Speakers at a book launching programme on Thursday said that without a strong political agenda, implementation of economic reforms is quite impossible in Bangladesh.

There are several elite groups created in the last one decade in the country. Business elite is also one of them, who is driving the business sector and at the same time participating in policymaking in favour of them while ignoring mass people'd benefits, observed the speakers.

They said this at a book launching programme titled ‘Fifty Years of Bangladesh: Economy, Politics, Society and Culture’ published by international publisher Routledge from London in January this year.

They said that a clear scenario of such understanding the people get when they look at the banking sector and garment sector of the country.

The garment owners are getting exclusive benefits. On the other hand, many private banks are facing destruction due to looting by the bank directors. The government and administration are helping to destroy the banks. Again, they are getting seats in parliament and cabinet from two parts, they pointed out.

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The reviewer of the book Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank, Dhaka office, said in the last five decades there have been development in agriculture, industries, and service sectors, but wages have not grown as per standard.

“The development of Bangladesh happened by keeping mortgage of our future, and an iconological injustice has also been done in last 51 years, that is more than the British and Pakistan period even,” he pointed out from different articles of the book.

He also mentioned that the institutional and regulatory capacity of the country is not improving along with the development of different sectors, resulting in an institutional imbalance, and regulatory weakness is witnessed in many sectors.

Another book reviewer Matiur Rahman, editor of Daily Prothom Alo in analysis and interpretation of the book said it mentioned the country is an authoritarian state, which is currently going on.

The business has grown over the past few decades. But all businessmen's capacity for getting equal action and participation in decision-making has declined, he said.

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“Currently it is trying to push the weak banks over the good banks. From these two parts, we have seen many people get important posts in business and cabinet positions in Parliament. They are influencing state policy in favour of them while small traders struggling to survive lack of policy support,” he pointed out.

Book reviewer Professor Firdous Azim, chairperson, Department of English and Humanities BRAC University, said women's participation in economic activities has increased in the country in the last five decades.

But cultural conflict widened, new generation grew with the Muslim conservative ideology along with modern mentality, there is a challenge of making a combination in society among the progressive and conservative community, she pointed out.

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A total of 15 writers including a foreigner wrote articles on the book covering Bangladesh’s achievements in the last 50 years and suggested a way forward for sustainable development.

Professor Rehman Sobhan, founder and chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), and Professor Rounaq Jahan, distinguished fellow, of CPD edited the book. Rounaq Jahan moderated the programme.

Among the authors of the book Professor Dr Mustafizur Rahman, CPD, Professor Selim Raihan, Executive Director SANEM, Dr Syed Akhtar Mahmood, Former Lead Private Sector Specialist World Bank Group, Professor Dr MM Akash, the University of Dhaka Dr Iftekhar Iqbal, Professor Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman Executive Chairman Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), Dr Mirza M Hassan Senior Research Fellow BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Dr Ali Riaz Distinguished Professor Illinois State University, USA, Dr Selim Jahan Former Director, Human Development Report Office (HDRO) UNDP, New York, Dr Fakrul Alam Supernumerary Professor Department of English, DU, Dr Sohela Nazneen, Senior Fellow Institute of Development Studies (IDS), spoke in the programme in person and digitally.

The University Press Limited (UPL) works as the local distributor of the book.