A huge backlog of around 2.3 million cases is pending with the courts across the country including the Appellate Division and High Court Division of the Supreme Court (SC), causing immeasurable suffering to the litigants. Although the number of judges…
Before, and immediately after the last general elections, the Awami League and its leader Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged to the nation a better future in all respects—’Din Badal’, as it was called. These promises were conveyed through speeches…
Those counties which were liberated from colonial rule through struggle at the cost of millions of lives or those countries where people rose against oppressive and corrupt regimes are expected to be reasonably free from corruption and the people of…
Since Bangladesh returned to parliamentary system in 1991, its parliament (Jatiyo Sangsad) has remained dysfunctional, and thereby posed a serious threat to Bangladesh’s democratic system and good governance. During the lives of Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Nine Parliaments, the Opposition,…
Politics, as has been enunciated by many political scientists, is a competitive game, where the reward is political power achieved through playing out the game according to some prescribed rules. Games are in general orderly, except for the odd occasions…
Every morning, the scenario of Botlagari Union Parishad Complex is rather different than most of the unions of Bangladesh. The results of integrated approach of socio-economic development adopted by Botlagari Union Parishad of Saidpur Upazilla under Nilphamari are quite visible.…
For many people, it is easy to make a promise, big or small. But when it comes to deliver on the promise, it may prove difficult. Wise people always think twice before making any promise. And if they make any…
Critics point out that retention of Islam as the ‘state religion’ and restoration of secularism at the same time can not go together. So, 15th amendment has been a mess, they claim. I argue that even retention of Islam under…
Incidents of sexual harassment and rape have marked an alarming rise across the country. We see the reflection of this horrific situation in the newspapers every day. In the prevailing socio-economic, cultural and politico-religious settings women cannot play an assertive…
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is arguably the most unenviable institution of Bangladesh. Deservingly or not, ever since it was set up in November 2004, the ACC has drawn high public expectation. Its effectiveness and independence have been intensely debated in…
As I sat down to write this piece nearly a hundred people had died during Jamaat-called hartals in protest against the verdict of death penalty handed down to Delwar Hossain Sayeedi by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). TV news showed…
The women in Bangladesh have come a long way since the country came into being. They have stepped out of their homes and made a place for themselves alongside their male counterparts in every industry, they have now a prominent…
The day, when we decided to write this article for The Daily Star, we came to know that a Judgment is going to be pronounced by Tribunal No. 2 of the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh on the very next day,…
Bangladesh has begun to rate high in official statistics on indicators of women’s advancement. Recent MDG appraisals have indicated improvements in life expectancy, maternal mortality, parity in education and rising employment. While these advances can be attributed to positive policies…
Amidst the chaotic political culture that prevails in our country, very few words uttered by our politicians today carry weight. Let alone the false promises they make before elections, which sounds quite farcical once they are voted to power, their…
(Left) Star, (Right) Yamin Tauseef Jahangir A friend of mine who has been living abroad for most of the last three decades phoned me after the World Bank walked away from the much hyped Padma Bridge project and complained,…
The causes behind violence are many and varied but in the final analysis they are related, in one way or another, to a single root which is the role of the state. The state has the constitutional responsibility to…
