Links between physical and politico-economic geography and development
Friday, 6 January 2012
Syed Abu Hasnath in the second of a three-part article
Land, with fertile alluvial soil and enough rainfall, is the most important natural resource of Bangladesh -- the main requirement for crop production. If per capita land available for cultivation is an index of sustainability, then Bangladesh is in a precarious condition: its 0.06 hectares (ha) of arable land per capita is alarmingly low and incapable of supporting an endlessly increasing population. The situation is consistently improving over time, although the land: person ratio is gradually declining: per-capita caloric intake per day was 1936 Kcal in 1986, 2 019 Kcal in 1996, and 2 050 Kcal in 2009.
The importance of mineral resources, including energy, for economic development cannot be overstated. In most rural areas, where natural gas and electricity are not available, biomass is used to meet the heat and energy demand. Bangladesh has modest recoverable coal reserves that have so far not been developed. The hydrocarbon-rich Bay of Bengal is another potential source of energy for Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India; unfortunately, the area is disputed among the three countries. Geological exploration indicates that there exists a high potentiality of discovering coal, more natural-gas fields, and petroleum in several areas, including the offshore regions. At present, however, Bangladesh is considered poor in mineral resources.
Political and economic geography of development/underdevelopment: The economy of Bangladesh - for that matter, the economy of any country is innately geographical. The obvious conclusion is that the underdevelopment of the Indian subcontinent was not an original historical condition but resulted from centuries of lack of sovereignty. Within India, the economy of the eastern part of Bengal (today's Bangladesh) suffered disproportionately.
At the time of partition in 1947, the economy of the then West Pakistan, particularly Punjab, was better than that of the then East Pakistan; its agricultural sector was flourishing, and the city of Lahore was considered the "banking capital" of this sub-continent. The level of urbanisation in the then West Pakistan (22%) at the time of independence of Bangladesh in 1971 was four times that of erstwhile East Pakistan (5.5%). The disparity between the then East and West Pakistan, in terms of economic growth and social development, grew fourfold between the 1950s and the 1970s. Political power was firmly in the hands of the then West Pakistanis.
Nature also contributed to the forces of underdevelopment. In November 1970, the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded -- known as the Bhola cyclone -- totally devastated the life and livelihood of the coastal region of the then East Pakistan; the death toll was close to 1.0 million. The then central government's response was inadequate to meet the vast demand for rehabilitation, and the people were deeply critical of this neglect. In December 1970 general election held under the then Pakistani authorities, the Awami League (AL) -- the largest political party, -- won a landslide victory (167 of 169 seats) in the then East Pakistan, and a healthy majority in the 313-seat national assembly. Unfortunately, democracy was subverted: the then president of Pakistan, Gen. Yahiya Khan, decided not to hand over power to the majority leader, Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to form a national government, and instead cracked down on the political unrest. After a civil war with the then West Pakistan that lasted for nine months, the erstwhile East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh.
The new nation's struggle for survival: The war ended after massive bloodshed and left the economy, including its physical infrastructure, totally crushed. In 1974, when the post-war reconstruction work was in full swing, a severe flood, followed by famine, occurred. The amount of foreign aid per flood victim was very small; the new nation survived the disaster on its own. On August 15, 1975, the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and many of his family were assassinated by a group of mid-level army officers. Maj-Gen Ziaur Rahman, then deputy chief of staff, soon emerged as the principal beneficiary of the coup. After becoming president in April 1977, he introduced a policy of economic liberalization and privatized some state-owned enterprises. The policy did not bring immediate results, however; the rate of economic growth was dismal, between 2.0% and 3.0%. Although his policy bore fruit a decade later, the "legacy of blood" also continued: President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in May 1981. After a brief interlude of the game of the army rule versus civilian politics, Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad seized control of the government in March 1982 and became president in December 1983. Politics and business continued in the form of patron-client relationship to dominate, paving the way for the return of religion-based parties and politics. The rate of economic growth was modest, between 3.0% and 4.0%. The development and maintenance of essential physical infrastructure -- an important ingredient for sustained economic growth -- received considerable impetus from Ershad's government. The people turned on Ershad so decisively that in December 1990 he had to resign in ignominy. Thus the reign of the generals came to an end, ushering in a new period of parliamentary democracy and sustained development
The political economy of democratic transition over the past two decades: After the fall of Ershad, elections for the national parliament were held in 1991, under the supervision of a short-term caretaker government. Ziaur Rahman's widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, as head of her late husband's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh. Her government achieved economic growth above current levels and made substantial progress in the education sector, including the introduction of free and compulsory primary education and education for girls up to 10th grade with stipend. In her second term (2001-6), Begum Zia formed an alliance with -- among others -- the Jamaat-e-Istami, the party accused of treason and mass murder during the war of 19716.
Over the years, the rate of inflation crept up, the price index of food and non-food items soared, and the economy stalled. Thus, Begum Zia's final term in office came to an end in October 2006 in the midst of political unrest, chaos and violence, leaving the young democracy in a state of disgrace.
On 12 January 2007, Fakruddin Ahmed, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, was appointed as the chief advisor (equivalent to prime minister) of the military-backed caretaker government. The caretaker government, which extended its term by two years, has been praised by many for a of reasons:
n Restoring law and order, including trying and executing six top erstwhile Jamat-e-Mujahadin, Bangladesh (JMB) leaders for their involvement in the August 2005 bombing and for subsequently killing two judges;
n Helping the Bangladesh Election Commission to prepare for its electoral role by gathering photographs of 81 million voters; and
n Ensuring a free and fair parliamentary election at the end of December 2008.
However, the caretaker government's human-rights record was poor, and its economic performance poorer. The general consensus was that the indirect support of the military eventually became direct once again, leading to a military-controlled government. This tumultuous political change produced tremendous fear and tension among the entrepreneur class, producing a negative impact on macro-economic indicators for the country, cereal prices surged to their highest levels in decades; trade and commerce decelerated; and electricity to power homes, businesses, industries, and irrigation was in short supply.
Current prime minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the AL, has been in power for two terms: first from 1996 to 2001, and second from January 2009 to date, with an absolute majority in the parliament. Her leadership includes, among other things, a Commitment to be constructive by upholding the values of independence and the original constitution of 1972, thereby creating a secular democratic government of national unity. Three notable achievements of her first term are described below.
First, a treaty was signed between India and Bangladesh concerning the sharing of the Gangas which was a bone of contention between the two countries ever since it was built in the 1960s. No one will claim that the treaty has eliminated or even fully mitigated the major impacts of the Farakka --reduced flow of water during the lean period, intrusion of salinity in the coastal region, and arsenic contamination of Bangladesh's groundwater. Official statistics show, however, that before signing the treaty (in December 1996), Bangladesh received less than 10,000 cubic feet per second (cusec) of water during the lean season, whereas recent data show that in January 2008 and January 2009, 55,883 cusec and 56,419 cusec of water, respectively, were received. India, during the same period, received 40,000 cusec of water per annum. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina was able to obtain the maximum share of water under the sagreement. This is no mean achievement for the Bangladesh as the downstream riparian.
Her next achievement was to resolve the continuing insurgency movement of indigenous ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. These groups demanded self-rule to promote the region's culture, language, and economic development and, above all, to maintain their distinctiveness, while the successive governments of Bangladesh wanted to assimilate them into the majority culture. The army's ongoing presence was also responsible for violations of human rights.
As the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina was generally considered to be more sincere about solving the CHT problem than previous government leaders. As result, a peace accord was signed in December 1997 between the National Committee and the Hill people. The peace accord included, among other things, protection of land rights of the indigenous people, revival of their cultural uniqueness, rehabilitation for internally displaced people and refugees who had left the country, withdrawal of the military from the CHT, and self-governed regional district councils. The signing of this accord was an important achievement for both AL government and the representatives of the PCJSS.' The accord greatly enhanced Sheikh Hasina's image internationally, and she was awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Peace Prize in 1999. Third, Sheikh Hasina's first term as the prime minister saw the completion of construction work on the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (Bangabandhu Setu), which opened to traffic in June 1998. The bridge -- 4.8 km long and 18.8 in wide, and carrying both broad gauge and meter gauge railway tracks -- is the fifth largest in South Asia. It establishes an efficient link between the eastern and western parts of Bangladesh and has boosted regional economic integration, effectively reducing travel distances within the country.
Now, the nearly three-year-old present AL government is marked by -- among other achievements -- a policy of constructive engagement with neighbouring countries, leading to development through cooperation. Bilateral cooperation is an important strategy of this government for both security and development. The prime minister's visit to India in the first week of January 2010 set the framework for such a security-development nexus between Bangladesh and India. In-mid-March 2010, she visited China and secured assistance for several agriculture, power, and infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's relations with rest of the world, including the European Union (EU) and the United States, are equally warm.
This is an abridged version of the original write-up by its author who is an independent scholar and adjunct faculty Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Land, with fertile alluvial soil and enough rainfall, is the most important natural resource of Bangladesh -- the main requirement for crop production. If per capita land available for cultivation is an index of sustainability, then Bangladesh is in a precarious condition: its 0.06 hectares (ha) of arable land per capita is alarmingly low and incapable of supporting an endlessly increasing population. The situation is consistently improving over time, although the land: person ratio is gradually declining: per-capita caloric intake per day was 1936 Kcal in 1986, 2 019 Kcal in 1996, and 2 050 Kcal in 2009.
The importance of mineral resources, including energy, for economic development cannot be overstated. In most rural areas, where natural gas and electricity are not available, biomass is used to meet the heat and energy demand. Bangladesh has modest recoverable coal reserves that have so far not been developed. The hydrocarbon-rich Bay of Bengal is another potential source of energy for Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India; unfortunately, the area is disputed among the three countries. Geological exploration indicates that there exists a high potentiality of discovering coal, more natural-gas fields, and petroleum in several areas, including the offshore regions. At present, however, Bangladesh is considered poor in mineral resources.
Political and economic geography of development/underdevelopment: The economy of Bangladesh - for that matter, the economy of any country is innately geographical. The obvious conclusion is that the underdevelopment of the Indian subcontinent was not an original historical condition but resulted from centuries of lack of sovereignty. Within India, the economy of the eastern part of Bengal (today's Bangladesh) suffered disproportionately.
At the time of partition in 1947, the economy of the then West Pakistan, particularly Punjab, was better than that of the then East Pakistan; its agricultural sector was flourishing, and the city of Lahore was considered the "banking capital" of this sub-continent. The level of urbanisation in the then West Pakistan (22%) at the time of independence of Bangladesh in 1971 was four times that of erstwhile East Pakistan (5.5%). The disparity between the then East and West Pakistan, in terms of economic growth and social development, grew fourfold between the 1950s and the 1970s. Political power was firmly in the hands of the then West Pakistanis.
Nature also contributed to the forces of underdevelopment. In November 1970, the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded -- known as the Bhola cyclone -- totally devastated the life and livelihood of the coastal region of the then East Pakistan; the death toll was close to 1.0 million. The then central government's response was inadequate to meet the vast demand for rehabilitation, and the people were deeply critical of this neglect. In December 1970 general election held under the then Pakistani authorities, the Awami League (AL) -- the largest political party, -- won a landslide victory (167 of 169 seats) in the then East Pakistan, and a healthy majority in the 313-seat national assembly. Unfortunately, democracy was subverted: the then president of Pakistan, Gen. Yahiya Khan, decided not to hand over power to the majority leader, Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to form a national government, and instead cracked down on the political unrest. After a civil war with the then West Pakistan that lasted for nine months, the erstwhile East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh.
The new nation's struggle for survival: The war ended after massive bloodshed and left the economy, including its physical infrastructure, totally crushed. In 1974, when the post-war reconstruction work was in full swing, a severe flood, followed by famine, occurred. The amount of foreign aid per flood victim was very small; the new nation survived the disaster on its own. On August 15, 1975, the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and many of his family were assassinated by a group of mid-level army officers. Maj-Gen Ziaur Rahman, then deputy chief of staff, soon emerged as the principal beneficiary of the coup. After becoming president in April 1977, he introduced a policy of economic liberalization and privatized some state-owned enterprises. The policy did not bring immediate results, however; the rate of economic growth was dismal, between 2.0% and 3.0%. Although his policy bore fruit a decade later, the "legacy of blood" also continued: President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in May 1981. After a brief interlude of the game of the army rule versus civilian politics, Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad seized control of the government in March 1982 and became president in December 1983. Politics and business continued in the form of patron-client relationship to dominate, paving the way for the return of religion-based parties and politics. The rate of economic growth was modest, between 3.0% and 4.0%. The development and maintenance of essential physical infrastructure -- an important ingredient for sustained economic growth -- received considerable impetus from Ershad's government. The people turned on Ershad so decisively that in December 1990 he had to resign in ignominy. Thus the reign of the generals came to an end, ushering in a new period of parliamentary democracy and sustained development
The political economy of democratic transition over the past two decades: After the fall of Ershad, elections for the national parliament were held in 1991, under the supervision of a short-term caretaker government. Ziaur Rahman's widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, as head of her late husband's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh. Her government achieved economic growth above current levels and made substantial progress in the education sector, including the introduction of free and compulsory primary education and education for girls up to 10th grade with stipend. In her second term (2001-6), Begum Zia formed an alliance with -- among others -- the Jamaat-e-Istami, the party accused of treason and mass murder during the war of 19716.
Over the years, the rate of inflation crept up, the price index of food and non-food items soared, and the economy stalled. Thus, Begum Zia's final term in office came to an end in October 2006 in the midst of political unrest, chaos and violence, leaving the young democracy in a state of disgrace.
On 12 January 2007, Fakruddin Ahmed, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, was appointed as the chief advisor (equivalent to prime minister) of the military-backed caretaker government. The caretaker government, which extended its term by two years, has been praised by many for a of reasons:
n Restoring law and order, including trying and executing six top erstwhile Jamat-e-Mujahadin, Bangladesh (JMB) leaders for their involvement in the August 2005 bombing and for subsequently killing two judges;
n Helping the Bangladesh Election Commission to prepare for its electoral role by gathering photographs of 81 million voters; and
n Ensuring a free and fair parliamentary election at the end of December 2008.
However, the caretaker government's human-rights record was poor, and its economic performance poorer. The general consensus was that the indirect support of the military eventually became direct once again, leading to a military-controlled government. This tumultuous political change produced tremendous fear and tension among the entrepreneur class, producing a negative impact on macro-economic indicators for the country, cereal prices surged to their highest levels in decades; trade and commerce decelerated; and electricity to power homes, businesses, industries, and irrigation was in short supply.
Current prime minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the AL, has been in power for two terms: first from 1996 to 2001, and second from January 2009 to date, with an absolute majority in the parliament. Her leadership includes, among other things, a Commitment to be constructive by upholding the values of independence and the original constitution of 1972, thereby creating a secular democratic government of national unity. Three notable achievements of her first term are described below.
First, a treaty was signed between India and Bangladesh concerning the sharing of the Gangas which was a bone of contention between the two countries ever since it was built in the 1960s. No one will claim that the treaty has eliminated or even fully mitigated the major impacts of the Farakka --reduced flow of water during the lean period, intrusion of salinity in the coastal region, and arsenic contamination of Bangladesh's groundwater. Official statistics show, however, that before signing the treaty (in December 1996), Bangladesh received less than 10,000 cubic feet per second (cusec) of water during the lean season, whereas recent data show that in January 2008 and January 2009, 55,883 cusec and 56,419 cusec of water, respectively, were received. India, during the same period, received 40,000 cusec of water per annum. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina was able to obtain the maximum share of water under the sagreement. This is no mean achievement for the Bangladesh as the downstream riparian.
Her next achievement was to resolve the continuing insurgency movement of indigenous ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. These groups demanded self-rule to promote the region's culture, language, and economic development and, above all, to maintain their distinctiveness, while the successive governments of Bangladesh wanted to assimilate them into the majority culture. The army's ongoing presence was also responsible for violations of human rights.
As the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina was generally considered to be more sincere about solving the CHT problem than previous government leaders. As result, a peace accord was signed in December 1997 between the National Committee and the Hill people. The peace accord included, among other things, protection of land rights of the indigenous people, revival of their cultural uniqueness, rehabilitation for internally displaced people and refugees who had left the country, withdrawal of the military from the CHT, and self-governed regional district councils. The signing of this accord was an important achievement for both AL government and the representatives of the PCJSS.' The accord greatly enhanced Sheikh Hasina's image internationally, and she was awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Peace Prize in 1999. Third, Sheikh Hasina's first term as the prime minister saw the completion of construction work on the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (Bangabandhu Setu), which opened to traffic in June 1998. The bridge -- 4.8 km long and 18.8 in wide, and carrying both broad gauge and meter gauge railway tracks -- is the fifth largest in South Asia. It establishes an efficient link between the eastern and western parts of Bangladesh and has boosted regional economic integration, effectively reducing travel distances within the country.
Now, the nearly three-year-old present AL government is marked by -- among other achievements -- a policy of constructive engagement with neighbouring countries, leading to development through cooperation. Bilateral cooperation is an important strategy of this government for both security and development. The prime minister's visit to India in the first week of January 2010 set the framework for such a security-development nexus between Bangladesh and India. In-mid-March 2010, she visited China and secured assistance for several agriculture, power, and infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's relations with rest of the world, including the European Union (EU) and the United States, are equally warm.
This is an abridged version of the original write-up by its author who is an independent scholar and adjunct faculty Boston, Massachusetts, USA