For many decades, Israel has been committing small genocides and big genocides — and small massacres and big massacres — against Palestinians and others in the region. The current genocide that started in early October 2023 and still continues is perhaps the cruellest and most revolting as well as most widely reported, thanks to the availabilit

Professor Yunus’ eyes hold the tears of all Bangladeshis who suffered under Hasina’s iron-fisted autocratic regime. I hope he and his colleagues who are now running Bangladesh will continue to remember all the sacrifices people in Bangladesh and in the diaspora made to facilitate a new beginning for us. One major way to do justice to the tears

If feminist groups in Bangladesh choose to remain hushed on the subject of gender-based violence in general, that will perhaps be pardonable on the ground of limited human ability. However, their selective protest and selective silence over the years have questioned their intention and have made us curious about their agenda and interests. Given th

Islamophobia is on the rise across the world. The alarming issue, however, is Islamophobic attitudes are noticed among Muslim youths within Muslim societies. One of the root causes to develop pessimistic attitudes towards world religions is scientific worldview. In the past, scientific worldview was a threat to Christian world of West. Recently, th

Doris Lessing celebrates the realist, committed novel and laments its absence in much of modern literature. Her theory of literature emanates from an understanding of good and evil and has an instructive function. Accordingly, she admires nineteenth-century realist novelists and commends their efforts to document and question unjust social practice

The intensely precarious integration in many parts of Bangladesh between life, rivers and water has been reflected in the country’s river novels that describe the experiences of fishermen and riparian peasants. Among river systems in Bangladesh, the Padma (the Ganges in India) has inspired the greatest number of artists and their writing. Humayun

Although Charles Dickens condoned colonial exploitation, no one censured him then for his unprincipled and opportunistic stance. But as we now know, time has not forgiven him for his racist and imperialist views. Likewise, there are many writers and intellectuals in our time who have gained fame and fortune and enjoy prestige and perks due to their

WB Yeats's literary career was largely inspired by the troubles in his country, Ireland, and he wrote to fix them. But, according to WH Auden, Yeats's work didn't do much to establish peace and stability in Ireland. Likewise, Hasina's autocracy got me out of my academic cocoon and motivated me to write essays on down-to-earth issues

Despite its exploitative nature, colonialism facilitated continuous cultural exchanges between Muslim Bengal, home of the writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, and the European metropolis. Although Rokeya never visited Europe, she was exposed to European literature, overcame sociocultural constraints, and thus became engaged in a complex critique and ass

George Galloway’s election victory in Rochdale corresponds to the renewed awakening of the global conscience in regards to the question of Palestine. Perhaps, people of Rochdale have realised that politicians who facilitate injustice in other shores are likely to be unjust to those in their own country. They are smart enough to understand that po