Muhammad Nurul Huda

Memories of the recent past, of school children campaigning to bring sanity and discipline on our roads, particularly in the capital city, are still fresh in the public mind.

The news of the unexpected passing away of Justice Kamrul Islam Siddiqui last week was a huge shock to me and many of his colleagues, friends and acquaintances.

The recently published Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) survey report 2017 says that law enforcement agencies were the most corrupt among 18 departments and sectors involved in providing services to households.

As the nation prepares to solemnly remember the gory happenings of August 15, 1975 when the emancipator of Bangalis was brutally assassinated along with most of his family members, it is only proper that the post-liberation generations, particularly the younger segment amongst them, get to know the real dimension of the towering Bangabandhu.

Readers may recall the very mischievously poignant slogan of deviant students of yesteryears who were bent upon adopting unfair means to pass public examinations.

To this writer the expression “extra-judicial killing” is an apt illustration of the term “oxymoron”— that is, words put together which contradict each other. The expression has most likely been coined by journalists, and perhaps social scientists and rights activists, and curiously is not found in the legal lexicon. One could ask if there is actually anything like a judicial killing and if not, how could there be sense or meaning in the expression “extra-judicial killing”?

Multiple deaths occurr-ing during the ongoing anti-narcotics operations have given rise to sharp reactions. While some quarters feel that the government of the day has seized of the gravity of the drug menace, others take a very critical view by saying that the authorities have indulged in rambling actions without seriously venturing to grasp the root of the malaise and adequately punish the masterminds. Some critics would doubt the very credibility of the

The recent demonstra-tions by students demanding an end to the existing Bangladesh Civil Service quota system in the recruitment process deserve urgent attention of the government. The rationale for the introduction of the quota system had its roots in the policy for recruitment to public service that was adopted in September 1972.

Recent events relating to the serious wrongdoings of law enforcers may prompt the wary public to conclude that the misdeeds and gross dereliction of duties by our policemen have become a pathetic, recurrent reality and that nothing much can be done to change the situation.

It was quite surprising to read the report that some senior police officers had proposed the suspension of their regulatory powers of

January 8 marks the beginning of the Police Week 2018. Like previous years, there would be solemn exhortations to enforce the law impartially and protect human rights in public interest.

There could be no two opinions on the significance of responsible law enforcement in a democratic polity.

The expression “apartheid”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means racial segregation, especially in South Africa. I am not sure if apartheid has, in real terms...

Remembering the mayhem of August 21, 2004, we have to agree that the horrendous crimes committed on that day have left an indelible impact on the course and character of constitutional politics in Bangladesh.

One has to agree that in the political progression of a nation, the obvious has to be stated time and again. The fact that public memory is short and that there have been efforts to deliberately twist the history of our political struggle should, in fact, compel us to delineate the authentic course of our history.

At the crux of the debate is the concept of separation of powers and specifically the independence of the judicial organ of the state. It also brings to the fore the aspect of immutability of some features of the Constitution.

This newspaper has very rightly commented that the government's decision to start a permanent prosecution service by employing professional lawyers is a welcome move. In every criminal prosecution, the State is the complainant on behalf of the aggrieved people and it is thus only proper that public interests do not go by default on account of extraneous factors.

Without delving into the mystery of the virtue we call courage, we may perhaps say that courage is ubiquitous and is widely talked about and universally held in high regard.

Very recently, a think tank in association with electronic media arranged an animated discussion under the title “Political process and participatory election”, in a roundtable format at a local hotel.

The actual and potential damage caused by religious militancy or the so-called 'Islamist violence' can no longer be brushed aside in our parlance. Owing to factors both internal and external, this writer believes that even the pragmatic objective of marginalising religious militancy would actually be an awesome task, not to speak of eliminating religiously motivated violence. The reasons for such a view are grounded in reality.