Beyond kaanta-taar: Rethinking life at the Bangladesh–India border
10 hour(s) ago
Big Picture
In conversation with Sahana Ghosh, author of A Thousand Tiny Cuts: Mobility and Security Across the India-Bangladesh Borderlands and assistant professor of Anthropology at the National University of Singapore.
Can Bangladesh save its haor food bowl?
22 May 2026, 09:56 AM
Safeguarding Bangladesh’s food security against devastating Haor Basin flash floods demands an urgent transition to climate-smart agriculture.
The great Bangladeshi cattle reality show
22 May 2026, 08:30 AM
From viral names to inflated prices, how social media has turned the Qurbani cattle market into a dramatic theatre.
A solitary Eid in the dream country
22 May 2026, 09:30 AM
There are so many tremendous political analyses and explanations of this war that can contribute significantly to the field of knowledge. But for me, this war refers to a cancelled ticket and a postponed celebration.
Will Ramisa get justice in Bangladesh’s broken rape trial system?
21 May 2026, 11:30 AM
Bangladesh's justice system failure denies rape survivors justice due to massive judicial backlog and heavily politicised prosecution.
Interactive / The haor crisis explained
16 May 2026, 22:36 PM
The Haor Crisis
The crisis in the Haor region of north-eastern Bangladesh is explained in an interactive, Slow Reads Special.
The expansion of wage labour and the message of May Day
1 May 2026, 11:09 AM
Big Picture
Capitalist exploitation and wealth inequality in Bangladesh highlight why the May Day legacy remains vital for labour rights.
Interactive: Bangladesh Labour History · 1881 - 2026 / Fight for Justice
30 April 2026, 20:55 PM
In Focus
This timeline traces key moments, documenting adversity and progress, and offering insight into the quest for justice.
In conversation with Richard Wolff / Can workers seize the opportunity as Western capitalism declines?
30 April 2026, 22:10 PM
Big Picture
Richard Wolff argues that capitalist decline and Western hegemony offer the Global South opportunities for working-class organisation.
Tagore’s Dan Pratidan and the colonial remaking of Bengal’s moral world
21 May 2026, 09:00 AM
In Focus
Radha had tragically bought into Braja Sundari’s and the colonial masters’ ‘unnatural’ logic of the cash nexus, ignoring his brother's assurance regarding the organicity and naturalness of munificence–dependence.
Memories of Indigo Rebellion and the question of national identity
18 May 2026, 00:00 AM
In Focus
In 1897, synthetic indigo was introduced to the market by BASF and Hoechst, two German chemical giants.
Part 1 / The forgotten art of Bengali advertising
17 May 2026, 14:00 PM
In Focus
Someone’s great-grandfather might have known which drummers came beating the kara and nakara to announce, "Tonight at seven, the Chaitanya-lila folk play commences."
Interview / Why the Padma Barrage will be a disaster for Bangladesh
19 May 2026, 08:33 AM
Big Picture
The proposed Padma Barrage will deepen Bangladesh’s sediment, water, and ecological crises rather than sustainably resolving them.
How secular is the orna?
16 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Big Picture
Talk to any women in Dhaka, the bustling capital of twenty-two million people, and they will tell you a story about the orna.
Haor crisis turning into a national crisis: Is the government aware?
13 May 2026, 09:30 AM
Big Picture
Bangladesh's haor floods severely threaten national food security, demanding systemic livelihood recovery, climate adaptation, and debt relief.
Photo Story / The Mro children who could not reach the vaccine
12 May 2026, 17:40 PM
Big Picture
Geographic isolation and severe infrastructural deficits drive a devastating measles outbreak among Bandarban’s remote Mro community.
The puppets we become: Reading Manik Bandopadhyay in 2026
19 May 2026, 09:30 AM
Wisdom
In 2026, this narrative cuts deeper than ever. Millions live as modern Shoshis — outwardly functional yet existentially adrift.
Kaarina Kaisar’s death and the politics of cruelty
18 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Wisdom
For many young Bangladeshis living abroad, content creators like Kaarina meant something special.
Sword fighting in my head
15 May 2026, 09:30 AM
Wisdom
Writing, at its core, demands a degree of honesty after all.
The lost art of coffeehouse conversations
8 May 2026, 09:23 AM
Wisdom
From London’s ‘Penny Universities’ to Dhaka’s modern cafés, coffeehouses have long shaped conversations, ideas, and human connection.
Sea widows: When fishermen never return from the sea
10 hour(s) ago
Unheard Voices
“I’m struggling to make a living with my orphaned children. I have endured financial crises and social barriers over the years.
The untold suffering of Bangladeshi workers during Hajj
10 hour(s) ago
Unheard Voices
Every year, the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah transform into the spiritual heart of the Muslim world.
Can we save the school for Rangpur’s street children?
21 May 2026, 11:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Amid Rangpur Railway Station’s chaos, dozens of children battle poverty, labour, hunger, and neglect to pursue education.
Interview / Why the Haor film Kura Pakkhir Shunye Ura matters today
20 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Filmmaker Muhammad Quayum reflects on the haor’s beauty, hardship, resilience, and his decades-long journey behind Kura Pakkhir Shunye Ura.
Before you sip your tea, remember Chandpur 1921
20 May 2026, 08:30 AM
Unheard Voices
From the 1921 Mulluke Cholo movement to modern wage protests, explore the history and ongoing demands of tea garden workers in Bangladesh.
Clay toys lose ground as plastic dominates childhood
19 May 2026, 10:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Once central to rural Bengal, traditional pottery now struggles to survive amid plastic dominance and fading public interest.
What Bangladesh should understand about the Arakan Army’s Way of Rakhita doctrine
20 May 2026, 10:07 AM
Geopolitical Insights
Analysing the Arakan Army’s Way of Rakhita reveals how Arakanese nationalism shapes Myanmar politics and the Rohingya crisis.
The hunt for the Holy Grail: The repurposed US-Israeli casus belli for Iran’s uranium
18 May 2026, 11:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
A literary geopolitical essay tracing how war in Iran becomes a recursive quest for symbolic control and meaning.
Does the US-Bangladesh trade deal mirror colonial economics?
17 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
One might hear this and think it is history. But move forward 150 years to twenty-first-century Bangladesh, and the same story appears to be repeating itself.
What is the ‘Thucydides trap’ Xi warned Trump about?
17 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
During their high-stakes meeting in Beijing this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly asked US President Donald Trump if the two countries could overcome the “Thucydides trap”.
Prelude to an order for genocide
18 March 2026, 10:00 AM
Slow Reads Classics
AS President Yahya flew out of Dacca on the night of March 25 he took with him the last hopes of a united Pakistan. For the final two days he had been holed up in the Dacca cantonment with the junta of generals who rule Pakistan, putting the finishing touches to Operation Genocide.
Bangabandhu and the world
17 March 2026, 19:28 PM
Slow Reads Classics
As a professional diplomat, I saw Bangabandhu as a symbol of Bangladesh's freedom and independence.
In Focus / The untold history of why Khaleda Zia entered politics
30 December 2025, 11:53 AM
In Focus
Why did Khaleda Zia, a typical housewife who had become widow at a critical age in terms of Bangladesh's culture, join politics?