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Time for people to claim independence

FOUR decades after the emergence of Bangladesh, one would find many among the Bengalis today continuing to debate on who had declared the country’s independence and, that too, on what date of which year! However, none would perhaps... Full story

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Freedom is not class-neutral

FREEDOM in all lands is captive to class interests. It is historically impossible for freedom – freedom of will and of action – to get free from the clutch of its class content as freedom is not class-neutral. Economic content of freedom, moored in class interests, makes it... Full story

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Freedom in endangered democracies

THE essence of democracy is freedom. Democracy cannot meaningfully exist without freedom of the people, nor can freedom be guaranteed without a functioning democracy. Freedom is the first victim of dysfunctional democracies. Such distorted systems... Full story

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State of freedom after 40 years of independence

FREEDOM in its truest sense of the term means liberty. Freedom is also synonym of independence. Independence is noun and its adjective is independent. Independent denotes not dependent or relying on others, not subordinate, completely... Full story

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Freedom: the never-ending road

DURING the latter half of 1971, my mother and I were taking refuge in the homes of various friends and well-wishers. After my father Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Reader in English at the University of Dhaka, was shot and killed by the Pakistani military junta... Full story

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Bangladesh’s state-building 40 years on

BANGLADESH, in its relatively early state formation period, is still working through various identity crises and state-building processes. What kind of a state and a political system do we see evolving in Bangladesh at a time when it is celebrating its four decades of independence? Full story

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The RPASDA syndrome and politics

IN ITS evolving trajectory, Bangladesh politics has reached an interesting phase in the last two decades. Regardless of which party comes to power, there is no fundamental difference in their linguistic expression of politics. If the current ruling grand alliance led... Full story

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Liberation war and the freedom of subaltern women

TUTIA Rabidash, a sweeper by profession from Syedpur in Nilphamari district, raised an unavoidable question at a seminar in 2008 organised by Research Initiatives, Bangladesh about the condition of those who are stigmatised as ‘untouchable’, particularly women belonging to the community. Full story

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An anonymous death, a ligation camp and the myth of women’s empowerment

DHAKA city’s glitter makes it difficult to believe that there could be such a place only a few hours away. No road connects it to the capital city. I got on a small local launch from Narayanganj ghat. I was on my first field trip, part of my doctoral fieldwork. Full story

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Prisoners of shothik itihash

AT A seminar discussing the fortieth anniversary of the 1971 war, an older gentleman interrupted me, stern finger raised high: ‘You must strive to present shothik itihash (correct history).’ I shivered and wondered who was going to decide for us, once again, as before, what was and is correct history. Full story

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Authoritarian mindset of ruling party leaders impedes democratic practice

Failure of the political parties to uphold the ideals of the war of independence eventually culminated in failure of successive governments to uphold basic democratic rights of the people, even after four decades of independence, acting Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakrul Islam said. Full story

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‘Whoever takes power extra-constitutionally is never a third force’

DEMOCRATIC politics is yet to be institutionalised in all spheres of society in the true sense of the term, Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said. Full story

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