At a recent roundtable on business climate organised by The Financial Express, the vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau has posed a pertinent question: should the government be doing business at all? The question is as old as the state-owned enterprises themselves and is more relevant today
That 40-41people terminate their lives every day, according to recent police data, in this country should send a chill down the spine. The very word 'suicide' has a story behind and that certainly is not very positive. People by nature are more epicurean than ascetic. But then what pushes one to ta
The revelation that an average of around 40 people die by suicide every day in Bangladesh is a chilling indicator of a profound and largely unaddressed social crisis. Police records on unnatural deaths show that between 2020 and 2024, a total of 73,597 suicide cases were recorded. That means
During the height of the language movement in 1952, two national newspapers were attacked because they opposed the movement. The Morning News, owned by Khwaja Nooruddin from the Dhaka Nawab family, supported the government and kept criticising the language movement. On February 21, 1952, police sho
Death traps are everywhere in Bangladesh. They lurk in accident-prone roads where vehicles race each other recklessly, in waterways where vessels capsize without warning, in sudden outbreaks of violence over trifling matters, and in bomb hurling in public spaces. Another type of quietest but deadli
Bangladesh and Vietnam are often presented as close rivals in the global apparel industry, with export figures suggesting a neck-and-neck race for a larger share of global apparel market. In 2024, Bangladesh exported garments worth USD 38.48 billion, accounting for 6.9 per cent of the global market
Sharif Osman Hadi's martyrdom and the outpouring of grief and sympathy that his assassination aroused among the public has been, in a word, historic. The masterminds behind his killing might have thought that they had succeeded in removing him from public memory forever. But their killing mission b
The ransacking and torching of the Prothom Alo and The Daily Star office buildings in Dhaka add a new dimension to the mobocracy. Similar acts of vandalism and arson in the Chhayanaut building exposes a gross volte-face of the movement. These are not the heady days immediately after the fall of Has
In the midst of the political and extra-political turbulence of the last few days, the attack on the head offices of two national dailies, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, in Dhaka will go down as one of the most tragic and shameful incidents in the history of the country's media industry. On
Throughout history, oppressors have often shown little remorse or regret for actions that caused great sufferings to others. Many rulers and regimes see a lack of repentance as a sign of strength and even justify their harsh measures. Some people support these actions, believing that brutality is n
The scene is familiar to anyone living in or visiting Bangladesh. At street corners, outside schools, bus stands, and train terminals, vendors dish out puri, jhalmuri, fried crispy snacks and sweets packaged in newspaper sheets. Bakeries, confectionery shops, and roadside tea stalls also use newspa
Like the histories of every other post-colonial, modern nation state, Bangladesh, too, has its blood-stained story of liberation struggle. Its history has also certain features that are unique and unlike the stories of other national liberation struggles. These unique characteristics of our nationa
With the announcement of the polls schedule, the nation is in the throes of expectation. Barely two months away from the 13th national election, peace-loving people of this country are not all expectant of a smooth holding of polls and referendum on the July charter on February 12. Many keep their
