In a fitting end to the much publicized trial of Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving terrorist of 26/11, a death sentence was awarded to him on five counts, including waging a war on India. Judge M L Tahiliyani sentenced him to five life terms and five death penalties for his display of “exceptional depravity” during […]
A substantial piece of the politics and history–perhaps, shall I say, the political history –of Bangladesh has now been definitively relegated to the rumor-mongering heaps of badly fashioned narratives and outright lies that have for long run the public discussion of Bangladesh’s founding. It seems India had erased the records of the much of its […]
I’d earlier written about Rushanara Ali, the Labour candidate from the Bengali enclave of Bethnal Green and Bow. The latest news from the BBC shows that she’s won her seat handily, winning twice as many votes as her nearest competitor, the Liberal Democrat candidate. This is a good day for many, a bleak one for […]
The Bangladesh Student League is running rampant, loose across numerous universities across the country and the politicians–often, members of parliament–who support them are doing nothing to arrest the Student League’s criminal and violent behavior. The Daily Star reports that a leader of the AL has gone on record to admonish these politicians aiding and abetting […]
Bangladeshis and the Bengali community in London and in the United Kingdom, more broadly, have reason to celebrate today. For today, for the first time the Member of Parliament from Bangla Town is sure to be a Bengali. Each major party jockeying for power in the 2010 UK General Election has chosen a Bengali to […]
Writing in Wall Street Journal, Sadanand Dhume asks the obvious question. Why do Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora churn out such a high proportion of the world’s terrorists? Indonesia has more Muslims than Pakistan. Turkey is geographically closer to the troubles of the Middle East. The governments of Iran and Syria are immeasurably more hostile […]
Copyright and Property of Faheem Haider A man, Zakir Hossain has died and 100 others have been injured in a skirmish between the Awami League and the BNP. Members of the Awami League allegedly attacked BNP activists along the way to a BNP rally. The AL has already passed on the blame for the […]
Thailand: PM Abhisit Vejjajiva gave a nationally televised speech, on Monday, offering a “reconciliation plan” to the entrenched Red Shirt opposition protesters (United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD)). The proposal would include calling for new parliamentary elections on November 14, 2010. This has come , “not a moment too soon”, as there were […]
The 16th Summit was Bhutan’s first opportunity to host a SAARC Summit. The Summit was attended by eight Heads of States from South Asia on April 28-29. The theme of the Summit was to promote a ‘Green and Happy South Asia’. Following are some important decisions highlighted in the Summit Declaration. The leaders sought to […]
Another lunatic tried unsuccessfully to explode a bomb in New York. Thank God he failed, but his failure has left all of us thinking, once again, what the heck is going on? As for as we know, the alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had no reason to kill innocent civilians, but after his arrest, we now […]
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the leader of the Awami League has been pushing what can fairly be called an aggressive, assertive and inviting foreign policy with the aim of attracting foreign investment in infrastructure and utilities. First there was India, then China, now the P.M. is scheduled to pay a visit […]
Working abroad has been a clear path to comfort and riches for Bangladeshi men for over twenty or more years. Mass migrations of a generation of young men to the Middle East and South East Asia have propped up Bangladesh’s economy through long spells of dictatorship and democracy. Throughout that time, remittance payments have been […]
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a regional grouping comprising of eight states- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Nine Countries – Australia, China, European Union, Iran, Japan, Myanmar, Mauritius, South Korea and U.S. – hold Observer status. 25 years ago in 1985, SAARC was initiated with the dream […]
Anyone who’s been following the politics and political economy of Bangladesh knows that remittances are a strong and important driver of the domestic economy. Over the last 30 years, the rate of annual growth of remittances has averaged about 19%. This is an impressive rate of growth and as such, it is engine of […]
