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2018-08-14
Peace has returned to Bangladesh after ten days of a student agitation, which
was brutally quelled by the police and club-wielding thugs of the ruling
Awami League.
But the issues underlying the stir remain and might re-surface in other forms
as the country heads towards parliamentary elections likely to be held
between October 31 and December 31, this year. And the roots of the trouble
could be traced to economic issues.
Bangladesh has been experiencing an impressive 7.5 % GDP growth, but the
growth has benefited only the rich. It has not given the expected returns to the
upwardly-mobile middle classes in the urban and rural areas.
The recent agitation was but a manifestation of a deeper
malaise, namely, growing frustration among the middle classes, which are
facing economic difficulties. Poor investment in the public services, income
less or jobless economic growth and widening disparities between the rich and
the middle classes are worrying the urban middle class and the upwardly
mobile rural middle class, says political commentator Afsan Chowdhury.
The deaths of students Dia and Rajib could not be described merely as a
“Road Accident.”
It was the result of the unbridled and unplanned growth of the transport
sector and the neglect of the country’s roads, both reflecting unconcern for
the welfare of the common man, opines economist Hossain Zillur Rahman in
an article in The Daily Star.
“We have endured the road anarchy, sometimes in anger, but mostly in
silence. Our concerns and agonies have mattered little to those who matter,”
Rahman says.
The other issue is the instant politicization of the agitation. While taking
stringent measures to curb reckless driving, the Sheikh Hasina government
accused the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of fuelling the
riots by sending in young men with bags full of stones to throw at the police in
order to invite retaliation and gain world attention.
But the government also has been intolerant towards the opposition.
Repression appears to have become routine under the Awami League regime.
According to Al Jazeera, since February this year, over 3,000 members of the
opposition BNP have been put behind bars. The BNP alleges that over 500 of
its supporters have been killed and nearly 750 “abducted” by the Police and
thrown into jail since 2014. The party claims around 150 of its missing
workers have either been killed in extrajudicial encounters or have been made
to disappear.
Economic Issues
Street unrest has a deeper economic cause, irrespective of the issue which may
have triggered it, says Afasan Chowdhury. And the Dhaka-based think tank,
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has a report which identifies the politically
relevant economic issues.
Analyzing the state of the Bangladesh economy in the fiscal year 2017-2018,
the CPD says that accelerated GDP growth (7.5%) has not been translated
into desired outcomes.
Employment elasticity of growth has declined significantly. Moreover,
employment has not led to an adequate income for decent living. Thus,
benefits of high growth have not reached all citizens of the country equally,
the CPD observes.
The West and its media are none too happy with the Hasina government’s
increasing acceptance of Chinese investment
in strategically important mega infrastructural projects
Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of CPD, told the media
recently that female workers and rural workers were facing a decline in their
real monthly income while the unemployment rate among the youth with
higher education is increasing. According to a CPD report, more than a third
of the total youth labour force with higher education remains unemployed.
Bhattacharya said that the banking sector was plagued by financial scams,
non-performing loans, inefficiency, and slack monitoring and supervision.
Money laundering happens through the banking sector, the unstable capital
market and high import payments, he pointed out.
The CPD report recommended reducing the personal income tax rate for the
first slab to 7.5 per cent from the prevailing rate of 10 per cent.
Balanced Growth
Given the rising inequality in the rural areas and high food inflation, the CPD
reiterates the need for guidelines to ensure food security and an incentive
structure for farmers.
Hence the importance of economic issues for the coming elections, he adds.
Posted by Thavam