Originally posted in Economic and Political Weekly on 8 February 2025
BOOK REVIEWS
by Habibul Haque Khondker
Fifty Years of Bangladesh: Economy, Politics, Society and Culture
Edited by: Rounaq Jahan and Rehman Sobhan
London and New York: Routledge, 2024; pp 281, $180.
On 5 August 2024, amid escalating mass protests that saw diverse segments of society—led by students—take to the streets, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh fled to India, marking the end of her 15-year rule. What began as a democratic tenure had gradually devolved into autocratic governance. The military, notably, remained passive by standers during the final days of the unrest. The dramatic events of that day, which brought Sheikh Hasina’s reign to an abrupt close, have been variously described as the “monsoon revolution,” a “silent coup,” or perhaps a combination of both. The book under review was released well before the revolution, yet some of the authors indicated the paradox of breathtaking economic growth combined with a growing deficit of democratic dispensations.
The edited volume Fifty Years of Bangladesh: Economy, Politics, Society, and Culture by Rounaq Jahan and Rehman Sobhan has some special meaning attached to it. The two editors were central figures associated with the history of the country, both intellectually as well as organically and the volume is an outgrowth of the conference at the jubilee celebration of Bangladesh. The conference was hosted jointly by the Centre for Policy Dialogue and the South Asia Program of Cornell University. It is worthwhile to mention that Jahan also hosted the conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of independence at Columbia University in 1996 and edited the conference volume titled Bangladesh: Promise and Performance (2000). This edited volume has a special significance because of the continuity it provides in analysing the developments in the country.