Bangladesh became an independent nation state after achieving victory in a nine-month-long war for freedom, democracy, social justice and self-reliance which Andre Malraux once called "the last noble cause."
Since becoming independent from Pakistan in 1971, the densely populated nation at the head of the Bay of Bengal had swung between hope and despair, between mass apathy and violence on the streets. Many macro economic growth-oriented development models which create both gross and net happiness for the national elites, are yet to bring genuine and lasting happiness for the broad national majority. A self-reliant social development model has remained as an ardent desire for Bangladesh, a country whose population always nurture the dream of political, economic and social emancipation.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) concluded his historic 7th March (1971) speech, by pronouncing the word 'freedom' twice because he knew that achieving economic emancipation is equally important for political independence of the country from the clutches of Pakistani colonial administration. His struggle was for achieving economic emancipation for the deprived section of the society. At the time of independence, over 90 per cent of Bangladeshis were villagers, a share that has now come down to nearly 70 per cent. The new state of Bangladesh was the product of a 'Bengali nationalism' that arose to challenge West Pakistan's economic exploitation of its Eastern wing.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a group of Bengali economists carefully documented the process of economic disparity and demonstrated how a 'two-economy' system was widening economic inequalities between East and West Pakistan. The economic and political demands, as stipulated and enumerated under the six-point programme, were the targets of frontal assault on the foundation of Pakistan's colonial exploitation and authoritarian modes of governance. Hence the general election of 1970s was fought on the basis of economic and political autonomy and inclusiveness, which reflected the legitimate demands of the people of the then East Pakistan. Bangladesh emerged out of a quest for economic and political emancipation -- where people's participation is the key to its development.
In 1972, Bangladesh had 75 million people and its per capita annual income was $100. In next 45 years, its population has increased to 160 million and per capita income to $1327. Since 1991, its average annual growth rate has improved at the rate to 5.3 per cent, compared to the 5.1 per cent average of all South Asian countries for the same period. Irrespective of this achievement, the average income still remains at $1.40 per day. Bangladesh was a self-reliant country in the past and so long it depended entirely on the efforts of its own people but external aid caused a sharp change in its self-reliance stance.
A country that makes development plans utterly depending on receipt of substantial foreign aid may do much damage to the spirit of self-respect and self-reliance of its people. Even in the narrowest economic terms or in academic sense, its loss is greater than its gains. Resources, particularly money, are not value free. They bring certain baggage with them, depending on their origin and culture. They will not be available to you in the future; they have significant disadvantages that outweigh their advantages.
Understanding self-reliance from a sustainability point of view is crucial for such a lifestyle to be encouraged as an alternative to the western model of development. It also allows poverty alleviation to be perceived differently by reframing the achievement of material possessions to living wholesome life styles in a happy social environment within a healthy ecology. The following five characteristics of self reliance show the close links between this philosophy and the sustainability concept:
(1) Simplicity - this concept comes from the original idea of value and pride of things and ideas that are present. In essence, the care for the future is built on the glory of the present and the future is secure if we do things rightly: "The more I have, the less I am." Another implication of simplicity is the nature of technology that a community uses or in Gandhi's words, technology has to be swadeshi or "home-scale". This allows full control by people over the technology, avoids technological determinism, dominance and dependence and most importantly protects the natural environment.
(2) Responsibility - A self-reliant community takes the responsibility for its actions in creating and using goods as much as possible in a self-sufficient circle. Related to the technology used, responsibility changes to reduced dependence on fossil fuels, rejection of nuclear power and introduction of renewable energy (solar, biogas). Innovative appropriate technologies, either created locally, or imported or a mix, is the option for rural peoples' self-reliant sustainability. However, it is important that rural communities have the full responsibility for the management of these technologies which implies that they need to be able not only to operate them but also understand, adapt and develop them further according to their requirements.
(3) Respect - Respect is practised in a culturally appreciable framework without harming the environment, and this links to the environmental and social aspects of sustainability. The Baul philosophers in Bangladesh are deeply respected and people are prepared to follow their advice. Respect of socio-cultural norms and traditions is also an important component of self-reliance and the long-term sustainability of indigenous societies.
(4) Commitment - a community needs to be committed to working and should not rely on help from outside to guarantee the provision of its needs and economic security. From an economic point of view, the long-term equitable access to resources needs to be guaranteed by replenishing of any resources used. An implication from this characteristic of self-reliance is the choice of resources used and the preference for renewable resources that can be replaced in a reliable way.
(5) Creativity - New innovative solutions are the key to success for implementing such a change. The concept of self-reliance implies that a community is a constant source of creativity and ideas about how the present can be made better. People are, as they always have been and ought to be, the real protagonists of their own development and future. The search for sustainable solutions should involve the people who are affected by these solutions. Neither the government nor the private sector nor the foreign NGOs can provide jobs or wage-based work for the entire population, particularly in rural areas.
Transformation should occur in people's behavioural attitude: Once people realise they are the key change agents for the end of hunger, they are empowered to take action. Several thousand families have been mobilised to take actions to end their own poverty. A strong partnership may be established between the government and the grassroots people. The Millennium Development Goals are global targets but the solutions to achieve them must be worked out locally. The only way local people can ensure that this happens is through strong, accountable local democracy.
Micro credit programme of Bangladesh has assumed a significant role in the world. Realising the significance of poverty alleviation Bangladesh has been disbursing small loans (micro credits) to poor villagers from 1978. The objective of this programme was to reduce poverty and increase gross domestic product (GDP) to minimum 10-11 per cent for sustainable socio-economic development of the country by women empowerment.
The diverse development efforts of the current era have shown mixed signs of sustainable development so far; in some cases they have contributed to the depletion of natural resources. The current 158 million population of Bangladesh has a much smaller impact compared to countries such as Australia or the USA where populations consume and waste more than 10 times of the natural resources used by Bangladeshi people.
The writer is a former Secretary and Chairman, NBR.
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