Category: Society
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ইউনূস ছোটবেলা থেকেই মিথ্যেবাদী, সুবিধাবাদী
১৯৪৭ সালের ১৩ই আগস্ট। চট্টগ্রাম নগরীর বক্সিরহাট এলাকার রাস্তাঘাট ও সব বাড়িঘরে পাকিস্তানের চাঁদ-তারকাখচিত পতাকা ও সাদা-সবুজ ফেস্টুন উড়ছে; রাজনৈতিক বক্তব্য ও হাজার হাজার এলাকাবাসীর ‘পাকিস্তান জিন্দাবাদ’ শ্লোগানে মুখরিত ছিল পুরো এলাকা। মধ্যরাতের আগেই ২০ নং বক্সিরহাটের (সোনাপট্টি) দোতলা বাড়ির ছাদ থেকে আতশবাজি পোড়ানো হয়। বড়ির কর্তা দুলা মিয়া সওদাগর ছিলেন মুসলিম লীগ ন্যাশনাল গার্ডের…
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Pro-Pakistani Yunus’ hatred against Awami League and Hindus is not new
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has said that the attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, following the August 5 changeover were politically, not religiously, motivated. During a meeting with US Senator Gary Peters on March 18, he claimed that the interim government had taken swift action against the perpetrators. Yunus’ statement implies that “revenge attacks”…
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Jihad in Bangladesh: AQIS vs ISIS
The strategies and focus of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Bangladesh reflect their broader organizational goals, operational approaches, and ideological underpinnings, tailored to the local context. While both groups aim to establish Islamic governance and wage jihad, their methods, priorities, and engagement with Bangladesh…
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2012-22: Countries where daughters are raped by fathers!
The alarming rise in the incidents of child rape, gang rape, and even rape of daughters by their fathers in Bangladesh and many other countries will shock any conscious person in any part of the world. On the other hand, the sex perverts will be inspired—thanks to the lax enforcement of laws and the rise…
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Bangladesh’s power dynamics: Yunus and Hasina’s similar tactics
The most notable distinction lies in their external support: Yunus is propped up by Islamists, Pakistan, the West, and the United Nations, while Hasina drew strength from secularists, India, and Russia
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Brief timeline: 1971 Liberation War and birth of Bangladesh
Starting from mid-February till January 10, 1972, this brief timeline mentions every important event of the Bangalee’s struggle for independence and efforts to thwart it through genocide by Pakistan, its allies, and local collaborators, like the Pace Committee, Razakar, and al-Bard forces. This timeline will remind you about diplomacy and dirty politics, the deadliest genocide…
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Yunus finally forms his political party with Islamist elements
Nearly 78 years after chanting the slogan “Pakistan Zindabad” with much enthusiasm, the son of Dula Mia Saudagar, a Chittagong-based goldsmith and member of the Pakistan Muslim League National Guard, 85-year-old Muhammad Yunus successfully finalized his own political organization, the Jatiya Nagorik Party or the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), on February 27, a day before…
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Terrific operations of Islamic State (ISIS) in Bangladesh
Until 2015, Bangladesh witnessed militant attacks using improvised devices, grenades and machetes on secularists, Awami League members and the police since 2000. The Middle East-based Islamic State (ISIS), which began operations in 2015, had similar targets. The ISIS was formed by former members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI-B), Hizb ut-Tahrir, Ahle…
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Awami League’s soft Islamization became a boomerang
Islamization of Bangladesh took place several times—from 1975-96, 2001-06, 2007-08, and 2024-25—every time at the hands of the military or army-backed governments—extensively—with the media and civil society leaders going with the tide. The previous Awami League, the lone secularist force, also allowed a soft Islamization, apparently under pressure from the military intelligence and the Jamaat-backed…
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Jamaat-backed AQIS jihadists out to eliminate Awami League, hit India
Armed militant attacks and calls for jihad have been seen regularly in Bangladesh since 1999, but there was a sudden slowdown in 2005—only after numerous fatalities—with the arrest of a top leader of the Bangladesh branch of Pakistan-based Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI-B), Mufti Abdul Hannan. The following year, after months of denial of their existence,…
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Muhammad Yunus: A fraudster and hypocrite since childhood
August 13, 1947. The Pakistani crescent-starred flag and white-green festoons were flying on the streets and houses of the Boxirhat area of Chittagong city; political speeches and “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan by thousands of locals filled the entire area. Before midnight, fireworks were set off from the roof of a two-storey house at 20 Boxirhat Road…
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দিনে শিক্ষক পেটানোর পর মাঝরাতে ৭ কলেজের শিক্ষার্থীদের পেটালো পুলিশ
রবিবার সারাদিন দেশের সবচেয়ে আলোচিত ঘটনা ছিল শাহবাগ এলাকায় এবতেদায়ী মাদ্রাসার শিক্ষক ও শিক্ষিকাদের উপর পুলিশ কর্তৃক অমানবিক লাঠিচার্জ, জলকামান ও টিয়ারগ্যাস। এত নির্যাতনের পরেও মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষকরা শাহবাগে তাদের অবস্থান জারি রাখেন। সোমবার ভোর ৪টায় তারা সেখানে ছিলেন বলে দেখা যায়। সন্ধ্যায় নতুন একটি ঘটনা সামাজিক যোগাযোগমাধ্যমে ভাইরাল হয়: ৭ কলেজের শিক্ষার্থীদের বিক্ষোভ, যা মূলত…
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সরকারি পরিকল্পনা ও প্রযোজনায় জেলে, তাঁতী ও কৃষক মহাসমাবেশ যেভাবে বিতর্কিত হল
সরকারের দুই উপদেষ্টাসহ এবং জুলাই অভ্যুত্থানে অংশগ্রহণকারী রাজনৈতিক নেতা, কৃষিপণ্য ব্যবসায়ী, শিক্ষক ও লেখকদের আয়োজনে ২৬শে জানুয়ারি কুড়িগ্রামে জেলে, তাঁতী ও কৃষকদের মহাসমাবেশ ডাকা হয়েছে, যা আদতে অধ্যাপক মুহাম্মদ ইউনূসের নেতৃত্বাধীন অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন সরকারের নির্বাচনী প্রচারণা বলেই মনে হচ্ছে। আয়োজক কমিটির আহ্বায়ক নাহিদ হাসান নলেজসহ অনেক আলোচক বর্তমান সরকারের অংশ হওয়া স্বত্বেও তারা সরকারের কাছে জেলে,…
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সাধারণ স্কুল শিক্ষার্থীদের মুখ বন্ধ করতে চাচ্ছে ফ্যাসিবাদবিরোধী সুশীল সরকার!
ফ্যাসিবাদবিরোধী গণঅভ্যুত্থানের সাড়ে ৫ মাস পার হওয়ার পর জুলাই-আগস্টের অগ্রণী ও অকুতোভয় সৈনিক তথা স্কুলের শিক্ষার্থীদের উপর খড়গহস্ত হলো তাদেরই প্রতিষ্ঠিত অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন সরকার। ১৫ই জানুয়ারি প্রকাশিত এক বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে বলা হয়েছিল, মাধ্যমিক ও উচ্চশিক্ষা বিভাগ, শিক্ষা মন্ত্রণালয়ের আওতাধীন দপ্তর-সংস্থার মাসিক সমন্বয় সভায় বর্তমান সরকার এবং রাষ্ট্রের বিরুদ্ধে যেকোনো ধরনের অপপ্রচার, প্রোপাগান্ডা, গুজবে উদ্বুদ্ধ হয়ে শিক্ষার্থীরা যাতে…
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বৈষম্যবিরোধী ও সংস্কারবাদী সুশীলদের আমলেও মামলা প্রত্যাহারের হিড়িক
৫ই আগস্ট ক্ষমতার পালাবদলের পর ইতিমধ্যে হাজার হাজার রাজনৈতিক নেতাকর্মী, শীর্ষ তালিকাভুক্ত সন্ত্রাসী ও ভয়ংকর জঙ্গীদের নির্বাহী আদেশে কারামুক্ত করেছে বিএনপি-জামায়াত সমর্থিত ছাত্র, জনতা ও সুশীলদের সরকার। এছাড়া সুপ্রিম কোর্ট থেকে শুরু করে বিচার বিভাগের সর্বত্র দলীয়করণের পর নিয়মিতভাবে দন্ডপ্রাপ্ত আসামীদের বিরুদ্ধে দেয়া রায় আদালতের মাধ্যমে বাতিল করে তাদের কারাগার থেকে মুক্তি দেয়া হচ্ছে। এরই…
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Sheikh Hasina decided to resign on August 4th, says Arafat
When the complex reality that emerged on August 4 at one stage of the students’ quota movement and the way a section of the country was criticizing her, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was staying at Ganabhaban, repeatedly said out of frustration that despite her contributions to the country’s development, if they criticize…
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Professor Muhammad Yunus: The importance of being earnest
In this op-ed dated August 17, 2024. I warned that nepotism, arrogance, and culture of impunity could nullify the revolution’s success. From childhood, humans learn about their daily needs from their surroundings and the dos and don’ts from their parents, teachers, journalists, public representatives, law enforcers, and the judiciary. However, while the textbooks, social norms…
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Why do workplaces become torture cells for minor domestic workers?
Former national cricketer Shahadat Hossain Razib and his wife Jasmine Jahan were arrested in 2015 on charges of torturing their minor house help named Happy. They were tried in court but were discharged due to a lack of evidence. It was well-known that some influential quarters had influenced the police to make it happen. Another…
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Bangladesh: Single verdict in house help torture cases
Perpetrators enjoy impunity, rarely sued or arrestedVictims are mostly girls below 18 years of ageCases filed in less than half of incidents340 killed, 17 workers committed suicide since 2011286 incidents of deaths and torture from 2013 to March 2018 Eleven-year-old Aduri got justice for the inhuman torture she had to endure at the house of…
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Ill-treatment of house helps: A culture of abuse swept under the rug
In an educated, civilized society, we expect every employer and their family members to treat their house help as respectable people because of their hard work — from cleaning to cooking to raising kids, they perform their duties like machines. In addition to assigning tasks based on their abilities, ensuring timely payment of their wages,…
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The endangered Asian Elephants
According to IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) reported in August 2021, there are now only about 48,000-50,000 Asian Elephants found in 13 range states. More than 60% of the wild population exists in India alone. Only four other countries – Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka – have more than 2,000 wild elephants.…
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Why is ‘Joy Bangla’ slogan so powerful?
“Joy Bangla” meant hail Bangla or long live Bangla, referring to the land where the Bengali-speaking people lived in undivided India. The slogan, first used by our great national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam with the spirit of Bengali nationhood in 1942, became the strongest words against domination and discrimination of the West Pakistani military rulers.…
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1971 Genocide: Ukhiya Buddhists fled to Arakan to save their lives
After the Pakistani military launched genocide in East Pakistan on March 25, 1971, to suppress the Bengali resistance for an independent Bangladesh, other Bengalis linked to Islamist parties became their supporters and formed auxiliary forces, like the Peace Committee, Razakar, al-Badr, al-Shams, and Mujahid Bahini, across the country. The collaborators were mainly tasked with assisting…
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What are the political reform proposals for Bangladesh already available?
Ever since the student leaders of Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti announced a government-ouster movement on Saturday, the social media and mainstream media have flooded with nominations for the new prime minister from civil society, the main opposition BNP and Islamic scholars. Some are also suggesting the names of Cabinet members. Yet, no one has come up…
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Bangladesh anti-quota movement: Dangers of open social media in the third world
When some top media outlets and their sympathizers in the opposition, civil society and young generation work together against the establishment, it may not take too long to unseat a government. It’s not surprising that a harsher reaction from the executive and legislative bodies of the State is imminent. The incumbents would try their best…
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Bangladesh’s drug problem is deep-rooted, unstoppable
Over the past four decades, Bangladesh has been alarmed by the rise of new synthetic drugs, the number of drug addicts among adolescents and young women, drug smuggling, drug-related crimes, substandard rehabilitation centres, and lax monitoring and enforcement of laws. During this period, successive governments have formulated new laws and modernized some age-old laws, increased…
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Instant gratification trap: Do you really need that?
Human brains, by default, tend to pick the choice, wish, or dream when it comes to making a decision, as the thoughts of a choice create excitement, forcing them to chase and accomplish it. Why so? It happens because humans wish for something that is aligned with their lifestyle or thoughts—be it buying a luxury…
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Entrepreneurship: How digital tools are helping people overcome financial crises
Since early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused thousands of layoffs, especially in the informal sector, and compelled daily wagers to stay home. The loss of earning sources devastated these families, and many left the capital for village homes to cut expenses. Even the income of many affluent people involved in wholesale and retail businesses,…
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Do humans learn from animals?
In the grand tapestry of life on Earth, humans have thrived by learning invaluable lessons from the myriad beings that share this planet with us. The wisdom that animals and nature have bestowed upon us is immeasurable, ranging from the straightforward tasks of gathering food to the intricate ones of building boats and aircraft. However,…
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May 10, 1971: Pakistani military ruler Yahya invites Awami League to form government
In early May during the Liberation War, Pakistan President General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan was pondering the transfer of political power without holding fresh elections. He was in favour of the Awami League forming the nucleus of the government in East Pakistan as it swept a landslide victory in the December 1970 elections, except for…
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