Administration and Its Political Environment in Bangladesh

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Administration and Its Political Environment in BangladeshAuthor(s): A. T. R. RahmanReviewed work(s):Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Summer, 1974), pp. 171-191Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British ColumbiaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2755606 .Accessed: 26/11/2011 06:10

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Administrationnd ts PoliticalEnvironmentn Bangladesh

A. T. R. Rahman

THIS ARTICLE endeavours o identify he changing relationships etweenadministration bureaucracy) nd its political environment nd their

future mplications or nstitution-building nd development n Bangladesh.*The analysis efines nly broad features nd deals with probabilities hichmay or may not prove to be accurate. he major trend noted s that, gen-erally speaking, dministration its values, patterns, eaders) dominatedEast Bengal's political nvironment rom he beginning f the British aysuntil the emergence f Bangladesh.Now there re strong ndications hatpolitics, specially he political party and interest-groups, ill probablycontrol he administration. he dominant pproach ollowed n the Britishdays, nd later n the Pakistan era, to the problems f order nd develop-ment was administrative.' he approach hat s likely o be crucial n thenation-building f Bangladesh will increasingly ecomepolitical.Assumingthis s an appropriate ay of viewing urrent hanges, he rticle xamines tsimplications or nstitution-building nd development nd finds potentialconflict, irst etween emocratic spirations nd partisan nstitution-building,and second, etween deology nd technocracy.

A wealth f iterature xists n the nter-relationship etween dministra-

tion, especially ureaucracy nd its political nvironments hree positionscan be identified. irst, he nstrumental pproach uggests hat dministra-tion, being the more developed sector by comparison with politics, anbecome an instrument or change through radiation" nd diffusion fvalues and through direct hanges n institutional tructures r practices.This is in line with the argument f many economists hat the modernsector f the economy an become a vehiclefor overall economicdevelop-

* This article s adapted from paper presented t the Ninth Annual Conference f BengalStudies, 8-30 April 1973. The author cknowledges ith gratitude he comments f severalexperts, specially rofessor oward Wriggins f Columbia University.

1The rulers of Pakistan depended mostly n government fficials, dministrative ech-anisms, nd bureaucratic rocesses n almost all phases in the resolution f important rob-lems. Retention f elite cadres and All-Pakistan ervices, ne Unit in West Pakistan, Ayub'srevival f the vice-regal model and Basic Democracies ystem, re all important llustrationsof the administrative pproach.

2 See, for example, he selections n Joseph a Palombara ed.), Bureaucracy nd PoliticalDevelopment Princeton, 963).

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ment. roceeding rom hereality f administrative ominancen manydevelopingountrieshe nstrumentalistosition rescribeshatmodernizingvalues, echniquesnd resources hould e poured,mainly hrough echnical

assistance,nto dministrativeectorso that t canallocatend diffuse heminto he various ectors f society. he second osition ecognizeshe ealityof administrative ominancen many new countries ut suggests hat tcannot ecome hedominant gent f modernization.or proper evelop-ment he political nvironment ustbe made at least s developedandperhapsmore) n terms f organization,kills, eadership,s the dministra-tive sector. he prescriptivespect f this position s to encourage hegrowth f formal olitical nstitutions,nterest-groupsnd political arties.

The third osition maintains n eclectic pproach nd generally voidscommitment or purposes f modernization o any specific attern frelationship etween dministrationnd its political nvironment.

The difficulty ith hese heoretical pproachess,that irst, ot noughempirical ata are available ovalidate he positions; econd,modernizingprocesseshemselvesave o far hown many ariationsn this elationship;third, he nalytic nd prescriptiveontents f these ositionsre sometimesinfluenced, ot by objective ata but by strategic onsiderationsf whatis feasible nder foreign id and technical ssistance rogrammes; ndfourth, evelopmentnd modernizationonot have ny ommonlygreedmeanings.

Administrationnd ts EcologynEastPakistanGenerally, bserversend o agree hat n Pakistan's rief istory, d-

ministrationndbureaucracyadmore nfluence han oliticsndpoliticiansin the verall unning f the ountry. ot only n the nternal anagementof ts ystems,roceduresndrelationships,ut lso n the ecisionsnvolvingbasic olitical,conomicnd ocialssues,he ureaucracyn association iththemilitary layed decisive ole. Many enior ureaucrats ovedntokeyruling ositions efore yub mposed hefirst Martial aw. During theAyub ra t wasagainthe bureaucrats hoplayed hemajorrole n thenational ecision-makingrocess. hings did not changemuch duringYahya's egime, lthough hemilitary eaders llegedlyet the outer imitsof the nfluence hatbureaucrats nd other roups ould exercise n thenational ystem. he administrationf the ountrysideor he whole eriod

of Pakistan's xistence as n the ole custody f bureaucrats,hough omeefforts ere made through he BasicDemocraciesystem o give localleaders reater esponsibilityhan hey ad had before.3

3SeveralCommission eports nd scholarly uthorities hat substantiate hesepoints n-clude: Rowland Egger, The Improvement f Public Administration n Pakistan (Karachi,1953); Bernard L. Gladieux,Reorganization f Pakistan Government or National Develop-ment. Mimeographed, ay 1955; The First Five-YearPlan, 1955-1960 (Karachi, 960); Re-

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Administration nd its Political Environment n BangladeshLet us now identify he major nstruments nd institutions hrough

which he dministrative ector as able to exercise ts dominant osition.Put negatively, hepolitical nvironment emained oorly rganized. he

ruling olitical arty id nothave ufficient rganization,kills nd resourcestoprovide reasonable asefor xercisingffectiveontrol ver he bureauc-racy. nterest-groups n the ociety ere not organized o any degree. hedominant uling modelwas the vice-regal ystem nd the experience fpolitical overnance f society as insignificant. ositively peaking, headministration aintainedts basic olonial eatures-hierarchy f services,limited nd strict ntry oints or ach service, lite-characterf superiorservicesthe CivilService f Pakistan eing he uper-elite). he structure

of the ervices rovided hebasicparameter ormobility, ommunication,and control unctions ithin he system nd for negotiation, argainingandadjustment ith xternal roups utside he ystem. he control y thesuper-eliteadrewas maintained irst, y the monopoly ccupancy f allkey dministrative ositions y ts members nd, second, y claiming orits members major nvolvement n the new development nstitutions.Thus, the CSP secured oper cent representationn the Economic ool,heldkeypositionsn the Planning ommission,nd claimed major hareof the hairmanships nd directorships f newpublic nterprises. he mem-bers f the bureaucracybtained he ion's hare f facilities, ften iventhrough oreign id, to develop ecessarykills, oth within nd outsidethe ountry, o that hey oulddo their ew obs well without ependingon expertise rom uch utside gencies s the universities.

While noting hat bureaucratic ominance ersisted n Pakistan,wemust lso admit hat t did not work unopposed. pposition ame fromseveral ources-politicians, rofessionalsespecially octors, ngineers ndteachers), nd astly tudents. everal nstances f such pposition re well-documented. ne of the majordemands f the 969 movement as thereorganizationf administration,speciallyhanging heruling rientationof senior ivilians, educingheoverall ower f bureaucracy nd develop-ing ess lass-orientednd more eople-orientedervices.

Changesn Bangladesh's dministrationnd ts Political nvironmentThe changes hat ave occurred nd arebeing ontemplatedn Bangla-

desh an be arranged nto wo ategories-internalwithin heAdministra-

tion tself) nd external in its political nvironment). mong ignificantport of the Pay and ServicesCommission, 959-i962 (Karachi, 962); Ralph Braibanti, e-search On The Bureaucracy f Pakistan (Durham, N.C., I966); Khalid B. Sayeed, ThePolitical ystem f Pakistan Boston, 967); Henry P. Goodnow, The CivilService f Pakistan,Bureaucracyn a New Nation New Haven, i964); Karl Von Vorys, oliticalDevelopment nPakistan Princeton, 965); Gustav F. Papanek, Pakistan's Development: ocial Goals andPrivate ncentives Cambridge,Mass., i967); Herbert eldman, Revolution n Pakistan Lon-don, i967); LawrenceZiring, he Ayub Khan Era (Syracuse, .Y., I971).

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PacificAffairsinternal hanges ne can note discontinuationf cadre dentity, bolitionofmonopolyontrol y he uper-elite adre n key dministrativeositions,inclusion f outside rofessionals n key development gencies e.g. the

Planning ommission), educed onstitutional uarantee f Serviceondi-tions, nd thepossibilityf radical eorganizationf ervices. ajor xternalchanges ppear o be the growth f onenear-monopolyolitical arty, hegradual evelopment f party-affiliatedrganizationsf key nterest-groups(e.g. students, outh, abour, tc.), and the ikely mergence f directlyelectedocal-governmentodies.All these hanges mayhave considerableimpact n the way government riorities re defined nd necessary ro-grammes replanned nd mplemented.

Public fficialsn Bangladesh o longer se cadre ffiliations or re thereservationsf posts trictly dhered o n the ppointment or pecificobs.True, manymembers f the former SP are now n top positions. hishappened ainly ecause hey re mong he ery ew rained dministratorsthe country owhas. t is also true, owever, hatmoremembers f theProvincial ivil Service re now in key secretariat nd district ositionsthan hey adbeenunder he Pakistan egime.n addition, any mportantadministrativeositionsrenowheldbypeoplewhowerenot ivil ervantsin the first lace, ut whoparticipatedn organizing heBangladesh ov-ernment n exileduring he iberation truggle. everal usinessxecutiveshavebeen ppointedn the various ublic orporations hatwere stablishedto manage ndustrial nd financial gencies ationalized uring 972-73.The Service eorganization ommissionxamined he various ssues on-nectedwith governmentalrganization nd their ecommendationseresubmittedotheGovernment.he recommendationsf he ay ndServicesCommissionave lready een ccepted y theGovernmentnd the mple-mentation f onvertingsmany s 208 pay-scalesnto opay-scaleswithinthe imits f Takka 30 to 2,000) is in progress.4The organizationf the Bangladesh lanning ommissionhows omeinteresting eatures.t was nitially eaded y four conomists, one areercivil ervants, ll having een universityeachersrained broad. wo leftthe Commissionnd returned oteaching.n their lace, ne career ivilservant as been recently ppointed. he organization f the Commissionis muchmore laborate han ts Pakistani redecessor, ith en divisionsand each division aving unctionalinks nd control ver wo or three

executive inistries. ach division as a Chief, eputy Chiefs, ssistantChiefs, esearch fficers,nd almost ll these ositions re now filled yforeign-trainedpecialistsrawn rom niversity aculties,utonomousodiesand fresh niversity raduates, ather hanfrom hecareer ervices.t isassumedhat he major urden f planning, llocationf resources, onitor-

4See for details,MorningNews (Dacca), II July 973, p. I.

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Administration nd its PoliticalEnvironment n Bangladeshing and evaluation f programmes illbeborne y the Planning ommis-sionwhere here re nowonly fewmembers f the Civil ervice n seniorpositions.5t is very ikely hat nclusionf non-cadre rofessionalsn senior

positionsfother dministrative rganizationsespeciallyesearchgencies)will lso ake lace n thefuture.6A comparativetudy f the provisions f the 956, i962 and 972 con-

stitutions n public services will show that public servants n Bangladeshmay not have the same constitutional rotection s their Pakistani prede-cessors.7n all three constitutions here are provisions hat "appointmentand conditions f service re to be regulated y aw;" public servants shallhold office uring hepleasure f the President;" hey shall not be dismissedor removed rom ervice r reduced n rank by an authority ubordinate othat by which they were appointed;" ction n such cases will not be takenuntil they "have been given a reasonable opportunity f showing causeagainst the action proposed to be taken" unless the action is taken "ongrounds f conviction n a criminal harge or the dismissing uthority ssatisfied hat for reasonsrecorded y him, t is not practicable o give thatperson an opportunity f showing cause or the President decides it notexpedient or reason of state security o give that person such an oppor-tunity." While in the constitutions f I956 and i962 nothing s mentionedabout the finality f decisionsby the dismissing uthority egarding notgiving the affected erson "an opportunity f showing cause," the I972constitution aintains hat such decisions f "the authority mpowered odismiss, emove uch person or to reduce him in rank shall be final."

Another major difference s the incorporation n the i956 and i962constitutions, nd the omission n the I972 constitution, f the principlesregulating ecruitment nd conditions f service.The i956 and i962 con-stitutions equire he rule-making uthority legislative r executive) o see

that rules so framed hall "not be inconsistent r to secure a) tenure ndconditions f service hall not be varied to his disadvantages; b) everyperson hall have at least one appeal against ny order which i) punishesor censures im (ii) alters r interprets o his disadvantage ny condition(iii) terminates is employment efore e reaches uperannuation ge, pro-vided f it is the order f the President r Governor, hen there will be noright f appeal but a review of the order." No such procedural rotection

5The First ecretary f the Planning Commission as both a member f the former ivilService f Pakistan CSP) and a Ph.D. in Statistics. he current ncumbent s a sciencegrad-uate and a member f the ex-CSP. One of the ten divisions s responsible or administrationand a few middle-level ivil servants re appointed o this division. he responsibility or m-plementation estswith variousMinistries, epartments nd public orporations.

6 For the first ime since its inception n I958, a non-cadre rofessional as been ap-pointed s the Director f the Rural Development cademy t Comilla.

7 See Articles 79-I83 of I956 Constitution. rticles 74-I79 of i962 Constitution, ndArticles 33-136 of 972 Constitution.

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insulates hePublic ervice adres rom irect olitical ecisionn the 972constitution.

Of the major xternal hanges,heonewith he most ecisivenfluence

on the administrative ector s the emergence f the AwamiLeague8 sthemonopolyolitical arty, ith verwhelming ass upport. espite nfla-tion, lleged mismanagementf relief rogrammes nd charges f corrup-tion and nepotism, he party maintained ts ig70 electoral uccess i67out of 69) in the 972 election291 out of 300).'Despite umours o thecontrary, heparty id not xperiencenymajor reak n the rucial est fselectingts nominees297 from bout ,Ioo applicants). nly about40AwamiLeaguemembers ontesteds independents, efying arty ecision

and theywere ll expelled rom heparty.10n terms f governing kills,the AwamiLeague eadersmusthavegained seful xperiencen the ast

8Out of several new political parties hat emerged ince the establishment f Pakistan,the Awami Leaguewas perhaps he most organized nd as recent vents how, most popularparty n East Pakistan now Bangladesh). Originally stablished s East PakistanAwami Mus-lim LeagueParty n I949, it dropped Muslim" from he title to reflect ts secularization nI955. The party had a leading role in building pposition olitics n East Pakistan throughmobilizing upport or the recognition f Bengalias a state anguage,regional utonomy orEast Pakistan, nd equitable treatment f East Pakistan's nterests n the policiesof centralgovernment. t was a leading member f the United Front which routed the ruling MuslimLeaguein the provincial lections f 954. The Awami Leaguewas in power n the provincialgovernment f East Pakistan nd in the Central Government or a period of about two yearsduring 955 and I958. The unity f the party was not seriously hreatened ntil t assumedgovernmental esponsibilitynd found hat lectoral romiseswere hard to realize nd conflictsbetweenparty ommand nd ruler's prerogative ere not easily soluble.The party plit inI957 when its founder, resident Maulana Bhashani,broke away and formed he NationalAwami Party.With the promulgation f the first Martial Law in Pakistan n October 958 all politicalparties were suspended nd the Awami League was revived fter bout five years n I964.The top hierarchy f the party was now more united under the eadership f Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, who declared ts six-point rogram n I966 for the full regional autonomy fEast Pakistan. The Ayub Government eacted o the demands of the Awami League by ar-resting ts top leaders and implicating ujib in a conspiracy ase. FollowingAyub's steppingdown, which was preceded y Mujib's releasefrom ail, the secondMartial Law was imposedin Pakistan. A countrywide lection or a National Assemblywas held in 1970 in which theAwami League captured 67 of I69 seats allotted to East Pakistan and became the solespokesman or this wing. The struggle or autonomy ed by the Awami League was finallyturned nto a struggle or Liberation which culminated n the separation f East Pakistanand the creation f Bangledesh n i6 December 97I. The Awami League assumedpowerin the new state of Bangledesh nd in the first lectionbased on the new constitution, heparty ecured n overwhelming opular upport.Many still consider he Awami League as a middle-class ased body, lthough t has a well-organized tudent nd labour front. n recent imes, t has spent onsiderable nergy n build-ing its organizational oots mong Bengalipeasants nd rural youth. rom ts policies t wouldappear that the Party s trying o preserve ts nationalistic umbrella" haracter hrough e-tention ithin tsfold f different hades f opinion nd divergent ocio-politicalroups.

9The Awami League secured 2.68 per cent of votes cast in the 970 national lection.Despite ncreasesn the number f voters n the 972 election, ausedmostly y the reduction fthe voting ge from I to i8, the party as secured lmost he amepercentage.

10MorningNews, 3 February 973, p. 8, and I7 February, . 8.

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Administration nd its PoliticalEnvironment n Bangladesh24 months. Not only n the area of central politics but also in the sphereof district nd village administration, he Awami League leaders have haddirect responsible xperience, specially n handling relief, econstruction

and development ctivities.11 t is not certain, ut it seems ikely, hat the"skill" evel of the Awami League's elected members may be quite variedand rich, specially with the addition of about one-third ew members nthe new Parliament.'2 he internal mechanism nd politics f the party rekept under control, espite he possibility f rupture ver the issue of thePresidentship nd appointment f a new General Secretary. eports ofdissension ver the question of selecting President nd General Secretaryof the Party key positions) ppeared n several newspapers n April 972.

The possibility f open split was shelvedby retaining Mujib as President(which is against the Party Constitution) nd surrendering owers of theCouncilto ts President o select ffice-bearers. ujib changed he ncumbentGeneral Secretarywho was reported ager to retain his position. n thebiennial ouncilmeeting f the BangladeshAwami League held in JanuaryI974, a new executive ommittee as elected replacing most of the earlierincumbents, ncluding x-president heikh Mujib. It will be interesting osee how this separation etween he party nd the government orks out,and to observe specially he impact which the party nd its student ndlabour affiliates re likely o have on government ctivities n the future.'3

Inside the Government, here re indications hat the party s trying oestablish ts control n a solid footing. he Office f the Prime Minister sbecoming ncreasingly owerful, with considerable nfluence oming frompoliticalgroups within the party nd other nterested roups. n additionto having head offices nd ministries or which the Prime Minister hasspecific esponsibility, is Secretariat omprises ffices f Principal ecretary,Private Secretary, olitical Secretary, conomic Secretary, nd InvigilationDirector. The overall coordination f governmental ctivity t the ad-ministrative evel,which was provided by the Chief Secretary efore EastPakistan becameBangladesh, s now presumably rovided y the PrincipalSecretary o the Prime Minister. A new Militia called Ra'khi Bahini hasbeen organizedunder he direction f the Prime Minister's ffice, oprovidesupport o the policeor to the BangladeshRifles n meeting erious reachesof order. This complex s mostly omposed f pro-Mujib uerrillas nd islikely o be used in dealing with disturbances f a political nature. Small

groups of Rakhi Bahini have been posted n several istricts here awless-

11 The Basic Democracy ouncils were renamed PanchayatCommittees, onsistingmostlyof local Awami League leaders, nd the ocal officials ere ordered o work n close collabora-tion with these ommittees.

12 Ninety-two ominees f the Awami League were not members f the past ConstituentAssembly. orning News, 2 February 973, p. I.

13 SeeEmbassy f Bangladesh, Washington, angladesh, V, 2 (I February, 974), p. 3.

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PacificAffairsness nd political illings ave ncreased n recent months. t was recentlydecided hat hePrimeMinister's ecretariat ouldbe shifted othe econdcapital rea, place six miles northeast f the present ecretariat here

facilities ere reated uring he Pakistani egime o house federal ffices.Such move f he ecretariat hould emonstratehepredominant ositionof the PrimeMinister, omewhatimilar o that f an American resident,but s also ikely ocreate roblems f coordination nd delay n the verallfunctioningf he overnment.

Another ignificanthange n the political nvironment f administra-tion s the vigorous evelopment f party-orientednterest roups, articu-larly tudents, abour, armer, nd youth. ro-Awami eaguegroups mongstudents Bangladesh tudent eague), labour Jatio SramikLeague),farmers JatioKrishak eague), and youth Awami Jubo eague) seemwell-organizednd are developing pattern f relationshipsn which heseorganizationsanvass nd mobilize upport or he arty, ndprovidenputsfor policy nd programme evelopment.n return, heir eaders re re-warded y theParty hrough he ffer f nominationst the lection, r byother olitical avours.'4

It is possible hat hepolitical limate enerated y the developmentfAwamiLeague nd ts affiliates aynot havebeenvery ffectiven ensur-ing security nd order. ecret olitical illings, acoitiesarmed obberies),smuggling,nd a deterioratingespect or awhave been on the ncreaseduring 973. As a political esponse o this ituation, heAwamiLeaguejoinedwith wo other olitical arties, amely heNationalAwamiParty(Muzaffar) nd the Bangladeshommunist arty oform heGonoOikkoJote PopularUnited Group) in order o forge militant nity" n thepeople o fight or herealisationf the four tate rinciplesnd to auncha unitedmovement gainst he activities f "anti-socials." ommittees fGonoOikko ote ere ormed t the national nd district evels nd thesecommitteesrganized eminars nd publicmeetings o mobilize pinionagainst anti-socials."lthought snotyet ossible oassesshe ffectivenessof these ctivities,hey how hat he ruling arty s willing oalignwithother ike-mindedarties n respondingonation-wideroblems.'5

Another ignificant hange s the strong ossibility hat lected ocalgovernmentodieswillbeestablishedn an effort oreduce, r possiblynd,the enturies-oldureaucraticontrol ver istrict ndvillage dministration.

14 All these affiliated rganizations ctively anvassed for the nominees of the AwamiLeague in the election. hey also reportedly xpelledmemberswho either ontested lectionsor worked for other andidates gainst he Awami League nominees. Although xact figuresare not available, good many eadersfrom heseorganizations ot Awami League nomina-tions.

15 One press report tated hat the Gono Oikko Jote has in its short ife of a fortnightmadeperceptible rogress o graft ts roots irmly." orning ews, 2 November 973, p. I.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n BangladeshThe AwamiLeague eaderswere lways ommitted o a moredemocraticform f ocal government hanwaspossible nder he Basic DemocraciesSystem r its predecessor.'6 ow a strong olitical ustification as been

added o establish uch system: heneed o create venues or ocalpartyleaders o participate n the haring f power. fter electing97 candidatesout of about ,i00 applicants or contesting he national lections, artyofficialsnnounced hat hose who did not get nominated ouldhaveanopportunity o contest lections or the proposed ositions f "DistrictGovernor" nd "Thana Administrators" o be created nder the localgovernmenteform.'7

Direct lection n the basisof adult franchise as held for ll lowestlevel

ocal ouncilsn the ural s well s urban reas n Bangladesh uringDecember973. The rural reas onstitutingboutgopercent f the totalareaweredivided nto ,340UnionParishads. ach Parishad s headed ya chairman nd a vice-chairman,lected irectly y all the voters nd hason average ine members lected rom maller onstituencies. xceptingDaccaand ts suburbs, ll the urban reas mostly omprising istrict ndThana headquarters) ere organized nto 68 Pourashavas town coun-cils), ach of which as one chairman, ne vice-chairman,nd a few om-missioners. s in the case of Union Parishads, he chairman nd vice-chairman fPourashavas ere lected y ll the oters nd he ommissionerswere lected rom maller onstituencies.

The extent f interest eneratedn this lectionwas tremendous ndin some ases ontests ere o intense hat lections ad to be cancellednabout 00 constituenciesa little ver neper ent f the otal).On average,more hanfour ersons ontested or ach position f chairman nd vice-chairman nd more han hree ersons or hat f a member f the UnionParishad. imilar s the asefor hepositionsn urban ouncils. here werei,75,249 nominationsor ,352 Union arishadlections.hebreakdowns:22,272 nominationsor ,349positions f chairman, I,335 for hat f 4,349vice-chairmannd I,3I,642 for 9,168 positions f members. owever, e-causeof some nvalidnominations,nd some positions eing lected n-contested129 chairmen,34 vice-chairmen,nd 8I5 members), hepositionof contestants as: i8,558 for ,220 positions f chairman, 7,860 for ,2I5

16 The Awami League Government f I957-58 passed an order that all Presidents f

Union Boards lowest tier of local Government n East Pakistan) would be electeddirectly ythe people of the Union. The Government ledged to give maximum powers to UnionParishads same as Union Boards) and to Pourashavas urban councils) in order to "havedemocracy irmly ooted t village level." Preparations o hold election n December 973

to these gencies n direct dult franchise ere being made. Morning News, September 973.

p. I.17 All the subdivisions ould be converted nto Districts nd the total number f District

Governors ould be 6o and Thana Administrators I8. See MorningNews, 2 February, 973,

p. I.

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PacificAffairspositions f vice-chairman,nd ,2I,070 for 8,326positions f members.'8Therewere ,I9 candidatesor total f ,iio positionsn 68Pourashavas(4II for he ositions f hairman,25 for hose fvice-chairmannd ,283

for hose f commissioners).19The local ouncil lection as held pparently n non-partisan asis.Allthemajor olitical arties eclared hat hey wouldnot put up their andi-dates n these lections. t is interesting o see the reasons ffered ornon-participation. he NationalAwami Party-Muzaffar NAP-M) was thefirst oannouncehat t wouldnot articipate n the UnionParishad lectionas "it involved omplicated roceduresn nominating andidates ortheconstituencies."' ext, he Jatio amajtantrik al (JSD) decided ot to

put up candidates n local bodies lections. ithoutffering ny reason.2'

It is to be noted hat oth NAP-Mand JSD have only ne member achin the parliament. he Awami League,which ontrols lmost ll but 9members f the Parliament, xpressedts confidence hat people hem-selveswouldelect ompetent, elfless nd active ersons," hough, n thesame announcement,ts general ecretary stressed he need to maintainparty nity nd deologynd asked he artymen o mutually ecide mongthemselveso let only one member f the party ontest rom ne con-stituency."22f this party ppeal was generally ollowed nd there wasusually ne dentified wami eaguenomineeneach onstituency,t wouldsignificantlyullify heofficial arty ecision not o contest he ocal lec-tion." The Bangladesh atio eague (BJL) decidednot to contest ocalelections ecause, ccording oits spokesman, smooth lections ouldnotbe ensured nder he ituation."23

Although olitical arties id not officiallyontest he ocalelection,heaffiliation,r at least he ympathy, f many f the andidates as an opensecret. uch dentificationslikely o occur n a larger cale s the politicalparties radually pread ut to developocalroots nd compete o get ocalleaderswith opular upport. here re already eports bout ases whereindividuals ith oyalties odistinct olitical arties ave been elected.study f political ffiliationsf elected ocalcouncil eaderswouldprovidesome ndication f trends f political hange t the ocal evel.

It is not yet learwhat ype f elected odieswill be establishedt theThana and District evels.There s reason o conclude hat arlier ug-gestions bout creating lective ositions f "Thana Administrator"nd

"DistrictGovernor" ave apparently et stiff pposition rom everal18 Ibid., 5 November 1973, p. I-19Ibid., 9 November973, p. 8.20 Ibid., O November 973, p. 21.21 Ibid., 3 November973, p. 2.22 Ibid., z4NovemberI973, p. I.23 Ibid., 5 November973, p. 3.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n Bangladeshsources. ince these hangeswould nvolve radical estructuring f oldpolitical nd administrative radition, hey re ikely o require more imefor ull discussionnd adjustment f competing laims.

Trends f Change nd Their mplicationsThe political dealand pattern f the AwamiLeague, s seen n the

preceding ear's peration nd the recent lection, ppear o be the con-tinuation f broad-based nity chieved uring 970 on the autonomyissue as embodied n the Awami League's Six Points programme ndexpounded y Sheikh Mujib. Although ivisions mong nterest-groupswere evivedfter he Liberationnd n some ases were urther harpened

(e.g.division f the Student eague and the emergence f the Rob-Sirajgroup nd the stablishment f a new party itled atio amajtantrik al),the AwamiLeague s trying opreservets "umbrella" haractern orderto accommodatelaims rom arious roups nd leaders with divergentviewpoints.24o far, he bjectives nd programmesf the party avebeenexpressedn very road erms. efore iberation t was autonomy nd nowit s "Mujibbad" ased n "four illars"-nationalism, ocialism,ecularismanddemocracy. anyAwami eague eaders tated uring heir ampaignspeecheshat he 973 election ould ea referendum n Mujibbad, ust sMujibhimself ad described he 97o election s a referendum n the SixPoints rogramme. y formulating uch broadframework f objectives,which an n fact nclude lmost ountless ptions, heAwamiLeaguere-tains onsiderable lexibilityn selecting olicies nd programmes hichmay not always e mutually onsistent nd compatible.

Since he deologicalrameworkf theAwami eague s more esignedto accommodateivergent roups hanto provide pecific uidelines orpolicy evelopment,wothings re ikely o happen. irst, he party s notlikely o have trong ttachments oanyparticular olicy bjectives r setofvalues,o ong s t can fford ot odoso.TheAyub egime, y ontrast,couldbe characterizedy ts strong ommitment o order nd economicgrowth nd manywould rgue hat t did not pay sufficient ttention oeconomicustice nd national nity. he present angladesh overnment,

24 The formation f the Gono Oikko Jote may be seen as an attempt y the Awami Leagueto maintain ts role as the eading pokesman or the vast majority f voters ying between heextreme eft nd the rightist arties most of which were outlawed fter iberation).Allegiance

to the four principles f state policy and faith n the prospect for change through on-stitutional rocesswere the basisof the Jote alliance) which was allegedly rompted y per-sistent olitical illings nd the deteriorating tate f law and order reated pparently y eftistgroups. ince the Gono Oikko Jote s trying o mobilize mass movement to liquidate nti-state nd anti-social lements," n impression s being created hat only parties belonging othe Jote an claim to be patriotic. owever, Sheikh Mujib denies this claim and states hat"we do not call others unpatriotic, ut under the garb of patriotism one could be allowedto hatch conspiracy t the instance nd support rom xternal ources." ee Morning News,12 November I973, p. I.

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PacificAffairson the other and, s not ikely o give ndications f its attachment rrejection f any values. t is more ikely o follow n eclectic olicy fcontinuallyrying o strike ome form f tolerable armony mong hese

contrastingnd ometimes onflictingoals order, rowth, istribution,ar-ticipation,dentity). econd, hepolicies nd programmes f the govern-ment re not ikely o be drawn mostly rom ogical necessity r fromleader's pecific olicy oals and ideas, s was the case with Ayub.Theparty nd tskey eaders ppear o be pragmatists, ith onsiderable xperi-ence n practical olitics,nd t s very ikely hat hey will llow he oliciesand programmeso evolve hrough nteraction f various orces t workwithout rying o intervene oo much or push too strongly. n such a

framework, he administration r bureaucracy ill be one factor nly(though erhaps major actor t present), ut, iven ontinued perationof his ramework,he redominantosition f dministration illgraduallypassto the forces f ts political nvironment,uch s political arties ndother nterest-groups.

The Awami eague's olicy f trying o unite ivergent roups hrougha policy f compromiseetween pposing oals nd valueshas resulted nhesitation nd delay n policy-making.osterity ill have to judge theappropriatenessf this pproach n the nation-buildingrocess, ut t isuseful o examine orking f the policy n several ey reas.

The Liberation truggle eading o the establishment f Bangladeshwas mostly arried ut n the rural reaswith he result hat he systemsof social ontrol ave beenconsiderablyoosenedn rural parts f Bang-ladesh.The Bangaleeguerrillas ho came n substantial umbers romrural reas havebeen xposedothe useof force nd the handling f auto-maticweapons. uring 972,thegovernment,hrough mixed olicy f p-peals, hreats nd rewards, ollectedonsiderablemounts f arms nd am-munition rom he freedom ighters,ut there s a wide pread elief hathuge mounts f rms ndammunition avenotyet een urrendered.hisbelief ppears lausible or woreasons. irst, here re frequent eports frecoveryf rms nd ammunitionhrough sualpolice ction upplementedby combinedearches ythe police, heRakhiBahini, nd the BangladeshArmy.25 econdly, rmed obberies nd attacks n police outposts re al-mostwholly arried utwith heuseof utomatic eapons.

The exactnumber f secret illings ince he creation f Bangladesh s

not vailable. arious stimateshowwide discrepancies.ne governmentestimate ut he igure ver ,ooo ersons illed mostly or olitical easons.2625 Reports f recovery f arms and ammunitions ppeared lmost daily during he months

of August and November I973. Recovered ists of arms and ammunitions eported n thenewspapers nclude:LMG,LMG Magazines, MG Spear Barral, Rifles 03, BarettaGun, SLR,BLR Magazine, SBBZ Magazine, Hand Grenade, Rounds of LMG, Rifle ammunition ndBaretta un ammunition.

26 MorningNews, 5 November . i.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n BangladeshNot all of thosekilled belong o political arties f which he AwamiLeaguehas taken he heaviest oll. Though the killings f members fpolitical arties re usually haracterized s "political illings," t s difficult

to establish otives ehind ll such killings. here re, or xample, everalcaseswheremembers f political arties ere lsoration-dealersnd ReliefCommittee ffice-bearers,nd in these ases the killings may have beenmotivated y desire o eliminate he ources f mismanagementr corrup-tion.Alongwith ecret illings, here asbeen sharp ncrease n armedrobberiesnprivate omes, ooting f banks nd hops, ndattacks n police-stations. requent eports rom ural reas efer o "rampant acoities" ndinsecurity f villagers.27 ne report ays that "the villagers re passingsleepless ights eing fraid f dacoits nd miscreants."28 nother eports fpanic among villagers nd concludes hat villages ave become ooters'paradise."29he dacoities ppearmost frequent n northern istricts ndmostly ccur t night. he reports ndicate hat he dacoits re usuallywell-armed,nd n the process f ooting aluables, ncluding ice nd entilsupplies,hout adical logans.

Attacks n police tations, ncluding olice utposts, epresent seriouschallenge o the capacity f the government o provide ecurity or tscitizens. angalee guerrillas aused erious amage o 73 police stationsduring heLiberation truggle, nd since then the "anti-socialsr mis-creants,"30s the ruling roup abels hem, ave attacked nd looted 3

police tations nd outposts nd killed many olicemen.38 aidson banksbecame uite frequent nd one report otes hat n the first art of 973several ankswere ooted n the northern istricts.

The government's esponse o this ncreasing awlessness omprisednormal olice ction reportedly eak nd nadequate), hreats nd appeals,combinedearch perations y police nd army, nd a promise o increasepolice utposts nd police orces. t is difficulto gaugehow widespreadsthe neffectiveolice ction, ut there re reports hat or various easons

27 Although here s unanimity f opinion bout the rise of murders, obberies, urglaries,in all parts of Bangladesh fter he liberation, here s no reliable tudy n the extent f itsincrease.One journalist escribes he situation n one of the 54 subdivisions f Bangledesh(Feni) as follows: During one year May 72-May 3) 372 cases of murders, rmed robberies,and burglaries ccurred nd the ncrease ver the previous earwas 300% for rmed robberies,900% for burglaries, nd 200% for muggling. ee Morning ews, 6 August 973, p. 3.

28Ibid., 14 November 973, p. 7.29 Ibid., 5 November 973, p. I.

30 Different abels (anti-social, nti-state, iscreants) re used to identify hoseresponsiblefor ecret illings, acoities, nd smugglings. n one instance Minister lassified hese peopleinto three ategories s (i) persons xposed o the Bangladesh iberation truggle; 2) Rajakars(Pro-Pakistani ighters) urned nto Bangladesh Freedom Fighters; nd (3) others who aresheltering nti-social lements. orningNews, i6 August 973, p. 8.

31 Figures n police-stations ere taken from fficial ources. ee MorningNews, 3 August2973, p. I-

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PacificAffairspolicehavenot been ble to take action gainst everal asesof dacoities.Thismay eonereasonwhy o perceptiblemprovementasbeen ecorded,despite hreats ythe governmenteaders hat disrupting lements illbe

wipedout, or that he government ill "take drastic ction gainst mis-creants." imilarly, ppeals o villagers oorganize oluntary efence artiesand submit he ist f nti-social lementsecretlyothe aw-enforcinggen-cies" nd to students,abor, nd people o launch massmovement gainstanti-social,32id not ead to any perceptiblehange. he government lsopromised o deploy t least oo Ansars voluntary rmed uards) n eachdistrict, ecruit7,000 newpolice nd to organize n elite orps f riverinepolice.When all these measures pparently id not produce ignificant

change, overnment tarted ombinedearch perations yArmy nd policein selected reas.Theseoperations ere arried ut n the second half fI973,and as a comparative urvey f the reports ppearing n the Englishdaily,Morning ews, orAugust ndNovember973shows, he ymptomsof awlessnessre declining. he difficulty ith he earch trategy s thatit s a one-shot ffair nd ts results re short-livednless hey re followedby mprovementn the ongoing olice ervices. he indications f normallaw-enforcementecomingmproved re yet o be seen.

Reports n the Morning News during August nd November 973indicate hat ix attacks n police tations nd outposts eremadeduringAugust; he attackers ere uccessfuln looting n five ases nd in onlyonecasewas the ttack epulsed.n November, nly wo ttacks ere madeon police utposts, oth repulsed. here were 0 casesof reported ecretkillings n August s against ine n November. ut of 0 cases,2 personsbelonged o political arties 9 AL, 2 NAP-B, JSD), 2 from tudentLeague nd 6 didnothave ny known olitical ffiliations.n nine eportedcases f secret illings n November nly wo belonged o political arties(both rom L), the remaining even aving oreported oliticaldentity.The samedecliningrend snoticeableor acoities39 cases uring ugustas against 8 in November).Mostof these rmed obberies ere carriedout nthe ural reas 35 out f 39 n August nd 3 out f 8 in November).The remaining obberies ere reported o be madeon trains, oats, ndshops.n 9cases ut total f57, here ere illings, sually f he efenders.

Reports how hat rdinary olice ction olstered y combined rmyand Policesearch perations esulted n the arrest f large numbers f

dacoitsestimatedt ,I22) during ovember. here re nine ases eportedout of which n three ases ngry illagers aught ight acoits nd beatthem o death nd n the remaining ixcases hepolice hot eventeen. oexamplesf imilar olice ctions ere eported uring ugust. t s possible

32 These appeals nd threats ave been made by highest ublicofficials n several ccasions.For sample eeMorning ews, 2 November973, p. I.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n Bangladeshthat ombinedearch perationsnd threats nd appealshave ed to somenoticeablemprovementn the ecurity ituation uring ovemberan earlywinter onth hen he evel f violences usually ow),but whether his

improvement ill persist s very ifficult o predict.The figures howthat aw-enforcement gencieswere esseffectivenmaintaining rder uring he period ollowing he Liberation han n acomparableeriod n the ate ixties.While he gencies ere nder-staffedand under-equiped heir erformance as also affected y increased o-litical nterference,elayed nd often ndecisiveolicy-making,nd ackofadministrativeeadership. his interaction f political nd administrativefactors ayhave relevance o the general eteriorationf respect or aw

and neffective erformancef state fficials n other ectors f administra-tion fter he iberation. everal eports ndicate sharp ncrease n thenumber f ticketlessailway assengersnd volume f unpaid reights, n-authorizednstallation f electric, elephone,nd gas lines, non-paymentof rates or tilities,nd llegal ccupation f abandonedhops nd proper-ties.As in the case of order nd security roblems, fter he regular d-ministrative ethods f appealand threats ad failed, d hoc measures(usually one-shot pproach), uchas combined earch perations, ereundertaken. hus on a surprise heckby railway olice n one station(Dacca Cantonment)bout 50cases f ticketlessravellingnd unbookedmaterials ere etected.33everal reas f Dacca citywere ut under urfewduring ugust 973 by the combined fforts f the police nd the RakhiBahini nd as a result npaid ssessments or lectricity,ewerage,nd mu-nicipal axes were collected; nauthorized ineswere disconnected; ewration ards were ssued nd electric eters ere ealed.34imilarly, fternormalwarnings o end unauthorized ccupation f abandoned ropertiesfailed o elicit hedesired esponse uring he ast year nd a half, hegovernment rganized earch arties o identify nd evict unauthorizedoccupants. ll these d hoc measures ave brought omeperceptiblem-provement, ut things re likely oreturn o the previous tate f disor-ganization nless heregular overnmental achinerymprovestscapacityfor etter erformance.ne reason ordoubting uch mprovements thehesitation ythe uling arty o set decisive rioritiesnd develop n effec-tive ecision-makingrocess.

Oneconsequencef the Awami eague'sdesire o preservetsumbrella

character ouldbe to allow policiesnd decisionsoemerge ut of the n-33 Ibid. 6 November 1973, p. 3.34 Search operations n different arts of Dacca during August 1973 yielded according

to reports n the Morning News)-realization of Takka 4,48,639as arrear dues, detection f266 unauthorized water and sewerage, 6i electric, nd 210 telephone onnections. boutI84 unauthorized elephoneswere recovered, 7,783 ration cards issued and 587 electricmeters ealed.

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PacificAffairsteraction f forces, with the ruling group acting as arbiter. hus, severalmajor decisions e.g. general amnesty, emonetization f the first angla-desh currency, ombined search operations) were taken only when an

overwhelming opular demand was expressed or these ctions.5 One canargue that many of these decisionswere long overdue and if there weremore responsiveness nd initiative, erhaps hesemeasures ould have beenintroduced arlier. But since the spirit f initiative nd innovation s yetto receive ull political upport, he bureaucracy s likely o play safe anddo the minimum n the faceof new and complex roblems.

Another mportant rend n the Awami League's rule is the gradualstrengthening f the political pproach nd political nfra-structure n day-

to-day governance. The Sheikh's top policy advisors are mostly non-bureaucrats Tofail, Sheikh Moni, Gazi Mustafa, tc.). This is quite dif-ferent rom he practice ollowed y Ayub, who drew key advisors rom heCivil Service.Those who accompany he Sheikh and his ministers n pub-lic appearances nd on tours re mostly romhis political arty nd party-affiliated nterest-groups. n day-to-day overnance, he political processseems o exert more nfluence. ecently he government as added I4 stateministers o the existing 2 full-time inisters nd they have been assignedto specific epartments.6 lthough heir role is yet unclear, t is expectedthat they will provide guidance n more specific etails which would notbe possiblefor the ministers-in-charge. everal areas of developmentman-agement which were previously ontrolled y the civil servants re nowbeing placed under the supervision f mostly lectedpeople.For example,the Integrated ural Development rogramme IRDP), which was man-aged by appointed officials t both policy and action levels, will now bemanaged by Cooperative Development Board consisting f two-thirdselected nd one-third x-officio embers.37 here were also sporadic fforts

following iberation n organizing "peoples committees" o run publicutilities, ut many of these gradually izzled out becauseof alleged mis-management nd dubious practices.38

35 General mnesty, eclared n 30 November 973, freed ll those detained nder hargesof collaborationwith Pakistan authorities xcept persons against whom specific harges ofmurder, ape and arson were filed. t was estimated hat about go percent f those detainedunder collaboration harges, umbering bout 36,400 would be freed. ee Morning News IDecember 973, p. i. Search operationswere undertaken fter he law and order ituationcontinued o deteriorate or bout year nd a half.

36 Embassy f Bangladesh,Washington .C.: Bangladesh III (i9 October, 973), p. I.37 MorningNews, 3 December 973, p. 8.38 It is reported hat a "People'sCommittee" as formed o replace he earlier Ezaradari

(contractor) ystem o collect revenues rom n important market place in Pabna district.Though the members f the People'sCommittee re reportedly ollecting oll or sales tax at amuch higher ate than the Ezaradars sed to do, the revenue s neither ecorded or depositedwith hegovernment gencies. eeMorning ews, November, 973, p. 7.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n BangladeshA difficult roblem esults rom he Awami eague's verwhelming lec-

toral victory. aving a near monopoly n the National Assembly, heLeague must ither llow freedom o its members o discuss, ebate nd

formulate olicies ithin heAssembly,hus unning he isk f recognizingdifferences ithin he party, r to do the major art f policy eliberation,ironing ut differences nd developing n agreed olicy within he party,thereby owngradingarliament o the role f egitimizing hat he partyhas already pproved. vidence rawn rom arty ehaviour n the Con-stituent ssembly f I972,39 and present party activities uggest that thetendency s in the atter irection.

Thus, the party s likely oreceivemore emphasis n the future n terms

of reorganization, cquisition f needed skills, ormation f Committees ndcells so that t can perform ll the key activities f the National Assembly.There are indications hat patterns f communication nd movement e-tween heparty nd its affiliates re gradually eing developed n a sounderfooting. Through reorganization f local government ystems, he partymay not only dismantle he citadel of bureaucratic ontrol ut provide hebasis for a long-needed ocal infra-structure or a viable political system.With ncreasing arty nfluence n the decision-making rocess, rowing p-portunity or nterest-groups o exert nfluence n policies, heabsence f theneed in Bangladeshfor the bureaucracy o provide national focus sincereligious, thnic and cultural differences re limited),40 he likelihood sthat the nfluence f elected officials n local administration ill grow, ndthat the administration ector or the bureaucracy will lose much of itsearlier ower nd glamour.

It is also likely hat administration ill experience ignificant nternalchanges-changes emanded or he ast fifty ears ut not yet been adopted.The constitutional rotection uaranteeing ecurity f tenure f servicewillbe lessened n an effort o encourage nnovation, arder work, nd greaterconformity o party nterests. he structuring f the services s likely to

39Dwelling pon the party ontrol ver the members f Constituent ssembly, heikhMujib tated, ccordingo a newspaper eport, no member f the Awami eaguewouldbeallowed omake ny esolutionr make ny roposal ithout rior onsent f the arliamentaryParty." Violation f this rule would make the member iable to punishment ncluding xpul-sion from heparty. He told them hat hey were members f a Constituent ssembly nd notof a Parliament nd advised hem odistinguish etween he two.

40 One of the strongest rguments or the retention f the CSP, as in the case of ICS, wasthe ethnic, ultural nd linguistic eterogeneity f Pakistan nd the need for an institution oinject a "national" element nto the governing rocess. The regional feelings based on re-gional and cultural ifferences mostly betweennortherners nd easterners-the iver Padmabeing the dividing ine) may occasionally akeon serious roportions. he likelyplaceswherethese feelingsmay assumepolitical ignificance re in the Northern istricts, hittagong, ndSylhet. Perhaps in anticipating his possibility, he government as established NorthernGanabhavan" n the former remises f Dighapatiya aminder n Natore.

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PacificAfairsbe ess rchiac ndelite-oriented,ith ewer adres, maller ay differentials,and more cope for mobility ithin nd between ervices.4' he demandfor making he public ervicesmore people-oriented"nd reducing heir

differentialsn privilegesnd benefits ow has widespread nd influentialsupport. t is very ikely hat substantial mount f decentralization nadministration ill ake lace-possibly purred y ncreasing emands romlocalparty eaders or ffective oice n local decision-making.42he twinneeds f retaining ithin he party eadership f various ressure-groupsandthe ncreasingseof politicalpproach othe olution f various rob-lemswillcreate situation here he ystem as to provide more venuesformeaningful ork y non-bureaucraticroups.t s probable hat ot nly

newprogrammesnd additional ositions ill be instituted ornon-bureau-crats ut lso ome f he xisting ositions, here nly members f theCivilServicesouldhitherto e employed ay e opened o outsiders, ostly artysympathisers.43

Thesechangesmaynot go smoothly. he Bangladesh ureaucracy tillhas powerful ards skill, ervice inks,middle-classackground,nd aboveall a pastrecord) oplay.And no vested nterest roups ave urrenderedtheir ower without fight-overt r covert. ut the ikelihood f changeis based n three rucial actors:hepolitical rientation f existingeaders,the radual trengthening f he arty pparatus ith ts ncreasing inkwiththe "grassroots," nd the establishment f party-affiliated rganizationsamong ey pressure-groups.he pressures or etaining dministrativere-dominancen the national ife f Bangladeshre ikely obe outweighed ythe ounter ressuresmanating rom ithin heparty nd other rganizedgroups. oreover, ven he ressurehat he ureaucracyanmountmaynotbe wellcoordinated.ivisionswithin he bureaucracynd among ts prob-

41 This is the general enor f likely ecommendations s gathered y the author rom hisrecent visit to Dacca. Sheikh Mujib is reported o favour even cadres only, n place of in-numerable ivisions. The upper imit of pay has been reduced to almost half of what ex-isted before nd there s less gap now between the scales. The implications f the drasticchange n pay-scales or the organization f serviceswill become known after he report fthe Services eorganization ommittee s made public.

42 Historically, he bureaucracy was not favourably nclined to giving power to localbodies. Opposition o such decentralization ay provide a common ground for bureaucracyto close ranks nd they may possibly ecure he support f technocrats n this cause. This willbe a test case of strength etween ro-bureaucratic nd pro-decentralization orces. t is alsopossible hat political eaders t the national evel may resist he process f decentralization nthree ounts-loss of power, possibility f other parties etting ontrol t local level, and theuncertainty f the experiment. he hesitancy f the national eaders s already pparent n thatthey are not clear what form the political decentralization ould take at district nd sub-district evels.The lines for struggle etween forces f centralization nd those of diffusionwill be drawn oon.

43 Severalnew programmes uch as the rehabilitation f victims f the Liberation war,are already rganized nd special Superior erviceExaminations re held to recruit reedomfighters o positions f responsibility n the government. ee MorningNews, 5 October, 973,p. 8.

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Administration nd its Political Environment n Bangladeshable supporters outside rofessionals nd the army) re likely o emergesooner r later; hese ivisions ill be along party ines eading o the ex-tension, ither ormallyr on an nformal asis, f party-affiliatedssociations

in these ectors.Two Major ssues

In concluding his nalysis f the relationship etween dministrationand ts political nvironment, wo mportant ssues eservemention. irst,history hows hat he successful orking f parliamentary emocracyequiresneutral nd autonomous ocio-politicalnstitutions. he Bangladeshrulers tate heir ommitment o the deals of democracy ut the nstitu-tions hey re building re not ikely o provide dequate ourishment ordemocracy. ne may ee a trend f nstitution-building hatmany ommu-nist ountries ave ollowed.44free ress, eutral ureaucracy, utonomousinterest-groups,nd an opendeliberatingorum Parliament r Congress),arenot ikely oflourish espite heir egal nd deological ramework.heseinstitutionsre being eveloped oton an autonomous r neutral evelbutstrongly longparty ines s they xist n SovietRussia r China. uch n-stitution-buildingas a rationale n a one-party tate; ut n a multi-partystatewith till onsiderable ooringsn democratic alues nd institutions(at east naspirations)onflictsndcontradictionsrebound o rise.

For example,t is nowclearly ealized y the present overnment hatsocialismannot e realized hrough ependencen bureaucracylone. Thechange n socialoutlook nd in the nstitutions mbodying uchan out-look",notes he First Five Year Plan, "can never e or has never eenachieved nly y government unctionaries."he civil ervants can . . beneither nnovators or catalytic gents or social change. Revolutionarythinking ust recede evolutionaryction y the masses." herefore hePlan concludes it sonly political adrewith irm oots n the people ndmotivated y the new deology nd willing o live and work mong hepeople s one of them hat an mobilize he masses nd transform heirpattern f behavior".45omemembers f the ruling arty rge he rainingof a party adres without urther elay. hough heir oles re spelled utalong he ines f partyworkers n socialistountries,t is suggestedhat,

44Some of these nstitutions, ike the Awami Jubo League, follow the structural omen-clatures ymbolic f Soviet organizations e.g. Presidium, irst Secretary). Bangladesh, ikeCeylon,has an alarmingly igh percentage f youths up to 22 per cent of the total popu-lation or 35 per cent of the population ver I5 years of age) and this organization mayprove to be very ignificant n the near future. ts President, heikh Mujib's nephew, wasplanning o recruit oo,ooo members n I973 and to launch a purge movement n March 8,to quote a newspaper eport, to eliminate pponents f Mujibbad . . to eliminate akistani-minded bureaucrats, orrupt usinessmen, oreign mugglers nd anti-social lements." Morn-ing News, i6 February, 973, p. 8.

45Government f Bangladesh,Planning Commission, irst Five Year Plan: Social andPolitical erspective. n MorningNews, 28 November, 973, p. 6.

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PacificAfairsunlike heir ounterparts n such ountries, hey hould upervise hegov-ernmental achine rom utside; or he Bangladesh onstitution recludesthe mergence f one-party tate, nd n a multi-party tate he dministra-

tion mustmaintain neutral dentity o that party adres annot e auto-maticallynjectednto he machine o supervise tsoperation. ow effectivewill be a cadre working utside he governmental achinerys open toquestion. hus thedilemmanvolved etween trengtheningarty pparatusand commitment o a rigid ocio-politicaldeology n the one hand anddevelopingn open parliamentaryystem n the other s real. ocialism, nwhatever orm ne describest,hasnotbeenpossible ithout trained adreand the effective unctioningf this rained adre was only possiblen a

one-partytate.Manymulti-partytates n developed ountries s well s inthe developing orld perate n a basically apitalisticrameworkprivateproperty, ree nterprise) ith ome ocialistic olicies. ow the onflictingclaims f ocialism ndparliamentaryemocracy illbe reconciledn Bang-ladeshsyet obeseen.

Conflictsnd contradictionsavealready egun o appear nd the fu-ture will depend n how the rulers ry oresolve hem nd how the op.position arties eal with he challenge f oneparty eeking obecomemonopoly arty. f, through arty-affiliated as opposed o neutral) nsti-tutions, hepresent ulers f Bangladeshre able to organize tolerablebalance n resolving hemajor rises f society order, dentity, conomicgrowth, istribution nd participation), henperhaps he attachment odemocratic alues nd institutions ill gradually aneand a compatibleadjustment f the political ramework ith olitical ealities illbe made.If they ail nd a substantial reak n the party akes lace, heremaybestrong ressures o revive democraticdealsand reestablish eutral n-stitutions. here re some ndications hat ocialismmay not receive oppriority ith the present overnment. angladesh eaders re currentlyplacing lmost qualemphasis n "production"nd "distribution"nd theirdevelopmentlans nd projects re heavily ependent n support rom heWorldBank ndmanyWestern apitalistountries.nternally,n the ecentbiennial ouncil meeting f the Awami League,all the office-bearersn-cluding heformer arty resident hiekMujibwere eplaced,uggestingthat he keyAwamiLeague eaders hose o remain n the governmentndlet their unior olleagues ake are of the party pparatus. his is an im-

portant tep n the ransformationf the AwamiLeaguefrom movementto a regular olitical arty nd may ndicate move owards evelopingn-creasedmportancef heParliament is-A-visheParty.

Another elated ssue derives rom he crucial mportance f tech-nocracy n the development rocess. ven Communist ountries re real-izing that hey annot lways emand hat fficials aveto be both redand expert." he Bangladeshulerswouldpossiblyike to see officialsnI90



Administration nd its PoliticalEnvironment n BangladeshGovernment,ducation, ress, ublic nterprises nd similar gencies e-comeboth xperts s well as "Mujibbadi."n their agerness o build apoliticalnfra-structureo provide or mooth peration f political rocesses

in national nd local decision-makingsomemay all them artisan truc-ture nd partisan pproach), herulersmaypress oo hard on the techno-crats nd thereby eopardize heir evelopmentoals.The imperatives fpolitics nd of developmentre not lways ompatible nd the capacity fthe present ulers o define he imits f politics nd promote heneeds fdevelopmentproper xpertise, ecurity nd professionalreedom, ree e-search nd evaluation,tc.) willbe crucial. ocial organizationsre of pri-mary mportance ut theywillnot take rootunless hey an generate nd

mobilize esources o meet he basicneeds f 75 million angalees n anequitable ay.'This article aspurposely otdiscussedheroleof Sheikh Mujib.One

can agree with he ournalists nd other nalysts hat t present angla-desh inds tsunity nd trustmostly n Mujib nd not n theparty. houghhis crucial ole n nation-building ustbe acknowledged,t is extremelydifficult o make any effective nalysis f future rends asedmostly npersonality actors. here are cases (the Indian National Congress, heGaullist arty n France)where tructures nd nstitutionsperating nderthe domination f one all-powerfuleaderdid continue r regain ontrolafter is demise. he vitality nd resilience f the AwamiLeaguehas notyet een ested. ut what s known s that t has developed tructures ndpracticesnd has met with easonable uccessn some ritical ests e.g. thei966 movement,he 970 election, heLiberation ovement,he 973 elec-tion, nd theparty lectionn 974). Suchdevelopmentsould ppear obesignificantndicatorsffuture rends.

Ottawa,ebruary974

I9I

Administration and Its Political Environment in Bangladesh

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