The End of Empire: The meanings of Jallianwala Bagh

It has often been said that Britain lost its empire the day when, one hundred [two] years ago, 55-year old Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, commanding a regiment of 50 Gurkha and Baluchi riflemen,
11 April 2021

Bengali Muslims and their identity: From fusion to confusion

One of the grand paradoxes facing Bangladeshis is expressed in the negotiations and contestations on the simple question about who they are, particularly in the context of the strains caused by the Universalist claims of their religion on the one hand and the particularist demands of their ethnicity and culture on the other.
4 April 2021

The Historian and the Riflemen

On the evening of the 25th of March of 1971, Yahya Khan, third President of Pakistan, was driven from an elegant, storied house at 22,
28 March 2021

The 1971 war, caste, citizenship and a war memorial in Tharparkar

Perhaps the only memorial for the martyrs of the 1971 war in Pakistan stands quietly and forgotten near the village Barach, about 25 kilometers southeast of Mithi, the desert district headquarters of Tharparkar.
27 March 2021

The birth of Bangladesh and nationality question in South Asia

26 March 1971 is a significant date in South Asian subcontinent not simply because Bengali majority of Pakistan decided to assert a right to secede in the face of brutal military crackdown but also because the very fundamental framework of the parameter of nation formation in South Asian subcontinent had been altered.
21 March 2021

When Gandhi's Salt March Rattled British Colonial Rule

Since the late-1910s, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had been at the forefront of India’s quest to shake off the yoke of British colonial domination, otherwise known as the “Raj.”
14 March 2021

No student can be tortured, intimidated

The High Court yesterday observed that no student can be tortured, intimidated and pressurised physically or mentally as per an earlier directive of the court .
14 March 2021

One in three women endure abuse: WHO

One in three women have already suffered physical violence or sexual abuse, the World Health Organization said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic was deepening the problem.
10 March 2021

Why no dedicated rail carriages for women

The High Court, in a rule, yesterday asked the authorities why a special compartment should not be allocated for female passengers and separate reserved seats for children, physically challenged passengers, and senior citizens in every train for ensuring their privacy and security.
10 March 2021

Bhashani’s support for non-cooperation movement

Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a mass gathering at Paltan Maidan on March 9. In his address, he proclaimed full support to the ongoing non-cooperation movement and called upon the people to continue the struggle unless success was achieved.
8 March 2021

50 years later, the fight goes on

When speaking about our Liberation War of 1971, we often commend our freedom fighters for their sacrifices and bravery and condemn the then Pakistan army for inflicting inhumane torture on our innocent people, especially our women.
7 March 2021

26,695 rape cases filed in last 5 years

A total of 26,695 rape cases have been filed across the country in the past five years, said a short report submitted by the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to the High Court yesterday.
3 March 2021

Rohingya Relocation: Another 3,800 on way to Bhasan Char

The government is going to relocate around 3,800 more Rohingyas to Bhasan Char by tomorrow from different refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.
2 March 2021

Louis Kahn's Capital Complexity

The National Capital Complex in Dhaka, designed by Louis Kahn, is an epic work in the annals of modern architecture. Even after sixty years of its conception, Kahn’s complex remains a wondrous phenomenon that is continuously renewing the purposes of architecture.
28 February 2021

Kahn's Journey to the National Assembly Building

What Einstein’s E=mc2 is for physicists, Louis I Kahn’s “Silence and Light” is for architects. Kahn’s lecture on “Silence and Light” in 1969, five years before his death, was the recapitulation of his collective thoughts based on metaphysical reasoning that he considered a key to his point of view, applicable to all works of art, including architecture.
28 February 2021

BENGALI TYPES AND THEIR FOUNDERS

While in London about the year 1770, William Bolts required some types for printing in Bengali. Such types were non-existent, and the type foundry of Joseph Jackson was engaged to prepare a font. In I773 or I774 he suddenly left for India, and the types remained behind.
21 February 2021

Old Bangla prose

The history of Bangla prose is generally described from the beginning of the nineteenth century. But most scholars agree that some examples of Bangla prose can be found from the sixteenth centuries.
20 February 2021

Covid Vaccination: Minimum age to remain 40

The minimum age for Covid-19 vaccination will remain 40 for now, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.
17 February 2021

Chobi Mela (0): Redefining photo festivals for the post-COVID era

The Drik-Path building peeks into the sky in the middle of the busy commercial area of Panthapath, Dhaka. This is where Chobi Mela Shunno (0) is taking place this year.
14 February 2021

DSA must be abolished

With cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed behind bars for more than nine months, a group of citizens, including teachers and rights activists, staged demonstrations at the city’s Central Shaheed Minar yesterday demanding abolishment of the controversial Digital Security Act (DSA).
13 February 2021