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THE THIRD VIEW

Mahfuz Anam

THE THIRD VIEW

Editor and publisher, The Daily Star

importance of free media in a democracy

Column by Mahfuz Anam: 35th anniversary of The Daily Star / When independent newspapers burn, so does democracy

24 April 2026, 00:00 AM
When independent, objective and fact-based newspapers are set on fire, it is democracy that burns.
24 April 2026, 00:00 AM
risk of nuclear war between US-Israel  and Iran

Column by Mahfuz Anam / Were we close to a nuclear catastrophe?

10 April 2026, 00:00 AM
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected Iran to crumble when they launched the surprise attack on February 28 while negotiations were going on, killing the latter’s supreme leader and several others.
10 April 2026, 00:00 AM
challenges for PM Tarique Rahman in Bangladesh

Column by Mahfuz Anam / The challenges before the prime minister

13 March 2026, 00:00 AM
High unemployment, weak investment, the need for job creation, curbing inflation, export diversification, and stabilising the banking sector are among the most urgent economic challenges.
13 March 2026, 00:00 AM
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Editor's Note

8 March 2026, 12:30 PM
Justice must not be a distant promise; it must be something every woman and girl can rely on in her daily life.
8 March 2026, 12:30 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam / The speech that emboldened us all

7 March 2026, 00:00 AM
Those of us who were there at the Ramna Race Course on that day have our own personal memories. Reminiscing them still warms our blood and generates that special feeling of pride that automatically holds our heads high.
7 March 2026, 00:00 AM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam / A controversial decision

27 February 2026, 00:01 AM
Critical decisions are usually judged by three things: their merit, method, and meaning or significance.
27 February 2026, 00:01 AM
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Editor's Note / Bangladesh in many voices

20 February 2026, 23:03 PM
Ekushey today is to recognise that protecting linguistic diversity is inseparable from protecting cultural memory, social justice, and the right to be heard.
20 February 2026, 23:03 PM
Tarique Rahman leadership challenges

Column by Mahfuz Anam / The likely PM’s first crucial challenge

15 February 2026, 00:00 AM
Choose cabinet with utmost care, for it may determine success or failure
15 February 2026, 00:00 AM
enforced disappearance in Bangladesh

Column by Mahfuz Anam: Do we take our international partners for fools?

Since the US sanction on Rab and few of its present and former officials, there have been several comments from our ministers on the topic.
10 February 2022, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Govt needs to review its practice of appointing VCs

Of the 48 current vice-chancellors (VC) in the public universities across Bangladesh, 39 are former office-bearers of some pro-government teachers’ bodies.
3 February 2022, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: We needed a law for EC formation, we’re getting one for Search Committee

What waited for nearly 50 years is now being implemented with super speed.
20 January 2022, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: What are our president’s powers?

The question in the title of this column was triggered by a press comment following our president’s dialogue with National Awami Party (NAP) leaders, published on December 27, 2021.
6 January 2022, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: A convenience that is killing us

Using plastic is very convenient. But now it is posing a threat to our healthy living.
23 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Golden Jubilee Celebration - Media’s role and the diplomatic challenges in 1971

The mood of the moment is overwhelmingly celebratory. And why not? Not only are we observing 50 years of our independence, but we are doing so with a new sense of pride, accomplishment and, most importantly, confidence—confidence that we can face all the challenges that come our way.
16 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Celebrating golden jubilee of victory

50 years ago, on this day, Bangladesh was born out of a bloody war. In the face of a brutal massacre by the Pakistani military, the freedom-loving people of this land, with their unwavering resolve and monumental sacrifices,
15 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Remembering our martyred intellectuals

Over the last 49 years, we have observed the Martyred Intellectuals Day annually, realising more and more the significance of the damage that the enemy caused to our nation. What sort of an enemy who, on the verge of defeat, c
13 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Our killer roads - Students have once again raised a vital issue

Just as we are making news as a role model of development, we are also attracting global attention as perhaps the only country in the world where school students need to demonstrate on the streets for days on end to demand road safety measures.
2 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Commentary by Mahfuz Anam: Khaleda Zia’s Medical Condition - Moment for PM’s magnanimity

When it comes to the BNP is it at all possible for the ruling party to see it through any other prism but political? Can the decision to allow Khaleda Zia to go abroad for medical treatment be seen as a humanitarian case rather than party politics?
30 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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Commentary by Mahfuz Anam: Honourable judge, we respectfully but vehemently beg to differ

Judge Mosammat Kamrunnahar, of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7, found all the five accused “not guilty” in the rape case of two university students filed with Banani Police Station on May 6, 2017.
12 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Why is public convenience an alien concept for our decision-makers?

Starting from unannounced road blocks forcing commuters into hours of traffic congestion, to making important arterial roads off limits for visiting foreign guests, to cutting off gas and power for maintenance work without prior information, to unreasonable diversion of traffic for megaprojects, to frequent government price hikes of essentials—all are done without an iota of consideration for public convenience, leave alone rights.
11 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Our team at T20 World Cup - A metaphor of present-day Bangladesh politics

At the very start, I say with as much vehemence as I am capable of that a game is a game is a game.
4 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: 50 years of journalism and the way forward

When we refer to our glorious period of journalism, we usually mean the pre-liberation period. Ironically, compared to today, the media was at its most rudimentary stage at that time.
28 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Editor’s Note

The pandemic has had a severe impact on the global economy just as it has had on ours. Thanks to massive financial assistance in various forms from the government, the economy is back on track somewhat. Our private sector has shown great resilience and creativity by finding new ways to keep the wheels of factories running and make way for our exports and imports in the world market.
28 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Imbibing 1971 values in our post-liberation generation

Never on the soil of independent Bangladesh would anyone ever have to suffer because of his or her religion.
21 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: History within Covers

The contribution of the Daily Ittefaq to the formation of our nationhood is well-known. Its editor-publisher, Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah, remains an icon of journalism in this part of the world, and a source of inspiration and pride for those of us who have tried to follow in his footsteps.
14 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Elections - déjà vu or a move forward

Our next election is not due for two years—at the end of 2023. For many countries, it is too early to talk about it. But not in our case. To hold a proper election, there will be endless talks, mostly one-sided, as we have not made any progress in sitting together and accommodating each other’s positions and moving on.
7 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Why is individual freedom such a plaything in our legal system?

We are delighted that Jhumon Das finally walked out of prison on Tuesday, after being incarcerated for nearly seven months for a Facebook post in which he criticised Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mamunul Haque.
30 September 2021, 18:00 PM
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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Who do our ‘public servants’ serve?

What happened recently in Barishal between a local mayor and an Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) is not the real story. Why it happened is. And in that story is hidden many facets of the crucial issue of the state of our governance.
2 September 2021, 18:00 PM

Pagination

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