The Scandal at the Bay: How Dhaka’s Diplomacy unravelled

Jahanara Nuri 4 April 2025

A storm erupted when Bangladesh's Press Wing hastily responded to Tulsi Gabbard’s comments on minority issues. Ignoring protocol, the response fuelled ongoing "hate India" sentiments, deepening political and religious divides. Gabbard’s oversimplification of the 1971 Liberation War clashed with its complex realities, creating further misunderstanding. Islamists seized the moment, adding fuel to the fire. As crackdowns on the Awami League intensified, Dhaka’s diplomatic fragility was exposed— a bitter lesson in the dangers of reckless rhetoric. The Head of the Press Wing of the Interim Government received a new crown: "Enemy of the People", whose mantra became: "Blame your opposition for the crimes you commit."

4 April 2025

PART 1 One. A single spark can set a forest ablaze. A single word, misplaced, can unravel years of diplomacy. What unfolded was no ordinary misstep─ it was an act of unchecked enthusiasm, a leap before looking, A whisper that turned into crying in the middle of the night. The storm began with a statement—seemingly harmless. It was meant to fall into the right hands, yet perhaps because it landed in the wrong ones, it became a matchstick struck against dry kindling. Neither the Press Secretary, who played a starring role in this drama, nor his employer, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, seemed to remember this childhood lesson: Too much of anything is perilous. With one impulsive stroke, Dhaka’s diplomacy was cast into turbulent waters. Some whispered it was reckless; others suspected it was deliberate. Two. An encounter with a spy chief March 12, 2025 - South Asia. In the front page splash of Indian media heat a news─ Ms. Tulsi Gabbard,

the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, the first woman to hold the role, and a combat veteran─ was the first Trump administration official to set foot in India, since January, 2020. India, a pivotal U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific, was poised to play a central role in Tulsi Gabbard's diplomatic agenda. On February 12, she etched her name in history as the first U.S. official to meet with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House, just days before his high-stakes discussions with President Donald Trump. On March 18, 2025, she delivered a significant address at the esteemed Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, focusing on "Global Security and Minority Protection in South Asia." As India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, the Raisina Dialogue brings together global leaders to discuss pressing international issues. (Rezaul H. Lashkar, Mar 12, 2025, Hindustan Times). *** Her personal connection to Hinduism runs deep. Raised by a mother who embraced the faith and passed it…

Bangladesh, Dr Yunus, Opinion, Politics

Inside Yunus’s ‘meticulously designed’ theory

Ezaz Mamun 3 April 2025

Many world leaders believed that Dr Yunus’s Grameen Bank has the transformative power of microfinance, allowing millions to access credit and enhance their livelihoods. While this remains a debatable theoretical aspect, through Grameen Bank, Dr Yunus has built a strong network and engaged in lobbying with numerous leaders and institutions, some of which have garnered recognition for questionable activities.

3 April 2025

At the beginning, I want to point out an issue associated with quotas for jobs that some media outlets and certain citizens in Bangladesh view as the root cause of the current situation in Bangladesh.Bangladesh’s socioeconomic condition is characterised by significant disparities, with marginalised communities often left behind regarding opportunities and resources. The quota system for jobs was established to address this imbalance by ensuring representation for these groups, including ethnic minorities, women, and descendants of freedom fighters. However, all the quotas were revoked following a student movement a few years back. Following a court’s verdict to reinstate the quota system for jobs, students argued during the July 2024 student movement that it had transformed into a mechanism that perpetuated inequality and stifled meritocracy while depriving talented individuals of their rights, demanding an end to quotas for the descendants of freedom fighters. Initially, the motives behind the July student movement appeared straightforward. However, after months of observation, people in Bangladesh

are now convinced that the July 2024 movement was a facade aimed at undermining the country’s revered liberation spirit. Identifying the mechanisms behind the scenes from the movement’s outskirts proved challenging, as the cunning and ill-motivated student leaders mimicked national sentiments with ‘meticulously designed’ tactics and conspiracies. At the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting in the United States in September last year, Bangladesh’s interim government Chief, Dr Muhammad Yunus, revealed that the mechanism for ousting Hasina was well planned. Dr Yunus stated, “It was a meticulously designed thing. It just didn’t happen suddenly. Very welldesigned. Even the leadership didn’t know (him), so they could not catch him.” He unveiled the mastermind behind these actions. By acknowledging this subterfuge, Dr Yunus categorically told us a hidden story of miscreants who are actively conspiring against Bangladesh. However, there is also an immense possibility that Dr Yunus is directly involved in the processes and conspiracy to oust Sheikh Hasina and her government. Dr…

Current Affairs, Liberation War, Opinion, Politics, War

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s Independence: Honouring the Past and Addressing Present Challenges

Robi Das 25 March 2025

This article has two parts. The first part describes the black night of March 25, the early morning of March 26 and the declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part discusses the importance of the great Independence Day in the present context, the need to recognize the genocide in Bangladesh, and how to spread the true history of Independence Day among future generations.

25 March 2025

People lit candles in front of Saheed Minar. https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/ddwxg5f9s8

Today is March 25, the National Genocide Day and tomorrow is the Great Independence Day of Bangladesh. I begin by respectfully recalling all the martyrs indiscriminately killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators on the black night of March 25, 1971. I also pay my homage to the martyrs and Beerangonas who sacrificed everything for the independence of Bangladesh. I pay my respects to the great hero of the nation's liberation, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, without whom we cannot imagine the great liberation war of Bangladesh. Since August 5, last year, a lot has happened in Bangladesh. The country is now gripped by the controversial and violent activities of militant groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jamaat-e-Islami, AB Party, and other right-wing groups, including the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP). The hyenas of 1971 have returned, and the ghosts of the Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces, are trying

to forcibly establish extreme right-wing religious ideology, undermining the ideals of the great liberation war, democracy, socialism, and secularism. The destruction of Bangabandhu's historic house at Dhanmondi 32 exemplifies this. Bangabandhu's home has been attacked twice, and we lost Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on August 15, 1975. Despite our best efforts, we cannot bring back the Father of the Nation, Bangamata, little Russell, Sheikh Kamal, and Sheikh Jamal. However, the house remained until the old neo-Razakar parties destroyed it, fearing that Bangabandhu's voice would declare independence again from house number 32, inspiring brave Bengalis to roar against the defeated power of 1971 and restore the ideals of the great liberation war. The article has two parts. The first part describes the black night of March 25, the early morning of March 26 and the declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part discusses the importance of the great Independence Day…

Journalism, Politics, Review

Investigating Al Jazeera’s ‘investigation’: an open letter to David Bergman

Rayhan Rashid 19 February 2021

Every country, not just Bangladesh, needs a space for introspection on certain fundamental matters. These are, for example, power (and its abuse), influence (and its peddling), civil liberties (and its suppression), privacy (and surveillance), probity, integrity, transparency etc. While conscientious journalism serves as a catalyst for advancement, careless ones hinder it, as the latter kind diverts the very agenda of discourse that the media is supposed to engender.

19 February 2021

In a Facebook post (Feb 4), my brief take on the much talked about Al Jazeera documentary ("All the Prime Minister's Men") was: "It is something that could have been part of an important conversation, but merely ended up being a cheap sensationalisation of some majorly unsubstantiated claims based on heaps of unrelated information, false insinuations, and deliberately omitted contexts." (Link) You wrote to me, asking what I meant by that. Since this relates to a matter that is now subject of public debate, I thought it would make sense to respond in a public thread. I hope you would not object to such a public nature of engagement. First of all, thank you for your willingness to discuss the AJ piece. I hope this will shed some light on some of the whats, whys, and hows of the documentary that many like me are curious about. I have noted your assessment of the documentary in an interview (Link) where

you attested the claims made in the programme as "well substantiated." So, I decided to watch the documentary for a second time just to be sure that we are referring to the same work, and found myself in agreement with you regarding its "sleek production quality" at least. It indeed gives the feel of watching a "thriller", as you rightly described. With regard to its content, however, I wish I could share your glowing verdict. Regrettably, the artistic liberty the makers took so abundantly in its treatment of "facts/evidence", did not quite make up for the journalistic rigour which the documentary generally lacked. Before elaborating why I found this documentary unsubstantiated, let me make a few things clear. I believe, every country, not just Bangladesh, needs a space for introspection on certain fundamental matters. These are, for example, power (and its abuse), influence (and its peddling), civil liberties (and its suppression), privacy (and surveillance), probity, integrity, transparency etc. While conscientious…