C R Abrar

For ordinary Bangladeshis bereft of smart phones and computers, it was a baffling experience. Last week they were bombarded with the message that the Al Jazeera report titled All the Prime Minister’s Men was the outcome of a mischievous conspiracy.

This has happened for the first time in Bangladesh’s history. Last week, a group of conscientious citizens called on the President of the Republic to form the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to investigate allegations of graft and other misdeeds committed by the incumbent Election Commission (EC).

December is a month of celebration. Early in this month in 1971, the final assault on the barbarous Pakistani army was launched by the gallant freedom fighters.

After years of uncertainty the much contested relocation of Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char has become a reality. On December 3, 1,642 inmates of the existing camps were brought to the Char via Chittagong by seven vessels of the Bangladesh Navy with much fanfare.

He was no ordinary instrumentalist. Neither was he a run-of-the-mill tutor of music. He was a gifted musician, a rare talent, groomed in one of the most illustrious gharanas ofsub-continental classical music.

The Mro community of the Chimbuk hills is passing days in great uncertainty.

From an unprecedented shutdown of activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is gradually moving to a new normal situation.

It was a blatant charade of epic proportion.

It took only a few weeks for the authorities in Bangladesh to enact the third episode of a series that could be aptly titled as “Hatching conspiracy, tarnishing image”.

It was a peaceful cultural exhibition on a burning issue; an issue that has been haunting thousands of families of victims and resonating among millions of conscientious citizens of the land and beyond.

It was a repeat performance of some sort. The drama was based on the same script; the acts were played out on the same locations; while the characters representing the state remained almost the same. Their adversaries in this episode arrived from Vietnam.

“Last month, we got to know Shaheen has come back. He said he will have to stay in quarantine for two weeks… His mother and I were waiting for him when we suddenly received a phone call… He told us he is in Kashimpur jail,” narrated Shaheen’s disappointed father to a reporter of The Daily Star.

There have been some important developments following the murder of Major Sinha on July 31 in Teknaf. The family was able to file a case without much of a hindrance.

“We are the same human being like you and need the same basic rights which you enjoy. Please don’t hate us. We don’t want to be a burden. Allow us to study and work, and stand by us. We will surely return home.”

During the pandemic, forced return of migrants has become a major issue of concern for intergovernmental bodies and the global civil society engaged in migration issues.

“Gulf countries are highly dependent on migrant workers in almost every major sector…and yet they have utterly failed to protect migrant workers, and treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve”—these words were spoken by a representative of Amnesty International while highlighting the plight of migrant workers during Covid-19 times.

“We all knew that [Aung San Suu Kyi] was put on a pedestal or portrayed as the icon of democracy and human rights, but ever since [her party]

A spectre is haunting the conscientious citizens of Bangladesh—the spectre of the Digital Security Act, 2018 (DSA).

Almost all communities across the world are now facing the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The world is passing through a cataclysmic phase. Fear, anxiety and uncertainty have gripped the nations.