Forty Years of Bangladesh Political Economy Years of Bangladesh Political Economy in Error Sarwar...

Thoughts on Economics

Vol. 21, No. 04

Forty Years of Bangladesh Political Economy in Error

Sarwar Md. Saifullah Khaled

“And obey Allāh and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose

heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allāh is with

those who patiently persevere” (Al-Qur‟ân, 8:46).

Abstract: The paper relates to the erroneous policies pursued and their

continuation by the imprudent politicians in the field of Bangladesh Political

Economy for the last forty years vis-à-vis introductory discussions on the

economic causes, hopes and aspirations of the people behind their desires and

sufferings for an Independent Bangladesh. It is found that: the ugly and selfish

quarrels between the rival materialistic political parties on contrived political

issues neglecting the Islamic traditions and values in an overwhelming Muslim

majority country gave rise to such confusions that the national and

international self-seekers entering the scene polluted politics, society,

economy and administration of the country. The net result is: majority of the

eligible people are still poor, unemployed and corruption is rampant. To come

out of these problems a new kind of renaissance based on the principles of Al

Shariah is suggested in this paper for proper functioning of the economy and

salvation of the people here and the Hereafter.

Think now/History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors/And

issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, / Guides us by vanities.

Gerontion, T.S. Eliot

I. Introduction

01. The Position of Bangladesh

It is unquestionably irrelevant here to fall back on the discussions of the

genesis of Pakistan (curious readers may read Azad, 2001) of which

Bangladesh was a province whose entire Muslim population unanimously

voted for the establishment of Pakistan. Though Pakistan emerged as a

The author is a former Staff Economist, (1968-1970), Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Karachi, Pakistan. Former Professor of Economics and Vice-Principal of Comilla

Women‟s College, Comilla, Bangladesh. The author is thankful for the comments made on an

earlier draft of the paper by an anonymous reviewer; however, the views expressed in the

paper are essentially those of the author‟s own.

8 Forty Years of Bangladesh…………. .

homeland for the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent, just after its emergence

Muhammad Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan declared, “You are

Independent. In this State of Pakistan you have the right to go to Masjid,

Mandir or any other place of worship at your sweet will. To whatever religion,

race and community you may belong to, there is no relation of that to the basic

principle that, we are the citizens of the same State. In my view it is always

our duty to keep this principle alive as an ideal in our mind. If this is done you

will find that in course of time Hindus are no longer Hindus, Muslims are no

longer Muslims – not in respect of religious faith, because that is a question of

everybody‟s personal belief – this is in terms of politics, as the citizens of the

State” (Banerjee, 1989, P.2). After this there could have been no doubt in the

mind of anyone that Pakistan as established by Jinnah was a secular state and

its existence was based above religious faith and belief of the Pakistanis.

Bangladesh a geographically smaller country is situated within the yawning

gap of the eastern part of huge India– India‟s politico-cultural, socio-

economic, its common riverine and other policies never allows Bangladesh to

forget her such critical geographical situation of which India takes advantage.

The entire Indo-Bangladesh border is a smugglers‟ paradise with a

disadvantage to the indigenous agricultural and industrial growth of

Bangladesh and the Indian Boarder Security Forces indiscriminately shoot

innocent Bangladeshis in the bordering areas.

Erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was to quarrel and ultimately fight

out Pakistan with the Indian armed help backed by Soviet diplomacy on the

question of regional economic disparities, but now Bangladesh is left with

nothing but to officiously and unjustly cajole the much more powerful and

geographically most conveniently situated unwilling nuclear power India to

share the dammed water of 54 common rivers to save her ecological balance,

to ease huge trade deficits, dismantle barbed-wire border entanglements, to

stop almost regular border killings and the like. Bangladesh can neither

swallow nor disgorge India as it could Pakistan. „All Muslims are equal

sharers of three objects: (a) Water, (b) Grass and (c) Fire‟ (Hadith: Abu Daud,

Ibn Maza). In this materialistic world of cruel big powers‟ games today, who

will make India realize this truth as regards the common international rivers‟

water which she unilaterally dammed stopped! This is the lot of present time

Bangladesh, as if she has fallen from frying-pan to oven or is caged after the

1971 Liberation War. Bangladesh needs to start reshape her internal and

external policies, after the continuous failures of series of talks to solve those

issues, so as to come out of this suffocating state and offensive affair of honor.

Thoughts on Economics 9

02. Some Causes, Natures and the Consequence of East-West regional

disparity in Pakistan: the emergence of Bangladesh – customarily an

unrevealed reasoning

After the establishment of Pakistan, as usually happens in all other newly

independent countries of the world, peoples‟ expectations were so high that it

was impossible for any leadership to rise up to that level of competency to

meet the demands of the people in full.

The Pakistan leadership failed to understand what the independent people of

East Pakistan desired in its totality and the people of the Eastern Wing the

concern of the Pakistan administration. Such misunderstandings and the

experiences of 1952 language movement gave rise to the concept of treating

East Pakistan as a „colony of Pakistan‟. The politicians have to realize the

aspirations of the people of a free country, but if they are reluctant to do that,

the result is not agreeable for a nation. The question that how much the

desires, thoughts and hopes of everyone or the nation as a whole is voiced and

reflected in deeds by the leadership of a country cannot be dissipated at all.

Although the fruits of independence were being delivered to some extent to

the people of the Western Wing, but the Pakistan administration economically

and politically frustrated the people of the Eastern Wing and widened the gap

of disparity between the two Wings in favour of the Western one. Table I

below clarifies the position:

Table I. The Per Capital Income Disparity between East and West Pakistan (In Rupees)

Year East Pakistan

1

West Pakistan

2

Disparity

(2-1)

Ratio of

Disparity

1001

12x

1949/50 288 351 63 21.9

1954/55 294 365 71 24.1

1959/60 277 367 90 32.5

1964/65 303 440 137 45.2

1969/70 331 533 202 61.0

Source: Sobhan, Rehman. Bangladesher Avbhudoy, Bhorer Kagoj Prokashani, Dhaka 1994.

P. 27.Quoted from tab 1.1 and 1.2 (ratio of disparity formula has been corrected by the author

of this paper). This is a Report of the panel of Economists on the Fourth Five Years Plan of

Pakistan (Report of the Economists of West Pakistan).

The consequences of the disparities that sprout out between the two Wings in

favour of the Western one, within almost ten years of the independence of

Pakistan – in almost every sphere of socio-cultural and politico-economic

spheres of national life, such as: military and civil services, commerce and

trade, industrialization, agriculture and other economic and socio-cultural


activities – that, for the eradication of which Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan

Bhasani demanded parity and full regional autonomy for East Pakistan in

1957, otherwise East Pakistan „will bid farewell‟ to Pakistan id est. East

Pakistan will be separated (Rahman, 1 December 2010, Pp. 1, 13). Moreover,

remarkable East-West regional disparities were identified in the field of basic

consumption goods and expenditures, social and infrastructural facilities,

regional expenditures, regional distribution of foreign aids, balance of

payments, in the number of personnel in the State administrative machinery by

source and so on – all in favor of the Western Wing (Sobhan, 1994. Pp. 17-

80).

A reasonable disparity could be acceptable since the seat of central

government was in the West and in the face of India being a threat to the

country over the Kashmir issue – but the East-West disparities surpassed that

limit in the eyes of the politicians and the people of the Eastern Wing.

Consequently the East-West relation started to grow colder and colder with the

passes of time when the people of the Eastern Wing realized that economic

resources are also being transferred from the Eastern to the Western Wing of

the country – Table 2.

Table 2. The Transfer of Wealth from East Pakistan to

West Pakistan (1948/49 – 1968/69)

(In lacks of Rupees)

Items 1948/49 to

1960/61

1961/62 to

1968/69

1948/49 to

1968/69

1. Foreign aid actually spent in

East Pakistan.

4840 14490 19330

2. Share of foreign aid due to

East Pakistan on the basis of the

proportion of population.

8430 26710 35140

3. Transfer of foreign aid from

East Pakistan to West Pakistan

(2-1).

+ 3590 + 12220 + 15810

4. Balance of payment of East Pakistan.

+ 5370 - 9390 - 4020

5. Transfer of wealth from East

Pakistan to West Pakistan (3+4).

+ 8960 + 2830 + 11790

Source: Sobhan, Rehman. Bangladesher Avbhudoy, Bhorer Kagoj Prokashani, Dhaka 1994.

tab. 7. P. 78. Quoted from the report of the panel of Economists on the Fourth Five Years Plan

of Pakistan. Tab. 1. P. 75.

These causes accentuated the struggle of the majority people, intelligentsia

and political leadership of the Eastern Wing to stand against the domestic,

foreign and economic policies pursued by the Pakistan administration and


spell out what actually the people of the Eastern Wing desired as independent

citizens within the framework of Pakistan. But the Pakistan administration did

pay little heed to their demands and desires and regional disparities against the

Eastern Wing continued in favour of the Western Wing.

Apart from the increasing economic and political disparities between the two

wings of Pakistan the cultural activists of the Eastern Wing maintain that

linguistic and cultural differences were also at the back of the break down of

Pakistan. As regards Language and Cultural differences it is crystal clear today

that “the harm that is being done to the Bengali language in the hands of the

Bangladeshis, Bengalis, the custodians of liberation war and the patriots, that

could not even be done by the Pakistanis‟ (Omar, Ittefaq, 23 September 2011,

P.25,31). Culturally there „remained nothing of the sort in the country. If there

does not exist any cultural life in the universities that is no university at all.

Universities are not technical institutions, they are institutions of making up

human beings in their fullness – where there will exist educational together

with socio-cultural life; sports and games will be there – a university is not

complete if these are absent; the universities are now being turned into the

slums of literate people‟ (Chowdhury, Ittefaq, 23 September 2011, P. 25, 31).

The paper is arranged as follows: Section II –The gradual developments of

some erroneous determining events in the Bangladesh political economy over

the last forty years, Section III –Where does Bangladesh stand today, while

Section IV – Concludes.

Section II. The gradual developments of some erroneous

determining events in the Bangladesh political economy over

the last forty years

An attempt may be made here to go deep into the initial flaws that were

committed by certain Bangladeshi politicians and their sycophants and the

results of the developments of their imprudent socio-economic and political

policies. Here below are quoted several chronological stories told by some

eminent literature, educationists, and economists of Bangladesh on liberation

fighters and the gradual developments of some erroneous determining events

in the Bangladesh political economy from the very inception of Bangladesh

and continuing over the last forty years.

(i). Story one, Scene – 1971

This story depicted by literature and social activist Abdullah Abu Sayeed

relates to the actual Heroes of the liberation struggle who were “wiped out of

the bosom of Bengal” just after the liberation of the country –


From nineteen sixty-six to mid-March nineteen seventy-one, in an

environment of passionate nationalistic movement, a juvenile party leaders

started to grow up in the cities, ports and villages of this country. Thousands

of their fiery speeches in public meetings, demonstrations and agitations

ignited with illuminating fire the hearts of millions of peoples. The military

striking of the twenty fifth March seventy-one suddenly sprayed the mass of

water over their fiery activities to avert calamities. All of their enthusiasms

were stunned at the twinkling of an eye, they banished overnight from the

bosom of the entire nation; the minimum of their existence banished from

everywhere as if none of them were ever anywhere in this country. Those who

could become the last resort in this perilous moment of the nation, all of their

outburst of anger in the streets of a foreign country are finished in painful self-

selling.

The uncertain future of war has by that time caught in tenterhooks the heart of

every patriotic citizen. In this troublous time of the nation the suspicious

countrymen saw an unexpected incident; they saw thousands of innocent

guiltless, a kind of unknown youths raising out of the obscure bosom of the far

distant numerous villages of the country, whom the body of connoisseurs of

the country never saw before. Their heart and soul is as ignorant and painfully

ill-treated as the Bengal-Villages are. At the time beset with difficulties they

show themselves as saviours of the nation that day. With their priceless life

and blood they made the nation painfully earned freedom a present.

These ignorant youths came to realize before the war came to an end that this

victory is not for them. In no time those fleeing verbose leaders of the past in

the guise of freedom fighters entered the vital center of the national capital.

Over the heave of deep sigh of those sinless simple-hearted fighters they

conquered this city and all possibilities and prospects of the nation in front of

them. Those guiltless youths wiped out of the bosom of Bengal – silent and

sad– likewise, just as they woke up once.

The entire glory and tears of the national struggle felt ashamed in the face of

the shameless selfishness of the false patriots. That shame gradually increasing

turned into a symbol of national disgrace. Self-sacrifices in the Liberation

Struggle of the Bengali speaking people in totality of the term shed tears even

today under the feet of the State-plunderers (Sayed, 1993. P. 50).

Today in the electronic and the print media we usually see and read about

many of the neglected and unrecognized Freedom fighters living in wretched

economic conditions in different parts of the country – there is none to look

after them; although one may also argue parodying the words of Shakespeare


as Tagore did “There happens many things in heaven and earth Horatio, than

are reported in your newspapers” and/or cast in the electronic media.

(ii) Story two, Scene – 1974

This is a story depicted in his Presidential Address by Dr. Mazharul Huq about

the Bangladesh Economy as it existed in the year 1974, at the first annual

conference of the Bangladesh Economic Association. Here some of the salient

features of his Bengali address have been translated –

“It is a matter of great pleasure to me that today I have been able to come to

meet you perhaps for the last time. Even a couple of days back I could not

think that it would be possible for me to be present at this conference. You can

see that I am very much sickly. The flame of the lamp of my life is flickering.

Because of that reason, before I pass away, I want to express some of which I

have realized with my intelligence, consideration and conscience.

I am to say with regret that within the last stet years no non-government

economist did utter a single word regarding the progress of the common

people, what should be the nature of economic structure and planning in

Bangladesh and the consequences of the policies adopted by the government;

even though we are proceeding every day with a sharp speed to be ruined. Is it

that our economists, who are famed in the west also, have become senseless,

courage less and speechless?

The wealth which was used for employment and earning before liberation is

now in the possession of the plunderers. The wealth that changed hands in this

process and the wealth which is being frequently accumulated in the hands of

a class of people through a kind of unbridled exploitation, a major portion of

that is being spent on in-coming smuggled and luxury commodities and is

being transferred abroad. It means that is gone totally out of control.

Whatever the Government of Bangladesh has done so far is totally anti-saving

and anti-investment. The small income earners who have purchased industrial

shares with their hard earned money, invested through NIT (National

Investment Trust) or loaned the government for development purposes, are

today penniless. The industrial establishments whose shares were purchased

by the common people, government has nationalized them in the name of

socialism. Dividend is not allowed under socialism. Over and above where the

divided will come from? Almost all of these industrial establishments are

unable to maintain their existence from their own income. Jute industry is the

most significant of all in Bengal. It is said that some crores of taka will be

needed to make it stand.


It requires to be mentioned that, even if all sorts of facilities are made

available, in view of the prevailing price level situation it is impossible for the

middle class people to make savings. Many of the people are now living by

consuming their capital and when they will get rid of this situation is

uncertain. Even though we brand our economy as war devastated, the fact is

that all of our factories were intact up to 16 December [1971]. The materials

that have disappeared from the factories are an incident of post 16 December

[1971]. Though all the equipments were intact, production could not continue

because of the lack of skilled managerial hands and the absence of the

facilities to import raw materials even if the destructive mentality of the

workers is ignored. Our leaders during the Pakistan period repeatedly said

“The only cause of your misery is exploitation”. That is a boomerang on them.

Another phenomenon of great impotence is the extreme hell that our education

system has been thrown into. In the past stet years crores of taka have been

spent in the extravagant conferences and congregations of the students

organizations. And seeing whatever happened in the educational institutions

and in the examination centers during this period, I am convinced that there

occurred a separation between education and the students. What is its remedy?

Yet we are listening everyday that we have to build Sonar Bangla. Sonar

Bangla, of course, has been built for a few people. And this was the eternal

law of Sonar Bangla.

During the past one and a half year the amount of money we spent in

festivities is in the least not small. Such behaviour in the poorest country of

the world is a sin. But it is a matter of shame that it happened at a time when

the world-citizens distributed food and other necessities worth Taka 16

billions to save the whole of this country.

From now on the possibility of getting relief is a minimum. It is heard that

food deficit in this year will amount to 15 lacks tons. To meet that by

purchasing wheat alone the entire foreign exchange earned will get exhausted;

and to meet the total deficit, foreign exchange earned will not make two ends

meet if the purchase is half of the deficit is rice and the other half is wheat.

Jute will not yield now the expected foreign exchange. This is the picture of

our internal and earned foreign exchange money.

Over and above there is a deficit in the amount of internal money. In this case

government has met the demands by printing notes up till now. In comparison

to the increased note circulation the increase in production is meagre.

Consequently the rate of inflation is galloping. Moreover, the most fatal of the

causes is that for allowing a section of the people under the shelter of the

government to take monopolistic control over trade and commerce, these


people by devouring the entire economy of the country like an octopus is

pursuing a policy of exploitation. In fact, in the name of making the society

free from exploitation, the kind of plundering that is going on in Bangladesh

for the last two years is unparallel in history. Within a very few days a lion

share of the resources of the country has gone in to such hands, and still

continues to go, which never have had devoted themselves in strengthening

the foundation of the economy of the country. The people, who used to go

without food two years ago, possess laks of taka today. Corruption has entered

to every chasm of the society. The political leaders have pledgefully assured

the people on thousands of occasions to root out corruption. Those for whom

corruption is a profession also joined this chorus. Yet corruption is gradually

increasing. We have seen that our government is totally failure in this respect.

In such cases the influence of the respected leader of the state is effective. But

here the anxious appeal of Sheik Mujibur Rahman has also been ignored.

The economic structure of Bangladesh will be socialistic. Surely socialism has

a meaning: what does it mean, how does it comes and what are the ways in

which this is maintained. Those who are tearing their vocal cord and rendering

the microphone out of order by crying for socialism do all of them know what

they are talking about? “Socialism is a must” – but what this socialism is?

Is Awami League, the party in power, a socialist party? Do they actually

understand what socialism is? The activities of the party cadre which they

have are anti-socialistic. Yet, I cannot understand, why Awami League said

“We want Socialism”. Is it a Farce? Is it a Deceit? Or is it an Illusion?

I want to make it clear that, as our rulers are unworthy likewise our

environment is also totally unsuitable for the establishment of socialism. In a

congenial environment establishment of socialism is possible only by a

socialist party. Unbridled plundering is equally going on side by side with a

demand for establishing socialism and an oath of building a “Society free from

Exploitation”.

We do not know what does socialism mean in Bangladesh, yet we are tearing

our vocal cord with a repeated crying for Socialism; even in the prize

distribution ceremonies of small children our ministers are giving notice of

powerful invitation for socialism. Finance minister has appealed not to discuss

about what socialism is. May be we shall get an outline of socialism in

Bangladesh soon from on behalf of the government. And we also hope that a

definition of an exploitation free society will be given from on behalf of the

government.


Another slogan is „Mojibbad‟. While sitting before a television set I have seen

innumerable number of times that there is no minister who did not utter

hundreds of times the slogan that “Our salvation lies in Mujibbad‟. So, had it

been that “Mujibbad” is an outline of socialism in Bangladesh, then the

Planning Commission should have discussed the matter in details. We, in the

straitened circumstances that we are, by repeatedly hearing the confusing

slogan of “Our salvation lies in Mujibbad” and “We will establish Sonar

Bangla”, are becoming stupefied and dumbfounded (Huq, 1974. Pp. 1- 11).

For Awami League today “Mujibbad” – in whatever meaning it was uttered

then – is a forgotten story. Since 1975 a tottering Parliamentary Democracy of

the western brand is the demand and eventual practice of all the major political

parties of the country and they maintain that only through the proper

functioning of this method the socio-cultural and politico-economic salvation

of the people of the country and building of Awamui League‟s, as it claims,

“Sonar Bangla” is feasible.”

(iii) Story three, Scene – 1979

The following is a selected part of the Presidential Address delivered by Dr.

Solaiman Mandal in the Fourth Annual Conference of the Bangladesh

Economic Association in May1979 –

The present government of Bangladesh seems to work under the impression

that the objectives of Socialism are actually attainable within the framework of

a mixed economy process of development. The experience of several

European and North American countries lends philosophical support to this

particular impression. It should be noted, however, that prospect of attainment

of the goals of Socialism through the mixed economy process of development

has already started lying down in Bangladesh. The response of private

investment, domestic as well as foreign, to the Government announcement of

incentive measure has been meagre indeed. The socio-economic and socio-

political environment obtaining in Bangladesh since the beginning of the

Liberation Movement in this country has been rather suffocating for private

sectors. The success attained in the enforcement of law and order, the

restoration of monetary and fiscal discipline and in the overall management of

economic and political affairs of the country has been rather too limited to

provide the kind of economic and social milieu in which private persons feel

encouraged to invest.

As a matter of fact, the climate as well as environment for private investment

seems to have been vitiated once for all. The inelasticity of the production

structure measured in terms of a poor response of supply of goods and services


to price increases and rigidity of the production structure measured in terms of

limited capacity of the economy to introduce and absorb technical innovations

can be taken as indicators of a deep-seated maladjustment in the society. The

maladjustment has been due, among other things, to historic emergence of an

adverse ratio of natural resources to population size of the country and to

gradual concentration of the means of production into the hand of the

unproductive classes in the society. The mixed economy process of

development, which is supposed to work through the market mechanism, can

hardly be expected to correct such deep-seated maladjustment (Mandal, 1979,

P. XV-XVI).

(iv) Story four, Scene – 1983

The following is an excerpt from the Presidential Speech delivered by Dr. M.

Akhlaqur Rahman in 1983 at the Conference of The Bangladesh Economic

Association, Dhaka –

The World Bank, as dominant aid giver, has assumed the role of a philosopher

guide of the developing countries in respect of development strategies. From

growth through rapid industrialization via the „green revolution‟ of the sixties,

growth with equitable distribution of income in the seventies, the strategy has

now tricked down to “basic needs”, participation, politicization and

concretization in the eighties. The latter two are not significantly different

except in terminology.

There has been logic behind the shift of strategy. The green revolution, despite

notable contribution to agricultural development in many countries, resulted in

the growth of inequality in the distribution of income. As a result small and

marginal farmers got impoverished; and in countries with surplus labour the

rural proletariat increased with consequent effects on socio-political

instability. To remedy this, strategy has now concentrated on assisting the so-

called target group – the small farmers and landless labour; the former through

making the basket of modern technology available to them and the latter

through the increased provision of employment and alternative avenues of

income through self-employment.

When the development process is primarily based on private initiative, as the

World Bank philosophy insists upon and enforce on the client countries, the

entire process results in backing the winners where the devil takes the

hindmost, with all the backwash effects on small farmers and the rural poor

(Rahman, 1983, P. 4, 8). This is what has exactly been happening in

Bangladesh since the activities and the role of the World Bank and the IMF

along with the donor countries succeeded in getting the upper hand in the


development process of Bangladesh; and if there is any mentionable

improvement in the lot of the rural poor today it is because of „the remittances

made by their sons/daughters working abroad and 12 percent of the rural

families got remittance advantages reducing poverty to the tune of 5 percent

on an average‟ (Alam, 2011, P.11).

Another feature of development in the economy of Bangladesh in the eighties

of the past century is the existence of the Non-Governmental Organizations

(NGOs) begun to be set in motion. NGOs are the active organizations in

Bangladesh run by the foreign governments. Their activities did not remain

confined to economic activities alone. They had gradually begun to emerge as

the determining forces in the political and cultural fields of the country also.

Bangladesh is the most NGO inhabited country in the world, the existence of

so much NGOs are not found anywhere in the world. „The imperialistic donor

countries and organizations prefer to administer the development works of the

countries like us through NGOs by tremendously pressurizing the indigenous

government to stop their own economic activities. Moreover, the NGOs try to

sabotage and stop the on-going development activities of the government by

contrived aggressive propaganda against those activities, though their success

so far in eradicating poverty is negligible; such activities of the NGOs

tantamount to their desire to run an alternative government backed by

imperialistic foreign powers in the country‟ (Selim, 22 November 2010).

Government seems – willingly or unwillingly – helpless to take appropriate

measures against these NGOs „although their contribution to poverty

eradication through micro-credit so far is only 4 percent‟ (Alam, 2011, P.11).

The interventions of the foreign donor agencies and countries through NGOs

in the Bangladesh economy have accelerated the corruption process in the

economic development activities of the country (Khaled, 2011). The economic

assistances of World Bank (WB), International Monitory Funds (IMF) and

other foreign donor countries helped develop a vested interest group loyal to

them in the urban and rural Bangladesh, alienated from the general mass of

people akin to the colonial age (which Dr. Soekarno of Indonesia termed as

Neo-colonialism in the sixties of the immediate past century), to the detriment

of the future prospects of development and decadence of moral, ethical and

religious Faith of the people of the country. Al Qur‟ân reads, “Those who have

Faith and do wish for the (things of) the Hereafter, and strive therefor with all

due striving,– they are the ones whose striving will be thanked (by Allāh)

(Qur‟ân, 17:19) here and the Hereafter, Allāh proceeds, “Be not the first to

reject Faith therein, nor sell My revelations for a trifling price; and fear Me,

and Me alone” (Qur‟ân, 2:41).


(v) Story five, Scene – 2002

This story relates to the Macroeconomic performance of Bangladesh, a heavily

aid receiving country, depicted by Dr. Omar Haider Chowdhury, Research

Director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies –

Our analysis of the developments in foreign aid regime and its implications for

economic development suggest that in the initial years Bangladesh needed

foreign assistance even to fulfill its food requirements at the aggregate level.

Hence, food assistance was essential for mere survival of the population.

Merchandise export earnings and healthy growth in foreign exchange

remittances by Bangladeshi nationals have eased our foreign exchange

constraints to a large extent. Developments in the food front have been very

encouraging. Bangladesh has turned from a chronically food deficit to a

surplus food producing country by the end of the millennium. This was

achieved by the efforts of millions of small scale farmers combined with

appropriate food policies pursued by the government during a period when

cultivable land was declining and population increased to double its size in the

beginning of the period.

However, self-sufficiency of food at the aggregate level does not ensure food

security at the individual level. About half of the population of Bangladesh

lived bellow the poverty level in 1995/96. The problem of poverty is

essentially a problem of market failure. Hence the government will have to

play a pro-active role in the economic development of the country to alleviate

poverty. Resource use by the government has been increasing. Foreign

assistance, both in per capita terms as share of GDP have been declining. Thus

one may argue that dependence on foreign aid is decreasing. However, recent

developments suggest that the government and some of its agencies are trying

to contract foreign assistance at relatively unfavorable terms compared to

those we have been receiving so far. Hence, it appears that decreasing foreign

aid dependence indicated above is happening by default and not by design

since it is constantly exploring possibilities of contracting more foreign

assistance. This mentality to borrow becomes apparent when we look at the

recent developments in the total outstanding debt. The government of

Bangladesh has recently been borrowing heavily from the domestic sources.

The share of net domestic borrowing in total public expenditure financing has

increased from less than 10 per cent to around 20 per cent during the nineties.

It is all the more disturbing because our analysis of the budget indicates that

such increase in domestic borrowing was not planned for. In other words, it

appears that we are not in control of the economy. Our present policy

decisions are not based on any proper understanding of the workings of the


economy. We are depending more on ex-post analysis to justify our policy

decisions and surrendering to ground realities rather than attempting to change

them to suit our purposes.

Resource use by the government is increasing. It is increasingly being

financed by domestic borrowing. On the other hand, allocation on social

sectors has also increased but in terms of alleviation of poverty has not been

encouraging. The twin problem of financing in a self-reliant manner and

effective use of government expenditure may be ensured by improving the

quality of services provided by the government. Quality of investment in

public sector should also improve so that the increased efficiency may

contribute to higher growth in output from the same amount of investment.

Supported by ample evidence, donor agencies also believe that a large part of

development assistance in the past contributed neither to economic growth nor

to reducing poverty in recipient countries. It is argued that institutional

development and policy reforms in the recipient countries for better utilization

of aid are needed. The donor agencies are increasingly favouring targeting aid

directly to the poor within the developing countries. This view of aid is largely

in conformity with reorienting aid toward social development. However,

effective utilization of aid and resources in general need to be ensured to get

any benefit out of such resource use. Good governance and appropriate

institutional frameworks will have to be established. However, it is difficult to

imagine how aid agencies can help recipient countries on these vital issues.

Ultimately it is the political commitment and will of respective countries that

will determine whether such objectives will be accomplished (Chowdhury,

2002, Pp.16-17).

The „political commitment‟ of the two major political parties, which by turn

form government in Bangladesh are to materialize, as they say and declare, the

“dreams” of two assassinated leaders of the country. Surprising enough the

ruling leaders do not usually claim to have any vision of their own about the

future of the country. The present Grand Alliance (GA) (gnv‡RvU) government

has declared their new „vision‟ of building „Digital Bangladesh‟ under acute

shortage of electricity all over the country, though they could not yet come out

of the age old declaration of building „Sonar Bangla‟ which is a vague jargon

of the good old days.

We have seen that over the past [40] years an unprecedented monstrous

economic incident gradually creeping into the economic scenario of

Bangladesh. It is true that the emergence of independent Bangladesh is a result

of the struggle against the disparity between two economies. Yet the manner

of development of the past [40] years has provably distinctly divided our


country of [16] crores of people into two. Of them: the first category includes

at the most 10 lakhs id est. 0.63% of the influential wealthy minority; and the

second category includes 15 crores and 90 lakhs id est. 99.37% of the needy

powerless majority. A suicidal process of plundering has emerged as a

determining factor in Bangladesh economy (Barkat, 2003, Pp.2-3, for details

Pp. 2-33) which still continues. The leaders of rival political parties accuse one

another of secretly removing ill-earned/plundered personal wealth to safer

places outside the country, of which no investigation is made when they come

to power in turn.

Section III. Where does Bangladesh Stand Today

(i) The War of Liberation and after

Since the liberation war was possible and successful because of the

unimaginable waking and struggle of the people, for that people have genuine

reasons to be proud of. But it is also true that there are limitations,

incompletion, faults and failings of the liberation war. From the very

beginning of 1972, only the faults and failings have been started to crop up in

succession. There is no effort to develop the noble aspects, to complete the

incompleteness and to overcome the limitations. New possibilities are being

bungled in succession. The condition of the present State, Nation and life of

the people have reached such a position that, the way the proudness is

observed connecting the liberation war, in most cases becomes only insincere

and worthless flapping of the incapable. The role of the heroism of the

common (huge majority of Muslim) people in the liberation war is recognized

very little. From the side of faults, it is necessary to give a new thought and to

try how to be liberated from this (Haque, 26 December 2010, P.11). To that

end it is necessary to recognize that this huge majority Muslim population

helped liberate the country from within the country, and their hopes and

aspirations are to be materialized.

(ii). Absence of a sense of Nationalism or National spirit

Now Bangladesh is a reality. But the people of Bangladesh are still confused

as to whose struggles and sacrifices have given birth to the country named

Bangladesh. Water has been much disturbed and turbid in the past 40 years by

the politicians of the country to identify the actual images of the contributors

to the liberation of Bangladesh. Just after liberation in 1971 many fake

certificates were distributed/soled among the aspirants acknowledging their

contributions to the liberation war. After that, Governments came and fell,

each of which revised the list of liberation fighters and prepared a new list. Up

till now there are at least five lists of liberation fighters each differing from the


other. A lot of fuss is there in the country within the political circles and their

sycophants centering round as to whose contribution is more or whose is less

in liberating the country.

Moreover, a section of the politicians leave no stone unturned in vain to gain

public support in their favour by creating unnecessary issues such as who

“declared” independence, who fought in which sector, who are the custodians

and saviors of independence of the country and who are not, in whose hand

the spirit of liberation struggle is safe and in whose hand it is not, who wants

to make the country a mini-Pakistan or who is up to make it a subordinate

state of India and so on and so forth. A lot of fuss is being created over these

useless issues by side tracking the real problems of the country.

The differences on such useless issues are so intense and inimical between the

two major political parties which form governments of the country in turn that

they do neither consult nor come in to concurrences of views on national

economic, political or other issues resulting in the weakness of the position of

both the parties at the time of bargaining with foreign governments when they

come to power to the detriment of national interests. The foreigners, especially

the imperialist westerners, are strengthened in their machinations and turn well

qualified knave because of such feud to throw adverse terms on the face of

both the parties when in power, and say in the words, put into the mouth of

Meher Ali in ¶zwaZ cvlvY (Hungry Rock), by Tagore, ÓZdvZ hvI, ZdvZ hvI! me SzU

n¨vq, me SzU n¨vqÓ (walk aloof, walk aloof! all are false, all are false), come to our

terms; so ultimately the national politicians are to give in.

Moreover, the actual sufferers and sacrificing people have been dashed out of

the scene and made outcast by these leaders backed by national and

international big business and bureaucratic powers. In a country of

multifarious socio-economic problems and abject poverty and deprivations of

about 80% of the people, as mentioned above, such dealings of certain

politicians are only aimed at the grabbing of State power out of the ignorance

and helplessness of the innocent millions to make personal fortune by trading

in the poverty of the people. Such attitudes which usually vitiate the minds of

the victorious party was known to our Prophet (s) because of which he advised

the conquerors of Mecca more than fourteen hundreds years back that, “you

have conquered Mecca, but the greatest victory is to conquer the enemies of

passions inside you” (Hadith). The reality is that most of the politicians and

their sycophants have failed to conquer the enemies of passions like lust,

anger, greed, hatred, obsession, arrogance, selfishness, revenge etcetera inside

them, because of which there is lack of disciplines in almost every sphere of

Bangladesh socio-political life. There is lots of splitting up into parties among


the people of Bangladesh now, but what is absent is a sense of nationalism or

national spirit. As a result what we see all around is that „the economy is in

trouble, development obstructed, politics is full of collisions; educational

institutions devoured by dismays, state administration immoral; society is

inhabited by the looter-rich, land-robbers, rowdy elements, miscreants and

militants; literature and culture are sterile, the country is hated around the

world because of corruption and overall the nation is divided. This vicious

cycle is going on for the last forty years‟ (Qadir, Ittefaq, 9 October 2011, P.9).

An economy however prospective cannot thrive in this condition. What is

needed is social justice, a society free from corruption, an economy devoid of

disparities, and democracy based on Al Shariah.

An awakening on the basis of unperturbed thoughts will be much more

beneficial in a country of chaos and confusions whose 90 percent of the people

are Muslims. To that end we are to follow what Al Qur‟ân reads, “Whoever

holds firmly to Allāh will be shown a Way that is straight” (Qur‟ân, 3:101),

Allāh proceeds further, “O ye who believe! Obey Allāh, and obey the

messenger and those of you who are in authority; and if ye have a dispute

concerning any matter, refer it to Allāh and the messenger (Al Qur‟ân and

Sunnah) if ye are (in truth) believers in Allāh and the Last Day. This is better

and more seemly in the end” (Qur‟ân, 4:59); so “Hold fast, all of you together,

to the cable (Al Qur‟ân and Islam) of Allāh and be not divided among

yourselves” (Qur‟ân, 3:103).

(iii). Rise of the rights of Successions and Family dependencies

In the meantime, the hereditary rights of successions and Family dependencies

in the affairs of the Party and State powers have surfaced. Hereditary rights of

successions and Family dependencies in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are not

examples of democracy. In these countries the hereditary rights of successions

and Family dependencies have surfaced because of the ugly-machinations of

the imperialistic States and weaknesses of democracy. The results of these

evil-customs are harmful for every country. The politics of Bangladesh has

been made hanging on the imperialistic powers; (they give necessary QeK

(instructions) which the national leaders eagerly wait for as to what is to be

done and what is not, as if Bangladesh is their undeclared colony). The

opposition remains absent in the Parliament by turn. Taking all of these into

considerations, if we are to judge objectively, we are compelled to say that,

with Interim Nonpolitical Nonpartisan, Impartial Caretaker Governments,

election-all and cringing concepts and programs about democracy with Family

dependencies and Hereditary rights of successions to power, Bangladesh is not

proceeding towards democracy rather on to the road to Capitalism, Monarchy


and Subservience. The way the propaganda is being made by making

responsible only the commanders of the army for military rule and emergency

in Bangladesh, is not at all correct. As there are flaws on the part of the

commanders of the army, likewise there are also flaws on the part of the

concerned politicians also. If the solutions of the problems are to be sought, it

is a must to work with truthfulness and veracity (Haque, 2 November, 2010,

P.11). Even if we talk of the western brand of democracy, which proved to be

of no use to Bangladesh or any country of her kind, that is not also achievable

under the prevailing from-the-people-away political trend in Bangladesh,

unless democracy is cultivated within the political parties themselves by

uprooting sycophancy and avoiding the influences of imperialistic powers and

global big businesses. But the political parties are habitually still far away

from this after forty years of independence; as a result in a new set up the

economic differences between the people in Bangladesh remained as they

were before 1971 Liberation.

(iv) ‘Forming in to a party’ (`jxqKiY) in the State administration

„Forming in to a party‟ (`jxqKiY) in the State administration of Bangladesh

and other related fields has become a custom on the part of the various

governments that come to power in turn. Partisan love and nepotism as

„forming into a party‟ has taken an institutional shape from the decade of

nineties although it started from the very inception of Bangladesh. The process

of „forming in to a party‟ has been advanced through the disclosure of the

question papers of public personnel appointments, giving prejudicial marks in

the interview boards, reforming rules and regulations as per conveniences,

performing appointment process in secret etcetera. Partisan personnel have

been pushed into every chasm of the administration through various

techniques and frauds by the previous Jote (†RvU) government. But the demand

that appointments and promotions will have to be given by breaking rules and

regulations was not raised in public by any quarter so far.

The newness (and the danger emanating from it) of the „forming in to a party‟

during the reign of present GA government is that, this time the process of

„forming in to a party‟ is being arrogantly demanded as a „right‟. From the

side of the leaders of the Upojila level along with the grass root level to be

sure, even the Honourable Members of the Parliament (MP) also „agitate‟ side

by side demanding that it is their „just right‟ to appoint the party workers-

cadres from the list submitted by them. Can any effort to „neo-forming in to a

party‟ of the State administration ever be regarded as a „just right‟ by showing

the logic of making the administration free from „forming in to a party‟ of the

past? Thinking of such measures will not only entangle the country into the


sick vicious circle of „forming in to a party‟ and counter „forming in to a

party‟, but will throw the executive departments, functional departments and

administrative operations of the republic into a dangerous anarchy.

It is not unknown to anybody that behind these are connected the activities of

Tens of Millions of Taka‟s appointment businesses. But what is more

dangerous is that, they are trying to connect the entire thing with a political

theory. That theory is: appointments will have to be given in the

administration according to the sweet will of the MPs (not according to the

Policy and Rules and Regulations of the State), because they are the

representative of the people; and it is through their sweet will that the opinions

of the people may be reflected. It means that Democracy means the whims of

the MPs (Selim, 30 September 2010, P.11). Such practices will ruin the

country.

(v) Anxieties of the people

Perhaps because of these, as mentioned above, a former chief advisor of a

Caretaker Government lamented that the country is now in the grips of the

Mongers (evwRKi). The people of the country are now at a loss by falling into

the clutches of various types of Mongers, – Admission-mongers,

Appointment-mongers, Tender-mongers, Party-mongers, Purpose-mongers,

etcetera types of scandal-mongers. Taka three laks is required to be paid as

bribe to get the job of a fourth class employee. Under this process it is

impossible to build up a merit based administration (in the country) (Ittefaq, 7

October 2010, P.1, column 2, continued to P.19 column 1).

Perhaps these Mongers are the legacies of the colonial past. People of this

region have suffered the curses of famines in British India and Pakistan

because of the machinations of the Mongers. Those are the stories of the

colonial periods. We have seen famines in independent Bangladesh in the

seventies and the eighties of the twentieth century and artificial silent famines

created by the Mongers are still going of the day. But it is the responsibility of

the independent State to prevent and manage such famines. Hazrat Umar (r)

said, “I am afraid, if a baby boat dies without food on the bank of remote

Dojla, may be that I will be questioned by Allah for this” (Dainandin Zibane

Islam, 2000, Pp. 510-511). That means “whenever an individual or group is

unable, for reasons beyond their control, to enjoy the right to food by means at

their disposed, States have the obligation to fulfill (provide) that right directly.

This obligation also applies for persons who are victims of natural or other

disasters” (Shahabuddin, 2010, P.117).


Our leaders in power claim that no one has died without food but they cannot

deny the fact that food prices are far beyond the reach of the common people.

Rural hungry people are fattening the population of the capital city of Dhaka

and other cities and towns of the country for work and food. Dirty and dark

address less urban slums are their dwelling places. All of these are the

handiwork of the rural and urban Mongers; the government must take care of

that. Hazrat Mohammad (s) used to say that „a society in which coquetry-

adultery, usury-bribery and corruptions spread out but are not punished, that

society cannot but fall into the dreadful morsel of poverty and famines; and

the society in which the activities of bribery spread out, in that society fear and

terrorism cannot but be created‟ (Hadith: Musnadey Ahmad).

Now the ball is in the court of the politicians to shun greed and selfishness to

build a merit based administrative system at all levels of State activities and to

present themselves at every sphere of life as ideal leaders to be followed by

the citizens and their children for the amelioration of the lot of the common

people who vote them to power irrespective of party affiliations. “Surely His

(Allāh‟s) is the judgment. And He is the most swift of reconers” (Qur‟ân,

6:62). Forty years is a pretty long time for a nation to be built up, but

Bangladesh has failed because of the Mongers that catch and rob the fruits

underneath the tree that the owner of the tree pluck and drop to the ground for

himself, – violating the Al Qur‟ânic injunction, “Devour not your wealth

among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual consent, and kill

not one another” (Qur‟ân, 4:29).

(vi) Terrible anarchy in politics and political thinking

Now a new kind of awakening is urgent and demands of the time in

Bangladesh id est. the emergence of a new kind of renascence. Bangladesh

needs a new socio-political and economic philosophy to be pursued for the

betterment of the economic and spiritual lot of the people here and the

Hereafter. In passing we may touch upon the subject in brief as below.

The renascence of Bengal in the British period is known to all. Those –

especially the Marxists, Modernists and post-Modernists – who deny this is

wrong in their judgments of history and outlook. In succession to that

renascence appeared mass movements and struggles of the people in British

India and through these the British rule came to an end and India and Pakistan

were freed, the Zamindari system was abolished in East Pakistan in 1950 and

ultimately Bangladesh was emerged through a liberation struggle in 1971. But

soon after the establishment of Bangladesh we have fallen from the streams of

the renascences and mass movements. In the realm of our thoughts are


dominating Modernism, Inheritance, and global capitalism under the

leadership of the U.S.

After that glorious period of history we are in extreme confusions and terrible

errors. We have fallen from the glorious intellectual heritage of Pakistan and

the British ruled Bengal in building up patriotic political leaderships within the

country. In politics and political thinking are going on terrible anarchy and so

far as politics is concerned Bangladesh is now totally abandoned to vises.

Almost all the political parties and their alliances along with a large section of

the intelligentsia are abandoned to vices so far as the streams of politics are

concerned. There are diffused thinking in search of a right track, but because

of the lack of mutual connection and synthesis no one of them is granulated,

and are not being raised into a shape of thought and developed into a way of

thinking. Among the people there is no universal, general realization of great

distress, not even the realization of suitableness; under these circumstances in

the beginning of a new era we need a concept of new renascence (Haque, 14

December 2010, P. 11).

This is because as Allāh says, (They are) wavering between this and that

belonging neither to these nor those whom Allāh leaves straying, – never will

thou find for him the Way” (Qur‟ân, 4:143), “But to those who receive

guidance, He increases their Guidance, and bestows on them their Piety and

Restraint (from evil)” (Qur‟ân, 47:17). A renascence based on Islam can fill in

the gap of intellectual bankruptcy and Inshallāh rescue the nation from the

utter disorder that it has fallen into and save socio-cultural and politico-

economic traditions of our own from being abandoned to vices. “So believe in

Allāh and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who

believeth in Allāh and His words and follow him that haply ye may be led

aright” (Qur‟ân, 7:158). Moreover, “He (Allāh) hath revealed unto thee

(Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was revealed

before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, for

guidance to mankind; and hath revealed the Criterion of right and wrong”

(Qur‟ân, 3:3-4).

(vii). Bangladesh still has a long way to go

While Bangladesh has achieved impressive development progress over the

past [40] years since independence it still has a long way to go. Despite past

progress, over 50% of the rural population and some 35% of the urban

population are poor. Life expectancy is among the lowest in the region, the

incidence of child mortality is high, and over 50% of the children suffer from

malnutrition problem. Adult illiteracy is substantial and secondary school

enrolment is low. Health and education standards are generally very low. The


emerging health problems from urban environment degradation and arsenic

poisoning, along with the increasing risks of Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome (AIDS) and other contagious diseases such as the dengue fever,

provide a warning signal that there is no room for complacency. At the same

time, there are some worrying signs that the macroeconomic discipline,

generally an area of strength in the past, is weakening. Most fundamentally,

the serious governance difficulties, especially corruption in the banking sector,

tax administration and power sector, along with the sharply deteriorating law

and order problem pose a serious threat to the sustainability of past progress

(Ahmed, 2002, Pp.20-21). A preliminary calculations of the 2011 census

shows that 31.5 percent of the populations of the country are still under the

poverty line and their total number is 66.3 million out of about 145 million of

the Bangladesh total population; it means that they cannot afford the daily

minimum requirements of food to maintain health and body with the income

they earn. As per the standard of South Asia and certainly the world, the rate

of poverty in Bangladesh is the highest. The great number that is of the poor in

the country even today (after the elapse of forty years since independence) is

very humiliating for us as a nation in and without the country (Alam, 2011,

P.11) if we compare with the progress made by Singapore, Thailand, South

Korea and Malaysia over the same time.

After liberation we have witnessed many undesirable and unholy practices

engulfing the country to the utter decadence of moral and spiritual values that

safeguards the life, property and rights of the people in a country. The selling

out of the religious and traditional cultural values of the people of a country is

no guarantee to the existence of that country on its own rights of thoughts and

freedom. We are to remember what Al Qurân reads, “Be ye staunch in justice,

witness for Allāh, even though it be against yourselves or (your) parents or

(your) kindred, whether (the case be of) a rich man or a poor man, for Allāh is

nearer unto both (than ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth)

and if ye lapse or fall away, then verily! Allāh is ever Informed of what ye do”

(Qur‟ân, 4:135) id est. only Truth Shall Triumph. What Bangladesh needs is

democracy based on the principles of Al Shariah to amend the flaws and

inadequacies of western brand of democracy to fulfill the spiritual, socio-

political and economic aspirations of the people irrespective of cast, creed and

race.

Moreover, Bangladesh is yet to effectively address important issues like

growing income inequality, urban-rural income differences and employment

facilities, land reform programs, protection of the environment, competition

law and policy, inter-regional disparities (especially between the Southern-

Eastern, South-Western and Northern Bangladesh); policy failures in various


areas such as power sectors, monetary, fiscal, commercial, exchange rates,

capital market, price hikes in the commodity market, population rise and

sectoral policies; problems arising out of dependencies on manpower exports,

remittance money utilization, river erosions etcetera. These issues have been

referred to here to invite the attention of the interested researchers to deal in

details with them for better understanding of the performance of the

Bangladesh economy as such over the past forty years and to make policy

guidance concerning these technical and important issues, while the purpose

of the present author of this paper was limited to highlight the overall policy

errors mainly connected with the erroneous and imprudent conducts of

politics, politicians and bureaucrats, adversely affecting the Bangladesh

Political Economy since 1971 Liberation.

Section IV. Conclusion

We desired and achieved Bangladesh at the costs of lives and bloods forty

years back. Now the questions are: Do we find in essence any significant

elements of pro-development changes and progresses in the events that have

taken place in the country‟s economy at different points of time since

Independence? Have the economic and administrative set up of the pre-

independence time undergone any positive changes up to this day? Do we see

any light that things will change very soon? Are not the things going from bad

to worse day by day? Do our politicians realize the realities of the political

economy of the country? If not, let us hope they will do so as early as possible

before things go beyond the point of no return for the politicians of the country

to do anything.

01. The case of poverty alleviation

Despite the attempts of various governments and non-government

organizations to ameliorate the economic condition of the poor masses in

Bangladesh, the absolute number of people under poverty lines increased over

the years. It is true that most of the poverty alleviation programs implemented

so far had limited coverage. The necessity of specific development projects

directly related to poverty alleviation cannot be ignored, but implementation

of such micro level projects is not enough for alleviating poverty from

Bangladesh. Most of the people in Bangladesh are poor and lack sufficient

purchasing power to buy the basic necessities of life. Economic emancipation

of the toiling masses can be attained through implementation of labour

intensive development projects. In the present situation of massive

unemployment and underemployment prevailing in Bangladesh, employment

creation should be given the topmost priority in any development project


undertaken. The size distribution of income should be reduced through

progressive taxation of personal income and wealth. Such taxation increases

government revenues and converts a market and asset determined level of

personal income into a fiscally corrected disposable personal income.

The size distribution of income should be increased at the lower levels through

public expenditures of tax revenues to raise the income of the poor either

directly or indirectly. Institutional weaknesses in the form of incompetent and

unqualified civil servants, cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, excessive

caution and resistance to innovation and change, inter-ministerial, personal

and departmental rivalries and political and bureaucratic corruption should be

removed at any cost. Lack of commitment and political will on the part of

leaders and decision makers should also be avoided (Haque, 2002, P.19).

It has been observed that the institution of Zakāt is far more appropriate and

effective than the conventional western-type taxation system as a measure of

poverty alleviation and bringing about parity in the distribution of income in a

society (Kahf, 2008; Khaled, 2011).

02. The contribution of the toiling masses and the responsibilities of the

leaders

Our society is at sixes and sevens and miserable because of poverty,

unemployment, mismanagements, corruptions, lootings, absence of the rule of

law and the like. The condition of Bangladesh has been made much more

critical because of the various kinds of unworthiness-worthlessness in our

administrative system than the population boom that has thrown the small

country of limited resources into a vulnerable position.

The peasants of this country are arranging two square meals daily for the

entire population of the country despite living in utter poverty and numerous

adverse situations. The garment workers of the country have kept moving the

wheels of the economy through their bone-breaking day and night long work

at meagre amount of pay. Millions of poor working people are arranging

means of sustenance for sixteen crores people of the country by their ceaseless

toil in different countries of the world including the Middle East. The half-

educated remote rural or Mofosils‟ youths – male and female – are bearing the

responsibility of keeping strong the loins of our economy in the real sense of

the term by investing labour in the mills-factories and streets of the Middle

East, though the white-collar Bangladeshi employees in different parts of the

world are also contributing to some extent in this field. We are rendered

extremely flight in disorder time and again by natural calamities; but the poor

people of this country turn erect again with enormous strength. Here the


people continue to fight against the fierce anger of nature. Even dear ones,

assistance of friends and material resources, dwelling houses and agricultural

lands are lost for ever as a result of river-erosion, want, tornado and Aila. But

even after this the struggle for life continues like the tide of the flowing river.

The lives of the people of the ebb-tide regions and hill-tracts or forest areas

continue in this manner. As a result our political, our economic or socio-

cultural lives go ahead through various ups and downs and actions and

reactions. There is no dearth of people with queer mentality here to capitalize

the owes-sorrows or poverty of the people to amass riches and wealth. People

make people commodities here, and people make people sources of earnings.

This is the lot of a poor country. But the demand of our liberation war was to

create the steps to prosperity by breaking this chain of poverty. It has not been

possible till today to fulfill that demand. Politics in most cases has been

derailed from its own traditions and spirits, and as a result the entire country

has become critical. Only a sense of self-sacrifice can lead a man, a society to

actual civilization and prosperity. This sacrifice will have to come from among

the conductors of the country. The country in which more self-sacrificing

leaders are born, the more that country finds the path of growing up as

civilized and prosperous (Shuverthy, 26 November 2010, P. 10).

We are yet to fill up this gap for the amelioration of the socio-cultural and

politico-economic lot of the people of this country. In the political arena of the

country insightful courageous patriotic leadership with high humane values

and substantive public activities will have to be ensured. In this respect there is

no alternative but to the acceleration of the process of searching out objective

truth and the creation of a framework of mentality capable of accepting the

unveiled truth (Barkat, Ibid. P.2). For Bangladesh as a Muslim country Islam

provides that yet unveiled and universal truth, since “that is the true Religion:

but most among mankind know not” (Qur‟ân, 30:30).

03. ‘Sonar Bangla’, – the fruit of the peasants

It is beyond doubt that the fact the epithet „Sonar Bangla‟ has come after due

considerations or seeing, in deed, the beauty of the rural Bengal abounding

with many rivers and fruitful trees and corns. In the past, fertile land,

favourable weather – especially timely rainfall – and tireless efforts of the

peasants had kept active the economy of rural Bengal. Even though the new

technology were not used, it was possible to Sona (gold) render fruitful in the

fields by the traditional methods of cultivations, because of which Sonar

Bangla did not remain an incidental remark. But it is not enough to Sona

render fruitful, that should also be sufficient to meet the demands. The peasant

community of Bangladesh is illiterate, almost half-educated and the prey of ill-


health. They do not understand the tricks and plans of modern economics; as a

result they are often and easily deceived and deprived. And they have in them

inborn tendency to survive the antagonistic environment, and have

excogitation. They do neither give in nor subside, either invent new means or

if get the news of new means they never hesitate to make proper use of those.

The news of such success stories are printed in news papers now and then;

reading which we do not lose confidence and hope about „Sonar Bangla‟. For

this they needed neither to be highly educated nor to nock at the doors of the

consultants. The traditional heritage to survive in the struggle for life and the

urge to march ahead has inspired them to such deeds. Because of this the

image of „Sonar Bangla‟ shall never be frustrated (Hye, 8 November 2010,

P.11), but the fact remains that the builders of Sonar Bangla are kept neglected

and far away from the fruits of Sonar Bangla.

04. To build ‘Sonar Bangla’, in the politicians’ sense of the term

However, to build „Sonar Bangla‟, in the politicians‟ sense of the term, for all

levels of people, it may have to be urgent to stop all sorts of political

interferences in the appointments at all levels of government and non-

government appointments of personnel to serve for the amelioration of the lot

of the poor people who are the actual builders of Sonar Bangla and go every

night, at present, to sleep with the torment of hunger. To change the society in

the tilt of which the millions of hungry, diseased, shelter less and unclad

people are trapped – district, regional, racial or quota based on gender or mere

attachment to the liberation of the country or party politics may have to be

stopped in public and private services in favour of the incumbent‟s eligibility

and commitment to the nation and to give vent to the meritorious, efficient,

honest, susceptible and patriotic candidates to serve the toiling masses of the

country. Al Qur‟ân reads, “Hire him! Truly the best of men for thee to employ

is the (man) who is strong and trustworthy” (Qur‟ân, 28:26). Moreover,

environment may have to be created so that self-sacrificing competitive

educated leadership on the basis of personal honesty, diligence, efficiency,

commitment and desire to serve for the common welfare of the people may

grow up in the country with the sense of patriotism, so that nominations to the

Parliament and local level bodies may be given on that basis not on

professionalism and hereditary or family traditions.

The millionaires and multimillionaires of the country may be asked to give

account of their property prior to 1971 and the sources of their present

fortunes. Provisions may have to be made so that all public figures declare

their wealth before entering office and at the time of leaving that office. Al

Qur‟ân reads about the end of arrogances and hoodwinks of leaderships, “So,


when at length they angered Me, I exacted retribution from them, and I

drowned them all. And I made them (a People) of the Past and an Example to

later ages” (Qur‟ân, 43:55-56).

Political activities in educational institutions and government and private

offices and companies may have to come to an end for the welfare of the

people and the country. Ethical education based on religion at all levels should

be compulsory so that the educated persons of the country may acquire moral

values conducive to just socio-cultural and politico-economic advancement of

the country. State principle may have to be “Plain living and high thinking”

based on Al Shariah. Honesty, Piety, Spiritual attainments, Diligence and

Sacrifices in national interest may have to be rewarded. The activities of the

NGOs need to be tightly bridled up or stopped so that they cannot harm the

economic and political sovereignty of the country. Al Qur‟ân reads, “Allāh

commands justice, the doing of good, and giving to kith and kin, and He

forbids all indecent deeds, and evil and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye

may receive admonition” (Qur‟ân, 16:90).

05. Social unrest and the lack of social forbearance

Social unrest is rapidly increasing in Bangladesh. But it has not been

increasing from yesterday or from the past one year; it has been a phenomenon

for several decades. The lack of social forbearance in the state system has

surfaced almost from the very beginning of independence (Huq, 1974. Pp. 1-

11). This is the result of the erosion of moral values and the absence of social

forbearance; the outcome of this is increases in corrupt activities in almost all

levels of socio-cultural and politico-economic sphere of the country. Socio-

political stability is a necessary condition for economic development; the

absence of which obstructed the growth of congenial environment for

economic development of the country. Widespread social deceases are

harming further the worm-eaten existing social system. The social scientists,

irrespective of party affiliations, opinions and genders, are necessary to be

united and actively come forward to drive away the harmful influences of such

maladies from the society. Because, if economic emancipation is to be earned,

the necessity of business environment based on free understanding and

conscience cannot be overruled.

In the present money-centric society affections, fascinations, attachments

etcetera if not reduced compared to the past but their external expressions

have reduced to a large extent. As a result the distance that is being created

between man and man is leading human being to a wrong direction. A kind of

snobbery is despising socio-economic activities. Many beautiful moments of

life are being stung by venomous snap because of conducting socio-economic


activities through deceit either for self existence or for taking self advantage;

thereby creating wounds and self-centered mentality in the socio-cultural and

politico-economic life of the people of the country. For the building up of a

practically beautiful Bangladesh, the state machinery will essentially have to

be established on the basis of equity and justice, so far as the citizens of the

country are concerned (Ali, 1 December 2010, P.11). We are to remember that

Al Qur‟ân reads, “The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace

and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers” (Qur‟ân, 49:10).

This is in essence the principle of social forbearance as per Al Shariah.

06. The necessity of cultural movements based on Al Shariah

However, education, training and the creation of habits of secluded cultural

movements can bear the responsibility of continually raising the society to a

level of new enlightenment. As new generations are constantly appearing in

the society, as a result it is not impossible for the depiction of such far

reaching programs. Even after this, if any subordinate politics prevail in any

country then it may turn into a very difficult task. But there is no alternative to

such movement in the interest of pure democracy (based on Islam) and

independence. It is only through the qualitative improvement of the standard

of power that democracy can be achieved, and it has to be advanced by means

of cultural movements (Mashrafi, 30 December 2010, P.11). The experiences

that Bangladesh have gathered in the past forty years are that, even alien

cultural movements fail to remove the flaws of alien democracy that is being

practiced in Bangladesh, what is necessary and befitting for Bangladesh is to

stand under the shelter of its own traditional religious cultural movements for

the establishment of a new kind of power structure for pure democracy of its

own based on Al Shariah for the salvation of the state and its independent

people. Bangladesh a country of 90% of Muslim population has failed to

harmonize Islam, Democracy and Economic Development so far; lack of

which has frustrated the people of the country in particular and the Muslim

world in general. During and before the beginning and successful completion

of the liberation war the people were above and after that they have been

thrown bellow and the State has stepped above. The staying of the common

people of Bangladesh today, in the words in Gokol Nag of poet Quazi Nazrul

Islam, are: “They are neither actors nor national leaders,/Their arbour of

creation is want, destitution,/They posses no wealth, spirit is their

capital;/They have neither much provision nor uproar;/Tears, affections and

wounded heart they possess”. Here lies the problem. But it is the Muslims –

the countrymen, their culture, their religious values and other complementary

socio-economic principles of their own tradition that may pull up the dismal

country that Bangladesh is today from the abyss of economic and other


calamities and materialize the hopes and aspirations of the common people

who made the actual and capital sacrifices for the birth of Bangladesh.

We are to accept the truth that, it is not only a monumental task of taking the

responsibility of leading the people to prosperity here in the earth and the

Hereafter, but also a virtue. Let the pious soul who takes this responsibility of

conducting the affairs of the state, pray to Almighty Allāh: “Praise be to Allāh,

Benefactor of the Worlds, the Beneficent the Merciful. Owner of the Day of

Judgment, Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we seek for help. Show us

the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast favoured; not (the path) of

those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray” (Qur‟ân, 1:1-7).

Amen.

NOTES and REFERENCES

Translated Al Qur‟ânic verses are from ‘The Meaning of the Glorious Koran’ by

Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthal, 12th

Printing, published by the New American Library, New York and Toronto, and The Holy Qur’an, Transliteration in Roman

Script with Original Arabic Text, English Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali,

published by Kitab Bhaban, New Delhi 2008, modified by the author of this paper following Al Qur‟ânul Karim the Bengali version of Al Qur‟ân including the Original

Arabic Text, published by the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, Dhaka 1999. Al

Qur‟ânic verse numbers are those of the original text. Other translations, wherever

made from Bengali, and the words, figures and fragments of sentences inserted within quotations between parentheses and square brackets are the acts of the present author.

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