Elusive \'inclusive\' development

Mere development is not enough; we need people-centric development. Of late, we have a lot of articles which present data to substantiate economic development of Bangladesh. But very few articles reveal ground reality. We are bypassing some key socio-economic issues, which may end up in fiasco.
Considering the development indicators presented quantitative way, I am expressing my concern about some attributes which are often missing but most essential for development of any country. Yes, Bangladesh is making progresses which are more or less visible. At the same time, it is also visibly clear that the growth is not inclusive.
But inclusive growth is a must for sustainable development. In pursuit of development, all the countries are trying their level best, in the milieu of their socio-political ideology, to accelerate economic growth. The word development was unknown to Bangladesh for a long time but recently people are familiar with development. They want development but what type of development? Often it seems to be 'stranger' to them. Development is for people but this people are absent in this process.
We need inclusive and sustainable development but the masses are often like spectators. At the very inception of journey of Bangladesh, we had a homogenous nation with a promise to make collective prosperity. But soon after its birth, is common aspiration turns to individual or group upliftment. The lack of a clear perception of the civil society and of the politicians about Bengali nationalism and nation state of Bangladesh resulted in some ambiguity about their ultimate destination.
Over the last decade, Bangladesh has changed remarkably. Though GDP and per capita income is key indicator of economic development of a country, often  it  can't  depict  the  real  scenario  of  an  economy.  
In theory, rising GDP creates employment and investment opportunities; and as income grows, both citizens and government increasingly are able to set aside funds for the things that make for good life. One of the tasks of the government is to establish conditions that encourage this kind of economic development. Its role should thus be active protecting the rules of law; investing in infrastructure, health and education. Of course, GDP growth in itself does not guarantee equitable distribution of incomes, but the problems can be offset by government taxes and transfers. Not necessarily income brings happiness and social justice to an economy but these are inevitable for stable growth.
In spite of economic development in the last four decades, social and economic disparity has increased remarkably. Not just in Bangladesh but around the world as well, there is mounting concern about inequality and about lack of opportunity, how these twin trends are changing our economies, our democratic politics, and our societies. The crisis continues to hurt those in the middle and at the bottom.
Yes, every government today is taking some redistributive measures. These are not enough. It needs well monitoring. Because little portion of welfare reach the target group. It can be said that what damage the economic growth-based development has resulted, now being repaired. Prima facie, the present development effort has some in-built order that as it goes, whether at a moderate or faster rate creating a more unequal society.
Poor quality of education in different levels and shortage of world-class academic and management institutions may affect development. The number of educated unemployed is rising and the education system has to be reformed. Profession-oriented and demand-based curriculums have to be introduced. A pragmatic policy is required between the academia and industry leaders to make adjustments in the curriculum according to requirement so that the relevant sectors' job can be created.
Lack of maintenance of large projects doesn't bring the desired outcome in the long run. Welcome much interested in construction but not in maintenance. Many development projects fail in a shorter duration, which is one type of social wastage. Mass people bear all these costs as tax.
In the name of development, we are destroying our nature which causes huge environmental degradation that is we are stealing our future for present consumption. It is most often by the direct and indirect patronisation of government and politicians. Land grabbing by a few industrialists may bring serious jeopardy for our long-term plan. A lot of marginal peoples are landless. Even the government fails to execute mega project for want of land.
In all developed, newly developed, fast-developing, and even emerging countries, one feature is common -- the fruits of development are distributed in an unequal manner, and in other words, the rich is becoming richer and the poor poorer. Higher growth rate has led to not only development, but also created more inequality and more and more plutocrats in the society. It has been observed that all the developed and fast developing countries, irrespective of their ideological standing, show that as countries became rich, the inequalities also increased. The whole society is divided in different sections by political, religious and cultural ideologies. It is tough for any government to reach any political and economic consensus.
According to Columbia University professor and development economist Jeffery D. Sachs: "The marketplace does have some elements of basic fairness: hard work can produce a higher income; laziness is punished". Between  incentive  and  punishment  we  must  have  to  preserve  some  basic  fairness  in  our development goal. If only a few power-centric people get all the benefit from ongoing policies, then it curtails the space for basic fairness.
In the age of global economic turmoil and deterioration of ethical values, in developing countries like Bangladesh widespread corruption and absence of rule of laws, in other words, the absence of appropriate economic and political institutions may derail our development goal. To achieve economic development, we must have to address socio-economic challenges prudently. This journey to development had never been easy for any nation and it is always a long and arduous battle to turn promises into achievements. So we have to address all the long term economic policies prudently; otherwise development as well as Bangladesh will not achieve its desired goal.

The writer is a university teacher. He can be reached at: [email protected]