Bangladesh, July 3 -- An article by Mohammad Habib Reza, "Reading Bengal beyond religious boundaries", appeared in The Daily Star on June 23, 2026. The writer is an architect, architectural historian and Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Design, BRAC University. I can only say that Bangladesh, historical Bangla (which includes West Bengal), BRAC University and I are all very lucky to have him.
Reading the article reconfirmed my existence as a Bengali. Here I was in Singapore, a probashi Bangali from Paschim Banga, encountering the beautiful Bengali mind and exquisite English language of a philosopher of geographical history - for that is what Professor Reza is - to discover what constitutes Bengal beyond its numerous re...