BANGLADESH SOCIETY: CLASSES, CASTES, NEIGHBORHOODS, MIDDLE CLASS AND BEGGARS

BANGLADESH SOCIETY

Human Development Index: Score: 0.632; rank out of 189 countries: 133 (compared to 1 for Norway, 13 for the United States and 189 for Niger). The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income per capita indicators. A country scores higher HDI when the life expectancy at birth is longer, the education period is longer, and the income per capita is higher [Source: United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report, Wikipedia]

Remarkable ethnic and cultural homogeneity of its population. Over 98 percent of its people are Bengalis; the remainder are Biharis, or non-Bengali Muslims, and indigenous tribal peoples. Bangladeshis are particularly proud of their rich cultural and linguistic heritage because their independent nation is partially the result of a powerful movement to uphold and preserve their language and culture. Bangladeshis identify themselves closely with Bangla, their national language. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

Nearly 83 percent Muslim, Bangladesh ranked third in Islamic population worldwide, following Indonesia and Pakistan. Sunni Islam was the dominant religion among Bangladeshis. Although loyalty to Islam was deeply rooted, in many cases beliefs and observances in rural areas tended to conflict with orthodox Islam. However, the country was remarkably free of sectarian strife. For most believers Islam was largely a matter of customary practice and mores. In the late twentieth century fundamentalists were showing some organizational strength, but in the late 1980s their numbers and influence were believed to be limited. Promulgated in June 1988, the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution recognizes Islam as the state religion, but the full implications of this measure were not apparent in the months following its adoption. Hindus constituted the largest religious minority at 16 percent; other minorities included Buddhists and Christians.*

Family and Kin Groups in Bangladesh

Family and kinship have been the core of social life in Bangladesh for a long time. The most common unit is the patrilineally-related extended family living in a household called a bari. A bari is composed of a husband and wife, their unmarried children, and their adult sons with their wives and children. Grandparents also may be present, as well as patrilineally-related brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews. [Source: “Countries and Their Cultures”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001]

A family group residing in a bari would function as the basic unit of economic endeavor, landholding, and social identity. In the eyes of rural people, the chula defined the effective household — an extended family exploiting jointly held property and being fed from a jointly operated kitchen. A bari might consist of one or more such functional households, depending on the circumstances of family relationship. Married sons generally lived in their parents' household during the father's lifetime. Although sons usually built separate houses for their nuclear families, they remained under their fathers' authority, and wives under their mothers-in-law's authority. The death of the father usually precipitated the separation of adult brothers into their own households. Such a split generally caused little change in the physical layout of the bari, however. Families at different stages of the cycle would display different configurations of household membership. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

Patrilineal ties dominated the ideology of family life, but in practice matrilineal ties were almost as important. Married women provided especially important links between their husbands' brothers' families. Brothers and sisters often visited their brothers' households, which were in fact the households of their deceased fathers. By Islamic law, women inherited a share of their fathers' property and thus retained a claim on the often scanty fields worked by their brothers. By not exercising this claim, however, they did their brothers the important service of keeping the family lands in the patrilineal line and thus ensured themselves a warm welcome and permanent place in their brothers' homes [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: The patrilineal descent principle is important, and the lineage is very often localized within a geographic neighborhood in which it constitutes a majority. Lineage members can be called on in times of financial crisis, particularly when support is needed to settle local disputes. Lineages do not meet regularly or control group resources. [Source: “Countries and Their Cultures”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001]

Poverty and Disasters in Bangladesh

One of the world's most densely populated nations, Bangladesh in the 1980s was caught in the vicious cycle of population expansion and poverty. Although the rate of growth had declined marginally in recent years, the rapid expansion of the population continued to be a tremendous burden on the nation. With 82 percent of its people living in the countryside, Bangladesh was also one of the most rural nations in the Third World. The pace of urbanization in the late 1980s was slow, and urban areas lacked adequate amenities and services to absorb even those migrants who trekked from rural areas to the urban centers for food and employment. Frequent natural disasters, such as coastal cyclones and floods, killed thousands, and widespread malnutrition and poor sanitation resulted in high mortality rates from a variety of diseases.*

In the late 1980s, poverty remained the most salient aspect of Bangladeshi society. Although the disparity in income between different segments of the society was not great, the incidence of poverty was widespread; the proportion of the population in extreme poverty — those unable to afford even enough food to live a reasonably active life — rose from 43 percent in 1974 to 50 percent in the mid-1980s. The emerging political elite, which constituted a very narrow social class compared with the mass of peasants and urban poor, held the key to political power, controlled all institutions, and enjoyed the greatest economic gains. Urban in residence, fluent in English, and comfortable with Western culture, they were perceived by many observers as socially and culturally alienated from the masses. At the end of the 1980s, Bangladeshi society continued to be in transition — not only from the early days of independence but also from the colonial and Pakistani periods as well — as new values gradually replaced traditional ones.*

Since its birth in 1971, Bangladesh has suffered through both natural calamities and political upheavals. In July-September 1987, for example, the country experienced its worst floods in more than thirty years, and floods during the same period in 1988 were even more devastating. In 1987 more than US$250 million of the economic infrastructure was destroyed, the main rice crop was severely damaged, and an estimated 1,800 lives were lost. The 1988 floods covered more than two-thirds of the country, and more than 2,100 died from flooding and subsequent disease. The country also underwent a period of political unrest fomented by major opposition political parties. Enduring uncertainties as the 1990s approached were bound to have an impact on social development, especially in the areas of education, development of the labor force, nutrition, and the building of infrastructure for adequate health care and population control.*

Bengali Society and Caste System

The caste system is very much alive in Bengali society. There is some caste-based specialization among Muslims. In the modern economy, the caste system is not as pronounced and well defined but is present in the high numbers of upper caste members in professions and managerial jobs and the dominance of lower caste members in service-oriented and labor positions.

The caste system traditions are in opposition to the egalitarian ideology of Islam. Among Muslims there are not castes per say but there are clearly-defined social ranks. This status is often determined by occupation. In theory Islam forbids hereditary distinction based on social rank, but hierarchies exits. The traditional South Asian Muslim system of social rank distinguishes between nobles ( ashraf) and lowing ranks ( ajlaf or atraf, some of which are based on occupations). In many Muslim communities, most of the residents are farmers and castelike distinctions are not strong and when stratification occurs it based more on wealth more than anything else. The social system as a whole is more fluid and provided more opportunities for social mobility.

Village society is still largely under the control of conservative male-dominated village councils called saleeshes made up of elders who often meet under large banyan trees or litchi trees. Hindu Bengali society tends to be less stratified than Hindu societies found elsewhere in India. Villages tend to have a smaller number of castes than Hindu villages elsewhere in India. They typically have five to 15 different castes where as villages elsewhere may have over 25. In the populous area of the southern Bengal delta, several low ranking farmer castes are strong both in terms of numbers and political powers. These include the Mahisyas, the Namasudras and the Pods.

Transition to a New Social Order

Bangladesh did not exist as a distinct geographic and ethnic unity until independence. The region had been a part of successive Indian empires, and during the British period it formed the eastern part of a hinterland of Bengal, which was dominated by the British rulers and Hindu professional, commercial, and landed elites. After the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, present-day Bangladesh came under the hegemony of the non-Bengali Muslim elites of the West Wing of Pakistan. The establishment of Bangladesh, therefore, implied the formation of both a new nation and a new social order. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

Until the partition of British India in 1947, Hindus controlled about 80 percent of all large rural holdings, urban real estate, and government jobs in East Bengal and dominated finance, commerce, and the professions. Following partition, a massive flight of East Bengali Hindus effectively removed the Hindu economic and political elite and cut the territory's ties to Calcutta. After the emigration of the Hindus, Muslims moved quickly into the vacated positions, creating for the first time in East Bengal an economy and government predominantly in Muslim hands. These vastly increased opportunities, especially in the civil service and the professions, however, soon came to be dominated by a West Pakistani-based elite whose members were favored by the government both directly and indirectly. Soon after independence in 1971, an ill-prepared Bangladeshi elite moved into the areas vacated by West Pakistanis. Except for members of small non-Bengali caste-like Muslim groups known as "trading communities," Bangladeshi Muslims almost immediately established control over all small- and medium-sized industrial and commercial enterprises. The 1972 nationalization of non-Bengali-owned large industries accelerated the establishment of control and influence by the indigenous community.*

The sudden rise of a new managerial class and the expansion of the civil and military bureaucracy upset the balance in both the urban and the rural sectors. Party affiliation, political contacts, and documented revolutionary service became the main prerequisites for admission to the rapidly growing new elite of political and industrial functionaries; the established middle class and its values played lesser roles. In the countryside, new elites with links to the villages bought property to establish their sociopolitical control. Also taking advantage of the situation, the rural political elite amassed fortunes in land and rural-based enterprises. The result was the growth of a new, land-based, rural elite that replaced many formerly entrenched wealthy peasants (in Bangla, jotedars).*

Social Classes and Stratification in Bangladesh

Society in Bangladesh in the 1980s, with the exception of the Hindu caste system, was not rigidly stratified; rather, it was open, fluid, and diffused, without a cohesive social organization and social structure. Social class distinctions were mostly functional, however, and there was considerable mobility among classes. Even the structure of the Hindu caste system in Bangladesh was relatively loose because most Hindus belonged to the lower castes. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: “In rural areas, class is linked to the amount of land owned, occupation, and education. A landowner with more than five acres is at the top of the socioeconomic scale, and small subsistence farmers are in the middle. At the bottom of the scale are the landless rural households that account for about 30 percent of the rural population. Landowning status reflects socioeconomic class position in rural areas, although occupation and education also play a role. The most highly educated people hold positions requiring literacy and mathematical skills, such as in banks and government offices, and are generally accorded a higher status than are farmers. Small businessmen may earn as much as those who have jobs requiring an education but have a lower social status. In urban areas the great majority of people are laborers. There is a middle class of small businessmen and midlevel office workers, and above this is an emerging entrepreneurial group and upper-level service workers. [Source: “Countries and Their Cultures”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001]

“One of the most obvious symbols of class status is dress. The traditional garment for men is the lungi, a cloth tube skirt that hangs to the ankles; for women, the sari is the norm. The lungi is worn by most men, except those who consider themselves to have high socioeconomic status, among whom pants and shirt are worn. Also indicative of high standing are loose white cotton pajama pants and a long white shirt. White dress among men symbolizes an occupation that does not require physical labor. A man with high standing will not be seen physically carrying anything; that task is left to an assistant or laborer. Saris also serve as class markers, with elaborate and finely worked cloth symbolizing high status. Poverty is marked by the cheap, rough green or indigo cotton cloth saris of poor women. Gold jewelry indicates a high social standing among women. A concrete-faced house and a ceramic tile roof provide evidence of wealth. An automobile is well beyond the means of most people, and a motorcycle is a sign of status. Color televisions, telephones, and electricity are other symbols associated with wealth.”

In an article on Bangladeshi village life, Kamran Nahar wrote: “In 1950, three classes in the society of the south para existed on the basis of land, as: 1) Land owners or the village aristocrats. 2) Tenant farmers. 3) Landless laborers. In that time, the above two classes exceeded the third, but presently the third is increasing, which is a reason of growing anxiety. Also, now the village society is stratified on the basis of land-ownership, wealth, education, job and life-style. According to these bases, the society of the south para of Silimpur can be divided into two classes, as: 1) The middle class 2) The lower class The middle class includes various professionals, such as, businessmen, bank mangers and other officers, agricultural officers, school and college teachers, press-owners, etc. The lower class covers petty shopkeepers, small businessmen, landless laborers working in mills and factories of the towns, and in others’ land etc. This change has been possible for growing number of educated people. Further great changes will come, since some of the new generations are studying in engineering and general universities. [Source: “Bangladesh Culture: A Study of the South Para of Village ‘Silimpur’” by Kamrun Nahar, September 2, 2006]

Muslim Class Traditions in Bangladesh

Traditional Muslim class distinctions had little importance in Bangladesh. The proscription against marriage between individuals of high-born and low-born families, once an indicator of the social gap between the two groups, had long ago disappeared; most matrimonial alliances were based on wealth and power and not on the ties of family distinction. Also, many so-called upper class families, because of their traditional use of the Urdu language, had become alienated in independent Bangladesh. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

Ostensibly, egalitarian principles of Islam were the basis of social organization. Unlike in other regions of South Asia, the Hindu caste-based social system had a very limited effect on Bangladeshi Muslim social culture. Even the low-caste jolhas (weavers) had improved their social standing since 1971. Although several hierarchically arranged groups — such as the syeds (noble born) and the sheikhs, or shaykhs (also noble born) — were noticeable in Bangladesh Muslim society, there were no impenetrable hereditary social distinctions. Rather, fairly permeable classes based on wealth and political influence existed both in the cities and in the villages.*

According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: “The Muslim class system is similar to a caste structure. The ashraf is a small upperclass of old-money descendants of early Muslim officials and merchants whose roots are in Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran. Some ashraf families trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad. The rest of the population is conceived of as the indigenous majority atraf. This distinction mirrors the Hindu separation between the Brahman and those in lower castes. While both Muslim and Hindu categories are recognized by educated people, the vast majority of citizens envision class in a more localized, rural context. [Source: “Countries and Their Cultures”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001]

Hindu Caste Traditions in Bangladesh

The Hindu caste system is very much in evidence in Bangladesh but is not as strong as it is the Punjab and Sindh areas of Pakistan. The caste system manifests itself more in the form of submission to authority and knowing one’s place rather than a ranking of superior and inferior groups.

Although Hindu society is formally stratified into caste categories, caste did not figure prominently in the Bangladeshi Hindu community. About 75 percent of the Hindus in Bangladesh belonged to the lower castes, notably namasudras (lesser cultivators), and the remainder belonged primarily to outcaste or untouchable groups. Some members of higher castes belonged to the middle or professional class, but there was no Hindu upper class. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

With the increasing participation of the Hindus in nontraditional professional mobility, the castes were able to interact in wider political and socioeconomic arenas, which caused some erosion of caste consciousness. Although there is no mobility between Hindu castes, caste distinctions did not play as important a role in Bangladesh as in they did in the Hindu-dominated Indian state of West Bengal. Bangladeshi Hindus seemed to have become part of the mainstream culture without surrendering their religious and cultural distinctions.*

According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: “Hindu castes also play a role in the rural economy. Hindu groups are involved in the hereditary occupations that fill the economic niches that support a farming-based economy. Small numbers of higher caste groups have remained in the country, and some of those people are large landowners, businessmen, and service providers. [Source: “Countries and Their Cultures”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001]

Rural Society in Bangladesh

The basic social unit in a village is the family (paribar or gushti), generally consisting of a complete or incomplete patrilineally extended household (chula) and residing in a homestead (bari). The individual nuclear family often is submerged in the larger unit and might be known as the house (ghar). Above the bari level, patrilineal kin ties are linked into sequentially larger groups based on real, fictional, or assumed relationships. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

A significant unit larger than that of close kin is the voluntary religious and mutual benefit association known as the "the society" (samaj or millat). Among the functions of a samaj might be the maintenance of a mosque and support of a mullah. An informal council of samaj elders (matabdars or sardars) settles village disputes. Factional competition between the matabdars is a major dynamic of social and political interaction.*

Groups of homes in a village are called paras, and each para has its own name. Several paras constitute a mauza, the basic revenue and census survey unit. The traditional character of rural villages was changing in the latter half of the twentieth century with the addition of brick structures of one or more stories scattered among the more common thatched bamboo huts.*

Although farming has traditionally ranked among the most desirable occupations, villagers in the 1980s began to encourage their children to leave the increasingly overcrowded countryside to seek more secure employment in the towns. Traditional sources of prestige, such as landholding, distinguished lineage, and religious piety were beginning to be replaced by modern education, higher income, and steadier work. These changes, however, did not prevent rural poverty from increasing greatly. According to the FY 1986 Household Expenditure Survey conducted by the Ministry of Planning's Bureau of Statistics, 47 percent of the rural population was below the poverty line, with about 62 percent of the poor remaining in extreme poverty. The number of landless rural laborers also increased substantially, from 25 percent in 1970 to 40 percent in 1987. *

Neighborliness in Old Dhaka

Fayeka Zabeen Siddiqua wrote in the Daily Star: “In her sixties, Jahanara Banu enjoys whipping up home-cooked scrumptious desserts and savouries for her family and neighbours on any given occasions. Till date she has always welcomed Ramadan by sharing meals with the neighbourhood families...“Once upon a time when people ran out of sugar or needed an extra egg, they would bolt out of their flats and rush next door, pressing the calling bell hard, asking their neighbours to save their life with a cup of sugar. People didn't find this kind of demand unusual, rather they loved the fact that their neighbours were comfortable enough to ask them. In short, life was simple, people were happy. [Source: Fayeka Zabeen Siddiqua, Daily Star, July 11, 2014]

Up until the mid 2000s, “we used to have wide stair landings and entryways in front of our home in Dhanmandi and that alone could accommodate two to three families,” recalls Showkat Osman, a resident of Mohammadpur. “Often kids were found playing hide and seek with our neighbours' children. Even the adults would indulge in a game of chess or carom. But these days, apartments can promise you all the modern facilities but not a common space where you can communicate and share interests with your neighbours.”

“Unlike many other neighbourhoods in Dhaka, Manashi believes in living together in unity and harmony. In a residential area of around two hundred families, the women play the role of an adhesive force, bringing everyone together through cultural activities and the maintenance of the small park that they all share. “Every year we celebrate Pohela Boishakh, the English new year and independence day together. All the performers belong to us,” says Nayeem Morshed, a resident of that locality who is working as Assistant General Managar of Otobi.

“The women members of the family have a stronghold upon the residential area's populace, and so they make sure everyone participates in scheduled fun filled programmes. Interestingly cricket has proven to be strongest catalyst in developing a sense of community. The most fun filled celebration that they have here is a mini version of cricket premier league. Like the Indian Premier League, the tournament is called Shinepukur Premier League where all the procedures of the actual league game are followed. “Before starting the game we too hold an auction where the bidders can bid for players,” says Morshed with a laugh. Starting from the night of the auction till the end of the nail-biting matches, the tournament is filled with excitement.

“People from Old Dhaka also share the same kind of bond. “People identify with our exotic food and historical relics, but we can also boast of our sense of kinship in our neighbourhoods”, says Monzur Chowdhury, a middle-aged old Dhakaite. According to him and fellow Old town Dhakaities, here you can rely on your neighbours no matter what. Your water pipe has burst? You don't need to wait for the technicians to come and fix it, your neighbours will show up before anyone else does. The lid over the manhole is stolen? Youngsters of the locality will take the initiative to fix it before anyone has to suffer from the theft. “We too have Facebook accounts, but we prefer having our evenings spent with real human beings, not the virtual ones,” says Morshed.

“We are aware of the fact that being neighbourly is not imperative for you to live in a neighbourhood. But if you want to be a better neighbour but are not sure where to start from, just follow the rule of thumb: treat your neighbours the way you would like to be treated. If you find it hard, just start with a smile. Trust us, it will help.

Decline of Neighborliness in Old Dhaka

Fayeka Zabeen Siddiqua wrote in the Daily Star: “On the night of Shab-e-Barat, I was thinking of preparing sweets and halwa to distribute it amongst the neighbours. But I found my son laughing at me. I was shocked to know that my son did not even know the people living next door to him,” says Jahanara Banu, who currently lives in Niketan. In current times, “you can't even think of asking such favours from your neighbours, especially in Dhaka. We all have our own reasons for not taking enough time to know our neighbours. Often we don't show interest in fear of nosy neighbours intruding on your personal space. Other times, we give the excuse of shuffling files on office tables, hectic traffic, and innumerable responsibilities, claiming that life does not give us enough time to engage in healthy interactions within our locality. And in most cases, we just don't care. [Source: Fayeka Zabeen Siddiqua, Daily Star, July 11, 2014]

“In recent times, urban neighbourhoods in Dhaka have evolved into entities characterised by weak social ties and lack of cohesiveness,” believes Hassan Shafie, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka. “The change in the relationship is primarily happening because individual members of an urban neighbourhood are motivated purely by self-interest, replacing, gradually, its earlier life force derived from family and kinship values,” he says.

“Being a friendly neighbour is a personal choice, but we need to know the risk of not knowing our neighbour too. Jahanara labels his son unsocial and self-centred, but Arif Osmani, her firstborn, has accepted the reality. “It's not that I like this culture or something, even I grew up playing street cricket with friends from my neighbourhood and having meals at my next door auntie's kitchen,” says Osmani, remembering his childhood days. “But now everyone seems so busy with their work and with the evolution of virtual communities, we have the opportunity to engage in occasional chats with others. We often exchange formal smiles with our neighbours in elevators, and that's it. My kids can never get the taste of growing up in a friendly neighbourhood the way we did,” Osmani says with regret.

“Experts agree with Arif Osmani. While by the grace of social networking sites our friends and family living far from us are just a click away, at the same time we are getting distant from the people who live closest to us — our neighbours. “For ages, neighbours have served the purpose of being shoulders to cry on, people with whom you can have a good time and share your everyday chitchat with,” says sociologist Anis Pervez. “But with urbanization, we have to accept that some obvious social changes like these are bound to take place. We are becoming more individualistic day by day. Now what we do in our pastime is completely different from what we used to do even ten years back. In fact the recent expansion of virtual neighbourhoods in cyber space and electronic communication technologies have made a drastic transformation in the nature of traditional face-to-face interactions,” opines Professor Anis. “At the same time, sharing of common interests and perspectives contributing to a sense of community between neighbourhood residents in Dhaka has also decreased to a large extent,” adds Professor Shafie.

Disparity of Income in Bangladesh

Income Inequality:
World Bank rich-poor (R-P): 10 percent: 7.5 to 1 (compared to 4.5 to 1 in Japan. 18.5 to 1 in the U.S., and 93.9 to 1 in Bolivia); and 20 percent: 4.8 to 1
CIA rich-poor (R-P): 10 percent: 7.5 to 1, 2000
World Bank Gini Index: 32.4 (2016) 1 (compared to 32.9 in Japan. 41.4 in the U.S., and 42.4 in Bolivia);
CIA Gini Index: 32.1, 2010
The rich-poor (R-P) ratio is the ratio of the average income of the richest 10 percent to the poorest 10 percent or the richest 20 percent to the poorest 20 percent.
The Gini index, a quantified representation of a nation's Lorenz curve. A Gini index of 0 percent expresses perfect equality, while index of 100 percent expresses maximal inequality.
[Source: United Nations Development Programme, CIA World Factbook, World Bank Wikipedia Wikipedia ]

About 10 percent of the rural household possess about 50 percent of the arable land. According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies”: “Disparities encompass three dimensions that define considerable differences: geographic, educational, and gender. There is still considerable inequality in the distribution of income between rural and urban populations. In general, the urban population, in the areas around Dhaka, Chittagong, and other large cities, has long been involved in small- and medium-sized businesses or employed in various industries. They benefited from the recent growth and have higher incomes. Meanwhile, the rural population experience chronic shortages of land and regular floods and cyclones, which often a within matter of hours sweep away the results of months of hard work. The 1998 flood, for example, affected two-thirds of the country, wiping out the entire winter crop and displacing millions of people. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies”, The Gale Group Inc., 2002]

“Education is another problem, as the adult literacy rate reached just 60 percent in 2000, despite the fact that primary education is universal, compulsory and free. The illiterate section of the population is generally much

Poorer as they are missing employment opportunities in the industrial sector as well as government and international assistance in form of micro-credits, and awareness of better cultivation methods and other market skills. Also, women in Bangladesh, especially those with large families, have heavier workloads and often fewer skills than the male population; the illiteracy rate is much higher among women than men. These differences may be seen in the statistical data. The wealthiest 20 percent of Bangladeshis control 42.8 percent of the wealth. The poorest 20 percent of the population control only 3.9 percent of the wealth. In fact, the poorest 40 percent of the population controls just 20.7 percent of the wealth.

Living Standards in Bangladesh in the 1970s to 1990s

According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies” in the early 2000s: GDP per capita income barely increased from US$203 in 1975 to US$348 per capita in 1998. The World Bank's World Development Indicators puts Bangladesh in 170th place (out of 207 countries) in the global ranking of gross national income per capita. Despite considerable international assistance, Bangladesh has been unable to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger. There is a huge disparity between standards of living in urban and rural areas of the country. The urban areas, especially the capital Dhaka, and major industrial cities such as Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi, enjoy a better quality of living, with electricity, gas, and clean water supplies. Still, even in the major cities a significant proportion of Bangladeshis live in squalor in dwellings that fall apart during the monsoon season and have no regular electricity. These Bang-ladeshis have limited access to health care and to clean drinking water. The rural population, meanwhile, often lives in traditional houses in villages with no facilities associated with even the most modest standards of living. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies”, The Gale Group Inc., 2002]

“Since the 1970s, the Bangladeshi government has implemented a social policy aimed at the elimination of poverty and social inequality, and largely funded by international organizations and individual donors. This policy aims at increasing the literacy rate, providing access to safe drinking water, family planning, and micro-crediting the poorest and most disadvantaged groups of society.

“Throughout the 1990s the Bangladeshi government achieved some positive results, although the 1998 floods put pressure on scarce government resources, brought hunger to some areas of the country, and made food prices higher. These difficulties particularly affected the most vulnerable social groups of society, both in rural areas and in major urban centers. The chronic poverty, under-employment and unemployment forced large numbers of people to migrate from the country, using all possible legal and illegal channels. Bangladesh's quality of life remains much lower than in neighboring India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. According to the CIA World Factbook, in 1996 around 35.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, most of them in rural areas of the country.

Rich in Bangladesh

The rich and middle class Bangladeshis often have many servants: house servant to do cooking and laundry, yardsmen to tend the gardens, drivers and security guards. They live in homes with barred windows, locked gates and high walls. The compounds sometimes have a house for the parents and separated houses for their children, their spouses and their children. They often spend a considerable amount of their income on education: tutors and private school with a curriculum in English

The economic elite and the government have traditionally had close ties, which usually means a lot of corruption. Julhas Alam of Associated Press wrote: “While Bangladesh has a long history of ruling party members manipulating business and government contracts in their favor, experts say the total absence of political opposition has engendered a sense of impunity among some in power. “Investment and politics become synonymous in Bangladesh," said Ifekhar Zaman, executive director of the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International. "A collusion of politics, business, and bureaucracy and law enforcement" has created an "infrastructure" of corruption. [Source: Julhas Alam, Associated Press, November 5, 2019]

For a long time the main power brokers in much of South Asia were the “zamindars” (large landowners). Zamidars are a Muslim Rajput caste of horsemen and soldiers that developed into a powerful group of landowners and presided over a feudal tax collection system known as zamindari. They acquired land in various ways and but more crucially obtained state recognition to collect taxes and transmit them to more powerful leaders, including the British, and jacked up their authority with fortresses and militias. “Zamindar” comes from the Persian word for “landowner.”

Zamidars were much more powerful in what is now India and Pakistan but exerted some influence in what is now Bangladesh. They had a reputation for wasting their money, exploiting peasant farmers but also being friendly and generous. Up until the mid 20th century villagers had to prostrate themselves whenever the came in the presence of a zamindar. The zamindars described they system as benign and paternalistic. Some say they viewed themselves as parents looking after the welfare of their workers as if they were children, paying for weddings, provided medical care and giving them places to live. Zamidars are generally devout Muslims. They view themselves as Muslims rather than members of a caste.

Local Elites in Bangladesh

Politics in what is now Bangladesh has traditionally been dominated by a network of small landowners knows as the Bengali “bhadralok” ("gentlefolk"). For the vast majority of Bangladeshis, politics revolves around the institutions of the village or the union of neighboring villages. Traditionally, the main base for political influence in rural areas has been landownership. During the British colonial period, zamindars controlled huge estates as if they were their personal kingdoms. With the abolition of zamindar tenure in 1950, a new local elite of rich Muslim peasants developed. The members of the new elite owned far less land than the zamindars had once possessed, but they were able to feed their families well, sell surplus produce, send their children to school, and form new links with the bureaucracy of East Pakistan and later Bangladesh. Amid the large majority of poor and generally illiterate peasants, well-to-do farmers formed a new rural leadership that dominated local affairs. [Source: James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Library of Congress, 1989 *]

Village society is often divided into a number of factions that follow the lines of kinship. At the center of each faction is a family that owns more land than most of the other villagers. In the colonial and Pakistani periods, local leaders were old men, but the trend since independence is for younger men to head factions as well. The heart of the local elder's authority is his control over land and the ability to provide land or employment to poorer villagers, who are often his kin. Land control may be an ancient prerogative, stretching back to the zamindars, or it may be the result of gradual purchases since independence. A village may have only one faction, but typically there will be several factions within the village, each competing for influence over villagers and struggling for resources from local administrative and development offices.

The leaders of local factions exercise their influence in village courts and as managers of village affairs with other administrative units. The traditional means for resolving local disputes is through the village court, which comprises leaders of village factions and other members of union councils. Throughout Bangladesh, village courts address the vast majority of disputes, but it is rare for the courts to decide in favor of a poor peasant over a rich peasant, or for the weaker faction over the stronger. The relative security of village leaders makes it possible for some of their children to attend secondary schools, or even colleges or universities; some factions also base much of their authority on their knowledge of sharia. Education is much esteemed in Bangladesh, and degrees are tickets to highly prized government positions or to urban jobs that give the involved families a cosmopolitan outlook. These contacts outside the village include necessary links with bureaucratic institutions that ultimately bring economic aid and patronage jobs to the village. In these ways, the factional leadership of the village provides vital links to the development process, while retaining its traditional position at the top of village society.

Local leaders who control land, people, and education also tend to control the disbursement of rural credit and development funds through their positions in union and subdistrict government. Studies of the leadership of union council members have demonstrated this dominance of local elites over rural political and economic life. Among the chairmen of union councils in 1984, over 60 percent owned more than 3 hectares of land, with an average of almost 8 hectares. Sixty percent were primarily engaged in agriculture, 30 percent were businessmen, and 75 percent had a marketable surplus each year. Eighty percent had incomes greater than TK40,000 per year, and 50 percent had incomes greater than Tk100,000. Almost all union council leaders took part in village courts as judges, and most were heavily involved in the support of local mosques and madrasah (religious school attached to a mosque) committees. For victorious campaigns for union council chairmanships, winners spent an average of more than Tk1 million in 1978; most of them mobilized at least 25 people for their campaigns, and 20 percent mobilized between 200 and 2,000 supporters. In 1978 only 7 percent of the chairmen of union councils had college degrees, but the percentage of graduates had increased to 50 percent by 1984.

Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, Dhaka’s Mega Art Collectors

Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani are a famous art-collecting couple based in Dhaka. In an article on them, Rachel Cormack wrote in Robb Report: They “had just placed their Haegue Yang commission, a tall, almost Seussian-looking sculpture titled North of the Mountain, by a floor-to-ceiling window on the fifth floor of their six-story house in Gulshan. The Berlin-based artist’s joyful piece, which invites viewers to join the fun by giving it a gentle push, thereby ringing its hundreds of tiny gold-colored bells, is the newest jewel in their growing cutting-edge modern and contemporary collection, which totals around 2,000 artworks. “You can try it later,” Rajeeb promises with a broad smile. [Source: Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, May 10, 2020]

“The Samdanis situated the sound work next to a second piece with a musical theme: a copper, granite and coal sculpture of long tubes that lead to what looks like the flared bell of a trumpet or trombone, a commission by another sought-after artist, Alicja Kwade. Together, the artworks epitomize many of the Samdanis’ collecting habits: They are by rising stars the collectors know personally, are acquired on the globe-trotting couple’s travels like souvenirs and, while not lacking conceptual rigor, have a touch of whimsy.

“The couple’s devotion to their art is so fervid that it takes precedence over their house’s architecture. “We will build or knock down a wall to accommodate another work,” Nadia says. “We’ve acquired the art and then built the right space for it, not vice versa.” Raising children in an art-filled environment was less of a challenge than they expected, Nadia says, noting their daughters grew up knowing to touch with their eyes, not their hands. “Whenever they had play dates,” she adds, “they needed to explain to their friends these were not toys to play with.” Nadia caught the collecting bug from her parents, though the art of her own childhood was a far cry from a sound installation or an interactive sculpture. “My parents are still surprised when we buy a disc or a written agreement as art,” she notes with a smile. After studying economics and management at Independent University in Bangladesh, she initially collected based on the aesthetic she learned at home. Her first acquisition, at age 22, was a canvas depicting peasant life by her country’s pioneering avant-garde painter SM Sultan.

“After she married Rajeeb, who owned a painting by well-known Bangladeshi artist Zainul Abedin but did not consider himself a collector, the two began a transition toward contemporary art, one she describes as “an organic learning process through reading and traveling.” At first, they still felt comfortable with South Asian art. They bought paintings by Indian modernists, such as M. F. Husain and F. N. Souza, and then came a Rembrandt etching, currently hanging in their bedroom, followed by Picasso drawings and Salvador Dalí sculptures. But then, as they traveled more widely and began frequenting fairs and galleries, Nadia found herself drawn to living artists making art in our own era. “I can’t tell you when exactly I found myself looking at contemporary art, but I know it was a natural reaction to better connecting with what artists are saying today,” she says, exuding confidence in her choices. “If we are not at our offices, Rajeeb and I are either having dinner or seeing a show with a bunch of artist friends, just like how we started learning about contemporary art in the first place.”

Rajeeb Samdani was born in 1974. His family is from Sylhet, a tea-growing region in northeast Bangladesh. He is the managing director of Golden Harvest Group, a leading Bangladeshi conglomerate with stakes in food, real estate, technology, logistics and information technology. He is the founding committee member and co-chair of the Tate Museum in London and founding member of Harvard’s Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute's Arts Advisory Council. He started his career as a commodity broker with Stemcor. Over the years, his company, Golden Harvest, expanded its business into information technology, commodities, logistics, food processing, agriculture, dairy, aviation, insurance, banking, infrastructure development and real estate. He is also the chairman of Dubai-based financial institution Gulf International Finance Limited. Golden Harvest has expanded business into logistics industry with its Japanese partner Nippon Express, the largest logistic company in Asia and the fourth largest logistic company in the world. In partnership with Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, Golden Harvest has launched the francise of Domino's Pizza in Bangladesh in 2019. [Source: Wikipedia]

Middle Class in Bangladesh

The Boston Consulting Group has predicted that the number of middle income and affluent Bangladeshis will grow at a rate of more than 10 percent annually and increase from 12 million in 2015 to 34 million by 2025. The population of “middle and affluent consumers” (or MACs) was 12 million people, or about 7 percent of the population, in 2015, compared to 21 percent MACs in Vietnam and 38 percent in Indonesia. [Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG), ICEF Monitor, February 27, 2017]

According to ICEF Monitor: “While it still lags behind other more advanced economies in the region,” Bangladesh’s “middle class is growing quickly and the number of middle class consumers in Bangladesh is projected to triple in the coming decade. A report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) describes Bangladesh as “the surging consumer market nobody saw coming.” On the strength of steady economic growth, stable inflation, low public debt levels, and growing remittance inflows,the population of “middle and affluent consumers” (or MACs) has grown. [Source: ICEF Monitor, February 27, 2017]

“This is still small compared to more advanced economies in the region. But the middle class base is growing quickly in Bangladesh, at around 10 percent or 11 percent per year, and at a pace that outstrips many other Asian markets. “If Bangladesh can maintain this pace, its MAC population will grow by 65 percent over the next five years,” says BCG. “By 2025, it is expected to nearly triple, to about 34 million.”

“The other notable characteristic of Bangladesh’s middle class is just how concentrated it is geographically. While this will change over the next decade, Bangladeshi MACs are heavily concentrated in two urban areas today. “Currently, around 80 percent of Bangladesh’s MAC population is concentrated in two cities: Dhaka and the eastern port city of Chittagong,” adds BCG. “We see the dispersion of wealth unfolding in two waves. In the first wave, most of the MAC population growth will occur in Dhaka and Chittagong and will begin to take off in smaller cities in the eastern half of Bangladesh.”

The BCG report concludes that, “Very few global companies saw this market coming, so market leadership is very much up for grabs.” It cautions that the market is very value-conscious and that any marketing effort should stress both quality and value-for-money, or ROI. It notes as well that mobile technologies are being widely and rapidly adopted by Bangladeshi consumers and that digital marketing programmes must be well-optimised for mobile.

Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, Dhaka’s Mega Art Collectors

Gulshan is the most tony and fashionable neighborhood in Dhaka. In an article on Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, mega art-collecting couple that live there, Rachel Cormack wrote in Robb Report: They “had just placed their Haegue Yang commission, a tall, almost Seussian-looking sculpture titled North of the Mountain, by a floor-to-ceiling window on the fifth floor of their six-story house in Gulshan. The Berlin-based artist’s joyful piece, which invites viewers to join the fun by giving it a gentle push, thereby ringing its hundreds of tiny gold-colored bells, is the newest jewel in their growing cutting-edge modern and contemporary collection, which totals around 2,000 artworks. “You can try it later,” Rajeeb promises with a broad smile. [Source: Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, May 10, 2020]

“The Samdanis situated the sound work next to a second piece with a musical theme: a copper, granite and coal sculpture of long tubes that lead to what looks like the flared bell of a trumpet or trombone, a commission by another sought-after artist, Alicja Kwade. Together, the artworks epitomize many of the Samdanis’ collecting habits: They are by rising stars the collectors know personally, are acquired on the globe-trotting couple’s travels like souvenirs and, while not lacking conceptual rigor, have a touch of whimsy.

“The couple’s devotion to their art is so fervid that it takes precedence over their house’s architecture. “We will build or knock down a wall to accommodate another work,” Nadia says. “We’ve acquired the art and then built the right space for it, not vice versa.” Raising children in an art-filled environment was less of a challenge than they expected, Nadia says, noting their daughters grew up knowing to touch with their eyes, not their hands. “Whenever they had play dates,” she adds, “they needed to explain to their friends these were not toys to play with.” Nadia caught the collecting bug from her parents, though the art of her own childhood was a far cry from a sound installation or an interactive sculpture. “My parents are still surprised when we buy a disc or a written agreement as art,” she notes with a smile. After studying economics and management at Independent University in Bangladesh, she initially collected based on the aesthetic she learned at home. Her first acquisition, at age 22, was a canvas depicting peasant life by her country’s pioneering avant-garde painter SM Sultan.

“After she married Rajeeb, who owned a painting by well-known Bangladeshi artist Zainul Abedin but did not consider himself a collector, the two began a transition toward contemporary art, one she describes as “an organic learning process through reading and traveling.” At first, they still felt comfortable with South Asian art. They bought paintings by Indian modernists, such as M. F. Husain and F. N. Souza, and then came a Rembrandt etching, currently hanging in their bedroom, followed by Picasso drawings and Salvador Dalí sculptures. But then, as they traveled more widely and began frequenting fairs and galleries, Nadia found herself drawn to living artists making art in our own era. “I can’t tell you when exactly I found myself looking at contemporary art, but I know it was a natural reaction to better connecting with what artists are saying today,” she says, exuding confidence in her choices. “If we are not at our offices, Rajeeb and I are either having dinner or seeing a show with a bunch of artist friends, just like how we started learning about contemporary art in the first place.”

Rajeeb Samdani was born in 1974. His family is from Sylhet, a tea-growing region in northeast Bangladesh. He is the managing director of Golden Harvest Group, a leading Bangladeshi conglomerate. He is the founding committee member and co-chair of the Tate Museum in London and founding member of Harvard’s Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute's Arts Advisory Council. He started his career as a commodity broker with Stemcor. Over the years, his company, Golden Harvest, expanded its business into information technology, commodities, logistics, food processing, agriculture, dairy, aviation, insurance, banking, infrastructure development and real estate. He is also the chairman of Dubai-based financial institution Gulf International Finance Limited. Golden Harvest has expanded business into logistics industry with its Japanese partner Nippon Express, the largest logistic company in Asia and the fourth largest logistic company in the world. In partnership with Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, Golden Harvest has launched the francise of Domino's Pizza in Bangladesh in 2019. [Source: Wikipedia}

Poverty in Bangladesh

Population below poverty line: 24.3 percent (2016 estimated) [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]

Percentage of Population Living in Poverty: Under $1.90 per day: 14.8 percent; under $3.20 per day: 52.9 percent; under $5.50 per day: 84.5 percent (2016). [Source: World Bank, Wikipedia Wikipedia ]

The World Food Program reports: “Having graduated to lower-middle-income country status in 2015, over recent years Bangladesh has experienced sustained economic growth and achieved significant development gains, especially on universal primary education, gender parity in basic education and child and maternal mortality. Poverty and extreme poverty have been declining sharply, sitting in 2010 at 31.5 and 17.6 percent respectively, with further reductions until today. However, despite progress and the improved availability of food due to increased production, 40 million people — one quarter of the population — remain food insecure, and 11 million suffer from acute hunger. [Source: World Food Program]

“The most densely populated country in the world besides city states, Bangladesh recently saw a massive influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, with more than 700,000 people fleeing across the border since August 2017. They joined more than 200,000 Rohingyas who had fled violence previously. The World Food Programme (WFP) launched an emergency operation to meet the food and nutritional needs of the population, providing food to around 880,000 refugees, treatment and prevention of malnutrition, school feeding, engineering and disaster risk reduction work, logistics, and emergency telecommunications. [Source: World Food Program]

“WFP provides life-saving assistance to more than 880,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar. Three quarters receive in-kind food distributions of rice, pulses and fortified oil. The rest receive a WFP assistance card, pre-loaded with a monthly entitlement, which they can use to buy a variety of food, including fresh vegetables, eggs, and dried fish, in WFP-contracted shops in the camps. All refugees will be transitioned to the card system in the course of 2019.

Poor People in Bangladesh

At one time Bangladesh contained 2 percent of the world's population and 5 percent of its poor. But the number of very poor has dropped significantly in recent years. According to a United-Nations-supported report by Human Development Center, South Asia is the poorest, most illiterate and malnourished people on earth. The per capita GDP of $1,370 is roughly the same as Sub-Sahara Africa but only a tenth of East Asia. Two thirds of South Asia's children are malnourished compared to 30 percent in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Percentage of income spent on food: 35 percent to 42 percent. [Source: Vox vox.com ]

According to the World Food Program 31.5 percent of people. live in poverty. Many of the poorest poor survive on rice and chilies or they grow as much food as they can themselves and with what little money they have they buy rice and little else at local markets,

A large portion of Dhaka's millions of people live in slums. Many cook on open fires made from cow dung and coconut shells. As part of a crime-fighting effort, police have torn down thousands of shanties in Dhaka’s largest slum. One slum area with 10,000 people was torn down in 1999 after a policeman was killed there. For many there is no running water. The toilet is a hole in the ground at the end of lane that often turns to mud.

Hunger and Malnutrition in Bangladesh

According to the Borgen Project: “Compounded by inadequate arable land and recurrent natural disasters, Bangladesh has struggled immensely with food insecurity. Despite tripling its rice production, decreasing infant mortality rates, and programs combating malnutrition, 60 million people are still hungry even today. Bangladesh has the highest rate of underweight children in South Asia. One in two children below 5 years are chronically undernourished or stunted, and 14 percent suffer from acute undernutrition or wasting. WHO estimates that two in three deaths under the age of five are caused by undernutrition. [Source: Borgen Project] . “Out of the 50 million people who lack food security in Bangladesh, less than half have access to food safety net programs. Food programs have a successful impact, however, poor coverage, targeting and administration have impacted effectiveness. Food insecurity and malnutrition among the vulnerable populations are high. These are further impacted by seasonality and the price of available foods. The two lean seasons in Bangladesh worsen food insecurity, reduce food availability as well as employment opportunities particularly for the rural poor. Food insecurity in Bangladesh stems from extreme poverty due to underemployment and unemployment, inadequate land access for cultivation, social exclusion and natural disasters. In these vulnerable, poor populations, women and children are most affected by malnutrition and undernutrition. Approximately 24 percent of women are underweight and 13 percent are short in stature, significantly increasing the likelihood that their children will be stunted.

About 25 percent of children’s diets meet dietary variety standards where a minimum of four out of seven food groups are consumed on a daily basis. Sacrifices in food consumption for the sake of feeding children, particularly in times of scarcity, is highly gender biased. In most cases, it is an adult woman who must make a sacrifice. Disproportionate poverty faced by women and children comes as a result of discrimination and traditions of exclusion, thereby leaving them the most vulnerable.

In wealthy households, 26 percent of children below 5 years are stunted and 12 percent are wasted. Undernutrition then is not just a symptom of poverty. Poverty has declined remarkably since the year 2010, dropping from 49 percent to roughly 25 percent in 2016. Yet hunger still persists. Micronutrient deficiencies lead to ‘hidden hunger‘. Of note, 50 percent of the salt produced in Bangladesh is not adequately iodized, rice dominates the diet and its low nutrient density likely contributes to the high rates of zinc deficiency.

Environmental disasters if ignored could increase food insecurity. In addition to natural disasters that flood farms and cause rural unemployment, the lack of education and training in sustainable agricultural methods have caused soil degradation that impacts rice production. Since the year 2000, hunger has been cut by nearly half in Bangladesh. Experts site economic growth, improved agricultural productivity, access to markets for farmers and social safety nets for the most vulnerable as ways to end hunger. Bangladesh’s success in these areas, especially rice production, has helped cut hunger in half.

Working Poor in Dhaka

Reporting from Dhaka during a period of high inflation and food prices, Emily Wax wrote in the Washington Post: “As a seamstress, Abida Dulalmia makes $1.25 a day embroidering cartoon characters on Disney T-shirts and stitching pockets on jeans for Target. In this jumbled, hazy metropolis, her salary was once coveted. Now it hardly seems enough. With inflation starting to climb into the double digits in Bangladesh and food prices soaring around the world, Dulalmia spends as much as 80 percent of what she makes solely to put food on the dinner table. “We work really hard," the 25-year-old mother of two said on a recent day, wiping perspiration from her daughter's forehead in the muggy heat of their airless, one-room home. "Why can't we afford to eat?" [Source: Emily Wax, Washington Post, May 24, 2008]

“Along the smog-filled streets of Dhaka, the impoverished can be seen tapping on car windows for spare change and waiting in long lines outside garment factories for day jobs as toilet cleaners, buttonmakers or sweepers. Bib Norjaham, 40, and her three children said they thought they had already been through the worst of it when their rice and lentil farm was washed away during floods four years ago. The family moved to Dhaka, tried to adjust to urban life. Her husband got a job pedaling a bicycle rickshaw. But he was killed in a car accident while he was driving in the city's brutal traffic. “We were farm people," Norjaham said, as she cradled her ashen-looking child. "We never wanted to be here in the first place. But the waters came over us like an ocean and took away our house."

“Although destitute by any standard, they were managing to feed themselves with the money her daughter Joshna, 20, was earning as a maid. But she recently lost the job and now with the food price increases, they are barely surviving on salad leaves and small amounts of rice. They recently accepted a loan from a relative to be able to eat. “We haven't had a full stomach in months, and work is very hard to find," said Joshna, who said she is on a waiting list for a job as a sewing-machine operator. "There isn't much we can do. The prices are just too high. We can't go back to the village. The land has eroded."

“In this country, the crisis is compounded by natural disasters that have destroyed wide swaths of farmland. Many Bangladeshis have migrated from rural areas to the capital as "climate refugees," driven out by floods and cyclones that some scientists believe have intensified because of rising global temperatures. Now, in the relative safety of Dhaka, illiterate, often unskilled laborers are being hit by economic calamity as high inflation and surging food prices make their lives more difficult.

Beggars in Bangladesh

Beggars are everywhere in Dhaka. Often they are more visible in wealthier neighborhoods, particularly where there is a lot of foot traffic. Some look like they are near death. Many are professionals who work under a “mastan” (syndicate chief). Others are genuine victims of natural disasters and personal tragedies. In Dhaka, ragpickers can be seen sorting through garbage heaps.

In the late 2000s, it was estimated that 700,000 Bangladeshis made their live by begging. AFP reported: “Jalil Mia spends his days at the busiest intersection in the leafy Dhaka suburb of Gulshan, where diplomats and wealthy Bangladeshis help him eke out a living as one of the capital's many beggars. [Source: AFP, April 17, 2009]

“Mia said he was forced into begging six years ago when he broke his leg and could no longer keep his job as a salesman in a paint shop. “If I can't beg I will die. The money I make from begging pays for my medicine,” he said. On a good day, he said, he can make up to 100 taka ($1.46). Beggars in rural areas earn much less.

“Across town, outside the national mosque, Mohammad Dadon Sarker is dressed in threadbare clothes and asks passers-by for money, something he has done for nine years. He said he has considered a loan from Grameen Bank but is worried about how he will repay it. Paralysed down one side of his body after an illness, the 42-year-old says he does not know what he will do if he cannot earn the 70-100 taka he makes a day from begging. “They've changed the law but they don't think about us. They treat us like rubbish which is why they want to remove us, but they don't think about how we will survive.”

Anti-Beggar Legislation in Bangladesh

In March 2009, anti-beggar legislation was introduced in Bangladesh: AFP reported” What little security Mia had in life was shaken when the government decided the most efficient way to deal with begging would be to make it illegal and punishable by a month in jail. The legislation is aimed at eradicating begging within five years in one of the world's poorest countries which has no social security safety net. [Source: AFP, April 17, 2009]

Miasaid he only found out about the new measures from a passing driver. “I had no idea until a man told me,” the 75-year-old said. “If I don't do this I can't live. I've no other way to make money.” Welfare groups have slammed the law as draconian and unworkable, arguing that it completely ignores the root causes of the practice it seeks to eliminate. “There should be some sort of motivation for them not to become beggars in the first place, especially because the jails are overflowing,” said Alena Khan, of the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights.

“Despite the criticism of the new legislation, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed insists it is the only way to eradicate what he describes as the scourge of professional begging controlled by criminal gangs. “There are hardly any genuine beggars in the country. Begging has become like a profession. It is so organised that people are employed to beg. It's a social menace, a nuisance,” said Ahmed. “If he's a real beggar, we'll take him and rehabilitate him and try to help him to get another way to earn,” he said, referring to those who will be rounded up under the new law. “If he's a professional we'll take action,” he added.

Efforts to Help Beggars in Bangladesh

AFP reported: Zakir Hossain, a leading human rights activist, dismissed the law as simplistic and said Ahmed's promise to re-train beggars was divorced from reality in a country where poor people struggle to find work. “It's inhumane. Unemployment is rising in rural areas, which forces so many people into the cities where jobs are also scant. Many have no choice but to beg,” Hossain said. “There was no public discussion about this. [Source: AFP, April 17, 2009]

“The legislation was passed arbitrarily. It feels like the government has done this because begging is a nuisance to rich people,” he added. Hossain and a number of other activists have urged the government to repeal the law and pointed out other projects which have had some success in taking beggars off the street.

“In 2002 the pioneering Bangladesh micro-credit provider Grameen Bank began giving small loans to beggars outside the capital. Provas Chandra, who runs the loan scheme for the bank, said more than 100,000 beggars had been given interest-free loans in the past seven years and 15,000 of them had stopped begging as a result. “We are making a difference. It is happening slowly but we're hopeful that over time more and more people will stop begging by using the loans to make a living in a different way,” he said.”

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Bangladesh Tourism Board, Bangladesh National Portal (www.bangladesh.gov.bd), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated February 2022


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