History

Art vs Development: Should we erase our rich architectural history?

Dhaka's transitions carries the question of whether our historic buildings shall be preserved. From an economic viewpoint, there is financial gain in replacing them with buildings. The question now becomes whether the cultural heritage outweighs this financial gain.
22 November 2022, 05:30 AM

A trip to Darasbari mosque in Chapai Nawabganj

Rajshahi is well known for the various remains of ancient and medieval structures, remnants of a glorious past, dotted all across the region. Darasbari, a beautiful, haunting complex made of red terracotta bricks, is one of those places not often mentioned or even commonly known about except to the locals of the area.
22 September 2022, 10:51 AM

'Infinite Library': An immersive experience of civilisation at Goethe Dhaka

The Infinite Library did not have books. It consisted of virtual spaces, a set of "eight jars" or volumes that—using a VR journey through the users' phones—told the story of our planet's evolution, starting from the beginning of cosmic dust to human consciousness.
14 September 2022, 06:46 AM

‘The danger in telling a single Partition story is that it completely erases the individual’

1947 was overtaken almost immediately by the language question, and the question of identity.
25 August 2022, 07:05 AM

The evergreen winning combo of black and gold

There are those well-regarded classic colour combinations like black and gold that never go out of style for anybody. Even if we date back to the 1900s when women’s fashion was neat, covered and detailed with ruffles, buttons and lace in layers; black and gold had an upper hand even there. Georgia Hale, a 20th century silent film artist sported black silk dresses with golden tassels.
24 July 2022, 13:15 PM

Chapters on Mughals, Islamic empires removed from classes 11, 12 syllabi in India

India’s Central Board of Secondary Education has removed chapters on the Non-Aligned Movement, the Cold War era, the rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian territories, chronicles of Mughal courts and the industrial revolution from the history and political science syllabi of classes 11 and 12.
23 April 2022, 19:05 PM

WORLD BOOK DAY: Books about books

For World Book Day on April 23, we bring together a list of books about books as a means to glimpse at and tap into the vast knowledge, power, and pleasure that is to be found in these complex objects. Are they, indeed, just objects? Or historical artefacts? Or weapons?
20 April 2022, 18:00 PM

Denise Mina’s ‘Rizzio’: A bloody slice of Scottish history

In 2021, Polygon, an Edinburgh-based publisher, launched the Darkland Tales, a series of “dramatic fictional retellings of stories from history, myth and legend” written by Scotland’s greatest contemporary writers. Denise Mina’s novella Rizzio is the first in the series.
2 March 2022, 18:00 PM

Stories of the liberation war, and how we must never forget to pass it on

Fifty years have now passed since that glorious day in December 1971 when we achieved victory after a battle for nine months.
16 December 2021, 11:38 AM

In 'Thug', Mike Dash myth-busts British India’s cult of stranglers

It is nearly impossible to know nothing about British India’s infamous cult that systematically killed and robbed Indian travelers for hundreds of years. However, almost every write-up available today is an exaggerated horror story that fails to reflect upon the real events.
1 December 2021, 18:00 PM

Staff picks for Nonfiction November

Cleghorn pairs her personal experiences and traces through history how women's bodies have been taught to be hidden and shamed, instead of being taken as what it is—a biological entity.
24 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Books that changed the world: Gilgamesh through the sands of time

The epic antedates even the depiction of the famous Trojan war; it is, in effect, the oldest epic found till date.
13 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Nazrul, Rabindranath, and Their Admiration for Each Other

Today is the 45th death anniversary of the younger of the two icons.
27 August 2021, 08:14 AM

In Suchitra Vijayan’s new book, borders are as arbitrary as history

In Midnight's Borders (Westland Publications, 2021), author and photographer Suchitra Vijayan travels the 9,000 miles of India's borders to understand what Partition did to individual lives and communities, and how it continues to incite violence, displacement, prejudice, and trauma among those who live in the border regions.
18 August 2021, 18:00 PM

7 recent books on the Partition of India

With this list, we bring to attention the books recently released which deal with the politics and loss associated with this defining moment in history, in the form of both fiction and nonfiction. 
15 August 2021, 08:18 AM

Chinmay Tumbe's 'The Age of Pandemics': Lessons from history in desperate times

Chinmay Tumbe’s The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World (HarperCollins, 2020) is a timely read, touching upon three historic pandemics and the effects they had on the culture, economy, and politics of the Indian subcontinent.
4 August 2021, 18:00 PM

50 Years of the Concert for Bangladesh: How It Came to Be

The backstory of the concert scripted in the heavens.
31 July 2021, 19:27 PM

Into the nuances of history: Sudeep Chakravarti unpacks the Battle of Plassey

Sudeep Chakravarti is an eminent commentator and author whose narrative non-fiction and fiction have been translated into Bangla, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, German and more. In January 2020, his book—Plassey:
24 June 2020, 18:00 PM

A quiet masterpiece that serves as Dhaka's gateway

These buildings also had a political history. They were the products of what the military regime of Muhammad Ayub Khan called the “Decade of Development” (1958-68), intertwined with West Pakistan's shrewd political strategy of placating East Pakistan's agitating Bengalis through architectural and infrastructure development.
23 July 2017, 18:00 PM

Cricket: Five infamous India-Australia controversies

Five previous flashpoints between India and Australia. The four-match Test series will begin in Pune on Thursday.
21 February 2017, 06:26 AM