CHARLAND IN BANGLADESH
Political Economy of Ignored Resource
Within the overall sacio-economic and political context of Bangladesh, CHAR LAND remains an ignored national resource. Rescuing char lands from illegal occupation and grabbing, redistribution of those among the poor people in the chars, appropriate management of char lands, enactment and implementation of pertinent rules and practices, and participation of char people in the process- all these constitute prime issues of agrarian reform in Bangladesh.
Char people have got into a trap of distress, destitution and deprivation. About 90 percent of the char people are river eroded with almost all of them being landless or functional landless and 97 percent living without rehabilitation. Conflict, violence and bloodshed seem to be a never-ending dilemma in the life in char.
Agrarian reform is a must to ensure human development in Bangladesh. In realizing this, char people’s right to land and right to rehabilitation should be realized. High political commitment coupled with respect to chat people’s voice and organized movement for land and water-bodies are necessary.
Abul Barkat, Ph. D.is currently professor of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Barkat is a reputed researcher in the field of political economy of human development with special concentration on land- poverty –development nexus, poverty and humane deprivation,Constitution and human development. minority people’s right to development, urbanization and slumization, criminalization of economy and politics, rural electrification and poverty, gender divide in development, population and health. Dr. Barkat has in his credit over two hundred and fifty research studies and publications on land rights, poverty, human deprivation and human development. He is the principle author of four pioeering books dealing with land rights and poverty: An Inquiry into Causes and consequences of deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh through the vested property Act: Political Economy of Khas Land in Bangladesh; Poverty and Access to Land in Bangladesh; and political Economy of Land Litigation in Bangladesh. Dr. Barkat strongly regards human development as human right and a freedom mediated process, and therefore, stresses on ethical and moral dimensions of human development. He participates actively in the civil society activities. He is the current elected General Secretary (2004-2006) of the Bangladesh Economic Association.
Prosanta Kumar Roy, M Sc, is a Deputy Secretary, Government of Bangladesh. He is currently Director, Economic Theory, Bangladesh Public Admimistration Training Centre, Government of Bangladesh. He is coauthor of the book Political Economy of Land Litigation in Bangladesh.
Md. Shahnewaz Khan, MSS is a research associate in the Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
