Volume 3, issue 1 largely focusses on the historical roots of the national identity of Bangladesh and various reforms that are needed for a new Bangladesh in the aftermath of the July-August movement of 2024.
Professor Harunur Rasid in his article narrates the political factors underlying the partition of Bengal in 1905 by the British colonial administration, its annulment in 1911, and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. The author also connects the history of Bengal, the former East Pakistan, and Bangladesh to the mass upsurge in July-August of 2024 through the lenses of political, social, and religious identities.
Anis Chowdhury in his article calls for empowering the youth of Bangladesh. Specifically, he argues for increased participation of the youth in the political arena by lowering the minimum age for voting rights to 17.
Habib Siddiqui concentrates on the need to preserve the collective memory of the July-August revolution of 2024. He draws the lessons from the Holocaust memory of the Jewish people. He provides a list of ways the memory of the July-August revolution can be preserved.
Education constitutes the foundation of a society. Ashfaq Zaman emphasises the need for reforms in the education sector. The reforms according to the author should include ethical and moral values, future-oriented learning, close cooperation between industries and the academia, and research and innovation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a general-purpose technological revolution involving many sectors in society. Habib Siddiqui and Shah Yunus in their article highlights potential benefits of AI. They also discuss how Bangladesh can harness the benefits from AI.
The youth ( aged 15-29 years) comprise about 28% of the population of Bangladesh rendering demographic dividends. Anis Chowdhury and Khalid Saifullah explore challenges and opportunities for utilising the human resources of Bangladesh especially the youth. The authors call for mandatory national service for the youth involving basic training in national defence, IT skills, vocational skills, and other basic skills.
Since the fall of the Awami League in 2024, the interim government led by Professor Yunus has been undertaking various institutional reforms before a national election is held. A debate has been raging in Bangladesh about the type of reforms and the timing of a national election. Nusrate Aziz examines the positions of traditional political parties on these issues and the reforms being undertaken by the interim government.
During the autocratic regime of the Awami League , its student wing, the Chatra League maintained a reign of terror in public educational institutions. Many innocent students were victims of physical and mental tortures. Fulpori Khatun, a student at Kushtia Islamic university in her article, provides a harrowing account of her experience. She represents one of the few heroic voices against repression during the Awami League regime.
The Bangladeshi diaspora community is now scattered all over the world. Little is known however, about the Bangladeshi diaspora community in Karachi, Pakistan. Mohammad Zaman in his article depicts the struggle of Bengalis in Karachi in maintaining their cultural and linguistic heritage notwithstanding their marginalised conditions and lack of citizenship.
In 2017, Bangladesh witnessed an influx of more than one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar causing massive economic, humanitarian, and social problems for Bangladesh. Professor Kamal Uddin Ahmed highlights the role of the United States in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
The role of the Bengali diaspora community in the liberation war of 1971 is often unknown or overlooked. Ali Abed reviews a book Stories of ‘71: Reflections on the Liberation Movement in the Northwest of England edited by Tasleem Shakur and Shabnam Ahsan.
Sanzida Habib reviews a unique book Reframing My Worth: Memoir of a Bangladeshi -Canadian Woman, written by Professor Habiba Zaman. In this book, Professor Zaman provides a riveting account of her life experiences and challenges in Bangladesh , her journey from Bangladesh to Canada, her experience as a graduate student in Manitoba, and her academic life at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
While we believe that our readers will enjoy this issue of Global Bangladesh, it is needless to emphasize that views expressed in the articles are those of authors. They also do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Bangladesh’s Editorial Board.
Please note the deadline for submissions for the next issue is 15 June, 2025.
