Delhi To Dhaka, With Hope

The talk of the town in Dhaka is the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6. The enthusiasm generated by the impending trip is rare and can only be compared with that experienced during the visit of Indira Gandhi in 1972. She was welcomed effusively because of the support she gave Bangladesh […]

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Dhaka And Its “Hartals”

When Dhaka’s street battles began to intensify earlier this year, the ambulances started to pour out onto the streets. Going to pick up the dead and injured? In many cases, no. Instead, they were often used to shuttle expats, businessmen and rich kids to airports, offices and garment factories. Read Here – The Diplomat

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The Unmaking Of Bangladesh

This week, the judges of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal have issued yet more guilty verdicts against leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party for crimes committed during the country’s war of independence in 1971. Underscoring this energy are new prosecutions against foreign nationals of Bangladeshi origin who are effectively being tried in absentia. As elections are on the horizon for Bangladesh, it […]

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Bangladesh’s Quest for Justice

The sea of humanity besieging the Shahbag area in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, for the last two months, has had an unusual demand – unusual, at least, for the Indian subcontinent. The demonstrators have been clamoring for justice for the victims of the genocidal massacres of 1971 that led to the former East Pakistan’s secession […]

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Who Defines Bengali Identity?

For the past several weeks, thousands have rallied around a single issue: bringing to justice the collaborators who, in early 1971, helped the Pakistani military put down the Bengali nationalist movement. The timing might seem strange, since the demands for justice are coming well over four decades after the tragic events. But they are part […]

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A Bangladeshi Square And Its Tryst With History

A peaceful mass secular protest involving people from all walks of life, spearheaded by a tech savvy young generation, apparently independent from political parties, seeking accountability for war crimes committed in 1971. This has been Shahbag, a square in the centre of Dhaka, Bangladesh, an (almost) non-stop protest since February 5. The positive aspects are obvious to […]

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India’s Growing Ties with Bangladesh

While India’s relationship with its western neighbor Pakistan has been faltering despite concerted efforts, on the eastern front a new bonhomie is forming with Bangladesh. The recent signing of a new extradition treaty and visa regime between India and Bangladesh, signed by Indian home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, […]

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