New energy policy, same challenges: Bangladesh needs an inclusive approach

Given the limited success of previous master plans in improving energy security and accelerating renewable energy, it is imperative for Bangladesh to design an inclusive policy formulation process.
9 February 2026, 00:25 AM

‘The US will work with whoever forms the next government’

The Trump administration, unlike the Biden administration, does not view foreign policy through a values-based lens.
9 February 2026, 00:19 AM

Women voters are not undecided – they are unconvinced

“I will vote because I have to,” many women said across districts and age groups, often immediately followed by “but nothing will change.”
9 February 2026, 00:14 AM

Will this election pass the minority protection test?

In late December, several houses of minority communities in Raozan and Rangunia upazilas of Chattogram were padlocked from outside and set on fire, forcing families to cut their way out to safety.
9 February 2026, 00:11 AM

Only sound leadership can make the new higher education commission a success

The proposed law aims to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC) with a new statutory regulatory body for overseeing universities and higher education governance in Bangladesh.
8 February 2026, 16:10 PM

Fixing a broken education system

Unless education reform is placed centre stage, within a decade, Bangladesh will be locked in with a woefully undereducated workforce for years to come.
8 February 2026, 02:31 AM

Eight reasons that explain the rise of Jamaat-e-Islami

Perhaps the most striking, and largely unforeseen, consequence of the fall of the Hasina government has been the surge in support for Jamaat-e-Islami over the past 18 months.
8 February 2026, 02:00 AM

Election season and the strain on urban environment

But it also has a less discussed footprint: plastic flex, laminated posters, strings, tapes, and broken frames t
8 February 2026, 01:52 AM

The interim’s last-minute deals and the economic perils ahead

The interim government has entered a sensitive arena by approving a defence industrial zone in Chattogram’s Mirsarai.
8 February 2026, 01:49 AM

Can Jahanara's story be a turning point for women’s sports in Bangladesh?

Women’s cricket in Bangladesh has come too far to be pushed back by fear and silence.
7 February 2026, 01:21 AM

I can manage myself just fine, thanks.

I felt the first premonition on the night of “July 36.” In a post-rebellion Dhaka, festive streets, no certainty of what lay beyond that night—but hope permeated the air that perhaps we could finally recalibrate and aim for a dignified future.
7 February 2026, 01:16 AM

Bangladesh needs more than just a ‘free and fair’ election

Hopes are high for the rapidly approaching 13th parliamentary election and referendum on the July National Charter. A survey by Innovision last month found that 72 percent of Bangladeshis expect the interim government to administer the election impartially, and 82 percent feel they can safely cast their ballots.
7 February 2026, 01:12 AM

Truth, power, and the strained relations between students and teachers

When asked to comment on the recent trend of teacher harassment and forced resignation across university campuses, the University Grants Commission (UGC) chair and former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Prof SMA Faiz, observed that rules alone could not ensure healthy teacher-student ties.
7 February 2026, 01:08 AM

What has Ducsu done so far?

My mother, an economics student at Dhaka University (DU) in the 1990s, filled my childhood with stories about the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu).
6 February 2026, 00:44 AM

The quiet abandonment of potato farmers

When the interim government announced a plan in August 2025 to procure 50,000 tonnes of potatoes, it signalled an apparent concern for farmers facing a devastating price crash.
6 February 2026, 00:42 AM

Can the next government tame the bureaucracy?

As Bangladesh approaches the pivotal February 12 election, a singular, urgent demand resonates from tea stalls to boardrooms: the dismantling of a bureaucratic apparatus that has strangled national progress for decades.
6 February 2026, 00:34 AM

Politicians must be open to accepting electoral defeats

Discard the mindset that ‘the election is only fair if I win’
6 February 2026, 00:23 AM

The Epstein Files and the politics of partial truths

Epstein’s is not only a story of individual depravity, but of institutional deference to wealth and status.
5 February 2026, 16:00 PM

NCP manifesto debate: If this is inclusion, we need to relearn politics

The response from the National Citizen Party’s (NCP’s) secretary of the manifesto subcommittee, Istiak Akib, to my analysis of their manifesto is a welcome development and a positive step towards fostering civilised dialogue—an essential element of democracy.
5 February 2026, 00:25 AM

A manifesto misread: A rejoinder to ‘bold on youth, silent on inclusion’

The column’s headline and concluding paragraph claim that NCP’s manifesto is silent on inclusion, which Ahmed identifies as “the most glaring disappointment.” He makes a particularly bold assertion: “None of the NCP’s 36 pledges address the concerns of religious minorities or ethnic communities, including Adivasis.” This claim is factually incorrect.
5 February 2026, 00:23 AM