Unnayaner Orthonity: Understanding the development of Bangladesh in all its dimensions

After emerging as an independent nation in 1971, Bangladesh was promptly dismissed as an "international basket case" by many. But in the 52 years that followed, the country has come a long way, manifesting in a major structural transformation both economically and socially.

In terms of economy, Bangladesh has achieved two huge milestones in the last decade.

First, it reached the World Bank status of a lower middle-income country from a low-income country, followed by the approval of the United Nations (UN) to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2026.

Furthermore, with regard to social development, Bangladesh made considerable progress in achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the UN. 

Not only did the country reduce the poverty rate to half, but it was also successful in ensuring universal primary education and cutting down the rates of child and maternal mortality.

However, in spite of Bangladesh somewhat becoming a "development model" with a visible economic boom and social progress, there are still many naysayers who question the nature and credibility of such growth. 

And this is where a book like 'Unnayaner Orthonity' by veteran economist Rizwanul Islam comes into play, by explaining the long and short of the "development" we are constantly hearing about. 

According to Islam, who was also a former special adviser to the Employment Sector of the International Labour Office, the reason some people still question the "development" lies in the fact that the poverty rate in Bangladesh is still in the fairly upper stream, while the surplus labour in the conventional sectors has yet to cease to exist. 

Understandable? Maybe not yet. Because this discussion comes in the 11th out of a total of 12 chapters of the book. And it's quite unfair to you to be asked to recognise something out of nowhere. 

But, suppose 'Unnayaner Orthonity' was a mystery thriller, instead of a non-fiction, and this chapter was the climax of the story, where things culminated towards its focal point. You are not supposed to reach there straightaway. You need to proceed step by step from the very beginning, coming across the entirety of the build-up, with each chapter containing major cues for you. 

You will only be able to perceive what the climax represents if you have read everything that comes ahead of it, thoroughly and carefully. And this is exactly the experience one can expect from the book in question. 

The most important aspect of a good mystery thriller is that it is well structured, no information is thrown out without a reason, and no explanation is served without a context. 

This is equally applicable to 'Unnayaner Orthonity' as well. 

The book does a great job of explaining the key concepts related to development and economics, and by the end, any confusion regarding what the term "development economics" actually stands for will be cleared up. 

But of course, this book is anything but a fast-paced page-turner. You could rather term it a slow-burn, and rightly so. Once you finally finish the book, however, you will realise the necessity of this pacing, as opposed to jumping to conclusions from the word go.

The book starts with the evolution of the concepts of development, where it depicts the paradigm shift from economic development towards human development. Then it sheds light on the theories of economic growth and development, incorporating the theories of Marx and Rostow stages, followed by the Harrod-Domar and Solow models. 

As expected, the theories of economic development in developing countries are also described explicitly in the third chapter, referring to the Lewis, Fei-Ranis and Todaro models. Apart from theoretical discussions, the author also puts a similar emphasis on practical examples for a better understanding. 

The fourth and fifth chapters deal with poverty from various aspects, putting forth topics like inequality in income distribution, employment and their relation with economic growth. The sixth and seventh chapters are dedicated to the country's agricultural sector, while the eighth and ninth chapters bring urbanisation and globalisation to the fore, respectively.

Any discussion regarding development economics remains incomplete without the insertion of international institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Hence, the author attempts to chronicle the history, structure and work process of these two institutions as well. 

It is only after that that he finally proceeds to explain the nature of the economic growth in Bangladesh, and what problems and crises lie beneath the splendour of development. Rizwanul Islam engages everything he mentioned so far to make this chapter a highly analytical one, covering all quarters of Bangladesh's development story in his unique, expert voice.  

When you read the book yourself, you will realise why I called this chapter the climax of the book. But that's not where it ends. 

The final 12th chapter discusses foreign disruptions and the challenges to the stability of Bangladesh's collective economy. Islam writes about significant issues like the equilibrium in international transactions, reserves of foreign currency and their exchange rates, as well as inflation, in this chapter. 

Leaving this topic for last is fitting, as, based on the earlier chapters, readers can then truly grasp the full dimension of development economics in a third-world country like Bangladesh. 

The author clearly stated that his intention was not to pen a textbook for students, teachers, researchers or economists. Instead, his target audience was people who work or are involved in the development sector in some capacity or are simply concerned about development. 

In simple words, Rizwanul Islam wanted to introduce the ABCs of development economics to the wider reader base, even people without any background knowledge of the subject matter. 

The detailed yet easygoing approach ensures the author succeeds in his aim. 

In all, 'Unnayaner Orthonity' is indeed a book that can make up for the scarcity of Bangla reading material on development economics to some extent. The book was published by The University Press Limited. Its expanded second edition which came out in February 2023 is priced at Tk 640.