Patron-client relationships in rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh is predominantly a rural society. The latest figures of 2015 showed that rural population constituted about 70 per cent of the total population in the country and the number of villages exceeded 87 thousand. It is therefore natural that the rural population living in villages exercise by far the greatest influence on the social structure and socio-economic life of Bangladesh.  
Social structure encompasses ordered interrelationships between different elements of society. It comprises various kinships, religious, economic, political, cultural and other institutions, as well as norms, values and roles of the members of a society. As in other societies, the social structure of Rural Bangladesh has also undergone gradual transformation over time. It should therefore be analysed in the context of its historical evolution.  
SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN ANCIENT ERA: The early establishment of agricultural economy in the alluvial plains of ancient Bengal helped its inhabitants to evolve a distinct lifestyle of their own. Ethnologically, the land was inhabited during the ancient era by a mixed race emanating from three main ingredients, namely, the original non-Aryan people, the Dravidians and the Aryans. The predominantly rural culture during the period maintained a rigid social structure mainly based on religious stipulations.  
The Hindu society in ancient Bengal was based on the caste system, which comprised of four classes arranged in a top-down hierarchical order, namely, Brahman, Ksatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. However, the two middle ranked castes - Ksatriya and Vaisya - were not visible in the same manner as in other parts of India. The main caste division was therefore Brahmans and Non-Brahmans. The latter category was an admixture of various sub-castes. They were broadly divided into three hierarchical groups: superior, medium and inferior.
The Brahmans occupied the highest position in the social ladder. The superior category of Non-Brahman castes had around twenty sub-castes based on professions, including Kayastha (writer) and Baidya (traditional physician). The medium Non-Brahman castes had twelve sub-castes, including Swarnakar (goldsmith) and Dhibor (fishermen). The inferior Non-Brahman castes included nine sub-castes, such as Chandal (cremator of corpses) and Chamar (cobbler).
SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN MEDIEVAL BENGAL: The Muslim conquest of Bengal in the 13th Century largely contributed to the spread of Islam in this land. The flexibility of Muslim social structure was derived from an ideological pattern known as 'Sharafati'. It had more to do with one's pedigree than any deep religious ideology like the Hindu caste system.  
Medieval Bengal had built distinct social institutions, the most important being the villages. The village community was a working institution, whose principal economic feature was production, mainly for local consumption. Those living in villages primarily derived subsistence from agriculture, and therefore, the social relationships grown out of agrarian structure could not be ignored. In fact, agrarian structure played the most important part since earlier times in the moulding of social structure in Bengal up to the present era. The political and economic structure in Medieval Bengal did not resemble feudalism, which was in vogue at that time in Western Europe.   
SOCIAL STRUCTURE DURING BRITISH COLONIAL PERIOD: The revenue collectors or Zamindars were the most powerful class in the agrarian structure of Bengal and the permanent settlement of 1793 did not change this basic equation. Land ownership changed hands, but the class remained. There was a vast peasant cultivator class below the Zamindar. Subsequent land policies during the British colonial era established intermediate rent collecting interests resulting in the emergence of numerous agrarian echelons known as Jotedar, Gantidar, Howladar, Talukdar, Bhuiyan, etc. The introduction of various land tenure measures resulted in the emergence of a stratified society based on land interests.  
The rural society during the colonial era also gave birth to a rich peasant class who occupied an important position in the social structure. The market integration of Bengal's agriculture with the global economy, particularly through indigo and jute cultivation, created the precondition for the appearance of rich and proto-capitalist peasants. The agrarian society also went through a process of pauperisation among certain segments, leading to the emergence of a landless class. The growing capitalisation also facilitated the appearance of agricultural wage-workers. The social structure that existed during the colonial period, therefore, comprised of superior landed class, landed intermediaries, rich peasants, poor peasants and sharecroppers, and agricultural workers coming from among landless and marginalised peasants.   
SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN POST-COLONIAL RURAL BANGLADESH: One of the most significant developments immediately after the partition of the Indian subcontinent was the abolition of Zamindari land system in the then East Bengal. Since most Zamindars belonged to the Hindu community, their migration to India in the aftermath of the partition generated a kind of vacuum in the social structure. Although their size was quite small, the traditional Muslim wealthy class linked to agriculture filled up that vacuum to some extent. The same time-period also witnessed the strengthening of the position of a rich peasant or agricultural capitalist class owing to agricultural modernisation measures in the early 1950s. An educated Muslim middle-class emerged during the period, which mustered sufficient status in society and came to be known as 'Muslim Bhadralok' immediately before and after the partition.
Traditional institutions like lineages also continue to have an impact in post-independence Bangladesh. Rural social structure, however, has been fashioned in line with the economic status of various classes. Wealth is an important determinant of social status and land ownership is an important indicator of wealth. There are also other determinants of social status. Service holders, teachers and professionals in many areas, for example, enjoy higher status as members of an educated class. An individual may have a reputed lineage, but he cannot command sufficient status in present-day rural society if he is not wealthy.     
CURRENT SCENARIO: The present-day rural society of Bangladesh is usually composed of the following agrarian classes and groups having hierarchical status and prestige: capitalist farmers, rich peasants, upper middle-class peasants, lower middle-class peasants, poor peasants, small entrepreneurs and landless workers. The capitalist farmers are wealthy, own land and technology, hire outside labour and undertake cultivation with an eye for the market. They also indulge in rent-seeking, moneylending and exploitation of the wage-labourers. Most of the rich peasants are owner-managers of land and employ wage-labour. Some of them also lease out land to the share-croppers. They are directly involved with the market mechanism and also engage in moneylending. They often dominate rural life on the basis of their linkages with urban power structure.  
The upper middle-class peasants are self-sufficient owner-cultivators and produce marketable surplus. A part of their economic surplus is diverted to moneylending. The lower middle-class peasants often cultivate land on a share-cropping basis and sometimes pursue petty trade. A majority of the poor peasants resort to share-cropping and allow themselves to be hired as wage-labourers. They are chronically indebted to the moneylenders and therefore constantly face oppression and exploitation. The landless workers do not own land and represent around one-third of the rural households. They earn their livelihood as agricultural workers and share-croppers. They are mostly a pauperised lot, often finding themselves incapable of maintaining their families. There are also some small-scale entrepreneurs in the villages, such as shop-owners and owner-managers of rice and oil mills. Besides, some rural people are engaged in other economic sectors like education, health, transportation and communication.   
Socio-economic status of a rural household undergoes transformation when examined over long periods of time. There are many forces and factors which result in changes in the socio-economic condition of rural households. Many surplus-producing households gradually turn into subsistence or deficit households, while many deficit units become surplus ones. Market and demographic forces, laws of inheritance and splitting of households are some of the important factors contributing to this social metamorphosis.  
CONCLUSION: Notable factors that contribute significantly to determining the shape of rural power structure in Bangladesh are economic status, traditional lineages, magnitude of land-holding and proximity to political or administrative power. Patron-client relationships form the basis of rural politics, where rural leaders like Union Council Chairmen or Members as well as local 'Matbars' or community heads play the role of patrons.  
Traditional norms and values also continue to play a dominant role in the rural power structure. Social changes are rather slow and internalisation of modern values often faces constraints. The Muslims in particular hold the Pirs, Fakirs and other religious leaders in high esteem, and religious values and superstitions tend to promote a status-quo. However, recent rise in the literacy rate both among males and females, establishment of a large number of schools, colleges, hospitals and factories in the rural areas, decentralisation of administration, gradual penetration of urban values and culture, modern transportation, electrification and telecommunication networks, remittances sent by expatriates from abroad, etc., are making a significant dent in the social structure of rural Bangladesh in recent years.
Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed is a former editor of Bangladesh Quarterly,
and a PhD from the Institute
of Bangladesh Studies,
Rajshahi University.
hahmed1960@gmail.com