Netra News obituary for the first female prime minister of Bangladesh She became only the second woman ever elected prime minister in a Muslim-majority country, leading a party that liked to cast itself as the centre-right antidote to the Awami League’s secular nationalism. By the time her Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned to power in 2001,… Read More Begum Khaleda Zia, the walking contradiction
Protestors near Dhaka’s famous Shahbagh intersection has called for the formation of a “revolutionary government”. Bharat Bhushan The political situation in Bangladesh is increasingly unpredictable as some are using the violence following the assassination of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi as an argument to stall the general election due in February 2026. Protestors near Dhaka’s famous Shahbagh… Read More Bangladesh Unravels, Even as Indian Diplomacy Continues to Falter
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By Irfan Chowdhury / Sapan News Citizens to Traitors: Bengali Internment in Pakistan 1971-1974By Ilyas Chattha; Cambridge University Press, 2025 Growing up in the 1980s in Bangladesh, I had heard many stories of the 1971 war. I knew about the Bengalis working, for example, in the civil service of Pakistan, like my uncle who was stranded with… Read More Silences within silences: excavating the hidden history of Bengalis interned in Pakistan after 1971
Earlier this year, Bangladesh asked Pakistan for a formal apology for the 1971 war crimes. But responsibility for the massacre of civilians does not rest with Pakistan alone. Ramesh Sharma’s latest documentary ‘Chronicles of the Forgotten Genocide’ looks at the role of the US in the violence that accompanied the birth of Bangladesh. The Emmy-nominated filmmaker… Read More The puppet-masters behind the Bangladesh genocide of 1971: Interview with Ramesh Sharma
++++++Readers outside of India can donate hereto support Mainstream Weeklyhttps://tinyurl.com/2rsy4ss6++++++ In this issue DOCUMENTS: BOOKS IMAGE & SOUND Editor’s Picks: Books of Note
Readers outside of India can donate hereto support Mainstream Weeklyhttps://tinyurl.com/2rsy4ss6++++++ In this issue IMAGE & SOUND Editor’s Picks: Books of Note https://mainstreamweekly.net/article16391.html
NB: Either you’ve never heard of these events and happenings – or, even if you have, they are not spoken about much. The younger generation, the ones who will live through more of this century than I will, may find these matters to be necessary knowledge. I will add to this list from time to… Read More Things the mainstream don’t talk about
There is one recurring theme: Young people feel robbed of their future Pratap Bhanu Mehta NB: A timely and typically thought-provoking essay by this scholar. I add some observations below 1/ The crisis of the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the Trilateral Commission’s 1975 report on The Crisis of Democracy, authored by Samuel Huntington et… Read More Nepal, France, America: democracy seems overtaken once more
Its impact on Pakistan’s citizens is an important issue, but not the only one. At stake are India’s water sharing agreements with Nepal and Bangladesh. Bharat Bhushan Despite public enthusiasm in India about the Indus Waters Treaty being held in abeyance, the move is strategically flawed, and will have adverse consequences for India in the region.… Read More Weaponising Indus Waters Treaty is a strategic mistake
After the truth-shower 