Autocracy removed, yet hesitation to speak freely remains: Debapriya

Although autocracy has been removed, a lingering sense of hesitation remains when it comes to speaking freely, economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said today (19 July).

Speaking at a book launch event held at the office of University Press Limited in Dhaka, he noted that despite popular slogans claiming the country belongs to everyone, in reality, power determines who benefits from the state.

"In truth, the country does not belong to everyone – it belongs to those who hold power," he said.

Criticising the interim government's approach to addressing inequality, Debapriya said, "Although this government positioned itself as being against inequality, the budget shows that the largest share of spending was directed toward the urban middle class to curb inflation. Far less was allocated for the rural poor."

He made these remarks at the launch of "Kelenkarir Orthoniti" (The Economics of Scandal), a book by journalist and Prothom Alo Head of Online Shawkat Hossain Masum. The book explores the rise of a plundering class of elites through corruption in the banking and capital markets.

Addressing challenges faced by the media, Debapriya pointed to a new and growing threat – a segment of readers who, beyond government and corporate pressure, seek to impose "moral policing" on journalists.

"Some readers have become so aggressive that they are now calling for media outlets to be shut down and even for physical attacks on journalists. This has emerged as a third major challenge," he said.

"They want to act as moral overseers – this is a new kind of adversary. How journalism responds to this force is something we must reflect on seriously," he added.

Debapriya, who is the distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), warned that if journalists become weakened by such pressures, the broader civic space will shrink, weakening democratic politics. "And when healthy politics is weakened, a productive economy suffers – putting Bangladesh's future at risk."

Dr Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (Sanem), has criticised the government for showing no interest in key reports on the country's economy prepared during its own tenure.

"White papers and task force reports were prepared under this government regarding the state of the economy, but there appears to be no interest in acting on them," he said at the book launching event.

Dr Raihan alleged that a coalition resistant to reforms has emerged, comprising bureaucrats, politicians, and business elites.

"Political parties that aspire to come to power in the future should clearly articulate their vision for the economy before the public," he added.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Sharmind Neelormi, professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University, said, "The book [Kelenkarir Orthoniti] names those involved in economic scandals, but not the ones who gave the orders."

Shawkat Hossain Masum, the author of the book, presented several examples of how different sectors of Bangladesh's economy – including banking and capital markets – have been looted over the past decades.

The book, published by University Press Limited, explores how political influence has enabled the rise of defaulted loans and illicit money flows, ultimately leading to the creation of a powerful class of plundering elites through systemic looting of banks and the stock market.