Weekly Bangladesh Policy Outlook: Analysis, Truth, Debate.
The anti-quota movement of 2024 did not erupt from silence. It was the culmination of decades of accumulated frustration over a system that reserved more than half of all civil service positions for specific categories, leaving merit as an afterthought in the nation’s largest employer. What began as a student protest in June 2024 ultimately…
Read More “The Anti Quota Movement and the Unfinished Revolution” »
Street vendors are an unavoidable reality in the economic and social life of Bangladesh’s major cities. From Dhaka to Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet, vendors are deeply integrated into the daily lives of urban residents. By providing affordable food, clothing, household goods, and other essential products, they have become an important part of the urban…
Walk through the elite commercial avenues of Gulshan, Banani, or Dhanmondi, and you are immediately captured by a vibrant celebration of heritage. Glittering storefronts display the pinnacle of Bangladeshi craftsmanship: ethereal Jamdani sarees, deeply textured Nakshi Kantha quilts, and hand-embroidered garments that tell centuries-old stories in every stitch. This urban boutique industry has evolved from…
In a modern state, a national identity card and passport are far more than administrative documents. They are proof of citizenship, gateways to public services, and essential tools that connect citizens with the state. Yet in Bangladesh, obtaining or correcting these documents often becomes a frustrating and exhausting experience for ordinary people. Thousands of citizens…
Read More “Citizen Suffering in NID and Passport Services” »
Desk Report Oniket Research Group Last week, our desk explored the current state of prison conditions and the suggestions for reform in the rehabilitation of the convicts post their prison period. This week, we dive deeper into the rehabilitation reform suggestion. The Prisons Act of 1894 must be fully replaced by a modern Correctional Services…
Jahid Hasan Freelance Journalist Bangladesh’s democratic renewal following the 13th parliamentary elections of February 2026 will remain incomplete until governance reaches its most immediate level, the union parishad, the pourashava, the upazila, and the city corporation. These are the institutions through which most citizens encounter the state in their daily lives, through roads, water, sanitation,…
Bangladesh is changing in ways that are visible, measurable, and sometimes deeply uncomfortable for a society rooted in conservative family values. Rising female literacy, expanding economic participation, and a generation of women who carry both confidence and legal awareness into their marriages have altered the terms on which intimate partnerships are negotiated and dissolved. Divorce…
Bangladesh’s prison system is in a state of protracted crisis, where the aspiration to correct and rehabilitate is consistently overwhelmed by the daily reality of overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and a legal architecture rooted in a colonial-era Prisons Act of 1894. A meaningful shift has recently begun, signalled by the symbolic and substantive renaming of the…
In India, a billion people revere Sachin Tendulkar as a national icon in a register entirely separate from politics. Similarly, APJ Abdul Kalam, a missile scientist and later president, is remembered not for political authority, but for the quality of his mind and the simplicity of his character. In Bangladesh, no equivalent figure exists. The…
Read More “A Nation of One Icon: Why Political Leaders Monopolize Bangladesh’s Symbolic Space” »
On an annual basis, Bangladesh experiences one of the largest human migrations in Asia. During the evening rush hour, tens of millions of people converge on transportation hubs, such as highways, ferries, and train stations. It is a significant social ritual and a recurring public safety concern. The combination of overloaded buses and launches, poorly…
Read More “The Price of Homecoming: Ensuring Safe Eid Travel in Bangladesh” »
