The Yellow Butterfly: How Sheba shaped my world growing up
18 August 2026
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In Focus
What Bangladesh’s historic Test victory in Australia means for Bangladeshi-Australians
17 August 2026
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In Focus
Remembering Sumit Sarkar, a historian who questioned orthodoxy
17 August 2026
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In Focus
The unfinished histories of Partition
16 August 2026
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In Focus
In conversation with William Dalrymple / ‘Britain didn't conquer India’
15 August 2026
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In Focus
Sheikh Mujib’s killing: What the newspapers told and what they omitted
15 August 2026
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In Focus
Mirrors of Empire / The bureaucrats and intellectuals who shaped the Mughal Empire
14 August 2026
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In Focus
To feel Bengali, to think beyond Bengal: Dipankar Gupta in conversation
11 August 2026
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In Focus
Bangladesh's visual history / The enduring allure of vintage photographs
10 August 2026
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In Focus
The enduring legacy of the 2nd Bangladesh Liberation War Course
7 August 2026
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In Focus
Raja Pratapaditya Charitra and the Birth of Bengali History Writing
The writing of history in the Bengali language by a Bengali began around 225 years ago with the publication of Raja Pratapaditya Charitra in 1801.
27 April 2025
New Contextualism: An architectural philosophy for deltaic Bangladesh
This endeavour seeks to offer a more nuanced, responsible, and humane approach to shaping our built environments
23 April 2025
The untold story of Franklin Book Dhaka: In the shadow of the cold war
The Cold War was a war of armaments and ideologies—but it was also a war of words, fought in classrooms, libraries, and on the printed page.
20 April 2025
Jamdani as the battleground
Jamdani is not just the material or the motifs; it encompasses everything—from the river system and flora-fauna of the Dhaka region
13 April 2025
The Legacy of Thomas Bata in Bengal
Whenever Bata shoes come to mind, we are reminded not only of how footwear became woven into the fabric of everyday life but also of an extraordinary figure linked to its history in Bangladesh
10 April 2025
The many Bengals: Samatata, Bangalah, Subah-i-Bangalah
Historians usually approach Bengal’s history from Gaur-Pandua in the west (i.e., Ilyas Shahi and Husain Shahi Bengal), but what of early Bengal?
6 April 2025
How Bangladesh gained global legitimacy
When Bangladesh defeated Pakistan on 16 December 1971, one could be forgiven for assuming that the international community automatically recognised Bangladesh’s independence.
23 March 2025
Dhaka's deadly air: What we know and what we can do
Dhaka's air is a stew of brick kiln soot, exhaust fumes, construction dust, and factory emissions
16 March 2025
Anisur Rahman: Farewell to a fellow traveler
Anisur Rahman and I have traveled together across the troubled landscape of Bangladesh’s history over many years. We first came together in October 1957, when we were recruited as teachers by Professor M.N. Huda, then the Chairman of the Economics Department at Dhaka University (DU).
9 March 2025
Reclaiming Panthokunjo from spectral wastelands
We live within ecosystems, engaging in mutual interactions. Ecosystems such as rivers, forests, and agricultural lands are shared resources.
2 March 2025
Tamam Na Sud
Tamam na sud or ‘Not the end’! There could not have been a better ending of a captivating romantic novel like Shabnami.
24 February 2025
Kamruddin Ahmad: A visionary political thinker we must remember
In a quiet neighbourhood of a once lush green residential area of Dhanmondi, I grew up in a three-storied house that dates back to the year 1957, listening wide-eyed to stories of a man deeply involved in Bangladesh’s struggle for sovereignty and democracy.
16 February 2025
The Forgotten Revolutionary
All the colonies around the world had to pay the highest price for liberating themselves from the shackles of colonisation. However, not all colonies fared the same as India. Revolutionary activities for India’s independence movement took place on a vast canvas that extended across many parts of the world.
9 February 2025
A visionary who elevated Dhaka University to global renown
Satyendra Nath Bose, more widely known as Satyen Bose, devoted 24 of the best years of his life to Dhaka University. On 1 July 1921, Dhaka University commenced its academic activities with only four departments, one of which was Physics. Prior to this, on 1 December 1920, P. J. Hartog assumed office as the university’s first Vice-Chancellor.
2 February 2025
H. H. Risley and Bengal, 1873-1911
Sir Herbert Hope Risley (1851-1911) – who signed himself ‘H. H. Risley’ – was a member of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) who became British India’s pre-eminent anthropologist.
26 January 2025
Sacrificed for Development
After the creation of Pakistan, the nascent state embarked on vigorous projects to industrialise both parts of the country.
19 January 2025
An untold history of Bengali migrants in Malaya and Singapore
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.
12 January 2025
The Tale of Ramna Racecourse
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.
5 January 2025
Growth of National Consciousness
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.
22 December 2024
Wartime treatment: The heroes who saved lives, silently
While the armed freedom fighters fought valiantly on the battlefield during the 1971 war, a quieter yet equally crucial battle was being waged on the medical front.
15 December 2024