25 February 2023 marked the fourteenth anniversary of the mutiny carried out by the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). Despite multiple investigations, questions surrounding the motives of the mutineers, why they took such extreme actions, and if there was a conspiracy behind the carnage, all remain unanswered. Popularly referred to as the BDR Mutiny, on the...Read More

Post-independence, Bangladesh has quickly transformed itself into a manufacturing powerhouse in readymade garments (RMG), the country’s highest export income earner. Despite the impressive economic growth, devastating fires and building collapses have become all too common in Bangladesh. Is the RMG sector at a crossroads? What strategies can the country adopt for long-term RMG sustainability? RMG...Read More

The worst floods in 122 years have hit Sylhet and Sunamganj in the northwest of Bangladesh. Millions have been displaced, property and livelihoods have been destroyed, highlight once more how vulnerable Bangladesh remains to flooding. Starting on the 16th and 17th of June 2022, heavy upstream rainfall from Meghalaya and Assam states in India have...Read More

In 2020, 195 people were killed across Bangladesh by law enforcement agencies during ‘shoot-outs’ according to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a Dhaka based human rights watchdog. To date, the government has been reluctant to investigate any such killings, however, this changed when police killed retired army officer Major Sinha.   Not only...Read More

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit Bangladesh in March 2020, the poverty rate doubled, household income declined, and the health and education sectors suffered. The country is in the midst of the third wave of Covid-19, which makes the national budget for fiscal year (FY2022) the most challenging to date. This article will look at...Read More

In the last couple of decades, the growing importance of new technologies for business, media, health and public services has stimulated the development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Bangladesh. Automation has allowed the ICT sector to move away from primarily being a hardware vendor industry and focus more on applications, engineering,...Read More

In March, Bangladesh celebrated its golden jubilee of gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971. Despite suffering its fair share of political disorder over the last 50 years, Bangladesh has achieved steady economic growth and has made significant social achievements. This article will look back on the past 50 years, highlight Bangladesh’s failures, challenges and achievements...Read More

For the last nine years Bangladesh has been growing steadily with an unbroken run of 6 percent or higher growth rates, reaching as high as 8.2 percent in 2019. With the unparalleled health, social and economic threats raised by the coronavirus pandemic, is the budget for fiscal year (FY2021) fit for purpose to restore economic...Read More

The ferocity of the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the developed and less developed regions of the globe, both urban and rural, and the activities we all take for granted have come to a standstill. This article, however, will focus on the already-discernible impacts and longer-term implications of the pandemic on Bangladesh. The key questions that...Read More

Migrating to the Middle East in search for economic opportunities can sometimes pose a serious risk for the hundreds and thousands of women from Asia seeking employment in private households across the region, but especially in the Gulf States, as domestic workers. Although female migrant workers in general can be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,...Read More