On April 11, India, home to 150 million Muslims,  began holding its general election amidst allegations of state sanctioned Islamophobia, voter suppression, and widespread disinformation. On the ballot is the ruling BJP, running on a platform that intentionally others Muslims, Dalits and minorities within the country.

যুগে যুগে বিভিন্ন অর্থনীতিবিদ তাদের যুগান্তকারী ধারণা দিয়ে অর্থনীতির পথচলায় এনেছেন আমূল পরিবর্তন। আমরা তাদের বিভিন্ন তত্ত্ব নিয়ে হরহামেশ কথা বললেও তাদের পরিচয় মাঝে মাঝে ভুলে যাই। তাই আমাদের এই লেখা তাদের অবদানকে আরেকবার মনে করিয়ে দেয়ার জন্য। এ পর্যায়ে আমরা আলোচনা করবো চার যুগান্তকারী অর্থনীতিবিদ নিয়ে।  

​সাধারণত অর্থনীতিকে খুব একঘেয়ে একটি বিষয় হিসেবে সবাই বিবেচনা করেন। তার যথেষ্ট কারণও রয়েছে। সমীকরণ ও গ্রাফের আধিক্যের কারণে বিষয়টি সুখপাঠ্য নয়। তবে অর্থনীতি আমাদের জীবনের সাথে অঙ্গাঙ্গীভাবে জড়িত। অর্থনীতি ব্যাখ্যা করতে পারে সমাজ, জাতি, রাজনীতি থেকে শুরু করে মানুষের আচরণকেও। সেই বিশ্লেষণী ক্ষমতা অর্জনের পথে প্রথম ধাপ হচ্ছে বই পড়া। আজকে অর্থনীতি বিষয়ক অবশ্যপাঠ্য সেরকম নয়টি বই নিয়েই আমাদের লেখা।    

December, 1971. A nine-month long war of independence just ended for Bangladesh, resulting in their victory. The people had their own country and the long-awaited independence in exchange of about 3 million martyrs. But there were greater problems ahead. While there were broken infrastructures, homeless families, orphaned children and other socio-economic aspects that needed to be taken care of, there were a huge number of wartime rape victims with unwanted pregnancies as well. Official and unofficial records suggest that around 400,000 women were victims of rape and assault by the Pakistan Military during the war. The ones that survived, had even greater misfortunes ahead. While their physical health deteriorated as a result of months of brutal torture, the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was also very prominent for obvious reasons. The societal norms of victim shaming prevailed in almost all classes and this resulted in the survivors committing suicides, as well as killing the new-born babies from the pregnancies. Many died by initiating their own abortions.

​Tax, the prime source of revenue collection for the government, has been playing a great role in supporting country’s development expenditures which substantially improves the infrastructure and facilitates smooth economic growth of the country. The ever increasing demand for development activities of the government has placed the taxation at the top of the list of sources of fund. In total revenue collection of the government, the taxation contributes nearly 90% and rest is contributed by Non -NBR revenue.

It's the ICC Cricket World Cup season again. And you could walk through the streets of Dhaka only to find people gathering outside the tv showrooms. All curious eyes trying to look through the fancy glass walls. Passers-by from the slow-moving traffic throwing random questions of “What’s the score? Can we win today?” I don’t want to be “that guy” but hey! life in South Asia is hard. There’s unbearable traffic congestion, extreme air pollution, and of course millions of people surviving life on a day to day basis living with less than a dollar income. And cricket matches are the only possible solace for hundreds of thousands of people like us living in this part of the world. Amidst all these, the few times we feel better about our state is when Bangladesh snatches a victory against the English in a World Cup Tournament. Because? Well, because it is an easy validation that we require.