MAN MATHA NATH Podder's Nautica sneakers betray his Big Apple street cred. He is quite well off—in New York, he lives in a condo, not an apartment. “I would rather stay here,” says Podder, who came back to Bangladesh just to vote.
“In Gopalganj, we are mad for Sheikh Hasina,” he asserts. Podder was a schoolteacher and the Awami League upazila chairman for years. He remembers 1971, the fight for freedom, and the devastation of the death of Sheikh Mujib three and a half years later.
For Podder, this election is personal. “We remember the times when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was in power,” he says. “Khaleda Zia tortured Hindus; our women were raped, our houses burnt and our land seized.” Especially in Gopalganj 3, a constituency with the largest presence of Hindus, a vote for Hasina is also a vote against this threat.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin January 07, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin January 07, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Forging the future
As the curtain falls on 2024, I take pride in the extraordinary milestones achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This year stands as a testament to the Modi government's resolve to forge a resilient and forward-looking Bharat. From groundbreaking advancements in infrastructure to visionary global initiatives, these efforts resonate deeply with the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Our strange democracy
Abraham Lincoln is lauded as among the very best presidents the US ever had: the statesman par excellence successfully steered the nation through the devastating and perilous years of the American civil war. Not only did Lincoln manage to keep his country united, he also ensured the passage of the 13th amendment to the US constitution, which abolished slavery.
Five years of post-pandemic fashion
It has been five years since we discovered what Covid-19 was, and five years since it disrupted the world forever. The World Health Organization activated their emergency systems on January 1, 2020, and informed the world by January 4, 2020. By the end of that week, they had set guidelines for various countries to follow. Comparable to the Spanish flu of 1918, more than 7 million people have died of Covid according to official data. Unofficially, no one has an idea. WHO has just this week asked China to provide critical data to understand the virus's origins as a “moral and scientific imperative”.
Community spirit
Rhythm of Dammam opens a window to the world of African-origin Siddis of Uttara Kannada
'Breaking' down a scandal
Society Girl is not just a case study of a high-profile death in Pakistan but also a stark commentary on media trials
Progress card
Jasmine Shah's book tells you what the AAP has achieved in Delhi in the last 10 years
SENSE IN NONSENSE
In his latest book of poetry, Ruskin Bond is at his funniest
Get ready for Trump bump
The ‘butterfly effect’ is a beautiful, mysterious metaphor of the planet’s interconnectedness.
QUIET FLOWS THE FAITH
The melding of an ancient amorphous faith and the latest science; of an antique tradition and new practices; ways of life older than memory and new expressions is happening at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
Trash to treasure
How a weed-choked Dal Lake spurred Maninder Singh's journey to become a waste management visionary
