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Shamsad Mortuza

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University, and former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).

Students_block_Dhaka_roads.jpg

Is public sympathy for street protests fading?

Students need to read the public pulse.
17 January 2026, 09:00 AM
17 January 2026, 09:00 AM
STAR_OPINION.jpg

The day cricket needed a therapist

Fizz is a case study. When Mustafizur Rahman, a.k.a. Fizz, the unassuming fast bowler with deceptive slow cutters, was auctioned for Rs 9.2 crore, Bangladeshi media once again started paying attention to the Indian Premier League.
10 January 2026, 09:00 AM
10 January 2026, 09:00 AM
ED 1- Why women are visible but not electable_c69a_1.jpg

Why does a gender wall still exist within our major political parties?

The vigorous presence of women in the past pro-democracy movements proved that many of the women leaders are parliament-ready.
3 January 2026, 03:00 AM
3 January 2026, 03:00 AM
op_1.jpg

Election is not the real story, what counts is how it is conducted

By now, we all know that February 12 is election day, and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s return after 17 years in exile has added December 25 as another date to remember.
27 December 2025, 05:00 AM
27 December 2025, 05:00 AM
OP 1 - How Dhaka airport turned into a game of Ludo_0398.jpg

How Dhaka airport has turned into a game of Ludo

Dhaka airport's Terminal-3, which had a soft launch in October 2023, has completed 99 percent of its construction, according to reports.
13 December 2025, 04:00 AM
13 December 2025, 04:00 AM
ED 1 - Primary school teachers strike Bangladeshs crisis in miniature.jpg

Primary teachers’ strike is a mirror held up to Bangladesh

The assistant teachers of 65,000-plus government primary schools have been pressing for a three-point demand.
6 December 2025, 02:00 AM
6 December 2025, 02:00 AM
ED 1 - The birth pang of a university_3967.jpg

The birth pang of a university

DCU must move beyond colonial-era templates for public universities.
29 November 2025, 02:00 AM
29 November 2025, 02:00 AM
ED 1 - When winter forgets to visit.jpg

Our winter is fading, but the world remains indifferent

Climate scientists warn of a time when winter will vanish from our season cycle by 2100.
22 November 2025, 03:00 AM
22 November 2025, 03:00 AM
Neoliberal education, student rebellion, and institutional stability

Neoliberal education, student rebellion, and institutional stability

Students play a crucial role as change agents, but their activism should focus on systemic improvements instead of individual retribution.
4 January 2025, 04:00 AM
op_1_only_education_sustain_the_revolution_badho_27122024_00fa_sbs.jpg

From crisis to change: The right education can sustain the revolution

Standing on the isthmus of change, we must avoid any form of myopia.
28 December 2024, 02:00 AM
1ba7rashedshumonrsfoodsecurity_20122024_815f_359.jpg

Citizens, too, must step up to ensure our food security

The liberalisation of trade has changed the agricultural heart of our nation.
21 December 2024, 03:00 AM
Martyred Intellectuals Day 2024

Martyrs and memory

We should use Martyred Intellectuals Day as an opportunity to meaningfully engage with their memories.
14 December 2024, 02:00 AM
English education in Bangladesh

As the world changes, so must our English education

English is not a colonial relic but a necessity. It is the language of the internet, social media, and global culture.
7 December 2024, 02:00 AM
Coexisting with stray animals in urban spaces

City tails: Coexisting with stray animals in urban spaces

In the urban spaces across Bangladesh, we need to adopt a model of human-non-human relations that is both practical and moral.
30 November 2024, 04:00 AM
Titumir College students protest

Of frequent demands and conspiracies

Are the apparitions of political sectarianism making a reappearance in Bangladesh?
23 November 2024, 02:00 AM
15_nov_op2.png

A global wake-up call

The idea of dedicating a day to promote harmony and peaceful coexistence—a day that fosters diversity, justice, and understanding across borders, cultures, and beliefs—seems promising in theory.
16 November 2024, 04:00 AM
Dhaka University Bose-Einstein legacy

Meeting of minds: How Dhaka University became a part of Bose-Einstein legacy

There are lessons to be learnt from the way Dhaka became part of the intellectual map of the world.
9 November 2024, 04:00 AM
shamsad_article.jpg

Jack and the Beanstalk revisited

We laugh, but deep down, there is a hidden admiration and approval for such deception. Is there any connection between our folkloric fascination with trickery and our public endorsement of such behaviour by our leaders?
2 November 2024, 02:00 AM
23fbop_1_protest_by_students_of_seven_colleges_prabi_25102024_3359_sbs.jpg

Seven colleges, one crisis: Dhaka University’s affiliation nightmare

Disenchanted students are now demanding the creation of a “Dhaka Central University” comprising the seven colleges.
26 October 2024, 02:00 AM
826donline_18102024_f684_963.jpg

From classroom to martyrdom: A tribute to the fallen HSC examinees

These martyred students achieved more in the years that they lived than many of us would do in decades.
19 October 2024, 05:00 AM
op_2.jpg

Ranking Realities : Bangladesh’s higher education strategy needs a redesign

For the cynics, the absence of any Bangladeshi university among the top 800 institutions recently ranked by Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THEWUR) 2025 is unacceptable.
12 October 2024, 05:00 AM
Bangladesh's struggle for unity

Education, identity and ideology: Bangladesh's struggle for unity

"The 2024 uprising as an opportunity to return to the original desires of the deprived and persecuted masses of 1971."
5 October 2024, 04:00 AM
copy_of_editorial_image_1920_x_1080_px.png

Shakib's final over: A hero’s farewell or a quiet exit?

Shakib has been at the heart of our national pride. He also has been someone who has hurt our feelings.
28 September 2024, 01:30 AM
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We must protect doctors from violence

Violence against doctors is an issue that is neither unique to our country nor recent.
21 September 2024, 04:00 AM
op_2.jpg

Mass wedding in academia: A new kind of ‘taboo-breaking’

An institutionalised mass wedding will replace one form of social regulation with another.
14 September 2024, 04:00 AM
a1aeop_2_uae_reuters_06092024_8fa6_sbs.jpg

Our migrant workers in UAE: Bound by borders, freed by conscience

The Washington Post recently speculated that Dr Yunus’s soft power may have indirectly influenced the UAE's decision to grant clemency.
7 September 2024, 04:00 AM
aa50biplob_chakroborty_for_ed_1_30082024_12f4_tam.jpg

When teachers become targets: Lessons from Emperor Alamgir

How do you process the nationwide humiliation of teachers?
31 August 2024, 02:35 AM
challenges of the current generation

The triumphs and challenges of a generation in flux

The students are once again at the forefront by reaching out to the victims of the flood that has inundated the country’s eastern region.
24 August 2024, 04:00 AM

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