Mirza Hassan
Bangladesh
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Articles by Mirza Hassan
Who will the citizens vote for in the next election?
Thanks to consecutive rigged elections after 2008, voters' preference structure has become almost like a black box to us. Now that the July uprising has created an opportunity to restore the democratic system in Bangladesh, surveys are being conducted to understand the evolving voters' preferences. Recently, Innovision, a research and consulting organisation, conducted a survey on this.
Giving people power beyond the ballot box
Wed Mar 12, 2025 09:00 AM Last update on: Wed Mar 12, 2025 09:00 AM “For the youth, democracy is not merely about elections―It’s about dismantling systemic barriers, amplifying marginalised voices and ensuring fairness.” ―General students interviewed by The Daily Star.
Giving people power beyond the ballot box
"For the youth, democracy is not merely about elections―It's about dismantling systemic barriers, amplifying marginalised voices and ensuring fairness." ―General students interviewed by The Daily Star.
Rebuilding civic spaces: A new era for civil society in Bangladesh?
In the first week of August, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh ending her 15 years in power, we had just completed a draft report on the state of civil society, ready to submit to a funding partner. Our interviews and discussions painted a bleak picture.
Creation of the new political order: Rebuilding ship in an open and turbulent sea
The chatra-janata led mass insurrection has provided us with a historic opportunity to reimagine and reconstitute existing relations between the state and society. The students are now demanding state reform, which is very timely and necessary. But, I believe, we ought to demand more than that. The people, I would argue, need to demand reform of the existing state-society relations as well.
what should a Bangladeshi woman wear
In May 2022, a young woman, who lives in Dhaka city, was verbally and physically assaulted at a train station in Narsingdi while waiting for a Dhaka-bound train. The assault was initiated by a local elderly lady who accused her of wearing "indecent clothes." Later, a few other men, waiting at the station, joined the elderly lady. The video of this assault was recorded and posted on social media that led to protests and critical reactions among citizens and women's rights organisations.
Dr Zafrullah’s real utopia
With the passing of Dr Zafrullah Choudhury, one of our finest socialist visionaries and activists has ceased to dream and act. Along with Muhammad Yunus and Fazle Hasan Abed, Zafrullah was a global persona in Bangladesh's domain of development and social change.
The citizens’ verdict: How did the government fare with the first lockdown?
Both experts and citizens alike have intensely debated the efficacy of how the lockdown has been enforced in Bangladesh. A quick scan of the plethora of opinions on this matter will convince you that Bangladeshi citizens view government performance around lockdown quite negatively. But there's more to this than meets the eye.
Social distancing to fight Covid-19
Experiences from different peri-urban communities How is the culturally “alien” concept of social/physical distancing faring in the peri-urban areas of Bangladesh? The government instruction for social/physical distancing first came to the communities directly from outside, ie mainly from the central government, as a top-down process; people learnt it mainly through TV and later from police and officials who were trying to enforce it.
ASEAN-South Korea commemorative summit to be held in Busan
By Nurul Shaheera Bahtiar and Mirza Hassan BUSAN, Nov 23 -- The ASEAN-SOUTH KOREA Commemorative Summit which kicks off on November 25th, will mark the 30th anniversary of the relations between ASEAN and South Korea. The meeting which will be attended by ASEAN country leaders, is the epitome of the New Southern policy, by promoting bilateral cooperation with ASEAN well as to enhance strategic partnership, said the Director-General of Protocol and Planning Division of the summit, Park So Yeon.
Karl Marx in Bangladesh
Did Maulana Bhashani—the famous Red Maulana—ever read Marx? I recently asked this question to a prominent biographer of Bhashani—Syed Abul Maksud. His answer was, “Probably not.” But in his recently published book on Bhashani, he points out that Bhashani often asked Marxist economist Akhlaqur Rahman about different aspects of modern economics (this story goes back to the late 1940s).
Karl Marx in Bangladesh
No I am not talking about my encounter with the ghost of Karl Marx in Bangladesh. If you are interested in such stories you should read Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho or Sumonto Bandyopadhyay's Bhuture Molakat (Ghostly Encounter)—two hilarious and, at the same time, intellectually erudite accounts of meeting the ghost of Marx in New York and Kolkata, respectively.
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