
The decade preceding the 1947 Indian partition was an eventful period, with profound impact on the subsequent political developments of the states thus created. Though works dealing with this period abound, most of these have an all-India focus. There is a dearth of research-based books and other works covering the Bengal situation. Bengal, then a Muslim-majority province in eastern India, was the bastion of the Muslim League/Pakistan movement.
Committees are ubiquitous. They are found in all types of legislatures- large or small, old or new. Parliamentary committees are important because they can provide a number of values that are not easily available otherwise. However, although it is widely acknowledged that committees have greater resilience in Congressional and Continental systems than in Westminster-style democracies, there are not many studies that explore variations in committee influence and impact in the latter. This volume intends to fill this gap.
This book contains essays for discussion and amendment. The author has tried to describe and analyse one of the most enduring issues of our time in order to facilitate a different understanding of the event. The effects of nationalism, militarism, fundamentalism and democracy manifest themselves as a powerful pressure with significant effects on our human environment. It has widened the gap between concern and decision and has impassibly divided Bangladesh society.
The Politics of Nationalism examines the process of nationality construction within the Hill people of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. The book places the issue in an historical context and begins with the first encounter of the Hill people with the British in 1760; it traces their loss of independence and consequent marginalisation within the colonial state. The book then argues that nation-state is tuned to the needs and aspirations of the dominant community; and the Hill people being the subordinate group continued to be marginalised within the State of Pakistan and then Bangladesh.
The book is based on the findings of a survey conducted in 1990 of four erstwhile upazilas in the districts of Patuakhali and Barguna in Bangladesh. The original study was commissioned by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) culminating in a research report. Although the decentralized system of local government in the form of upazila parishads no longer exists in the country, the contents of the book should be relevant to policy reforms for the local government.
Politicisation of civil service has been much discussed in the media. Little research as to its implications on economic, social and political order exists. The author’s analysis of this burning issue is truly revealing. Drawing on examples from the United Kingdom, the author acknowledges that civil servants have to act under political direction. However, politicisation of civil service in Bangladesh has been carried to absurd lengths. The point he makes is that this type Of politicisation is anathema to constitutional governance.
The study is a pioneering attempt on civil service management in Bangladesh. The study is a unique blend of practitioner's knowledge and academic insight of the operation of the administrative machinery of Bangladesh. As many as ten key aspects of management have been identified, analysed and evaluated in depth with suggested actions for the future. These areas are both conventional and new. The conventional areas include recruitment, training, pay, pension, promotion etc.
This volume consists of 26 columns published earlier in various leading dailies between the years 2004 and 2006. The need for publication of the columns was felt because of the almost unending debate on religion-based militancy. The major political parties did not fail to have polarised views on the issue based on politics of denial and politics of confrontation. The media and the civil society, on the other hand, contributed to a more informed understanding of the much-debated subject of terrorism.
The challenge of establishing a functional democracy essential for national development has eluded many less developed countries. Bangladesh has been struggling to meet the challenge since its inception. Bangladesh in the Mirror compares the hopes of Bangladesh at independence in 1971 with the reality that exists today. While this book acknowledges the country's accomplishments, it also shows that the aspirations and potential of the Bangladeshi people have been thwarted by a fragile political and administrative system.