APO 433: Dhaka’s forgotten post office of World War II
11 HOUR(s)
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In Focus
Dadabhai Naoroji: The man who exposed the economics of British colonialism
8 September 2026
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In Focus
Untold stories of 1971 through private letters
7 September 2026
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In Focus
The extraordinary journey of Atish Dipankar Srigyan
6 September 2026
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In Focus
Forgotten story of Jeanette Van Tassel, the American woman who flew over Dhaka in 1892
5 September 2026
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In Focus
Beyond 1947 / A personal essay
4 September 2026
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In Focus
Abul Mansur Ahmad / A global quest in search of a nation
3 September 2026
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In Focus
Chand Bibi and the forgotten history of Muslim women’s political resistance
2 September 2026
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In Focus
Women’s voices in Nazrul’s Dhumketu
31 August 2026
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In Focus
How Milad-un-Nabi shaped Muslim cultural life in colonial Bengal
26 August 2026
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In Focus
Remembering a legacy of opposition, a vision of independence
After the liberation of Bangladesh, Bhashani continued to exert significant influence by holding the ruling Awami League accountable on critical issues such as drafting the constitution and addressing the food crisis.
17 November 2024
The Last Romantic
In 1961, the Arts Faculty of the University of Dhaka was still located at the southern end of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. It was there, under the high-ceilinged rooms with their antique benches that Dr Khan Sarwar Murshid taught the MA English Preliminary students.
10 November 2024
Blood on the Barred Walls: The 1975 Jail Killing Revisited
In 1975, Bangladesh’s political landscape was irrevocably altered by the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and almost his entire family (except for his two daughters, who were abroad) at their Dhanmondi 32 residence.
2 November 2024
From Sultanate to Mughal: The Architectural Legacy of Bengal
In conversation with Professor Perween Hasan, distinguished historian and expert on architecture of the Indian subcontinent
27 October 2024
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Muslim Renaissance in South Asia
This year marks the 207th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was born into a prominent family with ties to the Mughal court in Delhi on 17 October 1817, and passed away on 27 March 1898.
20 October 2024
From Controversy to Classic: Lal Shalu After 75 Years
Syed Waliullah’s (1922-1971) debut novel Lal Shalu drew significant attention upon its release but faced mixed reviews, including outright rejection. Since then, it has been translated into multiple languages, adapted for the stage, and made into a film. Today, it is regarded as the first major modern novel by a Bengali Muslim writer.
13 October 2024
Abul Hashim and Revisiting the United Bengal Plan (1946-47)
Fifty years ago, in October 1974, Abul Hashim, a prominent political leader of the then dissolved Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) breathed his last in Bangladesh, leaving behind an important political legacy now long forgotten.
7 October 2024
“Reform must come from the people”
The 1969 Mass Uprising was primarily focused on achieving either provincial autonomy or independence, which ultimately led to the Liberation War in 1971.
29 September 2024
The luckless president & an American icon !
As I was completing my undergraduate program in USA, the American Presidential election of 1976 came up.
22 September 2024
Abdullah: The novel that pioneered a new era in Bengali literature
Kazi Imdadul Huq’s novel Abdullah, written nearly a century ago, is regarded as one of the first modern novels by a Bengali Muslim writer. Initially known for his poetry and children’s literature, Huq transitioned into a notable prose writer, offering profound insights into history, culture, and society. Abdullah was his only novel, published posthumously, and it has since become a milestone in Bengali literature, earning enduring acclaim from readers.
15 September 2024
Reading Akhteruzzaman Elias after an uprising
Firdous Azim: There has been an uprising in Bangladesh.
8 September 2024
The Bengali Mahanayika & Mahanayak
On November 29, 1957, the Bengali-language newspaper Jugantor carried an advertisement placed by the management of Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s (MGM) Metro Film Hall of Kolkata.
1 September 2024
Nayakraj Razzak: A new man in the 1960s
In the often-treacherous world of showbiz, there is always “something else” beyond mere skill, charisma, and looks that contributes to stardom.
25 August 2024
Shamsur Rahman and Muslim Bengali childhood - modernity, city, and soliloquy
The poetic tradition in the East, particularly in Greater India, has long been characterised by diverse literary experimentation, significantly influenced by Sanskritic, Arabic, and Persian cosmopolitan traditions.
18 August 2024
Utpal Dutt and postcolonial political theatre
The inspiration for decolonization, as a philosophical term, writes Achille Mbembe, was the ‘active will to community’ which can be translated as something like ‘to stand up on one’s own and create a heritage’.
11 August 2024
Concert for Bangladesh
Ravi Shankar methodically plucked the seven top strings on his sitar, drawing twanged melodies out of the four-footlong instrument.
7 August 2024
A forgotten chapter in the intellectual movement of Bengali Muslims
Anwarul Quadir (1887-1948) was a key literary figure whose work significantly influenced the intellectual movement of Bengali Muslims in late colonial Bengal.
28 July 2024
Australian involvement in the Bangladesh Liberation War
If you think about the international reaction to the Bangladesh Liberation War, you most likely would consider the United States government openly siding with Pakistan.
21 July 2024
An Iconic History of Bengal
In the sixties of the last century, I earned my primary degree with majors in Philosophy and Indian Studies and became a secondary school teacher.
15 July 2024
Cartographic imagination and colonial landscape paintings in and around Bengal
Cartography in India might have had its roots in this expansionist ambition but went on to achieve much more than this. Rennell’s Map of Hindostan, published by an act of Parliament in 1782, inaugurated the cartographic identity of modern India for the first time on the world stage.
8 July 2024