Tech
Teaching Tech in Bangla: Mojahidul Islam’s Mission to Empower a Digital Generation
Published
1 year agoon

For most authors, publishing a book is a dream tucked between the pages of hope. For a lucky few, that dream blossoms into a booming business. In the literary world where imagination meets economics, royalties act as the lifeline—connecting the soul of art to the reality of income. One remarkable example of this fusion is Md. Mojahidul Islam, widely recognized as the bestselling author of Bangla-language ICT books.
In the early 2000s, the digital world looked nothing like today. Internet access in Bangladesh was scarce, and computers were considered elite possessions. Public understanding of technology was limited—Facebook hadn’t gone global, YouTube was a concept unborn, and e-learning was still a whisper on the wind. Amid this tech twilight, Mojahidul Islam emerged in 2003 as one of the pioneering authors writing about computers in Bangla. At a time when technical resources in the native language were nearly non-existent, his work became a light for countless learners navigating a dark, unfamiliar terrain.
Known fondly as “Dheow” by his readers, Mojahidul Islam took the dense, jargon-heavy language of information technology and translated it into something students and young professionals could actually understand. His mission was simple but powerful: make ICT education accessible in Bangla. The impact was huge, earning him national recognition and a series of awards for his contributions to tech education.
Back then, the ICT sector in Bangladesh was still crawling. Most computer training materials were in English, and even those were hard to come by. Internet costs were sky-high, and trained instructors were few and far between. Mojahidul, a computer science graduate, saw this gaping need and decided to write Bangla tech books to fill the void. His books quickly gained popularity not just in Bangladesh but also across West Bengal, India. Within the first six months of launching his initial titles, he was receiving positive reviews—and by the end of the first year, he had sold over 30,000 copies, earning an impressive Tk 12,00,000 in royalties, more than his own annual salary at the time.
His books, published by major local publishers such as Systech and Gyankosh Prokashoni, often came bundled with CDs and earned him royalty rates as high as 30%—a rare feat in an industry where authors usually receive between 8% and 15%. This generous rate helped him become one of the most financially successful ICT writers in the Bangla language, with annual earnings exceeding Tk 3,00,000.
But for Mojahidul, the mission extended far beyond profit. He’s a firm believer in the power of ICT training to reshape futures. He advocates for government-supported programs to teach practical skills such as graphic design, SEO, web development, hardware repair, and e-commerce management. With nearly 70% of Bangladesh’s population—around 110 million people—under the age of 35, he emphasizes the urgency of offering educational resources in Bangla to ensure inclusive growth.
Despite having over 350 million Bangla speakers worldwide, Bangla still lacks significant representation in tech and digital content. Mojahidul calls for a collaborative push involving government agencies, linguists, tech experts, and researchers to elevate the status of the Bangla language in the digital domain.
His bestselling titles include Practical Networking Handbook, Swapner Career, 7 Days to Web Design: Dreamweaver MX, and Mastering E-Commerce. These books have not only shaped personal careers but have also been integrated into public training initiatives. For example, in 2007, the Department of Youth Development purchased his books to train unemployed youth in computer basics and troubleshooting. In 2017, the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics procured his works for use in school computer labs, helping build the ICT capacity of educators across the country.
Reflecting on his journey, Mojahidul shares that it all began with a realization: there was a massive gap in ICT awareness. So, he started writing. Over time, his focus shifted from translating existing content to crafting original works designed specifically for the young and unemployed—those who needed both knowledge and direction. He strongly believes that tech education can transform idle youth into active problem-solvers and contributors to national progress.
Beyond being a bestselling author, Mojahidul Islam is also known for his journalism and advocacy for digital education. He highlights the global demand for freelancers and insists that with proper training, even moderately educated individuals—homemakers, students, rural youth—can thrive as freelancers or entrepreneurs. This, he argues, can revolutionize economic independence in Bangladesh.
However, he also points out the elephant in the room: employment. Despite a surge in university graduates, job opportunities haven’t kept pace. Many young people, especially from lower and middle-income families, are leaving cities due to financial stress or looking abroad for work. Bangladesh’s youth bulge—46% of the population—is a ticking clock. If the government doesn’t invest in scalable, skill-based education soon, the demographic advantage could slip away.
He laments that while education has expanded, it often lacks depth. Many sectors still rely on foreign expertise because our training models emphasize rote learning instead of practical, job-ready skills. To counter this, he urges a focus on innovation in education, especially ICT-based training in Bangla.
Mojahidul’s success didn’t happen overnight. “I treat writing like a business,” he says. “I invest in editing, design, and marketing. And above all, I show up consistently.” Industry statistics reveal that fewer than 10% of authors in Bangladesh earn more than Tk 3,00,000 per year—usually by writing multiple books and taking charge of their own promotion. Mojahidul is living proof that with persistence and strategy, writing can become a full-time, financially sustainable profession.
To him, success in writing isn’t just about putting words on paper. It’s about creating a brand, cultivating readers, and understanding the economics of publishing. His story is a testament to how storytelling—when blended with smart planning—can lead to both impact and income. In a world where dreams are often dismissed, Mojahidul Islam reminds us that books can indeed turn into businesses, and passion can absolutely pay the bills.
Tech
A10 Networks Expands its Cybersecurity Portfolio with Acquisition of ThreatX Protect
Published
3 months agoon
March 13, 2025
ThreatX Protect Addresses Critical Need to Protect Against Evolving Application and API Security Threats
To continue to help customers address the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape, A10 Networks has acquired the assets and key personnel of ThreatX Protect expanding its cybersecurity portfolio with web application and API protection (WAAP). The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to A10’s earnings per share in 2025 and has closed.
Attacks against web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) are on the rise and are a significant threat to enterprises. ThreatX Protect provides a unique WAAP solution using behavioral and risk profiling to help protect enterprises from evolving threats, including threats to AI applications, which can complement an AI firewall. Delivered as a software-as-a service solution, ThreatX Protect includes API protection, bot management and next-generation web application firewall.
“Expanding the A10 Defend security portfolio with ThreatX Protect gives our customers an additional tool in their strategy to protect against new and evolving threats,” said Dhrupad Trivedi, president and CEO, A10 Networks. “Our strategic focus is on helping enterprises secure their applications and networks from the growing number of threats today, as well as protecting the emerging AI use cases of the future. Adding WAAP to our solution set gives customers additional capabilities to help establish a strong security posture.”
“We are thrilled that A10 Networks has acquired certain assets of ThreatX, including the brand and the TX Protect WAAP solution to expand A10’s security portfolio,” said Gene Fay, CEO of ThreatX. “A10 has been a fantastic partner throughout this process, and we are confident that our customers and employees will thrive under their leadership.”
As a result of this transition, the remaining assets of ThreatX will be launched as Run Security with TX Prevent, the cutting-edge eBPF-based solution re-launched as RS Prevent.
ThreatX Protect supports A10’s strategy of helping customers deploy A10 security solutions in a hybrid approach to protect apps and APIs running anywhere – public cloud, private cloud, co- location facilities or on-premises. The A10 Defend portfolio of solutions provides DDoS protection, DDoS threat intelligence and web application, and now adds a full-featured WAAP solution all integrated into a single platform with end-to-end delivery and stronger security for mission-critical applications.
Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is consistent with A10’s stated strategy of expanding the Company’s security portfolio to grow in the enterprise market. The acquisition does not represent a material change to the Company’s 2025 financial outlook or long-term business model.
Tech
Rampant Corruption Plagues ICT Sector in 15 years : White Paper
Published
6 months agoon
December 3, 2024
Highlights
- ICT sector plagued by corruption
- Hi-Tech parks fail to attract investors
- Lack of transparency in project implementation
- Misuse of funds to benefit preferred vendors
- Calls for robust project evaluations
The White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy, submitted to the Chief Adviser today (1 December), identified the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as one of the most affected by corruption.
“The review of the White Paper puts the banking sector on top of the most corruption-ravaged sectors, followed by physical infrastructure, and energy and power,” it reads.
ICT was also identified as one of the most corruption-affected sectors by its operational and technological novelty, it added.
The White Paper committee’s comment highlights years-long corruption allegations in the key sector the Awami League pledged to improve during the 2008 election for the sake of national progress.
And the story later frustrated the youth and technology experts due to huge waste of taxpayers’ money in improper projects. These lacked transparencies and were alleged to benefit people close to the then regime.
In the one and half decades of Sheikh Hasina’s ruling, the state spent nearly Tk29,000 crore to build “Digital Bangladesh” and later “Smart Bangladesh by 2041.”
Most of the funds were allocated to infrastructure projects, which still require justification from sector experts. For instance, Hi Tech parks outside major cities barely attracted investors.
Government-funded projects aimed at youth ICT training, women empowerment, and local app and game development, costing hundreds of crores of Taka, appear to have primarily benefited officials and their preferred vendors, reveals the gradually unfolding facts.
The interim government in August formed a committee to evaluate the ongoing projects already recommended to downsize them in lots of unjustified cases. It will also dig deeper to find the anomalies in the already finished projects.
In an example of how the government projects were being justified in questioned ways, the white paper mentioned a 2013-18 ICT Division project “Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment, and Governance Projects” that had a 43% cost increase to Tk774 crore, from its original budget of Tk521.97 crore.
According to the White Paper, the large capacity-building initiative aimed to promote the IT sector and train 30,000 individuals for employment within it. The evaluation report from the Planning Ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division showed strong satisfaction with the project’s success.
However, it overlooked the contributions of training institutions, colleges, and universities that also played a role in advancing the sector, the White Paper stated.
Additionally, the quality of the evaluation report was inadequate, as it failed to distinguish the marginal impacts of training 30,000 individuals on the entire IT sector.
This analytical weakness in assessing the project’s impacts has contributed to the continuation of various ICT and other projects that lack tangible benefits.
“It highlights the need for more robust evaluations to ensure that future initiatives are grounded in a clear understanding of their actual contributions to the sector,” said the White Paper.
Bangladesh lags behind many comparator countries in a number of technological indexes, despite the digital and smart nation narratives.
Tech
Corruption behind Tk 650bn investment in telecom, ICT sectors
Published
6 months agoon
December 3, 2024
ICT Advisor Nahid Islam has said due to ‘irregularities’, Bangladesh has not realised the full benefits of the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ initiative despite a substantial investment of Tk 650 billion in the telecommunications and ICT sectors under the Awami League government.
Speaking at an ADP review meeting at the Posts and Telecommunication Division on Monday, Nahid criticised the execution of numerous costly projects under the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ banner which, according to him, failed to deliver their promised impact.
From fiscal year 2010-11 to 2024-25, the ICT Division implemented projects worth Tk 250 billion, while the Posts and Telecommunications Division accounted for projects totaling Tk 400 billion.
Despite these investments, Bangladesh scored a modest 62 out of 100 in the June 2024 edition of the ICT Development Index by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, trailing behind nations such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Vietnam, and Bhutan.
Highlighting the country’s technological lag, Nahid referenced the May 2024 Ookla Speedtest Global Index, where Bangladesh ranked 109th out of 147 countries in internet speed, below Kenya.
Also, Bangladesh placed 108th in broadband internet performance, with India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana all performing better.
In the realm of artificial intelligence, the IMF’s June 2024 Artificial Intelligence Preparedness Index placed Bangladesh 113th, again behind India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana.
The Digital Quality of Life Index 2023 by cybersecurity firm Surfshark saw Bangladesh drop five notches to 82nd among 121 countries, with internet speed 5 percent below the global average.
Rankings in the Key Government Index, e-security, and internet purchasing capacity were similarly below par.
Nahid also pointed out that Bangladesh lags in freelancing, ranked 29th among the top 30 global destinations, as per an April 2024 report by US-based CEOWORLD magazine, trailing behind India and Pakistan.
These indicators, according to Nahid, reflect not just the failure to enjoy the full benefits of digital initiatives but also suggest pervasive irregularities in the sector.
He criticised the frequent delays and the need for repeated extensions in project timelines, calling for more sensible proposals regarding extensions.
Nahid emphasised that timely and proper project completion could significantly propel the nation’s progress in internet and telecommunication sectors, benefitting all Bangladeshis.
The meeting disclosed that nine projects are currently underway within the four offices of the Posts and Telecommunications Division for the fiscal year 2024-25, involving entities such as Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, or BTCL, Teletalk Bangladesh Limited, the Directorate of Posts, and Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC.
As of August 2024, national-level project progress for the fiscal year was reported at 1.02 percent, with the Posts and Telecommunications Division achieving a progress rate of 3.84 percent.

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