Shamsad Mortuza

Reading a recent report by The Daily Star on the number of measles victims, I could not help but link the number “666” printed in red with something ominous.

The proposed budget for FY2026-27 indicates a welcome shift in language to back up the government’s electoral promise to gradually increase public investment in education.

Instead of framing the issue as a debate on tradition versus modernity, we need to ask whether we are capable of caring for what we claim to value. If the crocodile was heritage, why was it not managed responsibly? If the child’s safety mattered, why was the danger not addressed earlier? If the shrine was sacred, why was its ecology left to improvisation?

I am sitting in a hotel room in Islamabad, reading a recent Bonik Barta report that makes a compelling argument:

A recent post by a colleague who had to pay Tk 2.5 lakh as an admission fee for his child at a reputed English medium school made me reflect on an anomaly that we have gotten used to.

There is something quite catchy and seductive in the way Mohammadpur is branded as the “City of God.” The phrase is loaded with a Brazilian flavour, conjuring cinematic memories of gang fights in narrow alleys, muggers on motorcycles, the prevalence of narcotics among frightened residents, territorial youth gangs, occasional police raids, and political protection.

The attic of my thoughts is peopled by figures whom I never thought would gather to murmur in my head; these are the voices of people who should never have to meet like this.

Recently, my university came together to celebrate a day that could have been just another checkbox for ranking metrics or media optics.

Nobody questions the potential of Cox’s Bazar. Clearly, it can compete with any of the top-class beaches elsewhere. For that, the administrators need to think beyond immediate, narrow interests. They need to plan access roads despite local pressures.

“My classroom has four ceiling fans, but if we are to attend online classes from home, we will need 50 fans.”

Last week, while buying vegetables from an open market, I could not help feeling dissatisfied over the hiked price of every item. “It seems you are still in a moon-sighting mode,” I said, to which the seller responded nonchalantly, “What can I do?

In Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, a character with supposed authority intensifies the absurdity by quantifying emotion.

Given the election results, one could assume that the female voters have registered a clear electoral message. They do not want to retreat into the margins of civic life. And why should they?

The posthumous Swadhinata Padak for Maherin Chowdhury, a teacher who died saving at least 20 students from the burning remains of Milestone School and College after it was hit by a fighter jet last year, brought back sad memories of losing children and teachers in a single tragic blow.

Not often do you hear a politician saying that “politicising education, research, and the practice of arts and literature is never a mark of a civilised society.”

Ekushey February (February 21) is a date that reminds the Bangladeshi people of their culture as well as their originary moments.

It’s perhaps divine timing that V-Day falls just after the confirmation of election results, marked by the public’s overwhelming support for the party at the top and the strengthening of support bases for the parties in second place.

When asked to comment on the recent trend of teacher harassment and forced resignation across university campuses, the University Grants Commission (UGC) chair and former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Prof SMA Faiz, observed that rules alone could not ensure healthy teacher-student ties.

Bangladesh, by default, has designed inequality in education through its multiple streams.

When the Fizz was pitched as a slingshot to hit back at the monstrous decision of the IPL that forced the Bangladeshi fast bowler’s franchise team to release him on security grounds,