Poverty, Inequality and Social Justice

Addressing issues of poverty in the South Asia region has been one of the key focuses of CPD’s research activities over the years. It was in this context that CPD, in partnership with the South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), initiated a programme titled Eradication of Poverty in South Asia Through the Empowerment of the Poor in 2004. Core support for the programme was received by SACEPS from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. The programme was designed to address poverty across South Asia. Activities under this programme included country studies in five countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) of the region as well as regional dialogues and consultations which included discussions with slum dwellers, landless labour, political leaders, civil society leaders, etc. The dialogue process which informed this programme culminated in a South Asian regional Seminar organised by CPD-SACEPS, in Dhaka on 12-13 October 2008, where a draft of the overview report of the research study and reports of the country studies were presented to a gathering of regional and national experts. Based on comments from this regional Seminar, a final report was prepared and presented at an International Conference organised by SACEPS-CPD in partnership with Poverty Practice, Bureau of Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York, in New Delhi on 17-18 December 2008.

 

The programme was completed towards the end of 2009; however, review and editing work concerning a number of country studies were carried out in 2010. These included three research monographs titled Approach of the International Development Community towards Poverty Eradiation in Bangladesh; Poverty and Access to Education in Bangladesh; and Poverty, Power and Education Growth. The final report under the project, Challenging the Injustice of Poverty: Agendas for Inclusive Development in South Asia, was published in 2010 by the SAGE publications, India. Authored by Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman CPD, the book identifies specific policy and institutional measures which are expected to serve to challenge the injustice of poverty in the region. A major departure of this work has been its central focus on structural dimensions of poverty and on correcting the injustice inherence in the dominant prevailing system of ownership and management of resources.