Introduction:

Bangladesh bears a colonial legacy in its entire public administration system. Present day
Bangladesh was part of the British Empire for almost two hundred years. In 1947 Pakistani rulers
replaced the British and dominated the area then known as East Pakistan until a bitter war in
1971 brought about an independent Bangladesh. A colonial imprint persists in Bangladesh
especially in political and administrative arrangements. The British tradition helped the
bureaucracy to become an essential tool of governance. At the same time, it is accused of
following the Pakistani tradition of involvement in power politics. The political system of
Bangladesh has survived a series of transitions. A few years of democracy were followed by
nearly fifteen years of military rule. In 1990,[1] for the first time, Bangladesh achieved a fully
functioning democratic structure. Ironically, the nature and role of bureaucracy in both the pre and
post-democratic period remained almost the same except for an increase in number of ministries,
divisions, departments and statutory bodies [2].
Present Status of public Administration:
By the constitution of Bangladesh the present structure of administration are recognized. In the
constitution of Bangladesh, the article of 48 to 58 about executive branch, article 65 to 93 about
legislature branch, article 94 to 116 judiciary branches and article 59 to 60 about local
government are discussed clearly.
Legal Structure of Administration of Bangladesh:
As per the constitution of the republic it comprises three basic organs:
1. Legislative Branch
2. Executive Branch
3. Judicial Branch
Legislative Branch:
Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single
territorial constituencies and 45 reservad for female members serve five-year terms. The
Parliament of Bangladesh (known as the House of the Nation) is vested with the legislative
powers of the Republic. Parliament is the apex institution in Bangladeshs accountability system.
It is Parliament that empowers the government and gives it its legitimacy. It is through Parliament
that the enfranchised citizens determine who is to rule.
Executive Branch:
Prime Minister as Chief Executive and a President as the Head of State with very
Circumscribed powers. The presidents duties are normally ceremonial. Cabinet selected by the
prime minister and appointed by the president President elected by National Parliament for a fiveyear term. The Prime Minister appoints and heads a Cabinet of Ministers which is collectively

responsible to Parliament. The Executive is organized on the basis of Ministries and, within
Ministries, by Divisions. A politically appointed Minister heads each Ministry, while a permanent
civil servant (usually a Secretary) is the Ministrys administrative head and Chief Accounting
Officer. There are currently 37 Ministries and 49 Divisions with close to one million public
employees.
Judiciary Branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president).
The Constitution provides for the separation of powers with an independent judiciary, though up
to now the administration of the lower judiciary has been in the hands of the Ministry of Law. The
Bangladesh judicial system comprises four judicial institutions:
a) The Supreme Court,
b) The Subordinate Courts,
c) The Magistracy, and
d) The Administrative Tribunals.
The Administrational Hierarchy of Bangladesh:
a) Central Administration:
The government of Bangladesh has a two-tier administrative system. The upper tier is the central
secretariat at the national level consisting of the ministries and divisions to provide policies and to
perform clearinghouse functions. The other tier consists of line departments/directorates
attached to the ministries and divisions that are mainly responsible for general administration,
service delivery to citizens and implementation of various government development programs at
the sub-national level. At present, in Bangladesh there are 37 ministries, 11 divisions, 54
departments and 173 statutory bodies (ADB, 2005).The internal organization structure of a
ministry reflects a hierarchical order. A minister is in charge of a ministry and is normally the
political head of that ministry. A ministry consists of at least one division. A secretary or, in his
absence an additional secretary, is considered the administrative head of the ministry.
b) Field Administration:
Division: Division is the main administrational unit of field administration. There are seven
divisions in Bangladesh. These are Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, sylhet,
Rangpur. A Divisional Commissioner (joint secretary) or an equivalent officer of Bangladesh
government is in charge of a Division. Each Division consists of some districts. All administrative
responsibilities depend on the officer in charge of the Division on behalf of the central
administration.
Division and District of Bangladesh:

Division

Districts

Rajshahi Division

Bogra, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Nawabganj, Pabna, Rajshahi, Sirajganj

Rangpur Division

Dinajpur Gaibandha Kurigram Lalmonirhat Nilphamari Panchagarh Rangpur

Thakurgaon

Sylhet Division

Habiganj, Maulvibazar, Sunamganj, Sylhet

Khulna Division
Dhaka Division

Dhaka, Faridpur, Gazipur, Gopalganj, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Madaripur, Manikgonj,

Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Netrokona, Rajbari, Shariatpur,
Sherpur, Tangail.

Chittagong Division

Bandarban, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur,Chittagong, Comilla, Coxs Bazar, Feni,

Khagrachari, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Rangamati.

Barisal Division

Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Jhalokati, Patuakhali, Pirojpur

District:
After division District is one of the important administrative units of Bangladesh. There are 64
districts in Bangladesh. Normally a Deputy Commissioner (deputy secretary or a joint secretary of
Bangladesh government) administrates a district. Some subordinate officers co-operate the
district in charge. A district comprises some of upazilas to overlook overall function of the upazilla.
Upazila:
Upazila is the last administrational unit of Bangladesh. There are 498 upazilas and thanas in
Bangladesh. upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) is in charge of a upazila who is a senior assistant
secretary of Bangladesh. UNO looks over the whole welfare of the upazila.
Local Government
Under the close supervision of the district administration, there is a local government system
composed of elected union parishads and municipal pourashavas, and appointed thana and
district committees. The lowest level of government is the union parishad of which there are some
4,500.
Way of Improvement of Public Administration of Bangladesh:
1. Citizen-Oriented Services
The evaluation of citizen-oriented services depends both on the role and performance of the
service providersthe public servantsand also on the satisfaction of service recipientsthe
citizens. Under constant pressure from development partners, the government is trying to
emulate business ethics such as effectiveness, decentralization, competition, efficiency, valuefor-money, and partnership in public services.
2. Innovation in the Bangladesh Civil Service:
The last administrative reform committee, the Public Administration Reform Commission (PARC),
proposed the preparation of performance standards and a citizens charter for three ministries
and five important organizations; and the creation of three public service commissionsone for

general services, another for technical services and a third for education services. It is to be
noted that none of these recommendations has been implemented. In recent years judiciary has
separated from the 29 cadre service system.
3. Transparent and neutral recruitment system:
According to the current recruitment policy, there are three means of recruitment: direct
recruitmentopen competitive examinations; promotion and transfer; and direct lateral
recruitment. Class I Officers are recruited directly by the PSC through an open competitive
examination into 28 cadres and other government services. So, recruitments should be
transparent and neutral.
4. Introduction of E-governance:
PARC recommended introducing e-governance. The activities of various ministries have already
been computerized. A Ministry of Science and Technology was created. Websites containing
important information for several ministries were launched. Ministry of Finance developed
software for budget planning, sensitivity and impact analysis. Ministry of Communication created
a database containing information about contractors and tenders. It also created a project
monitoring system for tracking project progress. The achievement of Bangladesh Planning
Commission, in this case, is noteworthy. It has a file sharing system through a Local Area
Network (LAN), the capability for video- conferencing, and it maintains a digital library. It has also
created software for interfacing between development and revenue budgets (Chowdhury and
Taifur, 2003: 5).
5. Administrative Reform Efforts should be effective: To meet the demands of a changing society,
government tried to reform the administrative system. Successive governments appointed as
many as fifteen administrative reform commissions and committees. Each tried to change the
administrative system to make it more dynamic, efficient, effective and representative. Two of
them, Administrative and Services and Reorganization Commission (ASRC) and Committee for
Administrative Reform and Reorganization (CARR) should be activated.
6. Implementation of political commitment:
The commitment of political leadership is a driving force behind implementation of administrative
reform effortsTherefore, in the Bangladesh context political commitment is circumscribed by
clienteles politics, which is responsible for distracting the political leadership from embarking on
comprehensive reform programs.
7. Increase capacity of Government:
Administrative reforms need concerted efforts on the part of the government in power. Unless it
can demonstrate its capacity, its reform agenda is bound to fail to deliver the desired results. It is

now a fact that successive governments in Bangladesh have miserably failed to demonstrate this
capacity. A number of factors can be discerned that have stifled the capacity of successive
governments to push through reform initiatives. The rule of law is in limbo, crippling public lives in
all spheres. So, capacity of the government should be increased.
8. Bureaucratic resistance:
There is a common perception that civil servants all over the world are more or less apathetic to
the needs of the people and that they are even unwilling to listen to them. The situation is no
different in Bangladesh; indeed, it may be even worse because an inadequate, faulty recruitment
procedure can place a non-qualified person in a formalized organization; and because
politicizationthe priority of party loyaltycan amplify the pressures a bureaucrat already feels.
9. Removal of factionalism in the Public Sector:
Instead of implementing broad-based reform programs, successive governments have been
interested in playing with the existing factional strife within the public bureaucracy, rivalry between
freedom fighters versus non-freedom fighters, pro-Awami league versus pro-Bangladesh
Nationalist Party civil servants, civil servants with a military background versus civil servants with
civilian backgrounds, and factionalism based on district affiliation.
10. Effective New public management:
It is known that, in developed countries, NPM is typically used to improve existing institutions
where the bureaucracy is already conversant with basic public management processes.
However, in most developing countries, including Bangladesh, solid institutional frameworks, rule
of law, proper control structures, checks and balances, the civil service system, and
accountability systems are all absent or ineffective.
11. Eradication of corruption:
Although corruption is one of the areas identified by different commissions, committees, it may be
considered as a factor impeding the reform programs. Bangladesh administration has been
plagued by both political and administrative corruption. Corruption is an old phenomenon In fact,
it is difficult to find any sector of the government without corrupt practices. Almost all forms of
corruption are found in politics and administration in Bangladesh: bribery, abuse of authority,
nepotism, favoritism, patronage, theft, and deceit.
12. Politics Free/ Depoliticisation of administration:
There is also an unprecedented level of politicization of administration. While this phenomenon is
common in almost all countries, it has taken an ugly turn in Bangladesh and its ramifications are
detrimental to the basics of administration. With this pattern of politicization, it is an impossible
task to reform the public administration system along the NPM model.

13. The role of International donor agency:

Being an aid-dependent country, Bangladesh has always remained susceptible to the pressures
of the international donor agencies in formulating and reformulating its reform agenda. The
decision makers of the developed world hold the lifeline of any regime in Bangladesh in their
hands and can create havoc in the life of a country in a way that was inconceivable two decades
ago. So the government should be careful about this
14. Good governance:
Corruption everywhere may be largely responsible for the lack of good enough governance in
Bangladesh. It is the time to eradicate corruption and ensure good governance in every sector in
Bangladesh.
Conclusion:
Administrative improvement is not an easy task, particularly in a country like Bangladesh which is
confronted with multifarious problems. This does not imply that the government should be
indifferent toward improvement. This paper proposes certain measures for effective reform
implementation. First, the political leadership must commit itself to reform programs, as they are
bound to yield both high political and economic payoffs to the government itself. Second, the
government must act promptly to restore discipline in the governing system through positive
instruments of order, protection, provision and rule before embarking on micro level reforms in
the administrative system.
administrative system.

vFamily, household, and kinship[edit]

Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh

Administrative Reforms official attempts aimed at restructuring or

reorganising the existing governmental structure and its mode of
functioning. The system of administration that Bangladesh inherited at
independence was basically of a colonial nature and had been handed
down to Pakistan by the British following the partition of India in 1947.
The government of Pakistan seemed to have tried half-heartedly to
overhaul it and to do away with the colonial legacy. What resulted was
'brown shahibs substituted for white ones'. Administrative reforms
since Bangladesh's independence appear to be a veritable obsession of
every successive government. Managing public affairs without
resorting to administrative reform entails a total disregard of efficiency,

public opinion and internal cohesion. It was evident that the primary
obstacles to development of a new nation were administrative,
political, and economic bottlenecks. In order to streamline an age-old
and anachronistic administrative structure that was totally unsuitable
to meet the rising expectations of the people, the government has
appointed
several
major
administrative
reform
commissions/committees since independence.
The problem faced by the government immediately after liberation was
to restore the civil administration and to transform the existing
provincial administration into a central one. In order to face this
challenge, the government formed the Civil Administration Restoration
Committee to examine and suggest ways and means for restoration of
civil administration at various levels as well as for absorption of
officials and employees of the ministries/departments of the former
central government of united Pakistan. The committee submitted its
interim report on 4 January 1972, pending detailed examination of the
various issues relating to administration to be considered by another
committee appointed by the prime minister. In keeping with its
recommendations, the provincial secretariat was transformed into the
national
secretariat
with
20
ministries
and
related
directorates/departments and corporations. In the first term of
the AWAMI LEAGUE rule (1972-75), the government appointed two major
committees in 1972, namely the ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICES
REORGANISATION COMMITTEE (ASRC) and the National Pay Commission
(NPC). The committee/ commission was entrusted with the
responsibility of suggesting measures towards reorganising the central
bureaucracy, including local government, accompanied by devolution
of power from the central to the local level and a national pay
structure.
The ASRC found that the existing administrative/ service structure was
divided into too many entities which had artificial walls built around
them with varying career prospects, and a lack of professionalism.
They also found the structure to be too class-and-rank oriented with
very little opportunities for recruits to rise to the top, particularly those
who had started their career at the lower ranks.

Having considered the objective conditions of the civil services, the

ASRC recommended a single classless grading structure covering all
services into 10 grades in which there would be an appropriate number
of pay levels of skills and responsibilities and the correct grading for
each post would be determined by an analysis of the job.
The main theme of the recommendations was the abolition of the elite
cadre and no reservation of any post for any cadre; there would be
adequate opportunities for talented persons to rise quickly to the top
from any level of the service; there would be provisions for systematic
re-exposure of senior officers serving at the national headquarters to
the field; and towards the establishment of fellowship of officers with
the common man.
The committee also argued strongly for the democratisation of
administration at all levels. It called for increasing devolution of
authority to the elected local government and clearly delineated the
areas of responsibility between the national government and local
bodies. The ASRC held the view that there should not be any fixity or
rigidity in the devolution of functions from the national government to
the local bodies. The guiding principle was that the local body should
administer such services which it could administer effectively. The
committee held the view that the thana should be the basic unit of
administration and should assume all responsibilities of development
administration at that level. It also underscored the need for
converting sub-divisions into districts in a planned way. The farreaching recommendations of the ASRC made no impact on the
government and remained shelved as classified documents, as was the
case with the previous ones during Pakistani rule. Some politicoadministrative analysts are of the opinion that the reasons underlying
the scrapping of the ASRC report were socio-economic and political
compulsions of the regime in power.
The NPC worked in close cooperation with ASRC and dealt with a
number of variables, such as cost of living, governmental resources,
existing pay disparities, attraction and retention of specialists and
achievement of efficiency, equity and work incentives in order to
formulate a pragmatic pay policy. The NPC felt that a nine-tier
administrative structure with corresponding pay scales could

adequately meet the requirements of the Bangladesh bureaucracy for

the following five years. But the NPC's view was not accepted and the
commission was obliged to suggest pay scales on the basis of tiers and
groupings suggested by ASRC. The NPC eventually recommended a
national pay scale consisting of 10 grades. However, this was only
partially implemented and that too for only 3 years. The nonimplementation of the NPC recommendations was ascribed to the
inherent defects of the reform itself and resistance of generalist civil
servants, particularly those belonging to the erstwhile CSP and EPCS
cadres.
After the fall of the Awami League (AL) government, the succeeding
military regime spearheaded by General Ziaur Rahman appointed a
committee known as the Pay and Service Commission (P & SC) in 1976
to conduct a fresh inquiry into the services and pay structure and to
suggest necessary reforms. The commission held the view that the
ingrained generalist vs. specialist controversy could be resolved by
bringing a fundamental change in the staffing positions and providing a
uniform pattern of pay scales and promotions. The commission also
argued that a large generalist cadre should not be created by
reservation of many posts and on the basis of a single examination.
The most important recommendations of the P & SC with regard to
services/central bureaucratic structure were the amalgamation of all
erstwhile services and thereafter the creation of an all-purpose civil
service to include all functions within the traditional government
sector; emphasis on the merit principle as the determining factor in
recruitment and promotion; removal of existing barriers between the
CSP and other services through the introduction of equal initial pay
scales and provisions for equitable scope of advancement in the
administrative hierarchy. Initially the government seemed to be
hesitant in implementing the recommendations. However, two years
later the government implemented some of the recommendations of P
& SC albeit in modified form resulting in the creation of 28 cadres of
Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), constitution of the Senior Services Pool
(SSP), and the introduction of new national grades and pay scales.
The special feature of the recommended civil service structure was the
creation of SSP in order to ensure representation from all cadres at the
decision-making level of the government. Most importantly, the new
civil service structure was designed to create a classless bureaucracy

to end the supremacy of one class over the other. But at the
implementation stage, there was improper/irregular application of
procedure in the induction of SSP members. After more than a decade
of operation the SSP was abolished in 1989 on the ground that it had
failed to provide adequate promotion opportunities to different cadre
officials in the top positions.
To implement the recommended pay structure the government asked
the Finance Ministry's Implementation Division to draw up a revised
pay plan which would not have either too few scales or too many (as
recommended by P & SC). Consequently, the Implementation Division
came up with pay plan which was a compromise between the two. By
Services (Grade, Pay and Allowances) Order issued in 1977 the Ministry
of Finance introduced 21 grades and scales of pay for public sector
employees. But the government ultimately had to modify the pay
structure partially at the implementation stage and merged grade VI
with grade VII in order to remove the discontentment of certain officials
(particularly at the district level) and raised their salaries to a
satisfactory stage. This was how the recommendations of the P & SC
were adopted in July 1977, and since then it has been in operation with
occasional revisions in order to cope with market conditions and
inflation.
Another notable feature of the regime of General Zia was the
introduction of Swanirvar Gram Sarkar (SGS) at the village level. With a
view to instituting it at the village, the Swanirvar Gram Sarkar Act was
passed in 1980. Under this act the SGS consisted of one Gram Pradhan
(village headman), two female members, and 9 other members
representing different groups in the village. Gram pradhan and other
members were chosen in a meeting on the basis of the consensus
evolved among the village residents whose names appeared on the
village electoral roll. It was called upon to perform four major functions:
increase food production, eradicate illiteracy, implement family
planning programmes and maintain law and order. However, the SGS
was not empowered to collect funds to discharge its responsibilities.
The SGS was pampered to such an extent that it considered itself only
next to the national government in importance. But functionally it
proved to be an utter failure because of people's indifference and
inherent organic problems of the SGS itself. The army chief General H

M Ershad abolished this institution after he took over the civil

government in 1982.
Immediately after assuming state authority General Ershad
concentrated on administrative reforms and appointed two major
committees, namely the Martial Law Committee (MLC) and
the COMMITTEE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM/REORGANISATION (CARR). The MLC
was entrusted with the responsibility of examining organisational setups of ministries/divisions and the departments/offices under them and
to recommend measures to improve efficiency in the civil services. The
MLC suggested drastic measures to quicken the decision-making
process in the secretariat. The recommendations put forward by the
MLC included reduction in the number of ministries/ divisions and civil
servants mostly at lower levels; a scaling down in the layers of decision
making at the secretarial level; restructuring the role of the secretariat
and other executive organizations; formalization and regularization of
the recruitment process and delegation of financial and administrative
powers down the hierarchy.
The recommendations of the MLC were accepted by the military
government. The exception was the recommendation to reduce the
layers of decision making of the national secretariat. The CARR was
entrusted with the responsibility of recommending an appropriate,
sound and effective administrative system based on devolution of
authority and people's participation. The recommendations of CARR
included a directly elected chief executive (chairman) and a
representative council (parishad) at each successive local level i.e. zila,
upazila and union with an elected chairman as the chief coordinator
with adequate staff support; elected councils at each level with full
functional control over the officials working for them; adequate
devolution of administrative, judicial and financial powers at zila and
upazila levels; elimination of sub-divisions and divisions as tiers of
administration; appointment of elected chairman of lower councils as
ex-officio members of immediate higher councils; and the development
of an infrastructure at the upazila level. General Ershad constituted
another committee to suggest ways and means for implementing the
recommendations of the CARR, ie, the NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM/REORGANIZATION (NICARR). The implementation
of the NICARR recommendations resulted in the creation of upazila
administration at the local level.

The upazila administration was run by the Upazila Parishad headed by

a chairman directly elected by the voters of the upazila. The parishad
consisted of a chairman, representative members, women members,
official members, chairman of the upazila central cooperative
association, and nominated members. It comprised two categories of
members, voting members and non-voting official members. The
parishad was made the focal point for all administrative and
development activities. The main function of the parishad was to
prepare the upazila development plan covering major activities such as
agriculture, education, health, communication, etc.
The parishad also implemented government policies and programmes
at the upazila level and performed other functions entrusted to it from
time to time by the government. It had also the responsibility to
coordinate the activities of all union parishads and paurashavas within
the upazila. Functionally, the upazila parishad was found to be a 'house
divided against itself' because of the conflict between the two
categories of functionaries, officials and public representatives.
Nevertheless, implementation of the CARR recommendations paved
the way for popular participation through delegation of authority and
power to local units of government. For the first time in the history of
local government, members of the central bureaucracy were replaced
by elected chairmen in the local councils.
The ascendance of the BANGLADESH NATIONALIST PARTY (BNP) to power in
1991 led to the scrapping of the upazila system on the ground that it
had not attained noticeable progress in the socio-economic sector,
because of its functionaries' indulgence in the misuse of money,
corruption and unproductive expenditures. The government of Khaleda
Zia constituted a commission to conduct a fresh inquiry into the state
of local government, and to recommend measures consistent with the
spirit of the constitutional provisions specified in Articles 59 and 60 so
that local government and democracy could be institutionalised from
the grassroots level. In order to translate the objectives of the
government, the commission recommended reorganization of the
union parishad and the zila parishad.

The commission also recommended making the municipalities and city

corporations more representative in the urban areas. It wanted the
village to be the fundamental unit of local government. Accordingly, a
gramshava (village assembly) was to comprise 10 members elected
directly by the people of a village whose names appeared in the
electoral roll. In the reorganised system the union was considered to be
the focal point of socio-economic planning, and the village the
fundamental unit of development. Before this reform measure was put
into implementation, however, the government of Khaleda Zia had to
step down following a political turmoil. During BNP rule, a number of
reports on public administration were produced. The more important
among these are the Public Administration Efficiency Study by the
UNDP, Towards Better Government by four secretaries andGovernment
that Works by the World Bank. None of the recommendations of these
reports has so far been implemented.
v
Family and kinship are the core of social life in Bangladesh. A family group residing in
a bari functions as the basic unit of economic endeavor, landholding, and social identity. In the eyes
of rural people, the chula defined the effective household--an extended family exploiting jointlyheld property and being fed from a jointly operated kitchen. A bari might consist of one or more such
functional households, depending on the circumstances of family relationship. Married sons
generally live in their parents' household during the father's lifetime. Although sons usually build
separate houses for their nuclear families, they remain under their fathers' authority, and wives under
their mothers-in-law's authority. The death of the father usually precipitates the separation of adult
brothers into their own households. Such a split generally causes little change in the physical layout
of the bari, however. Families at different stages of the cycle display different configurations of
household membership.[4]
Patrilineal ties dominate the ideology of family life, but in practice matrilineal ties are almost as
important. Married women provide especially important links between their husbands' brothers'
families. Brothers and sisters often visit their brothers' households, which are in fact the households
of their deceased fathers. By Islamic law, women inherit a share of their fathers' property and thus
retain a claim on the often scanty fields worked by their brothers. By not exercising this claim,
however, they do their brothers the important service of keeping the family lands in the patrilineal line
and thus ensure themselves a warm welcome and permanent place in their brothers' homes. [4]
A woman begins to gain respect and security in her husband's or father-in-law's household only after
giving birth to a son. Mothers therefore cherish and indulge their sons, while daughters are

frequently more strictly disciplined and are assigned heavy household chores from an early age. In
many families the closest, most intimate, and most enduring emotional relationship is that between
mother and son. The father is a more distant figure, worthy of formal respect, and the son's wife may
remain a virtual stranger for a long time after marriage. [4]

Identification. "Bangladesh" is a combination of the Bengali

words, Bangla and Desh, meaning the country or land where the Bangla language
is spoken. The country formerly was known as East Pakistan.
Location and Geography. Bangladesh straddles the Bay of Bengal in south Asia.
To the west and north it is bounded by India; to the southeast, it borders Myanmar.
The topography is predominantly a low-lying floodplain. About half the total area
is actively deltaic and is prone to flooding in the monsoon season from May
through September. The Ganges/Padma River flows into the country from the
northwest, while the Brahmaputra/ Jamuna enters from the north. The capital city,
Dhaka, is near the point where those river systems meet. The land is suitable for
rice cultivation.
In the north and the southeast the land is more hilly and dry, and tea is grown.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts have extensive hardwood forests. The vast river delta
area is home to the dominant plains culture. The hilly areas of the northeast and
southeast are occupied by much smaller tribal groups, many of which have
strongly resisted domination by the national government and the population
pressure from Bangladeshis who move into and attempt to settle in their traditional
areas. In 1998 an accord was reached between the armed tribal group Shanti Bahini
and the government.
Demography. Bangladesh is the most densely populated nonisland nation in the
world. With approximately 125 million inhabitants living in an area of 55,813
square miles, there are about 2,240 persons per square mile. The majority of the
population (98 percent) is Bengali, with 2 percent belonging to tribal or other nonBengali groups. Approximately 83 percent of the population is Muslim, 16 percent
is Hindu, and 1 percent is Buddhist, Christian, or other. Annual population growth
rate is at about 2 percent.
The most important symbol of national identity is the Bangla language. The flag is a
dark green rectangle with a red circle just left of center. Green symbolizes the trees and
fields of the countryside; red represents the rising sun and the blood spilled in the 1971

war for liberation. The national anthem was taken from a poem by Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore and links a love of the natural realm and land with the national
identity.
Since independence in 1971, the national identity has evolved. Islamic religious identity
has become an increasingly important element in the national dialogue. Many Islamic
holy days are nationally celebrated, and Islam pervades public space and the media.

History and Ethnic Relations

Emergence of the Nation. The creation of the independent nation represents the
triumph of ethnic and cultural politics. The region that is now Bangladesh has been part
of a number of important political entities, including Indian empires, Buddhist kingdoms,
the Moghul empire, the British empire and the Pakistani nation.
Until 1947 Bangladesh was known as East Bengal province and had been part of Great
Britain's India holding since the 1700s. In 1947, Britain, in conjunction with India's
leading indigenous political organizations, partitioned the Indian colony into India and
Pakistan. The province of East Bengal was made part of Pakistan and was referred to
as East Pakistan. West Pakistan was carved from the northwest provinces of the British
Indian empire. This division of territory represented an attempt to create a Muslim nation
on Hindu India's peripheries. However, the west and east wings of Pakistan were
separated by more than 1,000 miles of India, creating cultural discontinuity between the
two wings. The ethnic groups of Pakistan and the Indian Muslims who left India after
partition were greatly different in language and way of life from the former East Bengalis:
West Pakistan was more oriented toward the Middle East and Arab Islamic influence
than was East Pakistan, which contained Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and British cultural
influences.
From the beginning of Pakistan's creation, the Bengali population in the east was more
numerous than the Pakistani population in the western wing, yet West Pakistan became
the seat of government and controlled nearly all national resources. West Pakistanis
generally viewed Bengalis as inferior, weak, and less Islamic. From 1947 to 1970, West
Pakistan reluctantly gave in to Bengali calls for power within the government, armed
forces, and civil service, but increasing social unrest in the east led to a perception
among government officials that the people of Bengal were unruly and untrust worthy
"Hinduized" citizens. Successive Pakistani regimes, increasingly concerned with
consolidating their power over the entire country, often criticized the Hindu minority in

Bengal. This was evident in Prime Minister Nazimuddin's attempt in 1952 to make Urdu,
the predominant language of West Pakistan, the state language. The effect in the east
was to energize opposition movements, radicalize students at Dhaka University, and
give new meaning to a Bengali identity that stressed the cultural unity of the east instead
of a pan-Islamic brotherhood.
Through the 1960s, the Bengali public welcomed a message that stressed the
uniqueness of Bengali culture, and this formed the basis for calls for selfdetermination or autonomy. In the late 1960s, the Pakistani government attempted to
fore-stall scheduled elections. The elections were held on 7 December 1970, and
Pakistanis voted directly for members of the National Assembly.
The Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was largely a Bengali party which
called for autonomy for the east. Sheikh Mujib wanted to reconfigure Pakistan as a
confederation of two equal partners. His party won one of 162 seats in the East
Pakistan provincial assembly and 160 of the three hundred seats in the National
Assembly. The Awami League would control national politics and have the ability to
name the prime minister. President Yahya, however, postponed the convening of the
National Assembly to prevent a Bengali power grab. In response, Sheikh Mujib and the
Awami League led civil disobedience in East Pakistan. West Pakistan began to move
more troops into the east, and on 25 March 1971, the Pakistani army carried out a
systematic execution of several hundred people, arrested Mujib, and transported him to
the west. On 26 March the Awami League declared East Pakistan an independent
nation, and by April the Bengalis were in open conflict with the Pakistani military.
In a 10-month war of liberation, Bangladeshi units called Mukhti Bahini (freedom
fighters), largely trained and armed by Indian forces, battled Pakistani troops throughout
the country in guerrilla skirmishes. The Pakistanis systematically sought out political
opponents and executed Hindu men on sight. Close to 10 million people fled
Bangladesh for West Bengal, in India. In early December 1971, the Indian army entered
Bangladesh, engaged Pakistani military forces with the help of the Mukhti Bahini, and in
a ten-day period subdued the Pakistani forces. On 16 December the Pakistani military
surrendered. In January 1972, Mujib was released from confinement and became the
prime minister of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh was founded as a "democratic, secular, socialist state," but the new state
represented the triumph of a Bangladeshi Muslim culture and language. The
administration degenerated into corruption, and Mujib attempted to create a one-party

state. On 15 August 1975 he was assassinated, along with much of his family, by army
officers. Since that time, Bangladesh has been both less socialistic and less secular.
General Ziaur Rahman became martial law administrator in December 1976 and
president in 1977. On 30 May 1981, Zia was assassinated by army officers. His rule had
been violent and repressive, but he had improved national economy. After a short-lived
civilian government, a bloodless coup placed Army chief of staff General Mohammed
Ershad in office as martial law administrator; he later became president. Civilian
opposition increased, and the Awami League, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP),
and the religious fundamentalist party Jamaat-i-Islami united in a seven-year series of
crippling strikes. In December 1990, Ershad was forced to resign.
A caretaker government held national elections early in 1991. The BNP, headed by
Khaleda Zia, widow of former President Zia, formed a government in an alliance with the
Jamaat-i-Islami. Political factionalism intensified over the next five years, and on 23
June 1996, the Awami League took control of Parliament. At its head was Sheikh
Hasina Wazed, the daughter of Sheikh Mujib.
National Identity. Bangladeshi national identity is rooted in a Bengali culture that
transcends international borders and includes the area of Bangladesh itself and West
Bengal, India. Symbolically, Bangladeshi identity is centered on the 1971 struggle for
independence from Pakistan. During that struggle, the key elements of Bangladeshi
identity coalesced around the importance of the Bengali mother tongue and the
distinctiveness of a culture or way of life connected to the floodplains of the region.
Since that time, national identity has become increasingly linked to Islamic symbols as
opposed to the Hindu Bengali, a fact that serves to reinforce the difference between
Hindu West Bengal and Islamic Bangladesh. Being Bangladeshi in some sense means
feeling connected to the natural landwater systems of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and
other rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal. There is an envisioning of nature and the
annual cycle as intensely beautiful, as deep green paddy turns
golden, dark clouds heavy with monsoon rains gradually clear, and flooded fields dry. Even
urban families retain a sense of connectedness to this rural system. The great poets of the
region, Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nurul Islam have enshrined the Bengali sense of the
beauty and power of the region's nature.

Ethnic Relations. The most significant social divide is between Muslims and Hindus. In
1947 millions of Hindus moved west into West Bengal, while millions of Muslims moved

east into the newly created East Pakistan. Violence occurred as the columns of people
moved past each other. Today, in most sections of the country, Hindus and Muslims live
peacefully in adjacent areas and are connected by their economic roles and structures.
Both groups view themselves as members of the same culture.
From 1976 to 1998 there was sustained cultural conflict over the control of the
southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts. That area is home to a number of tribal groups that
resisted the movement of Bangladeshi Muslims into their territory. In 1998, a peace
accord granted those groups a degree of autonomy and self-governance. These tribal
groups still do not identify themselves with the national culture.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

Bangladesh is still primarily a rural culture, and the gram or village is an important
spatial and cultural concept even for residents of the major cities. Most people identify
with a natal or ancestral village in the countryside.
Houses in villages are commonly rectangular, and are dried mud, bamboo, or red brick
structures with thatch roofs. Many are built on top of earthen or wooden platforms to
keep them above the flood line. Houses have little interior decoration, and wall space is
reserved for storage. Furniture is minimal, often consisting only of low stools. People
sleep on thin bamboo mats. Houses have verandas in the front, and much of daily life
takes place under their eaves rather than indoors. A separate smaller mud or bamboo
structure serves as a kitchen ( rana ghor ), but during the dry season many women
construct hearths and cook in the household courtyard. Rural houses are simple and
functional, but are not generally considered aesthetic showcases.
The village household is a patrilineal extended compound linked to a pond used for daily
household needs, a nearby river that provides fish, trees that provide fruit (mango
and jackfruit especially), and rice fields. The village and the household not only embody
important natural motifs but serve as the locus of ancestral family identity. Urban
dwellers try to make at least one trip per year to "their village."
Architectural styles in the cities show numerous historical influences, including Moghul
and Islamic motifs with curved arches, windows, and minarets, and square British
colonial wood and concrete construction. The National Parliament building (Shongshad
Bhabon) in Dhaka, designed by the American architect Louis Kahn, reflects a synthesis
of western modernity and curved Islamic-influenced spaces. The National Monument in

Savar, a wide-based spire that becomes narrower as it rises, is the symbol of the
country's liberation.
Because of the population density, space is at a premium. People of the same sex
interact closely, and touching is common. On public transportation strangers often are
pressed together for long periods. In public spaces, women are constrained in their
movements and they rarely enter the public sphere unaccompanied. Men are much
more free in their movement. The rules regarding the gender differential in the use of
public space are less closely adhered to in urban areas than in rural areas.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life. Rice and fish are the foundation of the diet; a day without a meal
with rice is nearly inconceivable. Fish, meats, poultry, and vegetables are cooked in
spicy curry ( torkari ) sauces that incorporate cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, garlic,
and other spices. Muslims do not consume pork and Hindus do not consume beef.
Increasingly common is the preparation of ruti, a whole wheat circular flatbread, in the
morning, which is eaten with curries from the night before. Also important to the diet
is dal, a thin soup based on ground lentils, chickpeas, or other legumes that is poured
over rice. A sweet homemade yogurt commonly finishes a meal. A typical meal consists
of a large bowl of rice to which is added small portions of fish and vegetable curries.
Breakfast is the meal that varies the most, being rice- or bread-based. A favorite
breakfast dish is panthabhat, leftover cold rice in water or milk mixed with gur(date palm
sugar). Food is eaten with the right hand by mixing the curry into the rice and then
gathering portions with the fingertips. In city restaurants that cater to foreigners, people
may use silverware.
Three meals are consumed daily. Water is the most common beverage. Before the
meal, the right hand is washed with water above the eating bowl. With the clean
knuckles of the right hand the interior of the bowl is rubbed, the water is discarded, and
the bowl is filled with food. After the meal, one washes the right hand again, holding it
over the emptied bowl.
Snacks include fruits such as banana, mango, and jackfruit, as well as puffed rice and
small fried food items. For many men, especially in urbanized regions and bazaars, no
day is complete without a cup of sweet tea with milk at a small tea stall, sometimes
accompanied by confections.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. At weddings and on important holidays,

food plays an important role. At holiday or formal functions, guests are encouraged to
eat to their capacity. At weddings, a common food is biryani, a rice dish with lamb or
beef and a blend of spices, particularly saffron. On special occasions, the rice used is
one of the finer, thinner-grained types. If biryani is not eaten, a complete multicourse
meal is served: foods are brought out sequentially and added to one's rice bowl after the
previous course is finished. A complete dinner may include chicken, fish, vegetable,
goat, or beef curries and dal. The final bit of rice is finished with yogurt ( doi ).
On other important occasions, such as the Eid holidays, a goat or cow is slaughtered on
the premises and curries are prepared from the fresh meat. Some of the meat is given
to relatives and to the poor

Social Stratification
Classes and Castes. The Muslim class system is similar to a caste structure.
The ashraf is a small upperclass of old-money descendants of early Muslim officials and
merchants whose roots are in Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran. Some ashraf families trace
their lineage to the Prophet Mohammed. The rest of the population is conceived of as
the indigenous majority atraf. This distinction mirrors the Hindu separation between the
Brahman and those in lower castes. While both Muslim and Hindu categories are
recognized by educated people, the vast majority of citizens envision class in a more
localized, rural context.
In rural areas, class is linked to the amount of land owned, occupation, and education. A
landowner with more than five acres is at the top of the socioeconomic scale, and small
subsistence farmers are in the middle. At the bottom of the scale are the landless rural
households that account for about 30 percent of the rural population. Landowning status
reflects socioeconomic class position in rural areas, although occupation and education
also play a role. The most highly educated people hold positions requiring literacy
andmathematical skills, such as in banks and government offices, and are generally
accorded a higher status than are farmers. Small businessmen may earn as much as
those who have jobs requiring an education but have a lower social status.
Hindu castes also play a role in the rural economy. Hindu groups are involved in the
hereditary occupations that fill the economic niches that support a farming-based

economy. Small numbers of higher caste groups have remained in the country, and
some of those people are large landowners, businessmen, and service providers.
In urban areas the great majority of people are laborers. There is a middle class of small
businessmen and midlevel office workers, and above this is an emerging entrepreneurial
group and upper-level service workers.
Symbols of Social Stratification. One of the most obvious symbols of class status is
dress. The traditional garment for men is thelungi, a cloth tube skirt that hangs to the
ankles; for women, the sari is the norm. The lungi is worn by most men, except those
who consider themselves to have high socioeconomic status, among whom pants and
shirt are worn. Also indicative of high standing are loose white cotton pajama pants and
a long white shirt. White dress among men symbolizes an occupation that does not
require physical labor. A man with high standing will not be seen physically carrying
anything; that task is left to an assistant or laborer. Sarisalso serve as class markers,
with elaborate and finely worked cloth symbolizing high status. Poverty is marked by the
cheap, rough green or indigo cotton cloth saris of poor women. Gold jewelry indicates a
high social standing among women.
A concrete-faced house and a ceramic tile roof provide evidence of wealth. An
automobile is well beyond the means of most people, and a motorcycle is a sign of
status. Color televisions, telephones, and electricity are other symbols associated with
wealth.
Religious Beliefs. The symbols and sounds of Islam, such as the call to prayer,
punctuate daily life. Bangladeshis conceptualize themselves and others fundamentally
through their religious heritage. For example, the nationality of foreigners is considered
secondary to their religious identity.
Islam is a part of everyday life in all parts of the country, and nearly every village has at
least a small mosque and an imam (cleric). Prayer is supposed to be performed five
times daily, but only the committed uphold that standard. Friday afternoon prayer is often
the only time that mosques become crowded.
Throughout the country there is a belief in spirits that inhabit natural spaces such as
trees, hollows, and riverbanks. These beliefs are derided by Islamic religious authorities.

Hinduism encompasses an array of deities, including Krishna, Ram, Durga, Kali, and
Ganesh. Bangladeshi Hindus pay particular attention to the female goddess Durga, and
rituals devoted to her are among the most widely celebrated.

Secular Celebrations
Ekushee (21 February), also called Shaheed Dibash, is the National Day of Martyrs
commemorating those who died defending the Bangla language in 1952. Political
speeches are held, and a memorial service takes place at the Shaheed Minar (Martyr's
Monument) in Dhaka. Shadheenata Dibash, or Independence Day (26 March), marks
the day when Bangladesh declared itself separate from Pakistan. The event is marked
with military parades and political speeches. Poila Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, is
celebrated on the first day of the month of Boishakh (generally in April). Poetry readings
and musical events take place. May Day (1 May) celebrates labor and workers with
speeches and cultural events. Bijoy Dibosh, or Victory Day (16 December),
commemorates the day in 1971 when Pakistani forces surrendered to a joint
BangladeshiIndian force. Cultural and political events are held.
Child Rearing and Education. Children are raised within the extended family and learn early
that individual desires are secondary to the needs of the family group. Following orders is
expected on the basis of age; an adult or older child's commands must be obeyed as a sign of
respect. Child care falls primarily to household women and their daughters. Boys have more
latitude for movement outside the household.
The Relative Status of Women and Men. The society is patriarchal in nearly every area of life,
although some women have achieved significant positions of political power at the national level.
For ordinary women, movement is confined, education is stressed less than it is for men, and
authority is reserved for a woman's father, older brother, and husband.

Book Reviews
The Syntax of Social Life: The Theory and Method of Comparative
Narratives.Peter Abell
Andrew Abbott

First Page

PDF

The conflicting sociological methodologies of traditional qualitative analysis and the newer "positivist"
approach are here reconciled in Professor Abell's incisive study. Through a formal explanation of
"narratives," the author provides the technical framework for qualitative analysis which facilitates its
combination with other methodological tools. His unique view of the interaction between competing
methods and his precise account of the structure of "narratives" make this work a welcome
contribution to model-building in social theory.

Bibliographic information

Title

The syntax of social life: the theory and method of comparative

narratives

Author

Peter Abell

Edition

Illustrated

Publisher

Clarendon Press, 1987

ISBN

0198272715, 9780198272717

Length

120 pages

Subjects

Language Arts & Disciplines

Linguistics

Semantics

Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Semantics

Social Science / Methodology
Peter Abell (born 1939) is a British social scientist, currently professor emeritus at the London
School of Economics where he has founded and directed the "Interdisciplinary Institute of
Management".[1] He has been teaching for many years at LSE's Department of Management,
managerial economics and strategy group.

Contents
[hide]

1Work

2Political activism

3Selected publications
o

3.1Books (selected)

3.2Book chapters and papers in refereed journals (selected)

4Notes

5External links

Work[edit]
He is known for his contribution to mathematical social science, both quantitative and qualitative. He
is the author of several books on methodology and individual participation and co-operation [2] and
currently focuses on an approach he coined Bayesian narratives and on network
analysis particularly the role of signed structures in group formation and identity change.

Political activism[edit]
During the 1960s Abell was involved in demonstrations organised by theCommittee of
100 in Trafalgar Square[3] and advocated for civil disobedienceand nuclear disarmament.[4]

Selected publications[edit]

Books (selected)[edit]

Model Building in Sociology (Basic ideas in the human sciences) (1971)

Organizations as bargaining and influence systems Edited volume (1975)

The syntax of social life: The theory and method of comparative narratives Oxford University
Press(1987)

Establishing Support Systems for Industrial Co-Operatives: Case Studies from the Third
World (1988)

Organisation Theory; An interdisciplinary Approach University of London Press (2006)

Book chapters and papers in refereed journals (selected)[edit]

'Some Aspects of Narrative Method' Journal of Mathematical Sociology 1993 18:1-25.

'On the Prospects of a unified Social Science' Socio-economic Review, 2003, 1, 1-27

'Narrative explanation: An alternative to variable-centered explanation?', Annual Review of

Sociology, 2004, 287-310.

'Narratives, Bayesian narratives and narrative actions' Sociologica 2007, 1:3

'Are reasons explanations?.' Contemporary Sociology 2007, 36:532-534

'A Case for Cases,Comparative Narratives in Sociological Explanation' Sociological Methods

and Research 2009, 32:1-33

'Singular Mechanisms and Bayesian Narratives' in Demeulenaere, Pierre, ed. Analytical

sociology and social mechanismsCambridge University Press, 2011.

Notes[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "Peter Abell's CV 2011" (PDF). London School of Economics. Retrieved 25
February 2014.

2.

Jump up^ "European Academy of Sociology - Fellows". European Academy of Sociology.

Retrieved 19 February 2014.

3.

Jump up^ "Leeds students arrested after sit-down demonstrations" (PDF) (Press release).
Union News - The Weekly Newspaper of Leeds University Union. September 29, 1961.
Retrieved February 25, 2014.

4.

Jump up^ "Letters - The Head and the Heart" (PDF) (Press release). Union News - Leeds
University Union. October 13, 1961. RetrievedFebruary 25, 2014.

Social sciences approaches[edit]

Human beings often claim to understand events when they manage to formulate a coherent story or
narrative explaining how they believe the event was generated. Narratives thus lie at foundations of
our cognitive procedures and also provide an explanatory framework for the social sciences,
particularly when it is difficult to assemble enough cases to permit statistical analysis. Narrative is

often used in case study research in the social sciences. Here it has been found that the dense,
contextual, and interpenetrating nature of social forces uncovered by detailed narratives is often
more interesting and useful for both social theory and social policy than other forms of social inquiry.
Sociologists Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein have contributed to the formation of a
constructionist approach to narrative in sociology. From their book The Self We Live By: Narrative
Identity in a Postmodern World (2000), to more recent texts such as Analyzing Narrative Reality
(2009)and Varieties of Narrative Analysis (2012), they have developed an analytic framework for
researching stories and storytelling that is centered on the interplay of institutional discourses (big
stories) on the one hand, and everyday accounts (little stories) on the other. The goal is the
sociological understanding of formal and lived texts of experience, featuring the production,
practices, and communication of accounts.

n linguistics, syntax (/sntks/[1][2]) is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the
structure of sentences in a given language, specifically word order. The term syntax is also used to
refer to the study of such principles and processes.[3] The goal of many syntacticians is to discover
g=the syntactic rules common to all languages.
In mathematics, syntax refers to the rules governing the behavior of mathematical systems, such
as formal languages used in logic. (See logical syntax.)

The word syntax comes from Ancient Greek: "coordination", which consists of syn,
"together," and txis, "an ordering".

Sequencing of subject, verb, and object[edit]

A basic feature of a language's syntax is the sequence in which the subject (S), verb (V),
and object (O) usually appear in sentences.

[1] M. a Nasly, M. a Hossain, and M. S. Islam, Water Quality Index of Sungai

Tunggak: An Analytical Study, Int. Conf. Environ. Manag., pp. 4045,
2013.

[2]

V. Sldeek, Rotifers as indicators of water quality, Hydrobiologia, vol.

100, no. 1, pp. 169201, 1983.