Economic development: The future lies with the youths

A historical anecdote goes like this. When the soldiers of Robert Clive and Nawab Siraj-ud-Dowla were fighting the Battle of Plassey on June 23, 1757, the local peasants were tilling their lands adjacent to the battle-field. This means the common people of Bengal at the time did not bother as to who rules the country, since it was all the same for them. Rulers came and left the scene, but that mattered little to the amelioration of the peasants' lot. However, the later generations of those politically indifferent people realised to the bone what they had lost in the battle-ground of Plassey.
By now the common people's thoughts and concepts have undergone a radical change - as we have seen during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, when it was the common peasantry and their offspring who contributed a lot to the liberation of the country from the clutches of subservience. The common people's conscious voice and their votes these days change the regimes of a country all over the world including Bangladesh. Such processes now reflect the common people's socio-economic judgement of the performances during the tenure of a regime they vote to power. But Bangladesh's common people are yet to come free of the pseudo-feudal system of rule long in vogue in the country, which hinders proper development of their socio-economic status.
The recently published Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) preliminary report on the Bangladesh Economic Census 2013 says the scope of economic activities has doubled in the country during the last one decade. The census statistics reveal that the economic foundation of Bangladesh is gradually strengthening and Bangladesh is marching towards institutionalisation of economic activities. The number of permanent economic institutions has also increased by a considerable margin with the pace of time. Even it has also been shown that during the last one decade, the growth rate was 150 per cent in the rural, and 63 per cent in the urban areas. It may be perhaps because the base-period development was more in the urban than in the rural sector. However, the rural sector development is gaining momentum. It has also been disclosed that the real economic gain is immense, side by side with the boundless future prospects for the economy.
BASKET CASE VERSUS TEST CASE OF DVELOPMENT: But 42 years ago, the socio-economic state of Bangladesh was so fragile and in disarray that the most optimistic of the economists could not venture to predict that Bangladesh would one day stand out as a success case in the world economy. The former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once remarked in the early days of Bangladesh that "it is a basket case". The real picture was depicted in a different way by Norwegian economist Falkland and British economist Parkinson in their book "Bangladesh: A Test Case of Development". Pointing to the wretched socio-economic scenario of the time, they came to the conclusion that if Bangladesh can economically develop under such circumstances and infrastructural conditions, then it will be possible for any country of the world to develop economically. Their sarcastic words have emerged as a positive example after the end of four decades of Bangladesh economy. Recently, Bangladesh has made its place visible on the list of the 'Next Eleven' prospective economies of the world.   
Yet there is nothing to be complacent about. Though Bangladesh has made an economic breakthrough over the past four decades, it is yet to go a long way for sustainable, self-sufficient and self-reliant economic growth and development. A major portion of our vast 160 million people is juvenile. The group that can be considered as youths is 43 per cent of the total population.
THE MAJOR PILLAR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: This write-up deals with the youths aged up to 30 years. The major pillar of economic development of the country is their eagerness to face the challenges of time in the form of their love for the latest technology and endless self-confidence. In the recent times, there is not a single village in Bangladesh countryside where there are no juvenile workers toiling abroad. Millions of young men and women are working overseas. The young generation is up and doing in flying to far-away countries to work for wages, defying many hostilities, even death. As a result, about 8 million youths are engaged in jobs now in more than 150 countries. They have considerably wiped out 'want' from the rural segment of the Bangladesh economy.  The regular remittances they send home act as 'oxygen' for the economy of Bangladesh. But ultimately the country's economy will have to get prepared to absorb them in the domestic job market in the near future for achieving self-reliance. This is a big challenge that Bangladesh economy is facing at the moment.  
In the domestic sector, agriculture and the ready-made garment (RMG) sectors are playing the pivotal role in the economy. The rising trend in the Bangladesh economics graph started from the decade of the nineties, when it entered the age of the current world's competitive free economy. As a result Bangladesh is now enjoying the benefit of exporting commodities ranging from apparels, manpower, and shrimps, leather products, various items from cottage industries to ocean-going vessels. The surplus that remains left in the Bangladesh economy, because of the exposure to the global market, is giving rise to the emergence of a huge number of new entrepreneurs. By now, a new class of small and medium-size entrepreneurs has already been put in place. A success attained by one inspires others to come forward. Thus the possibility of creating domestic job opportunities is being widened in the country. This is a highly positive achievement for the new generation of workers to be employed in the diverse domestic economic sectors.
The juvenile and young entrepreneurs and workers are the principal drivers of this success. They are pushing forward the country's economy by overtaking hundreds of thorny obstacles in their way. These new generations of enthusiastic and diligent entrepreneurs and workers could have further impressed the world had they got favourable and proper assistance and the minimum risk-free domestic working environments within the country. If political stability and good governance together with appropriate running and management of the affairs of the state could be ensured, these young entrepreneurs and workers could do the unbelievable in the socio-economic scenario of Bangladesh. To achieve this goal, political wisdom and foresight is needed on the part of those who run the affairs of the state.                                 
PROBLEM AREAS: One more problem, as the preliminary BBS Bangladesh Economic Census 2013 shows, is the extent of regional disparity that persists in socio-economic development facing the country. Although the volume of economic activities has expanded much during the last one decade, the regional economic disparity still exists in the distribution of economic activities and privileges among the regions. There are widespread differences in economic activities at the divisional level. The Sylhet division is lagging behind. The 'advanced' divisions are Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. In between the period from 1986 to 2013 Dhaka has attained the highest number of permanent economic units (units of economic activities) along with powerful upward trend of that. However, the number of permanent business units all over the country is on the increase with the passage of time, unevenly though. The thana-based economic activities are rapidly expanding. The once-stagnant rural economy of the northern region is flourishing, because of higher growth rate there, pushing Khulna and Barisal behind. This aspect of national economic development has to be taken care of to ensure an egalitarian distribution of the fruits of economic development throughout the country.
Although an all-round economic uplift activity process is in progress in the country, the production at the manufacturing or industrial sector has not increased at the expected rate. The contribution of the service sector is more in volume, and is expanding. This needs attention of the policy makers. It is not a good sign for the economy that the service sector will outgrow the real sectors of the economy. This may result in an inflationary trend in the economy to the sufferings of the common working people. It has to be mended before time runs out.
LIBERATION WAR IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS: Hopefully, we may conclude that the new and younger generations born after the War of Liberation have proved and taught us that the war was not a static phenomenon to remain confined to 1971 only. Liberation War is a continuous process.
At the same time, the peasantry of Bangladesh today is not that passive one that existed in the past, who tilled their lands while the 'sun of freedom' of Bengal was setting at the battle-ground of Plassey in 1757. The people, irrespective of social positions, are much more aware and conscious now. They are silently making significant, positive contributions to the much-needed economic growth and development process of the country amid the often-tumultuous political scenario.
The economically active young generations manifest the hope for the country's socio-economic future. Their success needs to be highlighted to encourage the other newcomers in the economic arena. Let the country pay heed to their genuine needs and requirements in order to build the future of Bangladesh.
The writer is a retired professor                  of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.                                       [email protected]