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Himal: Politics Nepal’s brutal history of police violence in the Madhesh by Anjali Sah

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  ON THE NIGHT of 26 July, a dispute between Hindus and Muslims over religious flags and loud music in Dewanganj, a municipality in Sunsari district of Nepal’s Tarai, ended with the police opening fire. Nepal Police first fired warning shots to disperse the crowd; when that failed, the Armed Police Force opened fire with live rounds. Around 25 rounds were fired in total, leaving ten people injured and three men dead: 30-year-old Om Prakash Mehta, killed on the spot; 25-year-old Jay Prakash Mehta, who died of his injuries three days later; and 21-year-old Rabindra Mehta, shot in the left thigh, who died in Kathmandu on 4 August after the wound turned septic and led to organ failure following an amputation. As anger over the shootings mixed with rising communal tensions, unrest spread across parts of the Tarai. Authorities imposed curfews and prohibitory orders in Sunsari before extending restrictions to other towns in Madhesh as fresh clashes erupted. On 30 July, in Golbazar munici...
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Bangladesh-India Border killing segment removed from July Museum, Nahid alleges

  National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam today (8 August) alleged that the segment on killings along the Indian border and the list of Bangladeshis who died in such incidents, which existed in the July Memorial Museum during the interim government’s tenure, has been removed under the current government.  “The list of Bangladeshis killed in border shootings and the memorial for Felani have been removed from the museum. Meanwhile, the current government has increased its own party-related content,” Nahid told reporters after visiting the museum this morning. He said during the rule of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, all authoritarian decisions, including looting of people’s money, used to be taken from Ganabhaban. The interim government had planned to convert the building into a museum. “We spoke extensively both in parliament and outside for the museum to be opened to the public. I had visited here before as well. Some changes have been made by the government af...
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In conversation with Harbans Mukhia by Priyam Paul

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  Harbans Mukhia, one of the foremost historians of medieval India and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, talks to The Daily Star about writing medieval Indian history, the evolution of historiography, and the role of imagination in understanding the past. The Daily Star (TDS): Let us begin with your intellectual journey. What led you to become a historian of medieval India? Harbans Mukhia (HM): What turned me into a historian of medieval India was primarily the influence of my guru, the pathbreaking historian Dr K. M. Ashraf, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Delhi University. He was the first historian to pioneer the study of the history of the people in medieval India, especially during the period of the Delhi Sultanate, with his PhD thesis, Life and Conditions of the People of India , submitted to the University of London as early as 1928. I had enrolled for a BA (Hons) in History in 1956, following the popular belief that the discipline const...
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Congress Must Act After Leaked Image Shows Elderly Palestinian Men Before Execution by Israeli Forces in Gaza

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  August 8, 2026 4:11 pm The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Congress to immediately suspend U.S. military aid to Israel in response to a newly-leaked image of elderly Palestinians who were reportedly used as human shields by Israeli forces in Gaza and then executed . In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said: “These elderly Palestinian men were reportedly used as human shields by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza and then executed after they had served their purpose. The image documenting their final moments should shock the conscience of every member of Congress. These were human beings who deserved protection, not execution. “Congress cannot continue writing blank checks for a military force facing repeated reports of crimes against humanity. American taxpayers should not be financing weapons that may be used to facilitate genocide. “Silence is not neutrality when American w...
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Webinar announcement on August 11

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  BSPUA Webinar on Research Integrity and Article Retractions  Bangladesh Society for Private University Academics (BSPUA) is organizing a webinar on “Research Integrity and Article Retractions” as per the following schedule: Date: 11 August 2026  [Tuesday] Time: 8:00 PM (Bangladesh Time)    Keynote Speaker:  Prof. Syed Saad Andaleeb, PhD Distinguished Professor Emeritus Penn State University, USA & Former Vice-Chancellor, BRAC University, Dhaka   Platform:  Zoom  The Zoom link will be sent to registered participants via emails Registration: Complimentary   Registration Deadline: 10 August 2026, by 5:00 PM    Contact Numbers:  01687007704, 01820832827, 01840850009, 01911321211
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The July Revolution is hosted in New Orleans University

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The betrayal of the July spirit by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury

  The July Revolution began with the demand to end the unjust quota system. The nation, led by its youth, demanded fairness based on merit. Alas, ignoring this central aspiration for meritocracy, the BNP-led government announced on 23 July the appointment of party apparatchiks — loyal party officials — to head 11 state-owned corporations. Shamelessly, this betrayal occurred in July itself, as the nation was recommitting itself to the spirit of the July Revolution. In doing so, the BNP also violated its election manifesto, in which it pledged professionalism in state institutions and an end to politicisation. Its 12 February election manifesto said, “The BNP will ensure the effectiveness and accountability of the state administration, police, and other institutions by relying solely on integrity, competence, merit, qualifications, patriotism, and experience, without considering an individual’s beliefs or disbelief, or party loyalty.” This blatant violation came less than six months ...
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