FREE DE SOUL

Topic: Literature, free expression, and self-censorship at the national book fair. The Ekushey Boi Mela at Bangla Academy is the cultural highlight of the year. For a month, thousands gather among stacks of new publications, poetry books, and essays. It feels like a celebration of the intellect. Yet, for freethinking writers and publishers, a shadow hangs over the stalls. Publishers carefully scan manuscripts, removing paragraphs that might provoke extremist backlashes or pol

Topic: Critiquing the political compromises of the state. The 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh proudly enshrined "Secularism" as one of its founding state principles. It was a noble vision forged in the fires of the Liberation War a nation defined by language and culture rather than religion. However, political opportunism over the decades chipped away at that foundation. Today, we live in a state that claims secularism in its preamble while maintaining a state religion and

Topic: Bengali secular identity vs. religious fundamentalism. Every April, as the Mangal Shobhajatra procession moves through the streets of Shahbagh filled with giant paper owls, tigers, and suns, a predictable debate reignites. Religious hardliners denounce the Bengali New Year festivities as un-Islamic, while secular citizens celebrate it as the heartbeat of our non-sectarian identity. This yearly tension highlights a core cultural struggle in Bangladesh. For atheists and