Views / Analysis

What makes CMC, Vellore special for medical services

What makes CMC, Vellore special for medical services

With a population density of 4,621in Vellore City Municipal Corporation, the urban space is chaotic enough. But within the boundary of the Christian Medical College and Hospital, the discipline is enviable. Patients from Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka of the SAARC region come here for medical treatment.


The final century

The final century

We survived the last century in spite of much apprehension. There have been two great wars, two market upheavals apart from the Vietnam war. Senator Goldwater wanted to defoliate Vietnam so that the guerrillas could not hide. It is now being done in another country. There is no sign of any let up.

Stop the Bleed

Stop the Bleed

As a faculty of the university, I was invited to lecture in some high-profile places, public and private. I had a small car that I drove myself. Once, as I was returning home after a lecture the host was eager to help me. He took my car key and asked the secretary to bring it to the reception. To h

Most Bangladeshis have never seen it

Most Bangladeshis have never seen it

There is something quietly remarkable about the fact that Bangladesh, a country of rivers, forests, hills, and coastal plains of extraordinary beauty, is mostly experienced by its urban residents through a car window on the way to somewhere else. Dhaka professionals who have traveled to Bali, Chian

Doing more for sustainable rural transformation

Doing more for sustainable rural transformation

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman recently inaugurated the Khal Kata, or Canal Excavation Programme, promising to improve water flow, support farmers, and strengthen irrigation nationwide. This initiative reminds us of the widely popular canal excavation programme launched by his father, Shaheed Presid

Your body has been sitting for six hours. It is not happy

Your body has been sitting for six hours. It is not happy

The human body was not designed for the chair. It was designed for movement -- for walking across uneven ground, bending toward things, reaching upward, standing still only briefly before moving again. And yet most office workers in Dhaka spend six to eight hours a day folded into the same position

Smuggling of ants and strange human hobbies

Smuggling of ants and strange human hobbies

A mixed feeling of disbelief and surprise has taken over readers who recently came across the news of arrest of a man for smuggling of ants at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Yes, you have read it right -- the charge against a Chinese national is the violation of international

Many Variants of Life

Many Variants of Life

There are so many different ways a life is lived. What is wrong today is right tomorrow due to changes in social practices and vice versa. Again, the practices are place-dependent. Not easy as we move from one to another. My cousin was stopped at Heathrow airport by a sniffing dog as she had 'paan'

Efficient Teaching: What, Why, and How

Efficient Teaching: What, Why, and How

Teaching is an honoured vocation, but being an expert in a subject does not automatically make someone a good teacher. Some countries, recognizing this distinction, have made teacher training mandatory for all teachers, including university teachers. For instance, Sri Lanka, Norway, Finland, and De

Insights from top firms and global comparisons

Insights from top firms and global comparisons

An article regarding the Bangladesh audit market has indicated that the top 100 audit firms conduct 87 per cent of audits, i.e., the overwhelming majority of statutory audits, with individual partners at leading firms reportedly signing off on as many as 388 audits per year. At the first glance, th

Economic challenges for the new govt

Economic challenges for the new govt

Bangladesh's economy is now very big. After 55 years, the size of the country's economy has increased a lot. Our population has also increased. In 1971, the population was only 75 million, now it stands at more than 180 million. As the economy has grown, so has corruption and various disasters. On

When brute power gets the better of modesty

When brute power gets the better of modesty

Humans are not certainly known for the strongest physical power. At the top of the raw power order among land animals, elephant has no match. Then come rhinoceroses, hippopotamus, bison, buffalo and the likes. Yet these animals are not called the king of the wild. A far smaller animal, lion holds t