The injunction to “Choose Trusted Journalism” sounds perfectly reasonable, echoing the moral clarity of a public health campaign or a civic duty reminder. It implies that journalism exists on a clearly illuminated shelf, carefully inspected for quality, waiting patiently for the discerning citizen to reach out and select it. Yet, this well-meaning slogan feels increasingly …
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A photographer spends days getting the right shot. A designer may spend weeks developing a visual identity for a small business. A software developer can spend months building something that works. Once the work is finished, however, copying it can take seconds. That imbalance is at the heart of Bangladesh’s intellectual property problem. The country …
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On 14 August, 2026, nine workers lost their lives inside an LNG carrier at a Sitakunda shipbreaking yard after being exposed to toxic gas. One survivor, Mohammad Selim, told The Daily Star that if he had stayed inside for just 20 seconds longer, he wouldn’t have made it out. Some workers had masks on; others …
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There is a deceptive calm in Bangladesh after every political imbroglio. Traffic flows steadily on Dhaka’s arteries, shopkeepers hoist open their shutters with renewed vigor, and the howl of public outrage that reverberated through the streets evaporates under the oppressive heat of the morning sun. To the untrained eye, it might seem like things have …
Read more “The Anatomy of a Quiet Street: What Peace Demands of Bangladesh”
There is a recurring movement in Tareque Masud’s cinema. People walk across fields, travel along rivers, gather in village squares, wait at bus stations, migrate toward cities, return to forgotten memories, or simply stand still while the world around them changes. Watching his films today, one is struck by how rarely they feel interested in …
Introduction History leaves behind more than memories; it leaves institutions, assumptions, and unresolved tensions that continue to shape political life long after the events themselves have passed. One of the more difficult inheritances confronting Bangladesh in the aftermath of the political transition of August 2024 is not simply the recalibration of its relationship with India, …