Inequality grows in absence of rule of law: Serajul Islam Chy

Dhaka University emeritus professor Serajul Islam Choudhury on Monday said that economic inequality was increasing in the country in absence of good governance in society.
The country was heading towards anarchy, he said while commenting on a lecture by economist Shapan Adnan at RC Majumder Auditorium of Dhaka University.
‘It is very frustrating,’ Serajul Islam Choudhury noted. 
Shapan Adnan delivered the lecture on ‘class, shamaj and shalish: social maintenance, break-ups and the cultural artefacts of domination in rural Bangladesh’.
Based on his research at Atghoria in Pabna, Shapan narrated the operation and function of ‘shalish’, a traditional outside-court based judicial system, on the local society.
He did not rule out the necessity of ‘shalish’ as he presented five case studies in his lecture.
The economist, however, showed how males of the upper class utilised the system to maintain their dominance over the lower and the poor both in Muslim and Hindu communities.
Shapan Adnan also showed how the lack of consensus in ‘shalish’ broke up the societies.
In his concluding remark of over the hour-long lecture, he also showed the growing politicisation of shalish in present days. 
Shapan Adnan said that upazila chairmen dictating the shalish in recent past were being sidelined by the growing presence of the officers in charge and the political cadres.
Serajul Islam Choudhury said the society was breaking up as the number of rape incidents was increasing in the country against the backdrop of dominance of black money.
Referring to the mass upsurge in 1969, he noted that mass courts should be established everywhere to bring back the rule of laws and free the country from the clutch of bureaucrats.
Shapan Adnan, also a member of the International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission who also taught at the Universities of Dhaka and Chittagong and the National University of Singapore, gave answers to questions from the audience.
He admitted that he did not discuss the evaluation of class in society as pointed out by economist Mahbub Ullah that many new classes were created as a farmer was no longer confined with only agriculture but also got involved in with land and manpower businesses.
Shapan Adnan said his main focus was on shalish due to time constraint.                     
Responding to a question, he lamented that meritorious and knowledgeable people were not getting due honour even at Dhaka University.
He noted that it was very sad that sycophants were getting privilege there ion absence of justice within the function of state that according to him contrary to the democracy.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net