Bangladesh approves death penalty for rapists. But will this change its culture of impunity?

Protests have erupted across the country after a video of a woman being gangraped was widely shared on social media.

Faisal Mahmud

· Oct 13, 2020 · 07:30 am

Bangladesh decision to free ex-PM Khaleda Zia amidst Covid-19 outbreak is ‘shrewd’, observers say

The ruling Awami League has chosen a time when the political impact will be minimal, they note.

Faisal Mahmud

· Mar 26, 2020 · 08:30 am

51 years ago, the death of a student leader sparked a mass upsurge in former East Pakistan

Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman’s nephew recalls how his uncle’s killing in police firing eventually led to the Bangladesh war for liberation.

Faisal Mahmud

· Jan 20, 2020 · 06:58 pm

Bangladesh Liberation War: Recalling December 15, 1971 – the day before Pakistan surrendered

As defeat loomed large, the Pakistani military high command and President Yahya Khan were confused about what to do.

Faisal Mahmud

· Dec 15, 2019 · 06:30 am

As Bangladesh faces a backlog of 3.6 million cases, some suggest ‘restorative justice’ to clear jam

Restorative process follows a theory of justice that considers crime or wrong doing is an offence against individual or community rather than the state.

Faisal Mahmud

· Nov 19, 2019 · 12:30 pm

Bangladesh’s plan to massively expand coal-based power plants will be a catastrophe, says new report

Environmentalists are alarmed by the country’s plan for turning towards coal to power its development. They say a carbon-free future is possible.

Faisal Mahmud

· Nov 08, 2019 · 07:03 pm

Adda: What the institution of the convivial community chat over ‘cha’ means for Bengali literature

Interestingly, Bengali writers from West Bengal feature the adda much more prominently than their counterparts from Bangladesh.

Faisal Mahmud

· Oct 26, 2019 · 12:30 pm

As India-supported power plant progresses in Bangladesh, activists alarmed by risk to Sunderbans

Government is using ambiguous language in a UNESCO report on the fragile ecosystem to continue construction on the controversial project, environmentalists say.

Faisal Mahmud

· Oct 22, 2019 · 12:30 pm

In pictures: Dhaka students paint vivid murals to protest a brutal campus murder

As the space for free expression shrinks in Bangladesh, educational institutions see a burst of visual protests against the murder of Abrar Fahad.

Faisal Mahmud

· Oct 17, 2019 · 06:59 pm

The unbearable wait for Milan Kundera to get a Nobel Prize, knowing it may never happen

Now 90 years old, Milan Kundera has been a candidate for several years.

Faisal Mahmud

· Oct 13, 2019 · 12:30 pm

At Bangladesh’s only suicide helpline, befriending anxious callers is the key objective

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.

Faisal Mahmud

· Sep 10, 2019 · 05:00 pm

Those beautiful Soviet fairy-tale books many of us were enchanted by? They were meant for propaganda

A diehard fan of the lavishly illustrated books for children published by Soviet presses discovers what they were really meant for.

Faisal Mahmud

· Aug 25, 2019 · 07:30 am