Surveillance capitalism and the right to privacy
8 September 2019, 18:00 PM
“Surveillance is the business model of the internet”—Bruce Schneier, security expert and privacy specialist
8 September 2019, 18:00 PM
'Whether we win or lose, we are not going to be on their side'
6 March 2019, 18:00 PM
"Ultimately, in the long run, whether we win or lose, we are not going to be on their side. So we might as well do what we have to do as well as we can."
6 March 2019, 18:00 PM
Rethinking our digital priorities
3 March 2019, 18:00 PM
On April 14, 2016, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with the aim of giving control to people over their personal data, recognising certain “digital” rights that individuals are entitled to regarding how their personal data is collected and used.
3 March 2019, 18:00 PM
The unexplored treasures of old Bengali manuscripts
24 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Dr Md Shahjahan Mian, Professor of the Department of Bengali, Dhaka University talks to Shamsuddoza Sajen and Moyukh Mahtab about the importance of studying and preserving old Bengali manuscripts to write a comprehensive history of the Bengali speaking region.
24 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Recovering the stories of the Armenians of Asia
17 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Liz Chater, a family history researcher based in the UK, has been working on the Armenian communities in South Asia since 2010. Currently, she is working with the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection in Armanitola on the Bangladesh Armenian Heritage Project, which aims to "build the stories, starting from the ground up" of the Armenian communities of Bangladesh and India. In an interview over email with Moyukh Mahtab, she talks of her own heritage, which led her to her research interest, and of her past and present projects.
17 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Sexual Violence And Harassment / The gaps in our laws we need to address
6 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Sabrina Zarin, Barrister-at-Law, (Hon'ble Society or Lincoln's Inn, UK) and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Partner in FM Associates, talks to The Daily Star's Moyukh Mahtab about needed reforms in sexual violence and harassment laws in Bangladesh and the importance of raising awareness, especially among children.
6 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Is DMP's action plan enough to fix our roads?
16 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Apparently “inspired” by last year's safe road movement, the DMP has come up with yet another action plan to deal with Dhaka's anarchic—to put it mildly— traffic situation.
16 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Punitive drug policies don't work
18 December 2018, 18:00 PM
Naomi Burke-Shyne, Executive Director of Harm Reduction International, and international NGO “dedicated to reducing the negative health, social and legal impacts of drug use and drug policy”, talks to The Daily Star's Moyukh Mahtab (over e-mail) about the global failure of wars on drugs, and how a health-based approach to drug policy could save lives and promote the well-being of citizens.
18 December 2018, 18:00 PM
Santal Community: Exploited throughout history
In 1855, tens of thousands of Santals, one of the oldest communities to make their home in Bengal, rose up in open rebellion. The Santal hool or revolution would mark one of the major milestones in the history of peasant rebellions against the British colonial administration. Choking under the pressure of practical serfdom due to the mahajani system, with no recourse to the law and administration, the Santals demanded autonomy.
18 December 2016, 18:00 PM
The Birangona beyond her wound
Merely days after the Liberation War ended in 1971, the government of the newly formed Bangladesh, in a historically unprecedented move, termed women who were victims of sexual violence during the nine months of the war as Birangonas (war heroines). This, along with the state efforts of rehabilitating these women, has meant that unlike the conventional attitude towards wartime sexual violence, the issue is not mired in silence within Bangladesh
15 December 2016, 18:00 PM
Community policing is not what’s missing in law enforcement
Militancy and drug abuse are, no questions asked, real problems that our society faces today. Without even going into the specifics of either, it is easy to see how critical a role law enforcement has to play in each.
2 December 2016, 07:12 AM
Violence spurred by greed for land
"What I want to say is that the way the government is behaving with indigenous people now is violating their human rights.What is the solution? The government must provide them with protection. They must prosecute and punish those who are committing such crimes."
23 November 2016, 18:00 PM
Handcuffing of Santal men barbaric and primitive
“We were told by police that we are terrorists and were accused in two cases… This is very unfortunate that the Santals who tried to save their belongings have now become terrorists,” said Choron Soren, undergoing treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, handcuffed. Terrorist! What a horrible, scary word, with all its connotations of suicide bombings and extremist attacks.
15 November 2016, 08:59 AM
Dissent and the price of freedom
"Sairachar nipat jak; Ganatantra mukti pak" (Down with autocracy; Let there be democracy). With these words painted on his chest and back, Noor Hossain took a stand against the autocracy of Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad as part of the the Dhaka Siege on November 10. The rally turned bloody, and Noor Hossain was killed under riot conditions, reportedly from police firing.
9 November 2016, 18:00 PM
Brahmanbaria Burning
The vicious attacks on Hindu homes, establishments and temples since October 30 indicates an increase in the level of bigotry among certain sections of the society. The question is how did these miscreants get the courage to carry out these crimes? The Daily Star talks to some individuals who have been directly affected or are speaking out against these hate crimes.
6 November 2016, 18:00 PM
Digital Security Act, 2016
The draft Digital Security Act 2016, intended to address the need for cyber-crime legislation, according to the authorities, was approved on August 22, 2016, by the Cabinet. But members of civil society, media and activists have already expressed their concerns over the draft law impinging upon people's freedom of expression.
28 October 2016, 18:00 PM
Taking care of our senior citizens
It is estimated that by 2050, about one in every four persons living in Bangladesh will be over the age of 60. That is a major
30 September 2016, 18:00 PM
Mother Nature's right to live
In 2008, Ecuador codified the principle of Rights of Nature in its Constitution, recognising that ecosystems have an inalienable right to exist and flourish.
6 September 2016, 18:00 PM
State's responsibility in ending violence against women
I saw a post on Facebook this week by a woman about how, while walking on the streets, she was subjected to repeated comments made about her physique by a man.
2 September 2016, 18:00 PM
Policing the 'moral police'
No punishment including physical violence and/or mental torture in any form, can be imposed or inflicted on anybody in pursuance of fatwa,” reads the Supreme Court verdict regarding fatwas.
21 August 2016, 18:00 PM
The mother of Chotti Munda
"I think a creative writer should have a social conscience. I have a duty toward society. . . This sense of of duty is an obsession, and I must remain accountable to myself."
30 July 2016, 18:00 PM
Bengal's 'Ocean of Knowledge'
Compared to Ram Mohan's approach of creating a separate society (Brahmo Samaj) as social reformation to rid society of practices he condemned, Ishwar Chandra had a more inclusive approach. Arguably his greatest achievement was the role he played in the passage of the Widow Remarriage Act.
29 July 2016, 18:00 PM
How could this happen again?
Where do you even begin when talking about the murder of 10-year-old Sagar Barman? That it was inhumane he was killed by pumping air into his body through his rectum?
26 July 2016, 18:00 PM
The lost histories of the Bengali Harlem
Vivek Bald reconstructs the forgotten stories and communities of Bengalis in America from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.
22 July 2016, 18:00 PM
Whose fault is it anyway?
One would assume that a job entails its holder to carry out his responsibilities ethically and with sincerity, especially when it comes to
1 July 2016, 18:00 PM
When the Santhals rebelled
The Scottish historian William Wilson Hunter, who was also a member of the Indian Civil Service, in his book Annals of Rural Bengal
24 June 2016, 18:00 PM
Collective indifference or silent acceptance?
When blogger Rajib Haider was killed in 2013, the outcry was tremendous. But, over the next three years, at least 38 more were added to the list of those murdered, which includes writers, publisher, foreigners, religious minorities and LGBT rights activists.
22 June 2016, 18:00 PM
The futility of the debate
It is somehow taken for granted, by students and parents alike, that there is a fundamental difference between students of Bangla medium and English medium schools. This division carries on to higher education as well.
1 June 2016, 18:00 PM