During the 1980s and 1990s, a new wave of Bangladeshi migrants, comprising mainly unskilled workers, led to a widespread perception of Bengali migrants as itinerant labourers and temporary workers in the Malay Peninsula.

Last year witnessed an array of major judicial decisions shaping the jurisprudence and legal discourse in Bangladesh. Indeed, throughout the year, the High Court Division (HCD) and the Appellate Division (AD) of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (SCB) handed down several significant judgments, of immense constitutional importance, among others.

The year 2024 presented new hopes for Bangladesh. New laws and ordinances were enacted, some old laws were revised as the spirit of reforming the state touched the legal landscape.

Any justice system must have fair trials as a cornerstone, ensuring that each individual receives the same impartial treatment while in conflict with the law. Articles 27 and 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh upholds the concept of fair trial. Nevertheless, there are several obstacles that hamper the execution of justice when these concepts are put into practice.

In 1825, Charles Dowes, the then Magistrate of Dhaka, initiated the clearing of the Ramna jungle using prison labour. He enclosed an oval-shaped area with wooden railings and introduced horse racing competitions. From that time, the white colonial officials and residents of Dhaka found a source of recreation at the racecourse.

The book invites you to revel in the world of legends, to dream as you once did as a child.

As 2025 rolls around, spelling yet another year of reading about writing and writing about reading, we asked the Star Books and Literature family to share their top writing tips for our readers.

Although the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign state is a fact of recent history, this country has been the home of an ancient civilization.

Rebel forces, particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian National Army (SNA), carried out an offensive that ended the 50 years of the Assad family’s authoritarian rule in Syria. An armed coalition, supported by both state and non-state actors, was involved in this offensive.

In digital age, personal data fuels the online ecosystem while also raising privacy concerns. To address this issue, Bangladesh aims to strengthen its data privacy framework by adopting the draft Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (PDPA).

Research on Aviation Safety: Safety is a Mindset by Air Commodore Munim Khan Majlish is a fresh look at the concept of aviation safety challenging standard ideas about safety.

The University Press Limited (UPL) celebrated its anniversary with readers, writers and well-wishers. The exchange of greetings was held from 4 PM to 8 PM at the UPL central office, located at Green Road in Farmgate area of Dhaka, on December 13 (Friday).

The phrases “cyber safety” and “cyber lives” may seem vague and not very well understood among Bangladesh’s netizens.

From family structures to politico-legal frameworks, deeply rooted patriarchal views have historically influenced every aspect of life.

The notion that a safe and healthy environment can be a right may still sound new to us.

There are many critical human rights issues of Bangladeshi healthcare workers who went to the United Kingdom (UK) under the Health and Care (HC) worker visa scheme.

Obayed Haq’s Bangla novel, Arkathi, is almost a bildungsroman tale filled with adventure and self-reflection. In true bildungsroman fashion, where the protagonist progresses into adulthood with room for growth and change, a bulk of Haq’s novel talks about the spiritual journey that an orphan, Naren, takes through a forest in order to mature, and comes out on the other side to realise a community’s deep, hidden truth.

Proverbs, short and profound, often sum up wisdom passed down through generations. Bangla, one of the world’s most spoken languages, is rich with such gems. One such saying in the language—”manush ki bolbe?”—is central to Intimacies of Violence, a debut book by Dr Nadine Shaanta Murshid, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo.

Rape and other sexual crimes are largely misunderstood because people refuse to understand or fail to understand why they are crimes in the first place.

A very brief discussion of the possible legal steps to be taken by a rape victim are discussed in this piece.