In May last year, newspapers in Bangladesh reported that a teenager had been killed along the country's northwestern border with India. Sixteen-year-old Hasibul Islam was shot dead at
For Bangladeshis it was much greater than winning the World Cup. No levity intended. For a country very short of anything to celebrate, the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize
Bangladesh declared its birth on 16 December 1971 – now celebrated as Victory Day, a day of reminiscence for citizens of the new nation. But many memories are troubling, especially those
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Snakes and ladders
All Illustrations by Bilash Rai
For the first time since 1992, the yearly seasonal barter trade between Indian and Tibet, through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand,
Around this time last year, the political climate across Southasia looked grim. In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto had just returned after years in exile, and had been greeted with bomb explosions
What kind of a government does Bangladesh have? Who is in charge and why? When did this begin, and of whom should we be afraid this time around?
The phase
Bangladesh’s system of caretaker government is seen as a successful exercise in allowing free and fair elections, but the country’s current political crises can be traced back to this hasty, imperfect arrangement.
Bangladesh’s worsening problems are the result of systemic political failure. Even as anger mounts in the midst of pre-election jockeying, however, the truth of the matter is that little will change after Bangladeshis head to the polls in January. Regardless of who wins, it won’t be the people.
Without anyone really noticing, some time during the 1980s Bangladesh stopped being regarded as an international basket-case. This was an appellation that had also coloured the vision of its Southasian
