Bank of the bold

Bangladesh International Vote Banking brings you the opportunity to avail dead people votes, double votes, interest-based group votes, and much more, all designed in ways to suit you.
19 April 2018

Blend in or stand out?

Ever wondered why the Scandinavian countries—Denmark, Norway and Sweden—top the World Happiness Report year after year? No? Well, I have. You kind of have to when your country stands 115th on this year's list.
19 April 2018

Thoughts from Chitwan - Where the wild ones roam free

A massive rhino rustled through the tall elephant grass and charged at us. Ears cocked, nostrils flared wide open and tail held high, the animal seemed to take up the entirety of the unique Chitwan landscape. Its distinctive one horn cut through the thick humid air of the Terai, its muscles rippled in tension under the thick armour like skin.
19 April 2018

Curbing fake news or relinquishing responsibility?

Social media giant Facebook has been under fire lately for their irresponsible handling of their users' data and for standing by and watching as a torrent of “fake news” flooded newsfeeds and distorted public perception of everything from Donald Trump's intelligence to what actually lies at the centre of the earth.
19 April 2018

About Town

Contemporary Exhibition
19 April 2018

“Bangla te bolun”

She was a quiet person who spoke slowly but assuredly. In my childhood whenever I visited old Dhaka to see this Nanu (sister of my own grandmother), she mostly sat on a huge palonko (old style bed) and ate paan.
19 April 2018

Was Sultan a feminist?

Reflections on rural life have always been intrinsic to the music, art and literature of Bangladesh. Peasant women have remained a subject of interest for many artists. The first generation of modern Bangladeshi artists—SM Sultan (1923-1994), Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) and Quamrul Hassan (1921-1988)—endeavoured to depict the lives of Bangladesh's working-class rural women in their own distinct ways. While Abedin and Hassan portray peasant
19 April 2018

All Talk and No Action?

Five years ago, over 1,100 garment workers lost their lives and hundreds became permanently disabled. The collapse of Rana Plaza, the deadliest disaster in the global garment industry, shook the world, revealing that low-price Bangladeshi garments came at a tremendous cost—workers' lives. At the time, many promises were made by all relevant stakeholders to ensure the rights and safety of the garment workers in Bangladesh and reform the RMG sector.
19 April 2018

When the government does nothing

Last Thursday, a Dhaka-based organisation working with conservation of heritage posted urgently on Facebook about an unfortunate development unfolding in Lakhsmibazaar. “We just got to know today that the century-old beautiful building in Nobodwip Basak lane number 3 will be broken down on April 16. The contractor hired to do the job has already moved into the property,” the post by Urban Study Group (USG) states. Attached is an image of a home, the architecture of which is one of a kind and very rarely seen nowadays. The front facade has the atypical arches of the past
19 April 2018

The government is right to be afraid

The quota reform movement that exploded on to the nation's radar last week enjoyed enormous public support, especially among university students. I can't underscore enough the extent of its popularity—in a series of surprise resignations, university-level leaders of the ruling party's student wing broke ranks to join the movement.
19 April 2018

Solidarity Quota reform movement

Tanvir Ahmed was a student of University of Dhaka. He committed suicide at the very beginning of this month . According to his
12 April 2018

Preserving Bengali identity

At dawn on Bangla New Year, Ramna Park wears a festive look. People from all areas of Dhaka city as well as different parts of the country congregate at the verdant ground to celebrate Pahela Baishakh.
12 April 2018

Laal kach

Chaitra Shongkranti—those hours between the setting of the last sun of the year, and the first dawn of the next, has captivated the psyche of this land for ages. Hope is at its strongest, forgiveness its most benevolent self, and thoughts of the past turn into bittersweet remembrance.
12 April 2018

Heading to the hottest place in hell?

One of the most trending quotes shared by the activists of the ongoing quota system reformation movement is Italian poet Dante Alighieri's “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality”.
12 April 2018

Silencing the labour movement

The attempt of suppressing workers and union leaders with prolonged unlawful detention is nothing new in Bangladesh. There are too many instances in which owners use false cases as tools to crack down on labour movements.
12 April 2018

MAILBOX

Many children are deprived of their basic human rights, with poor health, nutrition, and education, in Bangladesh. In addition, children are exposed to severe forms of sexual, physical and mental abuse at home, in institutions, and other public places. Disturbing video clips appear daily on social media, of a child being tortured inhumanly by a single person or a group of people. Bystanders are just observing or
12 April 2018

The Mother, A Tribute to a Homemaker

The bedtime of weekends turns out to be the most intimate moment of exchange between us, mother and daughter. That is the time when my mother opens her heart to me and reveals her darkest fears, her deepest pains and disappointments from the past.
12 April 2018

How to become a superhero or heroine

Not so easy to become capital 'S' Super unless you follow through four steps.
12 April 2018

About Town

Organiser: Preneur Lab - Social Good Company and United Nations Development Programme in Bangladesh
12 April 2018

Is social media inciting violence in Myanmar?

A Facebook post by a young Burmese man in September last year: “I am always honing my sword to kill you shit kalar [derogatory term]. You kalar are son of bitch, son of swine.” Accompanying the post is several pictures of him posing with a sword.
12 April 2018