In Focus: Bangladesh

In Focus: Bangladesh

Forbidden Nazrul

Both Bengals are grappling with intense periods of unrest. While the political events unfolding in these two lands may not align directly, they share one significant commonality: distrust.

6d ago

Lal Salam: The making of Bangladesh’s leftist politics

The history of Bangladesh’s leftist politics is a story of unity and division, of shared ideals splintering into competing paths.

1w ago

Bridging the Partition through Education

The 1947 Partition of South Asia is usually associated with divisions, disruption, and the melancholia of displacement.

2w ago

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Tagore’ Films

Before taking a close look at the three feature films that comprise Ray’s tribute to Tagore we might note a few similarities between the two cultural giants.

3w ago

Sound of the July uprising

While the July Uprising was sparked by economic problems, political repression, and a desire for democracy, it found a strong and surprising voice in a new form of music for Bangladesh: rap. Two songs, “Kotha Ko” (Speak Up) and “Awaz Utha” (Raise Your Voice), came to represent the sentiment of the movement in July.

1m ago

Sandwip and the collapse of Portuguese ambition

In his analysis of the Estado da Índia, which was the official name of the Portuguese Empire, George Winius distinguished between the formal administration by the Estado’s headquarters at Goa over overseas possessions and the ‘informal empire’, which he called the ‘shadow empire’, that the Portuguese established in the Bay of Bengal. The shadow empire was a unique experiment carried out by sailors, merchant adventurers, pirates, and missionaries, with little formal sanction either from Goa or from Portugal.

1m ago

Muktadhara: How Tagore Exposed the Tyranny of Nationalism

Rabindranath Tagore, whose genius touched nearly every branch of the arts and literature, left an indelible imprint on the world of drama—not merely as a playwright, but as an actor, director, and visionary of the stage.

3m ago

In Search of Premodern Bengal’s Literary Treasures

With the passing of Professor Tony K. Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Humanities Emeritus, the field of South Asian religions, and more specifically, premodern Bengali literature, has lost one of its leading lights.

4m ago

Forbidden Nazrul

Both Bengals are grappling with intense periods of unrest. While the political events unfolding in these two lands may not align directly, they share one significant commonality: distrust.

6d ago

Lal Salam: The making of Bangladesh’s leftist politics

The history of Bangladesh’s leftist politics is a story of unity and division, of shared ideals splintering into competing paths.

1w ago

Bridging the Partition through Education

The 1947 Partition of South Asia is usually associated with divisions, disruption, and the melancholia of displacement.

2w ago

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Tagore’ Films

Before taking a close look at the three feature films that comprise Ray’s tribute to Tagore we might note a few similarities between the two cultural giants.

3w ago

Sound of the July uprising

While the July Uprising was sparked by economic problems, political repression, and a desire for democracy, it found a strong and surprising voice in a new form of music for Bangladesh: rap. Two songs, “Kotha Ko” (Speak Up) and “Awaz Utha” (Raise Your Voice), came to represent the sentiment of the movement in July.

1m ago

Sandwip and the collapse of Portuguese ambition

In his analysis of the Estado da Índia, which was the official name of the Portuguese Empire, George Winius distinguished between the formal administration by the Estado’s headquarters at Goa over overseas possessions and the ‘informal empire’, which he called the ‘shadow empire’, that the Portuguese established in the Bay of Bengal. The shadow empire was a unique experiment carried out by sailors, merchant adventurers, pirates, and missionaries, with little formal sanction either from Goa or from Portugal.

1m ago

Muktadhara: How Tagore Exposed the Tyranny of Nationalism

Rabindranath Tagore, whose genius touched nearly every branch of the arts and literature, left an indelible imprint on the world of drama—not merely as a playwright, but as an actor, director, and visionary of the stage.

3m ago

In Search of Premodern Bengal’s Literary Treasures

With the passing of Professor Tony K. Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Humanities Emeritus, the field of South Asian religions, and more specifically, premodern Bengali literature, has lost one of its leading lights.

4m ago

Raja Pratapaditya Charitra and the Birth of Bengali History Writing

The writing of history in the Bengali language by a Bengali began around 225 years ago with the publication of Raja Pratapaditya Charitra in 1801.

4m ago

The untold story of Franklin Book Dhaka: In the shadow of the cold war

The Cold War was a war of armaments and ideologies—but it was also a war of words, fought in classrooms, libraries, and on the printed page.

4m ago