Column by Mahfuz Anam / PM continues to build confidence, BNP corrodes it
4 September 2026
What are the lessons of July charter that need to be implemented?
4 September 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / Expectations from BNP’s next secretary general
21 August 2026
Congratulations to Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for being elected president of Bangladesh. We believe he will restore to the post much of the dignity that was eroded by the former one.
21 August 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / Political acumen is fine, but economic expertise is crucial
7 August 2026
In Bangladesh, we love democracy, cherish it and fight for it, but we have repeatedly failed to make it durable.
7 August 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / July charter implementation: Growing distance between BNP and the opposition is worrisome
24 July 2026
After our Liberation War, we started off with the parliamentary system of government. Then Bangabandhu himself betrayed that vision and that of multiparty democracy by instituting BAKSAL, a one-party system, and introducing the presidential model of government.
24 July 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / 250 years of US independence: Do Americans know or care about their founding principles?
10 July 2026
America’s most powerful attraction—freedom of thought—is under stress today.
10 July 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / The PM says police don’t belong to any party. Can we establish this in practice?
15 May 2026
The prime minister’s quote that I use as the headline of this column is music to our ears, constituting the most vital policy directive that this country needs to take.
15 May 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam / Politicisation of our professions
1 May 2026
A fact that we don’t discuss much, and seem to have taken as a given, is the politicisation of our various professions.
1 May 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam: 35th anniversary of The Daily Star / When independent newspapers burn, so does democracy
24 April 2026
When independent, objective and fact-based newspapers are set on fire, it is democracy that burns.
24 April 2026
Column by Mahfuz Anam: 30 years of leading The Daily Star
However bright our past may be, there is an urgent need to further strengthen public confidence in journalism.
2 November 2023
Tribute To Prof Saleemul Huq: A towering scholar of exceptional brilliance
The fact that he was one of the leading global experts on climate change and an integral part of nearly every international and regional group of any worth anywhere is something one would never know by talking to him.
29 October 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: West’s moral standing and the slaughter of Palestinians
Hasn't the world already been a witness to the massacre that has been taking place in Gaza over the past several weeks?
26 October 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Poisoned rhetoric and public concerns
With only a few months left till the election, we still have no idea what AL’s and BNP’s manifestos will reveal
12 October 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: 'Secret deal has been struck, nothing to worry about'
Is that how democracy works for us?
5 October 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Our new CJ Obaidul Hassan's call to fight graft is urgent, crucial and enthusing
We congratulate the chief justice for his forthright identification of one of the main issues of concern for Bangladesh’s future: corruption.
14 September 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: DSA to CSA, a sham of a reform
Journalists’ fate is again being determined in the dark.
31 August 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: ‘Gladiatorial’ street contests and prospects of fair elections
National election Bangladesh: As the election is getting nearer, the possibility of a nightmarish pre-election period is driving fear and panic among the people.
4 August 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Vienna Convention and the relationship with our development partners
When does the demand for a democratic election become an interference in our internal affairs, and when is it a reinforcement of the policy declared by the head of the government?
27 July 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Our political culture – you reap what you sow
Our people, but for whose hard work, sacrifice, and love for the country we would not have come where we have, deserve better.
20 July 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Need for a change in our political culture
BNP to some extent and AL to a far greater extent have changed Bangladesh. Can’t we expect them to change themselves, even a bit?
14 July 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Politics at crossroads
The prospect of a free and fair election is still eluding us.
6 July 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Free and fair elections for our sake, not because of US visa policy
The truth is, we have made a shambles of our elections and have weakened most of the accountability structures.
8 June 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: The middle income ‘intellectual’ trap
The intellectual trap refers to a country’s policymakers’ inability to ensure crucial intellectual freedom.
18 May 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: DSA was legislated ignoring journalists
And it is being amended in the same way.
4 May 2023
Editor’s Note
Pahela Baishakh is a reminder of our rich culture and beauty and we welcome the Bengali New Year with celebrations of our tradition in all its magnificence and glory.
13 April 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Only journalists can protect journalism
Others will never do, as they only want to use us
6 April 2023
Goodbye, gentle soul
On meeting Rokia Afzal Rahman for the first time, one would most likely be disarmed by her demeanour.
5 April 2023
Editor’s note
Many words are written every year in remembrance of the spirit of ’71. For all our essays, reports and opinion pieces on the legacy of the Liberation War, a certain texture of the history is nevertheless lost amidst the grand political narratives being crafted.
25 March 2023
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Not road accidents, but ‘murder’ by neglect
A death is an accident only when it occurs in spite of all logical, scientific and experience-based steps taken to prevent it.
23 March 2023