are Bangladesh's political leaders so totally consumed by their personal animosities towards each other that they neglect good governance of the state? Why does Bangladesh, having rejected political Islam as the...

Since the government launched the so-called “anti-drug drive” in early May, akin to the Philippines' “war on drugs”, more than one hundred people have been subjected to extrajudicial killings. Although the number and pace of these killings, described by the government as “gunfight”, have been staggering, extrajudicial killing is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh.

Non-profit organisations (NGOs) in Bangladesh are facing a general downturn in funding according to government data.

Can an autocrat redeem himself as a champion of democracy?

I can recall there was an advertisement published in a renowned English daily sometime last year for employment for the training

That's the title of a book published in 2005, by an Indian writer who has dedicated her life to fighting for labour rights and women's

Sharifun is a soft-spoken woman with a big, generous smile. Dressed in a modest saree, the 35-year-old looks like a kindly

Discrimination is one of the most concerning issues for human resource professionals and can be both positive and negative. The

The world is moving faster than ever and work has to be completed on the go! As an individual navigating through trillions of data and

Emerging market governments often draw lessons from previous financial crises—or at least claim to do so—to prevent their recurrence. However, such preventive measures are typically designed to address the causes of the last crisis, not the next one.

High on the agenda will be regional security amid the rising tide of terrorism. This takes Asean back to its roots, having been born as a politico-security pact during the Vietnam War in 1967.

For everyth-ing that goes wrong, or for everything that seems to be out of order, we unhesitatingly blame the state

As I stood at the back of the queue in a food court recently, I noticed that there were at least a dozen customers standing in line before me. As they walked up to the counter one by one to collect their food, most of them had their eyes glued to their mobile phones, and few of them looked up until they were served.

The use of RTI to seek redress for personal grievances is equally popular. RTI has been used by students appearing in various public service examinations to find out if they were fairly treated by the examiners. Whether the desired information is received or not, the applications alone help alert the authorities that their performance is being watched by citizens.

The ongoing ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas in Rakhine State by the military and security forces of Myanmar has caused over half a million of them to flee and take refuge in Bangladesh.

Ali shares a squatter settlement with five other people. As a rickshaw-puller, his average monthly income is Tk 5,000, which places him just above the national poverty line. The rent costs him Tk 3,000 per month. His utilities cost Tk 550 a month, and this excludes food and other living expenses. Ali faces eviction on a regular basis, a reality for 35 percent of people in Dhaka, who currently live in informal settlements.

China and India's steady economic growth after centuries of stagnation is changing the economic landscape of Asia—lifting millions out of poverty. As economic interdependence between the two nations increases, their geo-political rivalry is also on the rise. Beijing and New Delhi have competing visions to expand their geo-economic interests and, perhaps, supremacy in the region and beyond.

Discrimination is often the transference of moral degradation to others. The Maldives presents many examples of it in its treatment of migrant workers. Take Malé's old Sultan Park, now upgraded and renamed Rasrani Bageecha.

America took capitalism and the market economy as the basis for its economic model from the first day of its independence in the late 18th century. In the subsequent centuries, the US continued its progress as the market economy fosters the culture of competition and empowers the customers to choose the best out of many alternatives.

The judicial probe report by the chief judicial magistrate of Dhaka was submitted before the same court in January this year. While we are still waiting to know its contents, we cannot help but feel dismayed by the outcome of this case.