Daily Briefing: What’s happening in Bangladesh?

On that note, let’s get to the rest of the edition👇

🚨 Big Story

Unrest has once again gripped Bangladesh in the run-up to the February elections. Violent protests broke out after the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the student leaders behind the July uprising. On Monday, another young leader, Motaleb Sikder, of the National Citizen Party, was shot at by miscreants. He was injured in the head and is currently out of danger, according to media reports.

Tit for tat: Bangladesh has “temporarily suspended” consular and visa services in Delhi and Tripura, citing “unavoidable circumstances”. This came a day after India halted its visa operations in Chittagong due to a “security incident” at the Assistant High Commission.

Zoom out: Post-revolutionary violence threatens the country’s stability, essential for free and fair elections. These will be the first polls since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster and 15 years of the Awami League’s rule. The only remaining legacy party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is eager to fill that void, while other stakeholders, the NCP and JeI, have sought postponed elections. Notably, BNP de facto chief Tarique Rehman is set to return to the country after 18 years of exile. Bashir Ali Abbas gives you a comprehensive view of what’s happening in the neighbourhood.

Also read: In Bangladesh, fake promises and a false enemy by Pankaj Saran

🎧 For more updates from Bangladesh, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

⚡Only in Express

In September 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged out of his home and lynched by a mob over suspicions that he had killed a calf. Two years later, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to two of the accused, recording the defence’s key argument that the prosecution witnesses’ statements had inconsistencies. At the time, the Uttar Pradesh government had vehemently opposed bail. Now, it is making essentially the same argument to withdraw the cases against the accused. Kunain Sheriff M reports.

📰 From the Front Page

It’s a wrap: India and New Zealand have concluded the negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement in a record nine months. The deal is expected to be signed in 2-3 months after “legal scrubbing”. India has reduced tariffs on 95% of New Zealand products, while New Zealand has agreed to remove caps on Indian student visas, easing immigration.

Fast-track: The Enforcement Directorate has long faced criticism over pending trials and slow investigations. That may be about to change. ED Director Rahul Navin is learnt to have told officers to focus on completing investigations and filing prosecution complaints rather than just registering cases. He has also asked officials not to devote their time to “political” cases alone but to focus on contemporary crimes such as cyber frauds and crypto scams.

Remove: The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued as many as 91 takedown notices to the X Corp, owners of the platform earlier known as Twitter, through its Sahyog portal launched in March 2024. The government flagged 1,100 URLs. Over half of them were flagged for “disturbing public order”, and at least 124 for targeting politicians and public figures. X’s challenge to the portal’s legitimacy is pending before the Karnataka High Court.

📌 Must Read

The long and short of it: The new legal definition of the Aravalli Hills that leaves out large tracts of land from protection has stirred up protests and criticisms across the country. The Union Environment Ministry has, however, said that there was no “imminent threat to the Aravallis’ ecology” and that mining would be permissible in only 0.19% of the Aravalli’s total expanse. Jay Mazoomdaar analyses how the new definition changes the profile of the Hills, and why the threat goes beyond just mining.

Dialogue: The BJP’s “Samwad” initiative in Madhya Pradesh was meant to open direct lines between state ministers and grassroots workers. But weeks in, the experiment appears to be unravelling. Local party workers say they return from these meetings empty-handed, their pleas — from withdrawing police cases to transferring officials — going unheard. Behind the closed doors of power, a growing frustration is brewing, with workers whispering about a “tyranny of the administration”.

Friendly fights? The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Maharashtra’s recent local body polls, signalling its growing reach beyond cities into rural and semi-urban areas. It outpaced not just the Opposition but also its own allies. With a clear headstart ahead of the January 15 corporation polls, including the high-stakes BMC, could strains within the alliance still trip it up? Shubhangi Khapre decodes.

⏳ And Finally…

Sixteen years after James Cameron unleashed the visual and technical brilliance of Avatar onto the world, the third film in the franchise, ‘Fire and Ash’, was released in theatres last week. Despite the films’ box office dominance, discussions around the franchise focus on the perceived lack of its cultural dominance. Does Avatar have a cultural footprint? And does it matter? Dive in.

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

Business As Usual by EP Unny