I am happy that Dr Shamsul Arifeen Khan Mamun has taken the time to read my op-ed piece on education reform (“We need education reforms that actually work,” The Daily Star, March 15) and wrote a rebuttal (“Evidence, not assumptions, should guide education reform,” The Daily Star, March 19).

Agriculture remains the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy, contributing about 11 percent to the country’s GDP and employing nearly 40 percent of the population.

The BNP government has inherited a country at an unusual inflexion point, with a strong electoral mandate, a technically credible reform roadmap, and an international community broadly aligned on what needs to be done.

The core of the problem is a massive vacuum in our laws. Without a dedicated witness protection law, victims and witnesses are left completely exposed.

Revisiting the Smooth Transition Strategy now through clear timelines, preference transition, TRIPS and pharmaceutical preparedness, transition financing, and shock-responsive social protection would strengthen Bangladesh’s position.

During my 28 years of professional experience at Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), I have never seen a dedicated environmental protection department, a sustainability cell, or even a designated environmental professional.

A 2025 survey revealed that 63.29 percent of BRTA service recipients had to pay bribes. This is compounded by powerful syndicates and “token systems,” where unfit vehicles ply the roads under the very nose of the administration in exchange for fixed extortion.

In line with its electoral commitment, the BNP government has initiated steps to introduce the national e-Health Card by June this year.

In the history of global climate, Bangladesh’s vulnerability has been noted in facing risks from floods, cyclones, and rising sea levels.

No one in Bangladesh voted for the war. No one here had any say in whether the United States and Israel should attack Iran on February 28.

In Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, a character with supposed authority intensifies the absurdity by quantifying emotion.

As we walk through the empty streets of Dhaka, we have a chance to turn this relief into real change.

The Liberation War of 1971 remains one of the most consequential and painful chapters in the history of Bangladesh as well as South Asia.

The review bench has acknowledged that constitutional formalism helped wreck electoral credibility in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been entrapped in medium-term energy challenges.

In the American case, the resolution exposes the gap between what US officials on the ground knew in 1971 and what the US state was willing to admit.

The politics of memory is never only about the past. It concerns who gets to define the nation through selective remembrance and selective silence, and which parts of the history are elevated, ritualised, or pushed aside.

The nation failed to indict the perpetrators in a proper court of law due to the unlawful clemency declared by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. No single individual, not even a dictator or a king, can take such a decision without constitutional and parliamentary backing, particularly when the crimes were committed against humanity as a whole.

The current discussions surrounding the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025 stems largely from its nomenclature.

India wants shorter treaty terms (10-15 years) that will give it more frequent negotiating leverage. It cites “climate change” but only as justification for taking more water, not for climate-adapted governance. This is nothing but extractive negotiation, not cooperative adaptation.