From Two Economies To Two Nations: My Journey To Bangladesh

by Rehman Sobhan

The Contributions to this volume by Rehman Sobhan date back to 1961 and extend up to December 1971 when he was campaigning for Bangladesh during the liberation war. They include academic papers, articles for newspapers and other written inputs which were designed to both inform and influence public opinion in support of self-rule for Bangladesh. The writings provide a sequential narrative which blends economic analysis with journalistic reportage of important historical events and can be read both as a history of events as well as of ideas, which culminated in the emergence of an independent Bangladesh.

The first part of the volume provides an intellectual history of Siobhan's participations in the debates on what was then defined as the two economies dividing Pakistan and the consequential economic deprivation of the Bangalis. These writings of his were influential in shaping the political debates of the time which culminated in the presentation of the 6 Point agenda of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part of this volume provides reportage on the historic political struggles which were provoked by the denial of democratic rights to the Bangalis, and its culmination in the war of national liberation.

The concluding section on the 'Idea of Bangladesh' retrospectively reviews the economic basis of Bangladeshi nationalism and the catalytic role of Bangabandhu in the birth of an independent Bangladesh.

Genres: Nonfiction

292 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Professor Rehman Sobhan was educated at St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling, Aitichison College, Lahore and Cambridge University where he was awarded an MA in Economics. He began his working career at the faculty of Economics, Dhaka University in 1957 and retired as Professor of Economics in 1977. He served as Member, Bangladesh Planning Commission, in charge of the Divisions of Industry, Power and Natural Resources, and of Physical Infrastructure, as Chairman, Research Director, Director General and Emeritus Fellow, BIDS from and as a Visiting Fellow, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford. He was a Member of the Advisory Council of the President of Bangladesh in 1991, in charge of the Ministry of Planning and the Economic Relations Division. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). He has been the Executive Director, South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), a Visiting Scholar, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University and a Senior Research Fellow, at the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance, Harvard University. Currently he is the Chairman of CPD.

Professor Sobhan has held a number of important professional positions. He was a Member of the Panel of Economists to review the Third and Fourth Five Year Plans of Pakistan, Editor, Pakistan Economic Journal and Editor, Forum, a weekly magazine by The Daily Star. He served the independent Government of Bangladesh as Envoy Extraordinary with special responsibility for Economic Affairs, during the Liberation War in 1971. He was President, Bangladesh Economic Association, Member, Bangladesh National Commission on Money, Banking and Finance, Member, U.N. Committee for Development Planning, Member, Governing Council of the U.N. University, Tokyo, Member of the Commission for a New Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Member of the Board of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, Member of the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association, Member of the Group of Emminent Persons appointed by the SAARC Heads of State to review the future of SAARC, Chairman, South Asia Centre for Policy Studies, Chairman of the Board of Grameen Bank, Member of the BIDS Board of Trustees and Member of the International Advisory Committee of the Ash Institute, Harvard University. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Freedom Foundation, Bangladesh, Chairman of the Pratichi Trust (Bangladesh) set up by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Board Member of SACEPS, Kathmandu.

He has published 27 books, 15 research monographs and 140 articles in professional journals. His principal publications include: Basic Democracies, Works Programme and Rural Development in East Pakistan, Public Enterprise in an Intermediate Regime, The Crisis of External Dependence: The Political Economy of Foreign Aid to Bangladesh, Debt Default and the Crisis of State Sponsored entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, Planning and Public Action for Asian Women, Rethinking the Role of the State in Development: Asian Perspectives, Bangladesh: Problems of Governance, Agrarian Reform and Social Transformation, Aid Dependence and Donor Policy: The Case of Tanzania, Transforming Eastern South Asia, Rediscovering the Southern Silk Route, Challenging Injustice: The Odyssey of a Bangladeshi Economist, Milestones to Bangladesh and The Political Economy of Malgovernance in Bangladesh.

Reviews

[Zaeem Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dense collection of newspaper articles/presentations forged into a book depicting the economic oppression that ultimately led to Bangladesh’s liberation. A very unique and interesting read focusing on the inequity that sowed the seeds of rebellion in our people.