Originally posted in The Daily Star on 10 May 2023
Renowned economist Prof Nurul Islam, a leading architect of the economic rationale for independence of Bangladesh, is no more.
He was 94.
He breathed his last in Washington DC around 2:15am local time on Tuesday.
Prof Nurul migrated to the US in 1987. His neighbour in the US, Ahmad Ahsan, who is also an economist, said Prof Nurul died of complications associated with old age.
He left behind a son, a daughter and a host of relatives to mourn his passing, Ahmad told The Daily Star last night.
Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Prof Nurul was a leading architect of the economic rationale for Bangladesh’s independence.
“He epitomised the most gainful alignment between the civil elites and political elites. He was also in many ways the leading teacher of a new generation of economists during the pre-independence period. He was also the mentor of both academics and researchers,” Debapriya said.
He led a brilliant group of economists as a first deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Debapriya added.
Prof Nurul also became a person of authority in international food policy. He was an assistant director general of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, served as an adviser to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, and later became an Emeritus Fellow of the institute.
Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank’s Dhaka office, in a message wrote, “Professor Nurul Islam’s work on the Bangladesh economy preceded the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation. He consistently flagged the economic discrimination between the then East and West Pakistan and the policies that were causing the transfer of resources from the East to the West Pakistani business tycoons.
“Bangladesh’s First Five Year Plan was prepared under his supervision. The document is often used as a textbook on Bangladesh economy in the 70s… Whenever outsiders approach me for a reference document on the history of the Bangladesh economy, the two publications I refer to are the First Five Year Plan and his book ‘The Making of a Nation: An Economist’s Tale’.”
Prof Nurul was the first deputy chairman of the first Planning Commission after the independence of Bangladesh.
After graduating in economics from Dhaka University and earning his PhD from Harvard University, he joined the former institution as a lecturer and played an active role in the struggle for economic justice for the then-East Pakistan.
In his tribute, Binayak Sen, director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), wrote that Prof Nurul narrated the economic disparity between East and West Pakistan.
He contributed to the Awami League manifesto for the 1970 election, he added.
“Very few social scientists and economists can match his sharp intellect and deep wisdom. His demise is an irreparable loss.”
He was the first Bangalee to become the director of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and was the first chairman of BIDS.
Eminent Economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud wrote on Facebook that said Prof Nurul was an undisputed guru of two generations of economists.
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said the current planning commission was Prof Nurul’s brainchild because he had vast experience being the head of the then Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.