Monorom Polok

As the country moves towards what could be the most consequential election in decades, Dr Md Abdul Alim, election specialist and former member of the Electoral Reform Commission, spoke with Monorom Polok of The Daily Star about the Election Commission’s readiness, the referendum process, and overall preparation for the poll.

According to a recent Odhikar report, 40 people have been victims of extrajudicial killings in the 14 months since the interim government took office in August 2024.

Before I offer my perspective, it is important to first clarify where responsibility lies. The factory owners themselves are entirely responsible for the situation they now call harmful to the industry. For all the things involved, there is no one else to blame—not the workers, not the labour leaders, not the government, not any international organisation.

Dr Md Shamsul Hoque, professor of civil engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), talks to Monorom Polok of The Daily Star about the role of systemic failures and corruption behind the alarming rate of traffic fatalities in Bangladesh, and the critical structural reforms required to curb it.

In Bangla, terms related to mental illness are often reduced to one crude word: pagol (a mad person).

We have built a society where many elderly people are entirely dependent on others to go out.

The interim government should have made some headway by now.

OHCHR alone cannot prevent atrocities anywhere when there is systematic denial by the concerned state or any authority of its duties, and a failure of the international community to act.