Two Bengals: A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India 9819921848, 9789819921843

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Two Bengals A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India Edited by Arindam Banik Munim Kumar Barai

Two Bengals

Arindam Banik · Munim Kumar Barai Editors

Two Bengals A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India

Editors Arindam Banik International Management Institute New Delhi, India

Munim Kumar Barai College of International Management Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Beppu-shi, Oita, Japan

ISBN 978-981-99-2184-3 ISBN 978-981-99-2185-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0

(eBook)

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Dedicated to Our Grandfathers and Grandmothers Late Haladhar Banik and Late Nani Bala Banik Late Jogindra Nath Barai and Late Khiroda Barai

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book project has a little background. It all began in March 2021 when one of the editors published an opinion piece titled “Two Bengals, Two Economies” (with Sunil Bhandari) in the Daily Telegraph, published from Kolkata, India. This inspired the book, as the second editor’s positive word of mouth and active encouragement helped convert this idea into a book. The book has footprints of the legacy of undivided Bengal during the post-Vedic period and until the colonial era. What is exciting and noteworthy—and may be that is where the book’s essence lies— in understanding Bengal from two perspectives (Bangladesh and West Bengal) post-1947. We all realize that during undivided Bengal, especially in a region heavily endowed with natural resources, Bengal was strategic for many reasons. The locational advantage through ports (with a sea link) and rivers that connected the inlands, the agricultural produce, physical proximity to mine-rich Jharkhand, and the steady presence of a migrant workforce. During the pre-Mughal and Mughal eras, many of these rulers came from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), making the country’s northern side their capital and centre of operations. After the

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colonial explorers (later settlers and plunderers) came from the country’s eastern side, the focus shifted to Bengal. Calcutta became the capital, and adjoined places started to flourish. The Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British had their own stories that they told through art, culture, music, food, business ideas, manufacturing, improvements in farming, and other things. The book describes how things turned south in the post-partition era. After 1947, West Bengal was on the cusp of gathering momentum and taking the next leap of faith, which unfortunately did not happen. On the other side, 1947–1971 was uncertain and turmoil when the country eventually transitioned from East Pakistan to Bangladesh. Both stories are about a series of unfortunate events that led the region to be lost in translation. Yet, both hold immense significance in their ways. Though West Bengal in India and Bangladesh have drifted apart in many areas of their journey to development since 1947, they still have many similarities. The case of Bangladesh and West Bengal looks attractive because of the different approaches to economic and social development. Bangladesh has drawn the attention of development economists and sociologists for several economic and social success stories. It strives to be an emerging economic power in short- to mid-term. Though COVID-19 has put a spanner in its growth path and the aftermaths of the Ukraine War have created uncertainty, there is still hope that Bangladesh can ride the tide to progress. West Bengal, on the other hand, was the more affluent of the two Bengals at the time of the partition in 1947. However, it soon ran into several issues, including the widespread emigration from East Pakistan, burdening the state’s resources. It has a long history of tense and contentious ties with the Federal Government of India. West Bengal has long been the victim of terrible policy decisions executed by short-sighted politicians. It may not be an exaggeration to say that the state has served as a testing ground for experimental political adventurism in its growth model. Because of this, Bengalis in West Bengal continue searching for something to improve their lives. Even if you don’t count the problems it had to solve, the way it planned to grow led to its falling from a wealthy to a less critical state.

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The book’s editors thought it fit to justify and document the region’s dynamism. It could be an initiative to integrate various aspects of “two Bengals” progress, mainly after 1971, when Bangladesh achieved its independence. Developments in macroeconomics, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, education, health, entrepreneurship, etc., have been extensively covered and analysed. To add flavour to the development narrative of “two Bengals”, chapters on literature, cinema, and cuisine have been added. The idea for the book came to us when we realized that the academic world still needs a document that presents most of the stories in one place so interested parties and stakeholders can better understand the development narrative of the two Bengals. This is not to say that there was no discussion about their development. But those stories have been discussed in a fragmented manner and are more anecdotal. As editors, we believe the thought, and the theme would intrigue millions of people about the two Bengals. This book can become a reference point for similar instances of many places or regions that got divided to make new nations by their past colonial masters and how that shaped their different destinies. However, our effort would only have succeeded with various quarters’ support. First, we thank the anonymous, esteemed reviewers who justified the book and its possible contribution and market potential. Many scholars and organizations have helped us in writing this book. We thank Shankar (born Mani Shankar Mukherjee, generally known in Englishlanguage literature as Sankar) for his continuous support and inspiration. We are indebted to Anis Chowdhury, Western Sydney University, and Swapan Kumar Bala, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their help on several fronts. They assisted us with the content and chronology of the chapters. We are deeply saddened by Professor Bala’s inability to see the book in its final form as he left us for heaven. We have also benefited from the comments and suggestions of Pinaki Dasgupta. We are grateful to the contributors who worked tirelessly to enrich the book’s value. Mr Nabil Ahmed, North South University of Bangladesh, helped us collect and organize data in various analytical forms—our special thanks to them. We are also grateful to Sunil Bhandari for his continuous encouragement.

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We also immensely thank Vishal Daryanomel and Saranya Siva, Book Project Coordinator, Springer Nature, for their faith in us and continued support despite many execution delays. Thanks to Saranya Siva and Nupoor Singh, Springer, India, for their help. Finally, the first editor would like to thank his wife, Mousumi, and son, Amitayus, for their continuous support and inspiration to come up with fresh ideas while working. The second editor would like to thank his wife, Shashwati, daughter Sharanya and son Shambo for their tolerance of not giving enough time for their causes due to his commitment to this book project. New Delhi, India Beppu-shi, Japan

Arindam Banik Munim Kumar Barai

Contents

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Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their Development Narratives Munim Kumar Barai and Arindam Banik 1.1 Introduction 1.2 A Brief Walk Over the History of Bengal and Its Partition 1.3 Emergence of Bangladesh 1.4 Construction of “Development Narratives” for Bangladesh and West Bengal 1.4.1 Bangladesh 1.4.2 West Bengal 1.5 Summary of the Chapters References Macroeconomic Development of Bangladesh and West Bengal Munim Kumar Barai, Gour Gobinda Goswami, and M. Ismail Hossain 2.1 Introduction

1 1 4 9 11 11 15 19 24 27

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2.2 2.3

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4

Literature Review Bangladesh and West Bengal on the Economic Development Path 2.3.1 Bangladesh 2.3.2 West Bengal 2.4 Bangladesh and West Bengal of India: Macroeconomics in a Comparative Setting 2.4.1 Real GDP Growth Rate 2.4.2 Growth Rate of Per Capita Real GDP 2.4.3 Inflation 2.4.4 Unemployment 2.4.5 Poverty 2.4.6 Inequality 2.4.7 Comparative Analysis 2.5 Conclusion References

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Agriculture: Bangladesh and West Bengal Arindam Banik and Munim Kumar Barai 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Existing Agrarian Structure 3.3 Farmers’ Access to Credit and Their Impediments 3.4 Conclusions

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Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal Munim Kumar Barai, Arindam Banik, Sampada Kumar Dash, and Helal Uddin 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh 4.2.1 Employment and Labour Productivity in the Manufacturing Sector 4.2.2 Major Industries in the Manufacturing Progress 4.3 Manufacturing Sector of West Bengal 4.3.1 GSDP and Industrial Decline 4.4 Conclusion References

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32 33 43 52 53 54 55 55 57 57 59 59 61

67 70 78 80

83 86 87 88 98 98 103 105

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Financial Sectors in Bengals: Towards Development and Inclusion Paramita Mukherjee and Rajashri Chatterjee 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Financial Sector in Bangladesh 5.2.1 Banking 5.2.2 Microfinance in Bangladesh 5.2.3 Other Financial Institutions and Markets 5.3 Financial Sector in West Bengal 5.3.1 Banking Sector in West Bengal 5.3.2 Microfinance and Financial Inclusion in the State of West Bengal 5.3.3 Other Financial Institutions and Markets 5.4 Analysis of Financial Inclusion 5.5 Conclusion References Education in Two Bengals: A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India Sudeshna Lahiri, Sheikh Mohammed Rafiul Huque, and Mohammad Baktiar Rana 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Historical Perspective of Education in Two Bengals 6.3 Education in Bangladesh: A Contemporary Perspective 6.3.1 Structure and Stream of Education 6.3.2 Administrative Structure and Funding of Education 6.4 Education in West Bengal: A Contemporary Perspective 6.4.1 Structure of Education at Various Levels 6.4.2 Enrolment 6.4.3 School Teachers 6.4.4 Pupil–Teacher Ratio in Schools 6.4.5 Higher Education in West Bengal

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109 109 111 112 117 120 122 122 126 132 133 135 137

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139 142 148 148 151 152 154 155 160 160 163

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6.5

Compare and Contrast Among Two Bengals: A Critical Review 6.6 Conclusion References 7

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169 173 174

Health Care and Social Development Sahana Roy Chowdhury and Sayani Roy Chowdhury 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Bangladesh 7.2.1 Health: Evolution and a Brief Historical Perspective 7.2.2 Social Development 7.3 West Bengal 7.3.1 Evolution and a Brief Historical Perspective 7.3.2 Social Development 7.4 A Comparative Analysis of the Two Bengals 7.5 Summary and Conclusions References

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Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition Pinaki Dasgupta 8.1 Introduction: Some Hits but Mostly Misses 8.1.1 Early Eighteenth Century 8.2 The Later Part of the Eighteenth Century and Thereafter 8.2.1 Bengal (Undivided Bengal) and Seeds of Entrepreneurship 8.3 Bangladesh: The Story so Far… 8.3.1 East Pakistan to Bangladesh 8.3.2 The Rise of CMSME Sector 8.3.3 Women Entrepreneurs 8.3.4 Large Corporates 8.4 West Bengal: Mixed Bag 8.4.1 Teething Troubles 8.4.2 The Tumultuous Years 8.4.3 Didi O Didi

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217 217 220 223 232 232 233 239 240 241 241 244 250

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8.5 In Summation 8.6 Thoughts as Takeaway Annexure 1 Annexure 2 References 9

Bangladesh and West Bengal: Changing Economic and Social Issues Through Literary Perspectives Sasim Kumar Barai and Uttam Kumar Biswas 9.1 Introduction 9.2 A Review of Popular Stream of Writers in Two Bengals 9.3 Economic Development and Literary Narratives of Bangladesh and West Bengal 9.4 West Bengal: Protests, Right Movements in Literature 9.5 Independence and Post-Independence Bangladeshi Literature 9.6 Corruption and Literature of Two Bengals 9.7 Bengali Middle Class in Literature 9.8 Marginalized People in Bengali Literature 9.9 Border Literature—A Growing Area of Literary Content of Two Bengals 9.10 Conclusion References

10 Two Cinemas in Two Bengals: From Indigenization to Globalization of Bengali Film Industries of Bangladesh and West Bengal Zakir Hossain Raju 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The Indigenization Phase: Early Period and Arrival of Film Medium in Colonial Bengal (1896–1920s) 10.2.1 The Common Heritage: The First Bengali Filmmaker Hiralal Sen

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252 253 255 264 272 275 275 277 281 283 286 287 293 295 300 301 302

305 305

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10.2.2 Beginning of Feature Film Production and Theatrical Exhibition in Bengal 10.3 The Development Phase: Establishment and Expansion of Two Bengali Cinemas (1930s–1960s) 10.3.1 Development of Industry and Genres in Kolkata and Dhaka 10.3.2 Development of Art Film Culture in Cinemas of Two Bengals 10.4 The Consolidation Phase: Transformation and Commercialization of Two Bengals’ Cinemas (the 1970s–2000s) 10.4.1 Transformation of Dhaka Industry into Stronger Bengali Cinema 10.4.2 Bengali Popular Film Industries: The Generic Transformation of Popular Films Through Bollywoodization and Beyond 10.4.3 Commercialization of Bengali Cinema for the New Audience 10.4.4 Inter-Bengal Film Remakes in the 1990s and 2000s 10.4.5 Diverse Voices in Bengali Art Cinemas: Post-Ray Filmmakers in Two Bengals 10.5 Conclusion: Internationalization of Two Bengals’ Cinemas for the Global Audience (2010s–) References 11

Defining Bengali Cuisine: The Culinary Difference Between West Bengal and Bangladesh Pinaki Dasgupta 11.1 Introduction: Food Remains the Only Point of Redemption 11.1.1 The Origin 11.1.2 The Vedic Era

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321 323 324 325 326 328 331

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11.1.3 The Rise of the Mahajanpadas and Tracing the South of India 11.1.4 Food and Beyond 11.1.5 The Post-Vedic Period and After 11.1.6 The Colonial Conundrum 11.1.7 Colonial Impact on Food in Bengal 11.2 Bangladesh: The Uprising 11.2.1 The Colonial Era and the Impact 11.2.2 Bangladesh Today 11.3 West Bengal: Food Shall Remain a Redeemer 11.4 The Dichotomy of Two Bengals 11.5 Conclusion References 12

Summary and Conclusion Arindam Banik and Munim Kumar Barai

Index

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337 340 343 345 352 355 355 357 360 362 364 365 367

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Notes on Contributors

Arindam Banik is an Indian economist. He earned his PhD at the Delhi School of Economics, the University of Delhi, in 1994. Holds Distinguished Professor and Associated Cement Companies Chair Professor in International Finance and Business at International Management Institute, New Delhi. He pursued his post-doctoral research at Manchester Business School, Manchester. Taught at the Department of Economics at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados (West Indies, period 2000–2005). Recipient of numerous awards and positions, including the prestigious Shastri Indo-Canada Research Grant (with Tirtha Dhar, University of Guelph, Canada), SANEI Research Award (South Asia Network of Economic Institutions by World Bank and Global Development Network), Campus Research Award in two consecutive years (May 2002 and 2003), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, and so on. Worked as a consultant for various Government and multilateral agencies, including the World Bank, FICCI-New Delhi, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), ACC Mumbai, UNIDO, ILO, Indo-Canadian Cooperation Unit, GTZ, Government of India, Caribbean Development Bank,

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Government of Barbados. Author of more than 100 scientific articles on international economics and finance, macroeconomics, Corporate Governance, and economic development. He is also the author of several books by Palgrave Macmillan and Springer. Authored articles for various magazines and newspapers. Editor of a reputed management journal, Global Business Review, published by Sage Publications, New Delhi. Former Director, International Management Institute, Kolkata. Munim Kumar Barai is a Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Japan. Presently, he is also the Associate Dean, International Cooperation and Research Division of APU. Earlier, he served at several universities in Bangladesh. Dr. Barai completed his Master, M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India. He is a recipient of several prestigious scholarships and fellowships, including ICCR scholarship, UGC Research Fellowships (India), Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF) Fellowship, and JSPS Grants-in-Aid (Japan). He was a Fulbright Scholar and completed post-doc research at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Dr. Barai was a Visiting Professor at the International Management Institute, Kolkata, India, in 2016–17. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Korean Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), Sejong, South Korea, in 2022. Dr. Barai’s current research interests include banks and non-bank financial institutions, regional trade, micro-, inclusive finance, economic development, and remittances. He has published in the International Journal of Emerging Markets, Global Business Review, Contemporary South Asia, Sage Open, Transnational Corporation Review, Journal of Comparative Asian Development, Review of Integrative Business and Economics, Bangladesh Journal of Political Economy, and so on. His edited book “Bangladesh’s Economic and Social Progress: From A Basket Case to A Development Model” was published by Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore, in April 2020. Dr. Barai is a joint editor of the book Towards A Common Future: Understanding Growth, Sustainability in the Asia Pacific Region, published by the same publishing house. Dr. Barai has guest-edited special issues of some journals.

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Sasim Kumar Barai is a cadre of West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) and is presently posted as Special Secretary to the Government of West Bengal, India. He is a well-known Bengali author of more than 70 short stories, 7 novels, 5 dramas, and 20 articles on socioeconomic issues. Till date Mr. Barai’s published titles are (1) Khoyaj Khigirer Gappo (collection of short stories, (2007) (2) Mrityukhade Kuhak (novel, 2014) (3) Dinemar Banglor Nortaki (collection of short stories, (2015) (4) Colours of Life (an anthology, 2015) (5) Gangurer Nishabdwa Jale (poetry book, (2018) (6) Koishnu Purus (novel, 2018) (7) Dersho Gaje Jibon (novel, 2019) (8) Nirbachito Galpo (collection of short stories, 2020), (9) Sundarbaner Mohal Koinya (novel, 2021) (10) Chayamukhos (novel, 2022). He edited “Bhaskar” (1991, a Little Magazine). He is the recipient the of All India Radio National Award (2008) as an audio playwright, Poet Nityananda Award (2014) for his short story book Khoyaj Khigirer Gappo, Rabindranath Tagore Theosophical Award (2021) for his contribution to literature and education. Uttam Kumar Biswas is an Associated Professor at the Presidency University, Kolkata, India. He did his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Calcutta in Bengali. Dr. Biswas’ thesis “In the Dramas of Digindra Chandra Bandyopadhyay State-Time-Society”. He is a member of the “Constituency of Faculty Council” of Presidency University. He has authored many books, including Time-society-life in Digindrachandra Bandyopadhyay’s Drama (2012), Mass Movement in Digendrachandra Bandyopadhyay’s Drama (2021), and Interviews on Manindrabhushan Biswas (2021). Dr. Biswas has published many important papers like Partition of Bengal and Controversial Enemy Property, Partition Narratives: Search of New Generation, Prafulla Ray’s Short Story “Vehicle”: Relation Between Ambition and Depression, Emergency and Bengali Drama (2020), Binoy Majumdar’s Poetical Thought (2021), Company Theatre; A Theoretical Debate (2022), Theory and Bengali literature, etc. He is attached as Teacher Co-ordinator of the Bengal Partition Repository since 2014 at NSOU, Kolkata. He was the editor of “Jiboner Poribesh” (“Environment of Life”) from 2014 to 2017 and

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Co-Editor of Kobita Patrika in 2022. Dr. Biswas’ areas of interest are— World politics, nineteenth-century of India, theatre and drama, medieval history and culture, regional history and culture, fiction & poetry. Rajashri Chatterjee is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the International Management Institute Kolkata (IMI-Kolkata). She holds a doctorate from The University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. She completed her M.Com. from the University of Calcutta and an MBA from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (formerly the West Bengal University of Technology) in West Bengal, India. Prior to joining IMI-Kolkata, she worked as a Finance Executive at Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences and AMRI Hospitals Ltd in Kolkata, India. She has co-edited the book Comparative Development of India & China: Economic, Technological, Sectoral & Socio-cultural Insights, published by Sage Publications. She has contributed articles for journals of repute, co-authored book chapters, and has papers to her credit that have been presented at conferences in India and abroad. She was certified as an innovation ambassador by the Ministry of Education, Government of India (GoI) in 2021 to take up initiatives to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem at IMI-Kolkata & beyond. Sahana Roy Chowdhury is an Associate Professor of Economics at the International Management Institute, Kolkata. She earned her Master’s (M.S. in Quantitative Economics) and Ph.D. from Indian Statistical Institute. She is the Editor-in-chief of the journal Studies in Microeconomics (Sage Publications). Dr. Roy Chowdhury has several publications in international journals of repute, such as Economic Modelling, Journal of Economics, Metroeconomica, Indian Growth and Development Review, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, etc. She had earlier worked with several national and international organizations such as NIPFP, ICRIER, Delhi and ICRA limited, and Monetary Policy Research Division. She was awarded the prestigious Raghuram Rajan Young Scholar Grant and visited the NBER Summer Institute at Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She was a visiting scientist at Cornell University, USA. She delivered several invited lectures at the University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, Paris, France, on Indian Macro-developmental and fiscal issues and labour market issues. She worked with several

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commissions under the Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs, such as the Expenditure Management Commission to provide key research inputs. She also served as an expert panellist on several occasions to provide opinions and comments on employability and education-related issues and contributed invited chapter in the India Higher Education Report 2020 (Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education, Department of Educational Finance, MHRD, GOI). Sayani Roy Chowdhury is an Advocate at the High Court, Calcutta and a Senior Counsel appointed by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India (GOI). She is the legal advisor to the Indian Statistical Institute, Air-India, and counsel to Canara Bank, Axis Bank Ltd., and several other public sector undertakings. She has served as a member of the Inquiry Committee formed by the National Commission for Women (NCW)-GOI and represented NCW in High Court matters. She has earned her Master’s degree in Applied Economics from the Presidency College (University of Calcutta) and an MBA from the University of Calcutta. She has served as a guest lecturer at Calcutta University and IMI-Kolkata for teaching legal aspects of business and several other courses. Pinaki Dasgupta is a Professor of Marketing at the International Management Institute, New Delhi, since June 2014. Prior to this, he was at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, as an Associate Professor, serving for a period of 15 years. Before his academic stint, which started in the year 2000, he spent about 8 years in the advertising industry with companies DDB Needham Mudra and Rediffusion DY&R. He specializes in consumer research and trade marketing with specific teaching and research interests in the digital domain, international business, and behavioural science. His sector-based focus has been on agriculture, handloom & handicrafts, textiles, and auto components. Sampada Kumar Dash is working as Research Associate (Trade and Development Policy Research Unit) under ACC Chair Professor in International Business and Finance, Trade Marketing Area at the International Management Institute, New Delhi, India. As a Summer Programme

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Participant, Mr. Dash studied the Trade Policy for Today’s World Program at The Harvard Kennedy School, USA, in 2022 and on United Nations and International Development at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland, in 2020. Mr. Dash has advised SMEs, served as a mentor at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Development Youth Network programme and worked on more than 100 research projects for the MNEs, Government Agencies, Development Consulting Firms, SMEs, and Academia. He also has an Executive PG Diploma (formerly Executive Masters) in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi, India. He earned a Master of Arts in Development Studies and trained in numerous graduate certificate programmes in Trade and Development from intergovernmental organizations. His area of interest includes International Trade, Health, and Development area. Gour Gobinda Goswami is a Professor of Economics and Director of Student Affairs at North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in the field of International Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA, under the supervision of Professor Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee in 2003. His Ph.D. thesis explains the gap between the black market and the official exchange rate of developing countries. Dr. Goswami is a prolific researcher having 30 years of experience in teaching, research, and consultancy. Professor Goswami was granted the University Grants Commission Research Award in Social Science in 2003 and 2006 and the Emerald Literati Award in 2022 for his contribution as an Outstanding Reviewer for the Journal of Economic Studies. His current topic of research interest is the Comparative Economic System, Gravity Model, Cryptocurrency, Economic Integration, Trade Flow, Exchange Rate, Purchasing Power Parity, Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Happiness & Well-being, and COVID-19, and Time Series Forecasting. M. Ismail Hossain is currently the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of North South University, the first private university in Bangladesh. Before joining his present position, he spent 45 years in teaching with intermittent

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academic administration positions at North South University, Jahangirnagar University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and the University of Rajshahi. He was a member of different statutory bodies of several public and private universities in Bangladesh, including the universities where he held a permanent academic position. His involvement extended beyond academia as a Member of the Panel of Economists for preparing (7th and 8th) Five Year Plans of Bangladesh and Director, Board of Directors of Bangladesh Bank. Professor Hossain has published in national and international journals and contributed to books and authored textbooks. His research interest includes macroeconomic modelling, trade, remittance, and agriculture. He worked on national policy issues as a consultant with the Government of Bangladesh and leading development partners. Professor Hossain received M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1977 and 1985, respectively. Sheikh Mohammed Rafiul Huque is the past Director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has been involved in teaching and research activities for more than 20 years in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Japan. His research interests include organic agriculture, value chain and supply chain management, and strategic and entrepreneurial issues in educational sectors. Meanwhile, he published more than 30 publications, including seven book chapters on higher education, innovation in management in education, entrepreneurship education in Bangladesh, and Organic Tea Ecosystem, published by IGI Global and IFOAM Asia. Moreover, he has been a project leader and member of different projects related to the organic movement, rural sustainability, community participation and livelihoods management, and strategic issues of agribusiness funded by international organizations. He has been serving as a resource person of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Japan, and he is an editorial member of the Journal of Business Management and Accounting and Issues in Social and Environmental Accounting and a reviewer of several SCOPUS and ISI-indexed journals. Sudeshna Lahiri is working with the University of Calcutta (India). Previously, she served in Banaras Hindu University as Assistant Professor

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(2004–2007). She has been the recipient of Major Research Projects funded by the University Grants Commission (India); and ICSSR; Scottish Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research Fund (SAPHIRE), UK and worked as a team member of Mega research project launched by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). She acted as a correspondent of Indian Educational Abstract, NCERT, India. Her research areas are “Teacher Performance Appraisal” and “Environmental Psychology”. She has received Stipendium Hungaricum Fellowship, Fulbright- Nehru Visiting Lecturer Fellowship, and the International Visitor Leadership Program from the US Department of State, USA. Dr. Lahiri worked as Coordinator of Erasmus + ICM programme between the Department of Education, University of Calcutta, and Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary (2017–2019). She has published research papers, book chapters, and edited books. She is a member of the Research advisory Committee at universities. Dr Lahiri was involved in the development of e-content-MOOC and delivered lectures for Dl.Ed and Masters in Arts (Education) programme. She recorded Science talks for All India Radio (AIR) during her studentship. Paramita Mukherjee is currently associated with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Hyderabad as a Professor. Before that, for about a decade, she worked with International Management Institute Kolkata as Professor and Dean (Academics) for about five years. She has also been associated with other renowned business schools and corporates, such as ICRA Limited, ORG-MARG (now AC Nielsen). An alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, and Indian Statistical Institute, she completed her Ph.D. in Economics from Jadavpur University. With an experience of over 24 years in the industry, research, and academics, she teaches courses on Economics, Financial Economics, and Econometrics. She has handled power sector consulting assignments and was awarded research grants from India Gold Policy Centre at IIM Ahmedabad. Her research interest lies in financial economics and applied econometrics. She has worked on contemporary issues in the financial sector, such as stock, bond, gold, and other asset markets, and also on macroeconomic issues. She has authored a number of research articles

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in peer-reviewed and international journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and ABDC and presented articles at several conferences in India and abroad. Zakir Hossain Raju is a Professor and Head of the Dept. of Media and Communication and the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) Director at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). Here he is also the founding Director of King Sejong Institute, the first-ever Korean language institute in Bangladesh. Dr. Raju obtained Ph.D. in Cinema Studies from La Trobe University in Australia and taught at Monash University there. During 2008–2010, Raju served as a Postgraduate Coordinator and Senior Lecturer at Monash University, Malaysia. In 2014, he served as a Visiting Professor and Korea Foundation Fellow at the Korean National University of Arts, Seoul. In 2022, Raju was a Japan Foundation Fellow and Visiting Research Scholar at Waseda University, Tokyo. A reputed scholar of Bangladeshi and South Asian screen industries as well as East Asian media and culture focusing on South Korea and Japan, Raju authored several monographs, including Bangladesh Cinema and National Identity: In Search of the Modern? (Routledge, London: 2015/18). He has published around fifty research papers in well-ranked journals and edited volumes published by leading academic publishers worldwide. Mohammad Baktiar Rana received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Yokohama National University, Japan. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. His specialization mainly covers organic product marketing with a specialization on strategic branding, value chain management, retail marketing, services marketing, consumer behaviour, and rural marketing. His publications mainly emphasize emotional intelligence, consumer, and social dimension with value chain creation among the social stakeholders. Dr. Rana has been involved in teaching both graduate and undergraduate programmes at various universities. He published numerous academic papers in different peerreviewed journals and a book chapter published by IGI Global on Entrepreneurship Education and University Students’ Entrepreneurship Intentions in Bangladesh.

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Notes on Contributors

Helal Uddin is working as a Visiting Research Fellow at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Oita Japan. He completed his Ph.D. at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University majoring in Asia Pacific Studies (Finance). He is a double MBA degree holder. Besides that, he achieved a strong international reputation by publishing several research articles in peer-reviewed journals and by attending numerous national and international conferences. Moreover, he has 3 years of working experience at Moshihor Securities Ltd. a Stockbroker under the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh.

Abbreviations

AAUM AEZs AISHE APTA ATMs BANBEIS BB BBS BEPZ BFS BFS BGMEA BHBFC BLP BOU BRAC BSBL BSE BSEC BTT

Average Assets Under Management Agri-Export Zones All-India Survey on Higher Education Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement Automated Teller Machines Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information Statistics Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Bangladesh Film Society Bandhan Financial Services Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation Bank Linkage Programme Bangladesh Open University Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Limited Bombay Stock Exchange Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Bangladesh Textile Today

xxix

xxx

CAB CAR CBN CDR CIE CIESIN CMES CMSME CPI-M CRAR CSC DEERC DFQF DIFE DISE DPE DSHE DTE EB EIC EPI ESI ETL FAO FDC FDI FDI FDID FI FICCI FSAP FY GB GBD GDP GER GHWA GNPA

Abbreviations

Current Account Balance Capital Adequacy Ratio Cost of Basic Needs Credit-Deposit Ratio Cambridge International Examinations Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network Centre for Mass Education in Science Cottage, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Communist Party of India, Marxist Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio College Service Commission District Elementary Education Report Card Duty-Free and Quota Free Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments District Information System for Education Directorate of Primary Education Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Directorate of Technical Education East Bengal East India Company Expanded Programme on Immunization Employees’ State Insurance Epidemiological Transition Level Food and Agriculture Organization Film Development Corporation Foreign Direct Investment Financial Development Index Financial Development Index Database Financial Inclusion Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Financial Sector Assessment Programme Financial Year Grameen Bank Global Burden of Disease Gross Domestic Product Gross Enrollment Rate Global Health Workforce Alliance Gross Non-Performing Asset

Abbreviations

GPI GSC GSDP HYV ICB ICC ICT IDRA IFAD IMF IMR INC IPR JLGs LDC LFMEAB MFA MFIs MFOAs MNC MOE MoHFW MOPME MPO MPV MRA MSME MVA MW NABARD NBFCs NCD NEP NFPE NGOs NHDP NIEPA NIM

xxxi

Gender Parity Index Global Supply Chain Gross State Domestic Product High-Yielding Varieties Investment Corporation of Bangladesh Indian Chamber of Commerce Information and Communications Technology Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority International Fund for Agricultural Development International Monetary Fund Infant Mortality Rate Indian National Congress Insurance Penetration Ratio Joint Liability Groups Least Developing Countries Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh Multi-Fiber Arrangement Microfinance Institutions Mobile Food Ordering Apps Multinational Corporation Ministry of Education Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Monthly Pay Order Multipurpose Vessels Microcredit Regulatory Authority Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Manufacturing Value Added Megawatt National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Non-Banking Financial Companies Non-Communicable Diseases National Education Policy Non-Formal Primary Education Non-Government Organizations National Highways Development Programme National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration Net Interest Margin

xxxii

NPAs NSS OOP PCBs PHC PKSF PTR PWVA RBI REHAB RMG ROA ROE RRBs RTE SAFTA SBs SCBs SDI SDP SEDM SEL SET SEZs SFBs SHG SHRCH SMEF SOCBs SoE TFP TFR TI TMC TMED TVET UDISE UGC

Abbreviations

Non-Performing Assets National Sample Survey Out of Pocket Expenditure Private Commercial Banks Primary Health Care Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation Pupil Teacher Ratio Per-Worker Value Added Reserve Bank of India Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh Ready Made Garments Return on Asset Return on Equity Regional Rural Banks Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act South Asian Free Trade Agreement Specialized Banks Scheduled Commercial Banks State-Development Index State Domestic Product Solidarity Economic Development Model Secondary Education Level State Eligibility Test Special Economic Zones Small Finance Banks Self-Help Group State Health Systems Resource Centre Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation State-Owned Commercial Banks State-Owned Enterprise Total Factor Productivity Total Fertility Rate Transparency International Trinamool Congress Education Division and the Secondary and Higher Education Division Technical and Vocational Education and Training Unified District Information System for Education University Grant Commission

Abbreviations

UHC UNDP UPI USA VAT WB WB WBBPE WBCSC WBSCHE WED WHO WTO

Universal Health Coverage United Nations Development Programme Unified Payment Interface United States of America Value Added Tax World Bank West Bengal West Bengal Board of Primary Education West Bengal College Service Commission West Bengal State Council of Higher Education Wood’s Education Dispatch World Health Organization World Trade Organization

xxxiii

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1

Fig. 1.2 Fig. 2.1

Fig. 2.2 Fig. 2.3

Map of the Indian Subcontinent and Burma under the British Rule (Source Zwart and Lucasssen [2020]) Solidarity Economic Development Model (SEDM) (Source Author Barai [2020]) Density of Population in Bengals. http://ilec.lakessys.com/portals/region_assessment_map/1/0/3 (Note The Population Density Data was from Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network [CIESIN]. Source International Lake Environment Committee Foundations) Poverty in Bangladesh (percent) (Source BBS) GDP growth rate of India and West Bengal (in percent) (Source Constructed. Data for India: Economic Survey 2021–2022 [Base Year: 2011–2012] and for West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012])

2 13

29 43

45

xxxv

xxxvi

Fig. 2.4

Fig. 2.5

Fig. 2.6 Fig. 2.7

Fig. 2.8

Fig. 2.9

Fig. 2.10 Fig. 3.1

Fig. 3.2

List of Figures

West Bengal and India-growth rate of Per Capita Net State Domestic Product (PCNSDP at constant prices) (Note Growth Data from 1993–1994, 1999–2000, 2004–2005, and 2011–2012 have been used as base years for growth data of 1994–2000. Similarly, 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2012–2020, respectively. All growth rates presented are averages of year-on-year annual growth rates. Source Ghatak [2021] and RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy) West Bengal and India—poverty position, 1994–2020 (in percent) (Source Ghatak [2021] and Bhattacharya and Devulapalli [2019]) Fiscal deficit of West Bengal vis-a-vis India Real GDP growth rate for Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2006–2021 (Source Bangladesh: WDI [Base Year: 2015 Constant US Dollar], West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012]) A comparative dynamics of per capita real GDP growth rates in West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh (2004–2020) (Source Constructed. Data for India: Economic Survey 2021–2022 [Base Year: 2011–2012] and for West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012]) CPI-based inflation in West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh (Source Handbook of Statistics on the Indian States, Reserve Bank of India, 2020–2021 and World Development Indicator) A comparative picture of unemployment in Bangladesh and India (1991–2021) (Source World Bank, WDI) Share of gross value added of agriculture and allied services to GDP/GSDP: 1961–2021 (in percent) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank) Employment in agri-sector (percent of total employment) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank)

46

49 51

53

54

55 57

72

73

List of Figures

Fig. 3.3

Fig. 4.1

Fig. 4.2

Fig. 4.3

Fig. 4.4 Fig. 4.5 Fig. 4.6 Fig. 4.7 Fig. 4.8

Fig. 4.9 Fig. 4.10

Fig. 4.11

Fig. 4.12

Fig. 5.1

Share of male–female employment in agriculture against their total employment in the economy—1991 to 2011 (in percent) (rounded) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank) Bangladesh—share of sectoral value added, 1970–2021 (Source Constructed data from the database: World Development Indicators [Last Updated: 12/22/2022]) Industry (including construction), value added per worker (constant 2015 US$) [Source Constructed. Data from the database: world development indicators (Last Updated: 12/22/2022)] Bangladesh—total exports, RMG exports and share (%) of RMG in total—1988–2021 (Source Constructed from BGMEA data) Growth rates of total exports and RMG exports, 1988–2021 (Source Constructed from BGMEA data) Chemical and pharmaceuticals exports of Bangladesh (Source Export Promotion Bureau [2022]) Bangladesh: Exports of leather goods, 2017–22 (Source Export Promotion Bureau [2022]) Budget allocation for megaprojects (US$ million), 2020–2021 (Source Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh) World’s shipbuilding market shared by Bangladesh (%) (Source Authors’ calculation based on Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh) Percentage share of net state value added of West Bengal to India (Source Economic Survey, various issues) Percentage share of factories in West Bengal to all India (Source Annual Survey of Industries, various issues, and Economic Survey, various issues) Share of manufacturing in West Bengal GSDP (Source Government of West Bengal [Economic Review, various issues]) Sectoral share of gross state domestic product of West Bengal (%, at current price) 2012–13 to 2022/23 (Source Government of West Bengal [Economic Reviews]) Trend in banks’ credits and deposits in Bangladesh (Source Financial Stability Report [2020])

xxxvii

73

86

91

92 93 95 96 97

98 99

100

101

101 115

xxxviii

Fig. 5.2 Fig. 5.3 Fig. 5.4

Fig. 5.5

Fig. 5.6

Fig. 5.7 Fig. 5.8 Fig. 6.1 Fig. 6.2 Fig. 6.3 Fig. 6.4 Fig. 7.1

Fig. 7.2

Fig. 7.3

Fig. 7.4 Fig. 7.5

List of Figures

Asset share (%) of banks by CRAR in Bangladesh (Source Financial Stability Report [2020]) Market capitalization to GDP in Bangladesh (%) (Source Financial Stability Report [2020]) Trend in credit and deposit growth by SCBs in West Bengal (Percent) (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021) Credit–deposit ratio of SCBs in West Bengal and India (Percent) (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021) Trend in credit and deposits of RRBs in West Bengal (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021) Credit–deposit ratio of RRBs in West Bengal (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021) Access to financial institutions and Markets (Source IMF Financial Development Index Database) Structure of education in Bangladesh (Source Chowdhury & Mahbub, 2018) Trend of government expenditure on education (Total per cent of GDP) Education structure in India (UGC, 2022) College density in West Bengal (Data source AISHE report 2019–20) Distribution of Urban Populations and Areas in Bangladesh, by Administrative District, 2011 (Source Statistics from GOB 2014) Annual crude death rates in Bangladesh and West Bengal 1900–1949 (Source Annual registered CDR in East Bengal [Bangladesh] and West Bengal were calculated using data for undivided Bengal. The registered rates were corrected using suitable correction factors) Density of the healthcare professionals per 10,000 population (Source Bangladesh Health Bulletins 1997, 2007, 2012) Female secondary school enrolment rate Average out-of-pocket expenditure per delivery in a public health facility (in INR)—Larger States

116 121

123

124

128 128 133 150 153 155 165

184

185

198 203 208

List of Figures

Fig. 7.6 Fig. 8.1 Fig. 8.2 Fig. 8.3 Fig. 9.1

Fig. 11.1

Fig. 11.2

Fig. 11.3 Fig. 11.4

Proportion of functional 24 × 7 PHCs—Larger States International merchandise trade MSME loan disbursement broken down by sector 2010 and 2019 Loan disbursements to women MSMEs Comparative Per Capita Income, 1950–2020 (in USD). Source World Bank and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Economy of West Bengal (https://data.worldbank.org›NY.GDP.PCAP.PP. CD), and https://satisticstimes.com/economy/india/ west-bengal-economy.php Early states and their capital (Source Themes in Indian History—Part 1; 2007. Textbook in History for Class XII, NCERT, 30–31) Ports of South India, when trade with Rome was at its highest (Source From: Achaya, K. T. (1994). Indian Food: Historical Companion. Oxford University Press) Bengali sweetmeat seller European settlements in India (1498–1739) (Source https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/ 29/European_settlements_in_India_from_1498-1739. PNG [accessed on 30th October 2022])

xxxix

210 235 238 239

282

338

339 342

346

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 2.5 Table 2.6 Table 2.7 Table 2.8 Table 2.9 Table 3.1 Table 4.1

Statistical profile of Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2021 GDP and GDP growth rates for broad sectors of Bangladesh West Bengal and India—sectoral GDP growth (constant prices), 1994–2020 (in percent) State-wise unemployment rate—(adjusted usual status) rural overall (per thousands) Fiscal deficit of West Bengal India, 2010–2011 to 2022–2023 Rural–urban, and male–female unemployment rate of WB and India (adjusted) West Bengal and all-India poverty level Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (percent of the population) Gini Index of inequality between Bangladesh and India The stock taking of macroeconomic indicators in the West Bengal Vis-à-vis Bangladesh (1972–2021) Agriculture: Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2021 Share of total employment in the economic sectors, 1996–2017

4 35 47 50 52 56 58 59 59 60 75 89

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xlii

List of Tables

Table 4.2 Table Table Table Table Table Table

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6

Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 6.4 Table 6.5 Table 6.6 Table Table Table Table Table

6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11

Table 6.12 Table 6.13 Table 6.14 Table 6.15 Table 6.16 Table 7.1 Table 7.2

Share in industrial production and employment (%): 1955–56 and 2007–08 Structure of financial sector in Bangladesh Key indicators of the banking sector in Bangladesh Profitability of different financial institutions Performance of three RRBs in West Bengal Performance of SHGs in West Bengal Scenario of Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh and West Bengal Status of number of educational institutes, teachers and students by levels and type Schools in West Bengal across levels of education & management state West Bengal year 2011–2012 Percentage of higher secondary/secondary schools by management Enrolment with respect to gender in West Bengal for 2011–12 Summary with respect to single-sex and co-education schools Distribution of teachers by training status and by category of school Teacher profile by category in West Bengal 2011–2012 Year-wise pupil–teacher ratio Pupil–teacher ratio in schools (2013–2014) Category-wise universities in West Bengal Number of universities in West Bengal during the last 5 years College density in West Bengal and average enrolment per college Number of Private and Government Colleges and Enrolment Gender-wise enrolment at various levels in West Bengal Comparison of GPI in respective of country and state level Women’s education and participation in the labour force in India Historical perspective of population density in West Bengal Recent reforms in the health system of Bangladesh

100 113 115 119 127 131 136 149 156 158 159 159 160 161 161 162 164 165 166 166 166 170 171 182 188

List of Tables

Table 7.3 Table 7.4 Table 7.5 Table 8.1 Table 8.2 Table 8.3 Table Table Table Table Table

8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8

Table 8.9 Table 8.10 Table 8.11 Table Table Table Table

8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15

Table 8.16 Table 11.1 Table 11.2 Table 11.3 Table 11.4 Table 11.5

Key health indicators, Bangladesh, selected years Trends in health expenditure in Bangladesh during 1997–2011 Comparison of life expectancy European agency houses and Indian merchants, bankers, and agents in Bengal, 1813–1831 The transformation from traders to industrialists of some Marwari families Prominent business leaders from the late eighteenth century Bengal List of Swadeshi companies with Bengali holding origins An illustrative list of Multinationals in India, 1950 Key macroeconomic indicators, FY 2019–2020 Categorization of enterprises Comparative statement on export of RMG & Total export of Bangladesh (value in million USD) Top MFls—branches, members, and borrowers Assets of Indo-British companies as share of top 25 business groups (percent) Industrial disputes in West Bengal vis-à-vis India; 1967–1970 Industrial licenses issued to states; 1970–1977 Person-days lost by States; 1979–1989 Comparative distribution of Top Ten States (MSME) Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia SME Monitor 2021 Major large corporates in West Bengal The main pulses in pre-historic South Asia and their Region of Origin Major grains in South Asia and their region sources Some plants introduced by the Portuguese in Bengal and their use in Bengali Cuisine Hotel and restaurant survey 2020: Key findings Types of restaurants

xliii

192 196 206 225 226 228 229 231 234 236 237 238 245 247 248 249 251 256 264 335 336 348 358 363

1 Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their Development Narratives Munim Kumar Barai

1.1

and Arindam Banik

Introduction

The province of Bengal was divided between two countries, viz. India and Pakistan, based on the two-nation theory1 with the end of British rule in India in 1947. Before that, along with their geographic singularity, both Bengals were under a single political entity. Nevertheless, a physical boundary between the identity of East Bengal and West Bengal 1 Syed Ahmad Khan, the pioneer of Muslim nationalism in South Asia, is widely credited as the father of the two-nation theory. The theory that religion is the determining factor in defining the nationality of Indian Muslims was promoted by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and became the basis of the Pakistan Movement. The two-nation theory is based on the hypothesis that Muslims differ from Hindus regarding religious, cultural, social, and daily life and that they must establish an independent Muslim state in which they can freely live their identities.

M. K. Barai (B) College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu-Shi, Japan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_1

1

2

M. K. Barai and A. Banik

got entrenched because of the mess up by the Britishers to divide it into two in 1905. The Radcliff Line that bisected Bengal kept its Western and Northern districts in West Bengal in independent India. Also, the division was done in such a way that the more industrial belt of Bengal remained with West Bengal. Kolkata, Bengal’s great urban centre and leading port remained its capital (Fig. 1.1). On the other hand, the eastern districts, which were fertile, agriculturally rich, and densely populated, became East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), with Dhaka as its capital. However, the stay of East Pakistan with West Pakistan did not last long because of the sea of differences that emerged between them within a short time. The Bengalis have been exploited socially, economically, and politically since 1947 by the West

Fig. 1.1 Map of the Indian Subcontinent and Burma under the British Rule (Source Zwart and Lucasssen [2020])

A. Banik International Management Institute, New Delhi, India

1 Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their …

3

Pakistanis. This ultimately led East Pakistan to fight a nine-month war and win Independence from West Pakistan in 1971 with a progressive political agenda. Even during the Independence War, the most significant source of help to refugees came from West Bengal. More than 10 million people crossed to India to save their lives from the carnage unleashed by the West Pakistani military and their leadership. Most of them were sheltered in West Bengal. Though Bangladesh and West Bengal got divided into two nationstate identities in 1947, they still have much in common, including the Bengali language as their mother tongue and, to a large extent, common culture, notwithstanding the Hindu–Muslim differences that triggered the separation. Banerjee and Samaddar (2020: 341) put the similarities between the two Bengals in this way, “Despite the separation, there is always having a similar culture, lifestyles, and food habits, particularly among the people of West Bengal and Bangladesh. The similarity between Bangladesh and Bengal is that everyone likes typical Bengali music, dance, drama, cinema, reading various novels and diverse literature, arts, painting, and sculpturing. Nurturing the culture is almost every family’s tradition, whether as an extra-curriculum activity for a student or self-interest for an adult member. Bengalis understand, feel, interact, argue, and at last express their cultures in their daily activities”. Table 1.1 reveals an exciting picture of the two Bengals based on some select indicators. In 2021, the combined population of Bangladesh and West Bengal was around 269 million, with Bangladesh’s population standing at 167 million and West Bengal’s population at 102 million. Bangladesh and West Bengal, respectively, are home to some of the most fertile terrain in the world because they are situated near the confluence of three of the world’s most important rivers—the Ganges (known as the Padma in Bangladesh), the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna. The Bengals bear a favourable climate for agriculture, provided by abundant rainfall, consistently warm temperatures throughout the year, and a dense population. The high population density in this area stood at 1,145 people per square kilometre in Bangladesh and 1,028 people per square kilometre in West Bengal in 2021. This provides evidence that the land in this area is both fertile and productive. Experts believe that the

4

M. K. Barai and A. Banik

Table 1.1 Statistical profile of Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2021 Select indicators

Bangladesh

West Bengal

Population (million) (a) Population density (persons per square km) (b) Percentage of the labour force in agriculture Share of GDP/GSDP (%) (a) Agriculture (b) Service (c) Manufacturing Annual per capita income in US$ (PPP)

167 1,145

102 1,028

38

43

11.50 51.43 37.07 6, 960

17.19 52.85 29.96 5,601

Note GDP Domestic Product; GSDP Gross State Domestic Product Source Various Statistics published by the Government of Bangladesh, the Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the World Bank

abundance of farmland could have led to early marriage contributing to the dense population in the Bengal delta. Regarding sector-wise contributions, the services sector was the largest in the two Bengals, contributing 57% in West Bengal (PRS Legislative Research 2022) and 55.70% in Bangladesh. The manufacturing industry comes second, generating 30.82% of Bangladesh’s GDP. Agriculture was in the third spot in Bangladesh, contributing only 13.48% (BBS 2021; all figures are for Financial Year 2020). In West Bengal, the share of agriculture was 21%, followed by manufacturing at 22%. In 2017, about 40.6% of the total labour force was active in the agricultural sector in Bangladesh (BBS 2018). In contrast, the figure is as high as 43% in West Bengal. The average annual income per capita in nominal terms is estimated to be $2,734 for Bangladesh in 2022 (IMF 2022), and it is US $1,700 in West Bengal (PRS Legislative Research, 2022).

1.2

A Brief Walk Over the History of Bengal and Its Partition

Before dealing with the underlying socioeconomic factors of Bangladesh and West Bengal, we need to go back several centuries to understand how this once-rich region turned into a poor area over time. The geographic

1 Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their …

5

zone under the present two Bengals was recognized as having the most cultural diversity and economic success in the world during the Pal and Sen dynasties, lasting between the eighth century AD and twelfth century AD. Bengal was always on the radar of invading forces from other parts of the world because of its fertile land and strategic location. Making a land link between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China also offered access to and from the Bay of Bengal. These enticed many to come to Bengal, including the colonialists who sought to extort wealth from the region through trade and taxation. The list includes a company called the British East India Company (EIC) that came to India in 1608 and eventually bought the whole of India under the control of the British Empire. It is helpful to look at this extensive colonization that began in the then-Bengal of Bharatbarsha, aka India. With its economic prosperity, Bengal seemed to be a place of attraction for the nations with more naval and shipping powers. Many entry points from the Bengal region to the Bay of Bengal served as a maritime channel for trade and the return of pillaged goods. Resources were extracted along the trade route in a pattern that started with the silk trade and subsequently moved on to the trade in textiles. Indeed, the first ship from EIC docked in the Indian port at Surat in 1608. Sir Thomas Roe met the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1615 as an emissary for King James I and secured the right for the British to establish a factory at Surat. The British soon overtook the Portuguese, gradually increasing and expanding their economic activities in India. Englishspeaking communities grew significantly in the three presidential cities of Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai), and Chennai (Madras). In 1717, EIC obtained a firman, or royal dictate, from the Mughal Emperor, exempting the company from paying customs charges in Bengal. That helped the company’s fortune soar. It became a dominating business house when one of its military commanders, Robert Clive, beat Siraj-uddaulah, the Nawab of Bengal, in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. During the first few years of the Company’s administration, the Bengali people endured considerable suffering. This was enhanced further in 1765 when the company was given the right to levy taxes on behalf of the Mughal

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M. K. Barai and A. Banik

Emperor (ULCA 2022). That is, collecting Mughal taxes was subcontracted to a robust business house. As a result, Robert Clive, the first British Governor of Bengal, and the directors of the EIC recruited English traders and replaced Mughal revenue officers in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. In that way, the East India Company, which had previously traded silks and spices, changed into something more unusual. The outcome of this move was that, within a few years, 250 company clerks supported by 20,000 locally recruited Indian soldiers had effectively taken control of Bengal (Dalrymple 2015). EIC’s first significant territorial conquests in India started in Bengal, and 47 years later, its influence reached North India through the mastery of Delhi, the capital of the Mughals. With that conquest, nearly all of India was under the company’s rule from a boardroom in the City of London. “What honour is left to us?” asked a Mughal official named Narayan Singh shortly after 1765, “when we have to take orders from a handful of traders who have not yet learned to wash their bottoms?” (Dalrymple 2015). The historical irony is that a company that crept into India to do business ultimately transformed itself into a powerful colonizing entity, thanks to the largesse of the Mughal rulers, who also came from other distant lands. The conquest of Bengal by EIC opened the gate for the plundering of Bengal itself and, subsequently, the whole of India. Dalrymple amply describes this (2015), “Bengal’s wealth rapidly drained into Britain, while its prosperous weavers and artisans were coerced like so many slaves” by their new masters, and its markets flooded with British products. A proportion of the pillage of Bengal went directly into Clive’s pocket. He returned to Britain with a fortune valued at £234,000, making him the wealthiest self-made in Europe. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, a victory that owed more to treachery, forged contracts, bankers, and bribes than military prowess, he transferred to the EIC treasury no less than £2.5 m seized from the defeated rulers of Bengal—in today’s currency, around £23 m for Clive and £250 m for the company. -No great sophistication was required. The entire contents of the Bengal treasury were loaded into 100 boats and punted down the Ganges from the Nawab of Bengal’s palace to Fort William, the company’s Calcutta

1 Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their …

7

headquarters. A portion of the proceeds was later spent rebuilding Powis.2 Unsurprisingly, the British colonial masters chose Kolkata as their capital because of the region’s economic and political importance. Soon the economic and political landscape of Bengal started changing fast under Company Rule. This is reflected by the history of Britannica, “Under Governor-General Charles Cornwallis (served 1786–93), a permanent settlement system was established in the territory—now called the Bengal Presidency—whereby property rights were granted perpetually to local zamindars (landlords). This property policy indirectly stimulated the growth of a new landed middle class—especially in Calcutta—called the bhandralok. Initially, the bhandralok was dominated by upper-caste Hindus, but the Muslim presence began to increase toward the end of the nineteenth century. In time, this middle class emerged as the most active advocate of Indian self-government”.3 But the Britishers soon found that ruling Bengal was not easy and their administrative and ruling philosophy of “divide and rule” helped it get a foothold in Bengal. Their first move was to make Assam a separate province in 1874. Then in 1905, the viceroy George Nathaniel Curzon created two new provinces, ostensibly on a geopolitical basis; these provinces were Western Bengal, including Bihar and Orissa, and Eastern Bengal and Assam, with Kolkata and Dhaka as their capitals, respectively. “Aside from increasing administrative efficiency, Curzon’s move was intended to position the Muslims as a counterweight to the Hindus”.4 But the partition of Bengal elicited vociferous protest in Western Bengal, especially in Calcutta, where the Indian National Congress5 played a prominent role. Indian Muslim leaders, however, mainly supported the partition, and in 1906 they gathered at Dhaka under the patronage of Nawab Salimullah and set up the AllIndia Muslim League. Their efforts secured separate electorates and 2

The British Castle Powis was built in the thirteenth century. This medieval castle, fortress, and grand country house are near Welshpool in Powys, the UK. 3 https://www.britannica.com. 4 Ibid. 5 Also called the Congress Party; formed in 1885.

8

M. K. Barai and A. Banik

separate constituencies for the Muslims under the constitutional reforms of 1909, but they could not save the partition. In 1911, Governor Lord Hardinge annulled the partition after the Swadeshi mass movement in Bengal. However, Bihar and Orissa were constituted into a new province, Assam reverted to its separate status, and the Indian capital was moved to Delhi from Kolkata. The decision to relocate the capital to Delhi can be seen as a response to the growing influence of Kolkata and the government’s desire to safeguard British power against prospective revolutionaries. Rulers, the bulk of whom were foreigners, were likewise annoyed by the revolutionary zeal and educational enlightenment of Bengal’s elite class. Maybe this can explain Bengal’s initial separation in 1905, then its reunion in 1911 and the shifting of the capital. But the ultimate division of Bengal came in 1947 when they were separated to become parts of two independent countries. Historically, however, Bengal was divided by the British Radcliffe Line.6 One notable fact was that the partition was all against the wishes of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose, two prominent political figures of Bengal at that point in time. The pre-partition developments and post-partition realities indeed have affected the development narrative of both Bengals. For Bangladesh, the years between 1947 and 1971 constituted another colonial phase that impacted its socioeconomic progress as West Pakistan always looked down upon them in a subjugated order. The colonial memory of deprivation, exploitation, oppression, torture, and movement for independence, both non-violent and violent methods, shaped the post-independence development narrative of both parts of Bengal. While pro-socialist economic and political ideologies got firm ground in West Bengal, the independence movement in East Bengal (or East Pakistan) started with a language-based identity that went into the economic and social spheres over time. The movement led to the war of Independence in 1971.

6

The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and the Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissions for the two provinces, had the ultimate responsibility to divide 175,000 square miles (450,000 km2 ) of territory with 88 million people.

1 Two Bengals Two Entities: Construction of Their …

9

The sufferings and massive killings of civilians, destruction of infrastructure and properties, etc., have permanently influenced the political and economic paths Bangladesh has been following since. All these factors influenced the construction of a development narrative for the country.

1.3

Emergence of Bangladesh

Initially, people in both parts of Pakistan felt united by their religious identities as the bonding link for forming a single nation. However, the perceived bind of religion did not last among them for long, and the entire project proved to be an inept union as they were not only separated by 1600 kilometres of Indian territory but also by language, culture, and societal diversity. This was because of the West Pakistanis’ blatant “show of supremacy”. The first attack on the language came in 1948 when Urdu was declared Pakistan’s state language. That was the beginning of a bitter struggle between the two parts of Pakistan that ran into economic, social, cultural, and strategic areas as time passed. A few words need to be dedicated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the freedom movement in Bangladesh from Pakistan. Indeed, he was in Kolkata during the partition of Bengal. After 1947, he relocated from Kolkata to Dhaka and focused on Bangladesh as his preferred nation. In June 1949, at a convention of the leaders and workers known to be a faction of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League headed by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Abul Hashim established a new party named East Pakistan Awami Muslim League. In the new party, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani became the President, Ataur Rahman Khan, Sakhawat Hossain, and Ali Ahmed Khan as vice presidents, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected as one of its general secretaries. The Awami League has been a secular and non-communal party since its inception. As a mark of its secular posture, the term “Muslim” was deleted from the party’s name at its third council meeting held on 21–23 October 1955. The party believes in a welfare economy. It has front organizations among the students, labourers, peasants, youths, and women.

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Under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Awami League proposed the six points to demand a greater autonomy for Pakistan’s provinces to General Ayub Khan’s military government. The people of East Pakistan widely supported the six points, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as the undisputed leader of the people of East Pakistan. However, the non-acceptance of the six-point demand and other differences led to civil unrest. The final nail in the coffin of an independent Pakistan was the denial of power to the Awami League following the 1970 elections, which the party won by a landslide. That proved fatal for a united nation, and they disintegrated in 1971, when a nine-month independence war gave birth to the new nation of Bangladesh, “the land of Bengalees”. It should be mentioned that though the Independence War of Bangladesh in 1971 was led by military and most political leaders of Awami League on the battlefield and political front, in the true sense, it was people’s war as most of the population participated in the war irrespective of their political affiliations, religious faiths, and regional connections.7 As a result of the war’s devastation, Bangladesh’s journey to independence became a herculean task fraught with difficulties. Ahsan (2018) summed up the post-liberation condition in the following way: “In the wake of widespread devastation after nine months of the war, odds were stacked against Bangladesh. The war had destroyed thousands of roads, bridges, and culverts, while Chittagong port—the lifeline to the world—lay blocked by mines and sunken ships. Ten million displaced individuals returned from India, often to destroyed homes”. Bangladesh was a picture of desolate terrain, with burned-out schools, universities, and markets, no functioning transportation or distribution systems, and a destroyed economy. Rapid population expansion, widespread poverty, and hunger were among the formidable new challenges it soon confronted, and the resources at its disposal to deal with them were woefully inadequate. Nevertheless, Bangladesh made the most of its meagre resources to dispel the “bottomless basket” label and make striking socioeconomic progress. 7 It should be noted that some segments of the inhabitants of former East Pakistan formed Razakar, Al Badar, and Al Sams groups to assist the West Pakistani army in the war.

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Construction of “Development Narratives” for Bangladesh and West Bengal

1.4.1 Bangladesh Indeed, Bangladesh’s development strategy has evolved through time, just like the nation itself. It began embracing socialism from the outset of its independence by nationalizing industries, including manufacturing, finance, and public utilities. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, it turned to the neo-classical counter-revolution model.8 While studying the economy of Bangladesh, we uncover the presence of the government, the commercial sector, non-profit organizations, and families with regular citizens as the four economic entities in the environment. Although international organizations, agencies, and governments may be involved in Bangladesh’s development process, we assume that one or more of the four entities we have already considered are acting by the intentions and views of one or more of these international bodies, agencies, or governments. As a result, from the perspective of the theory of growth and coordination failure, Bangladesh appears to have evolved in the direction of a “Solidarity Development Model”, in which all entities are actively and passively pursuing their own personal and national development objectives. Notably, both supply- and demand-side actors were present at the same time. Figure 1.2 depicts a network (the SEDM, or Solidarity Economic Development Model) connecting each agent to a significant development issue. We are working on compiling a list of the exact issues to which each agent is related. It must be emphasized that the relationships 8

The central claim is that failure to develop is primarily the result of too much government intervention and regulation of the economy. The neoclassical theory emphasizes the beneficial role of free markets, open economies, and the privatization of inefficient public enterprises. During the 1980s, many developed world governments adopted a free-market economics theory. This viewpoint has been referred to as the Neoclassical Counter-revolution. The theory supported freer markets, private ownership, statist planning, and government regulation of economic activities. See also Barai (2020).

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between the entities and the main problems involve both demand and supply agents. Like the government, families and the general populace participate in the country’s developmental operations as buyers or sellers. In addition, most of the general populace has taken part in the development initiatives that the government has launched, except for a few projects that have been met with opposition from the locals and some members of the intelligentsia and political parties.9 We may mention some of the topics where they play a significant role, such as poverty reduction, the development of soft infrastructure (education, health, and human capital), the advancement of agriculture, population management, and urbanization. They have participated in the development process through widespread consumption, the provision of endogenous factors, migration, and remittances. Asadullah et al. (2014) empirically examined several potential variables, including trends in public spending for health and education; the development of physical infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, and culverts; foreign aid, economic growth, public infrastructure, and more, to identify Bangladesh’s development pathways. In the 1980s, they saw public investment in soft and hard infrastructure receive comparatively little attention, but that changed in the 1990s. Limited evidence was identified in their analysis to support incomemediated and/or public expenditure (such as foreign assistance and government spending)-led routes for social development in Bangladesh. However, their research emphasized how several events must coincide for a development to be unexpected. One of these is an inclusive development plan implemented in collaboration with different non-governmental parties, particularly non-government organizations (NGOs). They believed this was critical to Bangladesh’s societal advancement. Some factors include reducing fertility and infant mortality, finding affordable solutions to various socioeconomic issues, fostering social awareness, coaction between various social indicators, promoting gender parity in education because of the introduction of demand-side incentive programmes, etc., playing a contributory role. Another group 9 For example, two projects, viz., the Rampal power station (a proposed 1320-megawatt [MW] coal-fired power station at Rampal in Khulna division), and the Phulbari Coal Project, an open-pit coal mine project, in Dinajpur district faced protests against their implementation.

Major Issues of Sustainable Development

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1. Poverty Reduction 2. Soft Infrastructure Development (Education, Health, Human Capital) 3. Social Empowerment of Women and the Poor 4. Hard Infrastructure 5. Financial Inclusion 6. Agriculture Development 7. Industrialization (Service and Manufacturing) 8. Employment 9. Urbanization 10. Population Control 11. Gender, Equalities

Intervention/Influencing Modes/or Means Investor, producer, controller, regulator, protector and Buyer/ Consumer

Production and Operations, Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, Finance and Accounting, and Consumer

Microcredit, Advocacy, Social Awareness Program, and Consumer

Broad Consumption, Supply of Endogenous Factors, Migration and Remittances

Entities State represented by Government

Private Sector

NGOs

Households and Citizenry

Fig. 1.2 Solidarity Economic Development Model (SEDM) (Source Author Barai [2020])

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of “contextual elements” that are thought to have influenced Bangladesh’s development setting include history, demographics, cultural heritage, and geography. Putting women first, scaling up ideas, and preparedness for natural disasters were all critical (Asadullah ibid., 2014). Some authors10 approach development from a political-economic viewpoint. They argue that “the secret to Bangladesh’s development achievement rests in understanding why a strong political agreement arose to pursue such a pro-poor development strategy across governments and regimes”. According to them, the state plays a key role by pursuing a six-point plan: making sound macroeconomic policies, improving disaster management, smart investments in public health and education, working with NGOs, supporting family planning, and encouraging labour migration. The process of identifying and outlining the routes for growth in Bangladesh appears to have taken place up to the 2000s. Since then, life expectancy has continued to rise, the literacy rate has improved, and the economy is almost at the 8% growth threshold. Therefore, by examining the prior growth trajectory and the recent uptick in economic and social indicators, one can get the impression that some other elements haven’t yet been looked at for their potential involvement in Bangladesh’s development debate. Their help could be a big part of speeding up and adding to social and economic progress. We decided to address them in this part since it frequently happens that potential growth roles for some aspects are overlooked. Here, we are bringing out a few concerns researchers have overlooked. By adequately evaluating their contribution, it may be easier to untangle all the elements that contributed to Bangladesh’s progress in an unnoticed and undiscovered way. Barai (2020), in this context, discussed the importance of migrants returning home, having access to production and information technology, sharing information quickly and for little or no cost, the “Big Push” investment in megaprojects, and other factors for the construction of development for Bangladesh. The “Big Push” Theory of Rosenstein-Rodan (1943) seems to be objectively relevant in light of the investment push in big projects 10

For example, Hossain (2017) and Tudor (2018).

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in Bangladesh. The idea contends that, for economic development, a strong push may be used to overcome the early inertia of the stagnating economy rather than depending on the concept of economic gradualism. Building social overhead capital may be the method for such a push on the supply side. Social overhead capital includes all the fundamental sectors, including transportation, energy, communications, and other public utilities. According to the notion, their appearance will stimulate demand and economic growth. As explained by UNDP (2005), developing countries that want to break out of the cycle of poverty should use the “big push” method in public administration, human capital, and basic infrastructure. To sum up, Bangladesh is going through a historical transition, and economic and social activities reflect developmental changes. We may compile a lengthy list of elements that may have aided its development. Some of these have been quite important in achieving this level of transformation. Others, in contrast, could have contributed achievements that, while modest individually, have continually multiplied across the country’s social and economic life. Bangladesh has benefited from the tremendous coaction of complementarities in terms of growth.

1.4.2 West Bengal Since 1947, India has turned itself into one of the largest democracies in the world and has followed a sustainable parliamentary democracy. West Bengal, being a part of it, followed the system known as the federal system, while erstwhile East Pakistan was also a part of the Pakistani federal union. Interestingly, since Marxists’ and Leninists’ political and economic ideologies started influencing other parts of the world, Bengal became a hotbed of ideology even during the time of the British Raj. After the partition of Bengal, the ideology continued to be on a solid footing in West Bengal. The leftist parties eventually won a resounding election victory to take control of West Bengal in 1977. Before that, the Indian National Congress hold power in the state during periods 1947– 1962 and 1972–1977. During Bidhan Chandra Roy’s Chief Ministership (1947–1962), a number of manufacturing industries were set up in the

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state. He is often considered “The Maker of Modern West Bengal” due to his key role in founding several institutions and five eminent cities in the state: Durgapur, Kalyani, Bidhannagar, Ashokenagar, and Habra. Jyoti Basu, a leader whose ancestors were from Bangladesh, led the Left Front to victory in 1977. The left parties continued to rule West Bengal for the next 34 years, from 1977 until 2011, when the left alliance lost the elections to the Trinamul Congress led by Mamata Banerjee. She has remained in power since then. But the economic and social development of West Bengal has been affected by a long list of political and socioeconomic factors. Since 1947, an issue that has influenced the development dynamics of West Bengal is the flow of migrants from East Bengal. Though other states of India, like Tripura and Assam, this is a compassionate issue and has invited debate and discussion as the flow has remained alive since then. When Bengal was partitioned, the first flow began in 1947, then in 1951 (as an aftermath of the Muladi Riot in the Barisal District of the then East Pakistan), in 1965 (because of the India–Pakistan War), and then in 1971 (due to the Independence War of Bangladesh). The time-to-time flare-ups with political and religious overtones in pre- and post-independence periods of Bangladesh have not helped stop the flow. Likewise, the economic fallout of the Enemy (Vested) Property Act has added a different magnitude to the problem. Though the figures are sketchy, according to widely accepted estimates, three million East Bengalis immigrated to India shortly after partition in 1947, whereas 864,000 Indians immigrated to East Pakistan (Heitzman and Worden 1988). In an estimate by the Indian government, 2.6 million people migrate from East Bengal to India, and 0.7 million people migrate from India to East Pakistan (Elahi 2003). Again, one million more refugees were thought to have entered West Bengal in 1950, notably in the wake of the Noakhali and Barisal riots that year (Chakravartty, 2007). According to the 1951 Indian Census, 27% of Kolkata’s population were East Bengali exiles, primarily Hindu Bengalis, who helped the city’s economy expand in several ways. Up until Bangladesh’s freedom in 1971, there was still a steady flow of people to West Bengal from East Pakistan, with peaks during times of significant

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communal riots like the East Pakistan riots in 1964 and the 1965 IndiaPakistan War, when it is believed that 600,000 refugees fled to India (Chakravartty 2007). During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, religious minorities became the main targets of the Pakistani military. They were subjected to systematic mass murders, rapes, looting, and burning. During the early months of the war, about 10 million East Bengalis, mostly Hindus, fled to India. Interestingly, after Bangladesh gained independence, about 1.5 million may have stayed back.11 There is no reliable figure on the flow of people from Bangladesh to West Bengal and India since 1971. But in a seminal work titled Inquiry into Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh through the Vested Property Act, Abul Barkat (2000) estimated that 748,850 households were evicted from their agricultural land as a result of this. The victims were Hindus, and many silently migrated to West Bengal after losing their properties and livelihood. The book estimates that an average of 632 minority people was silently missing from Bangladesh daily due to the Vested Property Act (Barkat et al., ibid.). Though the Act has been repealed, it has permanently injured the religious demography of Bangladesh and created the flow of displaced population in India, mainly in West Bengal. The implications of this flow on the economic and social spheres of the state are visible. West Bengal is one of the two states12 of India that made serious efforts to implement land reform. Most of the activity is associated with a drive to register tenants and identify ceiling surplus land known as “Operation Barga” (Bandyopadhyay 1986; Lieten 1992), which was initiated shortly after the ascent to power of the Left Front in 1977. The first element of the reform was the vesting of any “above-ceiling” land (i.e., land owned more than the ceiling of 12.5 acres) with the government and its subsequent distribution to landless or small landowners, commonly referred to as pattadars. A second element was the rapid registration of sharecroppers, village by village, to prevent them from eviction and provide them with permanent and heritable tenancy rights. The amount 11 12

www.hinduonnet.com. The other state is Kerala.

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of (shared) rent to be paid to landlords was limited to 25% (50% if the landlord provides all non-labour inputs) and land leasing through mechanisms other than share tenancy.13 The law also prohibited the transfer of land received via land reform through sale, gift, exchange, or (sub) leases. To prevent elite capture, eligibility for reform benefits is tightly regulated.14 While there are significant gains, such as the choice of the right target group, namely, small-scale sharecropping tenants and landless agricultural labourers, quasi-property rights bestowed on the sharecroppers increase their incentives, the levels of beneficiary productivity and welfare remain far below average, something that could likely be avoided if land reform beneficiaries would receive full ownership right instead of being recognized as permanent share tenants and if restrictions on transferability of land were abandoned.15 In addition, West Bengal became a crucible for experimental adventurism in its development model and suffered at the hands of errant policymakers and myopic politicians.16 The mass level participation of people in the Naxal Bari movement, the extensive use of Bandh as a part of political tool and culture, and the forced relocation of Tata Nano motor plant from Singur in the Hoogly District of West Bengal17 are some of the examples of anti-development used by various political parties for a long time seemed to have clouded the industrial working environment and development notion of West Bengal as a political and geographic entity.

13

Fixed rent, was prohibited by law. See Klaus et al. (1982). 15 See Klaus et al. ibid. 16 See Banik and Bhandari (2020). 17 Land acquisition for a proposed Tata Motors automotive facility at Singur in Hooghly district, West Bengal, India, sparked the Tata Nano Singur dispute. The plant would have produced the Tata Nano tiny automobile. The idea was met with significant criticism from displaced farmers. West Bengal’s opposition leader at the time, Mamata Banerjee, provided the farmers with political backing. Environmentalists, leftist activists, and intellectuals backed Banerjee’s struggle against the eviction of farmers. The Tatas ultimately opted to leave Singur on October 3, 2008. Ratan Tata criticized Banerjee and her followers for the decision to withdraw. In October 2008, Tata Motors announced it flee the state to establish the Tata Nano facility in Sanand, Gujarat. This dealt with the biggest blow to the entire Tata Nano project of its commercial viability. 14

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In addition, some experts argue that factors such as the unconducive centre–state relationship may be considered a powerful factor that has remained an important element in shaping the development narrative and path of West Bengal after 1962. This is because of the persistent differences between the centre and the state governments, mainly due to their different political identities. Economic and social policies that are oriented and executed to vote bank politics may lack future development vision and the development narrative that is built up to support policies becomes untenable.

1.5

Summary of the Chapters

On the background effort to construct a development for Bangladesh and West Bengal, the book has included 11 more chapters to find out more discussions on how they have been translated into the development of various economic, social, and cultural sectors. In the following spaces, a brief summary of each chapter has been given so that the readers can get a glimpse of them. Chapter 2 of the book discusses the “Macroeconomic Development of Bangladesh and West Bengal”. The chapter argues that in 1947, West Bengal was the more opulent Bengal. After then, West Bengal experienced several issues that slowed its economic and social progress. They include the large migration from East Pakistan, which stretched the state’s resources. Subaltern migration hasn’t stopped since. Also, it has a long history of tense and hostile ties with the Indian Federal Government. While not in the federal government, leftists dominated the state for 34 years. It may not be an overstatement to say that West Bengal has been a laboratory for experimental adventurism in its development model and has suffered from misguided policymakers and shortsighted politicians for a long time. The state has experienced several natural disasters. Therefore, Bengalis in West Bengal are still searching for a better life. Ignoring the limits, it encountered, its intended growth route led to its slip from an affluent state to a lesser rank among Indian states. This is obvious when comparing the economic and social data of West Bengal and other Indian states. On the other hand, some critics

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were unsure about Bangladesh’s sustainability as an independent nation. After its liberation in 1971, the country faced severe disruptions such as famine, natural calamities, military coups, and fanaticism. Despite hurdles, Bangladesh has made tremendous economic and social growth in its 50 years of independence and is now called a “Development Surprise” or even a “Miracle”. Bangladesh became a developing nation in February 2021, according to the UNDP. Several economic and social indicators, like GDP growth, per capita GDP, growth of the external sector, increase in life expectancy, literacy rate, decrease in the national poverty rate, etc., have shown real progress. There was a time when policymakers argued against the viability of technology adoption and small farms in developing economies because it may compound the misery of the poor. This is not the case for the two Bengals. Adopting new technology in Bangladesh averted widespread starvation and helped millions of people escape hunger once and for all. Chapter 3 by Arindam Banik takes up the issue of agricultural sector of two Bengals. The chapter elucidates some of the interesting insights into two Bengals’ agriculture and their achievements. Chapter 4 documents the status of manufacturing sector in the two Bengals. It shows that there has been a general deceleration of manufacturing performance in West Bengal. In contrast, Bangladesh portrays a successful case both in creating employment and foreign exchange earnings. To substantiate, the manufacturing industry, especially readymade garments, now contributes more than four-fifths of Bangladesh’s total exports, employs more than four million people, and adds more than one-tenth to the total GDP. Bangladesh’s garments sector has also benefited from countries like China because many sunset firms have moved there due to increasing labour costs. West Bengal could have become a strong garment hub in India if only successive state governments and policymakers had the vision and strategies in place to recognize the state’s potential. Currently, the textile and apparel sector in West Bengal accounts for about 9% of the state’s domestic product and employs around two million people. Chapter 5 of the book includes Financial Sectors in Bengals: Towards Development and Inclusion. The chapter discusses trade liberalization, and financial liberalization measures undertaken in the 1990s in Bangladesh.

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West Bengal, on the other hand has also undergone reforms undertaken for the financial sector that were initiated with the new economic policy in 1991. With the deregulation of interest rates, the introduction of prudential norms for banks, and several measures for the development of capital markets, a significant transformation took place in the context of financial markets and institutions in West Bengal as well. The discussion has been extended to include both formal and informal sectors of both entities. This chapter collates some observations about the process of financial liberalization and development in West Bengal and Bangladesh, the role of certain financial institutions, and discusses some key achievements towards financial inclusion in both the Bengals in the recent past. Chapter 6, with the title “Education in Two Bengals: A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India” deals with the education sectors of both Bengal’s, taking a long-term view as it investigates the evolution of education through civilization. The chapter gives the perspective on various forms of education that are in place in Bangladesh. A clear picture of the Madrasa and Sanskrit education in both parts has also been given. The gender-wise breakup education picture is also presented in this chapter. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of interest in obtaining a higher education; as a direct response to this demand, there has been a corresponding growth in the number of educational institutions that provide such a degree throughout the two Bengals. In the most recent few years, Bangladesh and West Bengal have both seen the development of new colleges and universities in their respective regions. Bangladesh and West Bengal governments have enacted a policy allowing private universities to be established in their respective countries. Chapter 7 compares the two areas’ health sectors and social development indicators to figure out how well they did as they grew. This chapter notes that there were historic divergences in several vital statistics measures and their explanations. Not only have illness shocks, such as the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic, but also food crises, famine, and economic causes played significant roles in determining crude mortality and birth rates, with long-term implications for both areas’ demographic profiles. Nevertheless, West Bengal (WB) had a higher crude death rate

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than East Bengal in the early 1900s. Unhealthiness is still a major factor. The Bengals’ mortality rate eventually decreased but never returned to pre-crisis levels. Smallpox, malaria, cholera, etc., were significant disease killers. Malaria, Smallpox, and cholera stopped being the leading causes of death in Bengal at the end of the nineteenth century. Bengal Calcutta and West Bengal became breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses. Air pollution and smoking are to blame. As a result, the evolution of illness loads in both Bengals remains an important statistical topic. East Bengal had a higher death rate per thousand from influenza, but the 1943– 1944 famine was the second-biggest cause. But the position has vastly improved, particularly in WB, because of the medical field’s advancement and the people’s economic well-being. This has happened due to programmes like Universal Health Coverage, increasing health expenditure and health insurance coverage, health infrastructure, etc., in both Bangladesh and West Bengal. Chapter 8 describes that in the undivided Bengal, there were four different groups of business stakeholders that each stimulated entrepreneurship in their own distinct ways. The colonial rulers found Bengal to be a desirable site due to its thriving economy and abundant natural resources. The EIC’s interests in the region primarily focused on exploiting its resources. After the demise of EIC in the early nineteenth century, agency firms began to make inroads in Bengal, establishing the framework for commercial transactions and a corporate mindset. Almost immediately, European mercantile firms (as well as international businesses) began engaging in commercial activity. Manufacturing had begun at the turn of the century at Swadeshi firms, which Bengalis controlled. The Swadeshi companies are the first known examples of native American or indigenous entrepreneurship. After both countries gained their independence, India and Bangladesh both saw a surge in the number of businesses led by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME). With these two regions, businesses dealing in textiles, leather, handicrafts, handlooms, and processed foods are excelling at the entrepreneurial level. As a result of political unrest and stringent trade union pirouettes, large firms and corporations in West Bengal have remained a phantom, although smaller and micro businesses continue to thrive in the region. The nation of Bangladesh, which has a history

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of fifty years, has maintained its eagerness and activity (through MSME initiatives) in pushing the expansion of the entrepreneurial sector. Chapter 9 on “Bangladesh and West Bengal: Changing Economic and Social Issues through Literary Perspectives” argues that since 1947, East Pakistan and (later Bangladesh) and the Indian state of West Bengal have both witnessed the birth of literary tendencies that are both similar to one another and distinct from one another, despite the fact that the two countries’ languages are not distinguishable from one another. This chapter looks at the economic, social, and political trends that have inspired the creation of abundant literature in the shape of novels, short tales, poetry, essays, and many other types of writing. The primary focus of this article is on the life stories of two Bengalis before and after 1947, with a primary emphasis on events that took place after 1971. Emphasis has been placed on the part that the middle class and the ethos it represents in both Bengals have played in the world of literature. Additionally, an emphasis has been placed on bringing to light the position of those on the periphery of society within the literary canons of both India and Bangladesh (read West Bengal). This chapter also discusses the formation of a new literary genre known as “Border Literature” in both nations, which is one of the topics covered in this chapter. This again puts the spotlight on a sizable population torn apart by the boundary, crimes, grief, and animosity that have developed along the border since 1947. Chapter 10 points out that the Bengali language is elevated to the level of only a few other major global languages, including English, Chinese, French, and Spanish, thanks to the two main Bengali cinema industries that are in Kolkata and Dhaka. This chapter examines the inner workings of two film industries that are very similar to one another but are not quite identical. These two film industries were responsible for developing a “national” cinema for independent Bangladesh and a “regional” film culture in the state of West Bengal, which is a part of India. Along the way, we note and analyse significant films, events, entities, characters, and trends that have occurred in the two Bengali film industries over the past 125 years. During our extensive exploration of the developments in the film industries of West Bengal and Bangladesh, we uncovered three unique periods of cinema culture in the two Bengals. When synchronized sound was first used in Bengali films in 1931, this period of silent

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film in Bengali cinema was officially ended. We view this time as the beginning of the second phase, which may also be referred to as both businesses’ founding and development periods. The 1970s marked the beginning of the third phase, which lasted until the 2000s and was characterized by the consolidation of both Bengali cinemas via the processes of transformation and commercialization. Chapter 11 is an interesting edition that talks about Bengali cuisine beginning from the agriculture advanced throughout the Vedic period, which began approximately 1600 BCE and persisted for an extended length of time, leading to the discovery of new kinds of food. Buddhism and Jainism, two religions that originated during this time, enacted rules and regulations concerning food and the ways in which it might be used. The preferences of kings, queens, and other members of the aristocracy shifted throughout time as agriculture advanced and society became more stratified, which was reflected in the cuisine of the time. It’s possible that the Mughals and the Sultanate brought about considerable changes in the way food was prepared, particularly regarding the kinds of materials that were used, as well as the culinary skills and cooking methods that were employed. Today’s cuisines of Bangladesh and West Bengal employ a variety of different methods to prepare food. The primary constituents, as well as the seasonings, are always the same. The demographically diverse populations of West Bengal and Bangladesh contribute to an increase in the breadth of available alternatives and the types of foods available to choose from. Chapter 12 concludes the book. It also makes some observations and policy recommendations.

References Ahsan, A. (2018). The Liberation War and Bangladesh’s Development. The Daily Star, December 1. Asadullah, N. M., Savoia, A., & Mahmud, W. (2014). Paths to Development: Is There a Bangladesh Surprise? World Development, 62(C), 138–154. Bandyopadhyay, D. (1986). Land Reforms in India: An Analysis. Economic and Political Weekly, XXI(25/26), 50–56.

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Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). (2018). Report on Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2016–17. January 2018. BBS. (2021). Sectoral Share of GDP at Current Prices, 2016–17 to 2019–20. https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/057 b0f3b_a9e8_4fde_b3a6_6daec3853586/2021-08-12-10-27-179b5340c788 c15a44a7032a41ce1776.pdf. Banik, A., & Bhandari, S. (2020). Two Bengal, Two Economies. The Daily Telegraph, November 2. Banerjee, S., & Bhaswati, S. (2020). Similarities and Celebrations of Culture Between Bengal and Bangladesh During the Covid-19 Phases. Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(4), October–December 2020. Barai, M. K. (2020). Introduction: Construction of a Development Model for Bangladesh. In M. K. Barai (Ed.), Bangladesh’s Economic and Social Progress: From a Basket to a Development Model (pp. 3–62). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1683-2 Barkat, A (ed.). (2000). An Inquiry into Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh Through the Vested Property Act: A Framework for a Realistic Solution. Dhaka: PRIP Trust. Chakravartty, G. (2007). Coming Out of Partition: Refugee Women of Bengal. www.weeklyholiday.net. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2016. Dalrymple, W. (2015). The East India Company: The Original Corporate Raiders. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/04/ east-india-company-original-corporate-raiders Elahi, K. M. (2003). Population, Spatial Distribution. In S. Islam & A. A. Jamal (Eds.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (First ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Heitzman, J., & Worden, R. L. (1988). Bangladesh: A Country Study (PDF) (p. 57). Library of Congress, September. Hossain, N. (2017). The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success. Oxford University Press. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangla desh/The-British-period-c-1700-1947 International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2022). World Economic Outlook Database: October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022. https://www.imf.org/ en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2022/October Klaus, D., Songqing, J., & Yadav, V. (1982). Long-Term Effects of Land Reform on Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from West Bengal,

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WIDER Working Paper no. 2011/82, The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki. Lieten, G. K. (1992). Continuity and Change in Rural West Bengal . New Delhi: Sage Publications. PRS Legislative Research. (2022). West Bengal Budget Analysis 2022–23. Retrieved 13 January 3, 2022. https://prsindia.org/files/budget/budget_ state/west-bengal/2022/West%20Bengal%20Budget%20Analysis%20202223.pdf Rosenstein-Rodan, P. N. (1943). Problems of Industrialization of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The Economic Journal , 53(210–211), 202–211. Tudor, M. (2018). Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Development Success, August. Accessed 12 September 2019. https://www.youthkiawaaz. com/2018/08/understanding-bangladeshs-unexpected-success/. ULCA. (2022). East India Company. https://southasia.ucla.edu/history-pol itics/british-india/east-india-company/ UNDP [United Nations Development Programme]. (2005). UN Millennium Project—Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. London: Earthscan. www.hinduonnet.com. The Hindu: A Home ... Far from Home? Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2016. Zwart., P. D., & Lucassen, J. (2020). Poverty or prosperity in northern India? New evidence on real wages, 1590s–1870s. The Economic History Review, 73(3), 644–667. https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12996

2 Macroeconomic Development of Bangladesh and West Bengal Munim Kumar Barai , Gour Gobinda Goswami , and M. Ismail Hossain

2.1

Introduction

Before leaving India in 1947, the British colonial power divided Bengal into two parts—the western part, named West Bengal, remained with India, while the eastern part joined Pakistan as erstwhile East Pakistan. The core factor that triggered the separation of these two parts was the religious differences cultivated by the colonial power till the end. However, East Pakistan’s stay with undivided Pakistan was a short-lived one. In 1971, it became an independent country called Bangladesh after a devasting 9-month war. M. K. Barai (B) College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu-Shi, Japan e-mail: [email protected] G. G. Goswami · M. I. Hossain North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_2

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With this historical background, Bangladesh and West Bengal still have much in common, including the Bengali language as their mother tongue and, to a large extent, shared culture. Together, their population was approximately 258 million in 2019, with Bangladesh’s and West Bengal’s populations standing at 161 million and 97 million, respectively. Both Bengals (Bangladesh and West Bengal) are blessed with some of the world’s most fertile land because they are geographically located in the delta of three great rivers: the Ganges (in Bangladesh, it is the Padma), the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna. Abundant rainfall and warm year-round temperatures provide an excellent climate for agriculture. The region’s dense population in 2019, i.e., 1,240 people per square kilometre in Bangladesh and 1,029 people per square kilometre in West Bengal, bears testament to the land’s fertility as well. According to experts, such agricultural abundance may have resulted in early marriage, contributing to the dense settlement in the Bengal delta (Chamberlain et al. 2019). Figure 2.1 stands as a testimony to these arguments. At the time of partition in 1947, West Bengal was the more prosperous part of the two Bengals. However, West Bengal faced numerous problems that might have impeded its economic and social development. They include the migration of a massive number of people from the former East Pakistan, which strained the state’s resources, to begin with. The flow seems to have never ended at a subaltern level since then. Moreover, for some reason, it has a history of a long-term strained and bitter relationship with the Federal Government of India. Leftists ruled the state for 34 years. It may not be an overstatement that West Bengal has remained a vessel for experimental adventurism in its development model and has suffered at the hands of errant policymakers and myopic politicians for a long time. The state is also frequented by natural calamities as well. Consequently, Bengalis in West Bengal still struggle to find what would improve their lives. Setting aside the constraints it faced, its chartered development path has led to its slide from a prosperous state to a lower position among the Indian states. This becomes clear from comparing the economic and social data of West Bengal and the other Indian states in the comparative timeframe. On the other hand, when Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation in 1971 after the liberation war against Pakistan, some critics were

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Fig. 2.1 Density of Population in Bengals. http://ilec.lakes-sys.com/portals/ region_assessment_map/1/0/3 (Note The Population Density Data was from Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network [CIESIN]. Source International Lake Environment Committee Foundations)

sceptical about the sustainability of the country as a sovereign entity in the long run. The country faced many economic disruptions, including famine, natural calamities, military coups, and fanaticism. Despite the challenges, Bangladesh, on its independent journey of 50 years, has achieved impressive economic and social progress and now is often referred to as a “Development Surprise” (Asadullah et al. 2014) or “Unexpected Success” or “Bangladesh Paradox” (Hossain 2017), or even “Miracle” (Sawada et al. 2018). In February 2021, Bangladesh formally graduated from least developing country status to that of a developing country, according to the UNDP. However, the development surprise was visible in many economic and social indicators. For instance, in 2017, the Bangladeshi population’s life expectancy stood at 72.8 years, and the literacy rate was 72.3%. In 2018, the national poverty rate decreased to 21.8%, while the extreme poverty rate dropped to 11.3%,

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and the economic growth rate reached 7.86%. Bangladesh’s economy is projected to reach US$700 billion in 2030, making it the 26th largest economy in the world (Henry and Pomeroy 2018). Even with COVID19, Bangladesh is likely to “leave the LDC category by 2024” (UNDESA 2018). How do Bangladesh and West Bengal, India compare in terms of economic and social progress? A broader macro perspective shows that Bangladesh now has a leg up on West Bengal in some comparable areas, and vice versa, due to recent progress. Comparing these two entities brings one fundamental question to the fore: the feasibility of comparing one sovereign state with just a province of another country. But it might be possible to look at where they are now to see how far they have come on their path to development. For example, according to the World Bank, the economy of Bangladesh, on average, grew by 6.55% in the decades 2010–2011 and 2019–2020.1 The IMF’s World Economic Outlook projects that Bangladesh’s economy will be $397 billion in 2022, with a per capita income of $2362 (IMF 2022). On the other hand, the GDP of West Bengal is projected to reach about $210 billion in 2022–2023, with a per capita income of $2,100 (PRS Legislative Research 2022). The 34-year rule of the Left Front (1977–2011) has had a lasting effect on the macroeconomic and social management of West Bengal. Though state-initiated land redistribution among farmers by the same party2 has played a positive role in agricultural production and social empowerment in West Bengal, it does not fare well in terms of the province’s overall economic and social progress. In terms of development, it is falling behind many Indian states. Also, the gaps in progress between Bangladesh and West Bengal are increasing in some areas. The objective of this chapter is to discuss the macroeconomic development of the two Bengals and compare them. With that aim, the chapter progresses into four more sections. Section 2.2 includes a brief review 1

The growth rate of GDP at constant prices (Source World Bank). The public initiative of registering the names of sharecroppers in 1978 ensured the rights of bargadars on land for generations. The second and third amendments of the Land Reforms Act came into force in 1981 and 1986, respectively. In West Bengal, between 1980–1981 and 1990–1991, the landholding position of the scheduled groups—both in terms of area as well as number—was much better than any other state (Singh 2019).

2

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of the literature. Section 2.3 introduces the economic development of Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. Section 2.4 makes a comparative discussion of their economic progress, and Sect. 2.5 concludes the chapter.

2.2

Literature Review

The literature on the comparative macroeconomic development of Bangladesh and West Bengal is limited. The main reason could be the federal nature of India, where regional comparison-based studies are less prominent. But the historical context of Bengal and its heritage call for a stock-taking of these two entities because they share a common culture, language, and heritage. They have 1905, 1911, and 1947 in common. The area of Bengal had the historical connotation of liberating people from the imperialist society of the British regime. Bengal has produced leaders like Surja Sen, Khudiram, Netaji Shubash Chandra Bose, Hossain Shaheed Shuwardy, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bengal has also produced Rabindra Nath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Amartya Sen, and Abhijit Banerjee. In fifty years of independence, Bangladesh has become a developing country. West Bengal is also trying to establish itself as a growth hub in India by introducing many infrastructural developments. This paper tries to make a comparative macroeconomic assessment between these two Bengals. This will help determine what went right and wrong in the development strategies of these two Bengals, who started their journey on equal footing. Indeed, a broad-based research paper encompassing an in-depth comparison needs to be included in the literature. With this backdrop, the available literature can be classified into five categories: First, a set of studies deals with former India (or Bengal) before partition in 1947. The noteworthy studies are (Saha 1930; Zwart and Lucassen 2020). Second, a set of studies deals with West Bengal after the partition in 1947 (Klass and Morton 1996; Bagchi 1998; Guruswamy et al. 2005; Raychaudhuri and Das 2005; Bandyopadhyay 2009; Karak 2017; Kumar et al. 2020; Nayak and Sahoo 2022). Third, a set of studies exclusively deals with Bangladesh after 1971 (Baxter 1997; Khan 2010;

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Barai 2020; Hossain 2020; Basu 2021). Fourth, a smaller number of studies deals with West Bengal vis-à-vis other states of India (Khasnobis 2008; Mandal 2016; Biswas and Das 2018; Ghatak 2021; Haq 2021; Nayak and Sahoo 2022). Fifth, a growing literature deals with comparative studies on Bangladesh and West Bengal (Lahiri and Yi 2005; De and Bhattacharya 2007; Chatterjee 2009; Kamal 2009; Guha 2012; Gupta 2012; Kumar et al. 2020; Nayak and Sahoo 2020). If we examine the existing literature, we can observe that the macroeconomic comparison between the two Bengals, which have undergone several regime shifts over the last fifty years since 1972, needs to be included. This is the research gap that we want to fill in on this piece of paper.

2.3

Bangladesh and West Bengal on the Economic Development Path

Fifty years have passed since Bangladesh achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971, and this era becomes the focus of discussion on its economic progress. During this period, Bangladesh witnessed a shortterm socialist regime from 1972 to 1975. It then experienced a Uturn after the assassination of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The country’s political power changed hands, and military dictators took over. They ruled the country until 1990. Then democracy was restored once again through a caretaker government system in 1991. The democratic exercise in Bangladesh has since remained in place for the most part. Since its birth, Bangladesh has had a unitary system of government in place. On the other hand, West Bengal falls under the federal system within India, which is one of the largest democracies in the world. India has also followed a sustainable parliamentary democracy since 1947. During British rule, this part of India was dominated by Marxist–Leninists, and they took power in West Bengal with a landslide majority. The Indian National Congress ruled the state only for a short while (1972–1977). The left front took over and continued ruling the state for 34 years

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(1977–2011), led by the iron man Jyoti Basu, a leader whose ancestors originated from Bangladesh (former East Bengal). The Trinamul Congress, led by former Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, took over in 2011 and has remained in power.

2.3.1 Bangladesh Post-independence Bangladesh experienced all the challenges that an undeveloped country faces. Indeed, it “was near the bottom of all economic and social indexes” at the beginning of its existence as a new nation (Mahmud et al. 2018). The combination of natural and monetary shocks coupled with external shocks resulted in slow growth of the GDP, higher and more variable annual inflation, and extremely high poverty. However, in the recent past, such a dismal picture has been replaced by a cautiously optimistic view of the country’s economic progress and development potential. The interplay of various development attempts with internal and external elements (Rahman 2018) appears to have played a key role in forming a development framework. As an independent nation, Bangladesh could quickly formulate its foreign policy, exchange rate management, trade, and commerce with the rest of the world. Its growing textile trade and remittances reached every corner of the world. Domestically, the economic growth rate reached more than 8% in 2019, thanks to various large-scale push projects. Moreover, it has made significant socioeconomic progress throughout the years. But COVID-19 has adversely impacted Bangladesh’s “development glory” and the pandemic has raised the question of whether its development pace will sustain or not. In the following part of the discussion, we will focus on some of the macroeconomic variables of Bangladesh to give a picture of its progression in these areas since independence. The items include variables like growth, savings, investment, fiscal, inflation, external sector, poverty, and inequality.

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2.3.1.1 Growth, Saving, and Investment In the seventies, when Bangladesh suffered from a series of real and monetary shocks of both domestic and foreign origins, then the economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.73%. The devastating flood of 1974 caused negative growth of more than 4.00% in that year. In the eighties, Bangladesh began to introduce reforms in the economy under the structural adjustment programmes of the World Bank and the IMF, making the economy more market-oriented (Hossain et al. 1998). In some cases, the programmes required sector- and institution-specific reforms with specific targets. The reforms were undertaken to improve the macroeconomic as well as the sectoral performance of the economy. Nonetheless, two consecutive floods in 1987–1988 and 1988–1989 destroyed crops and damaged manufacturing machinery. They wreaked havoc on the economy, resulting in 2.42 and 2.84% growth rates, respectively. The growth rate improved marginally in the eighties to 4.02%. There were significant changes in the growth rate in the seventies and eighties, but the changes were less extreme in the eighties (Table 2.1). Bangladesh started to make more concerted efforts at reform in the nineties in many sectors and institutions, including its trade regime, financial industry, and foreign exchange regime. For several years in the 1990s, annual growth rates exceeded 5%, raising hopes for an economic transition to a higher growth path (Mujeri and Hossain 2001). Despite the flood in 1998–1999, the economy grew by 4.67% due to a proactive post-flood rehabilitation programme implemented by the government with a focus on agriculture. The average growth rate for the decade was 4.72%, one percentage point higher than the 1970s and 0.70% points higher than the 1980s. It is important to note that the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 did not affect Bangladesh’s economy. Bangladesh began the new millennium with more than 5% growth, only to fall to 3.83% the following year (2001–2002). In the new millennium’s first decade, the average annual growth rate was nearly 5.6%, about one percentage point higher than in the 1990s. The economy grew at 6.46% in FY 2010–2011. An increasing trend in growth was observed as the years passed, reaching 8.15% in FY 2018–2019. This was the highest growth rate ever achieved in Bangladesh, raising hope for

GDPa

49,853 124,369 196,050 406,933 737,571 1,525,180 2,685,033 4,270,741 7,975,387 9,158,288 10,552,040 11,989,232 13,436,700 15,158,000 20,758,000 23,243,000

Year

1972–1973 1974–1975 1979–1980 1984–1985 1989–1990 1994–1995 1999–2000 2004–2005 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017

3.32 –4.09 0.82 3.34 5.62 5.12 5.29 6.54 5.57 6.46 6.52 6.01 6.06 6.55 7.11 7.28

GDP growthb – 70.21 13.03 14.70 6.05 5.31 6.11 7.59 5.42 8.13 11.40 6.22 7.53 6.99 6.19 5.51

Inflationc 3.01 6.27 15.29 12.94 12.8 16.63 23 24.5 26.3 27.5 28.3 28.3 28.6 28.9 29.7 30.5

Invest (percent)d

6.13 10.3 2.21 7.05 8.13 11.4 6.22 7.53 6.99 6.19 5.51 5.70

Inflation

Table 2.1 GDP and GDP growth rates for broad sectors of Bangladesh

529 563 997 1200 1867 4122 6588 9995 18,472 25,627 26,887 29,305 32,830 33,820 36,865 37,547

Exports (current US$)e

(continued)

959 1575 3244 2860 4126 6581 9061 13,891 25,106 35,374 37,272 40,135 44,128 48,281 47,172 50,611

Imports (current US$)e

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26,392,000 29,514,000 31,705,000 35,302,000

2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2021

7.86 8.15 3.51 5.47

GDP growthb 5.70 5.54 5.59 5.69

Inflationc 31.23 31.5 30.5 29.8

Invest (percent)d 5.54 5.59 5.69 na

Inflation 40,560 46,364 38,734 na

Exports (current US$)e 64,246 64,859 59,861 na

Imports (current US$)e

Note a GDP at current prices (million taka) [Source Twenty Years of National Accounting of Bangladesh (1972–1973–1991–1992), BBS; Bangladesh National Accounts Statistics: Sources and Methods (Revised estimates from 1995–1996 to 2013–2014; Bangladesh Economic Review 2022, 2008, 2001)] b Growth rates of GDP at constant prices (Source World Bank) c Inflation, as measured by the annual growth rate of the GDP implicit deflator, shows the rate of price change in the economy as a whole. The GDP implicit deflator is the ratio of GDP in current local currency to GDP in constant local currency (Source World Bank) d Investment as a percentage of GDP e Exports and Imports of goods and services are in millions of current US$ Source GDP at current prices (million takas) [Source Twenty Years of National Accounting of Bangladesh (1972–1973– 1991–1992), BBS; Bangladesh National Accounts Statistics: Sources and Methods (Revised estimates from 1995–1996 to 2013–2014; Bangladesh Economic Review 2022, 2008, 2001)]

GDPa

Year

Table 2.1 (continued)

36 M. K. Barai et al.

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Bangladesh achieving double-digit growth in a few years, as China has experienced for quite some time. The annual average growth rate during this period was 6.89%. The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019–2020 and the worldwide public response to mitigate the disease’s incidence significantly negatively impacted growth in other countries. As a result, the growth rate fell to 3.51% in 2019–2020, bringing the decade’s average growth rate to 6.25%. As the economy adjusted to the new normal of exports and remittances, the growth rate rebounded to 5.47%. It is to be noted that Bangladesh is considered a success story in COVID-19 management and achieving recovery within the shortest possible time. One noticeable macroeconomic feature of the Bangladesh economy is the low rate of domestic savings (domestic savings as a proportion of GDP) that prevailed in the 1970s and the 1980s. Low per capita income constrained the ability of households to save, and financial repression, which made real interest rates low and sometimes negative, reduced the incentive to save. Consequently, the saving rate usually fluctuated between 0.50% in FY 1981–1982 to about 3.5% in 1986–1987, except in FY 1976–1977 when it experienced a one-time increase to 6%. There were also two annual episodes when saving rates were negative, i.e., domestic consumption was financed by borrowing. Rahman (1992) and Hossain et al. (1998) both say that the goodwill and generosity of donors made saving less critical. In the early nineties, the savings rate experienced a gradual increase from 4.13 to 8.34%. There was a discrete jump in the domestic savings rate to 14.7% in 1995–1996, partly owing to revising and rebasing the country’s national income accounts with 1995–1996 as the base year (Mujeri and Hossain 2001). After that, the domestic savings rate exhibited an upward trend, with annual fluctuations peaking at 25.3% in 2015–2016. The long-term movement of domestic savings shows an increase from 0.11% in the 1970s to 23.01% in the 2010s. Interestingly, the national savings rate has consistently exceeded the domestic savings rate because of increasing net current transfers (NGO transfers, remittances, and government grants), which outweighed the negative net factor income from abroad and added to domestic savings. Remittances

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have been the most crucial component of current transfers, which have risen from $11.8 million in 1974–1975 to $25 billion in 2020–2021, or 6.01% of GDP. With low savings in the 1970s, investment as a percentage of GDP was also low. Investment increased from 3.01% in 1972–1973 to 30% in 2020–2021, with annual fluctuations throughout the period. In total, investment fluctuated between 12.44 and 16.22%, with an average of 13.49% in the 1980s. Investment in FY1991 because of the political turmoil in the country. There was an upturn in investment in FY 1993, and the upward trend has continued. But there have been times when nothing has changed. In the first half of the 2010s, investment stayed around 26%. Because of the liberalization of the economy, private investment increased in the eighties, as did public investment, and consequently, their relative role in the economy remained stable. An analysis of the growth shows some distinct trends over the long run: Firstly, the investment rate trended upward from about 7% in 1973– 1974 to 31.5% in 2018–2019 before it declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, there has been sustained improvement in investment rates in the 2010s before slackening in FY2020 when COVID-19 emerged. Finally, the annual average growth rate of public investment varied from about 5% to about 7% across decades. In contrast, private investment changed from about 5.3% to about 23% during this period, with the largest jump of about 7% recorded in the 2000s. This is because the government wants to support the economy and let the private sector take the lead.

2.3.1.2 The Fiscal Sector In the immediate post-independence period, the tax capacity of the economy was weak because of the shrinking tax base caused by the devastation of the economy. As the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the economy progressed with the return to normalcy and the impact of the world energy price shock, flood, and famine dissipated, fiscal performance started to improve. The government’s revenue/GDP ratio gradually improved with annual fluctuations to 8.4% in FY1980 from

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5.0% in FY1973, resulting in a yearly average of 7%. The revenue-toGDP ratio continued to increase in the following two decades, reaching about 10% in the 1990s. After a slight decrease in the 2000s, the average annual revenue/GDP ratio increased to around 11% in the 2010s. Despite efforts to enhance domestic resource mobilization, The tax-toGDP ratio in Bangladesh has been low relative to the levels attained by countries at similar levels of economic and social development. Ahmed (2020) says that Bangladesh’s lack of tax reforms is to blame for its low tax performance and weak and stagnant revenue structure. During the 1990s, VAT was put in place at the same time as a major change to the trading system. Quantity limits were lifted, and customs duties were lowered. Tax system reforms, particularly in international trade taxes, continued from 2000 to 2010. An ambitious reform effort was attempted in 2011 by the government through its Tax Modernization Plan. The only visible progress was in the computerization of VAT administration. Another attempt by the government to modernize and expand the scope of VAT through the “VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012” failed. During the study period, government expenditure relative to GDP ranged from 8% to about 19%. However, most of the annual variation occurred within a narrow range of 14–17%. The average annual government spending as a percentage of GDP over the past 10 years has been between 13 and 17%. This shows that there is no clear trend. In the early seventies, when government revenue was low, the pressure on revenue expenditure was mounting because of the need to rehabilitate the war-ravaged economy, rebuild infrastructure, and expand the provincial administration to the level of national government administration. As a result, government revenue expenditure exceeded government revenue, leading to negative government savings. Gradually, revenue performance began to improve, and revenue expenditure relative to GDP declined in the 1980s. Government savings started to finance the government’s Annual Development Programme. Bangladesh depends heavily on foreign aid to finance its fiscal deficit. However, the share of foreign financing has declined over time, from more than 90% in the 1980s to around 30% in the 2010s. Correspondingly, the share of domestic financing has increased. Except for a few exceptional years,

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one notable aspect of budget management has been the reduction of the fiscal deficit from a relatively high level to around 5% of GDP since the 1990s. “This is a great achievement for a developing country like Bangladesh, which faces political instability, revenue constraints, and recurring natural calamities” (Mansur 2020).

2.3.1.3 Inflation Bangladesh experienced an average annual inflation rate of 6.6% in the 1960s, followed by two years of deflation. In the immediate postindependence period, inflation reached an all-time high of around 57% per year in FY 1973, before falling to 41% the following year. Inflation peaked at 71% in FY1975, driven by agricultural production losses due to flooding, large deficit financing, a global oil price shock, and a rise in food grain prices on the global market due to crop failure (Hossain et al. 1998). In April 1975, the government demonetized the 100-taka notes (the highest-valued currency) to neutralize the effect of fake currency on the economy. This not only arrested the growth of the money supply but also dampened the inflationary expectations of people. Though inflation fell in the second half of the 1970s, the average annual inflation rate in the 1970s was 32.29%, nearly five times higher than the rate in the 1960s. However, the average annual inflation rate declined from 8.77% in the 1980s to its lowest level of 5.30% in the 1990s. Inflation reversed in the 2000s, reaching 6.64% in the 2010s. The highest level of inflation in the last two and a half decades occurred in FY2011, which was fueled by soaring food prices, upward adjustment of fuel and power prices, and exchange rate depreciation. Even though crops were at an all-time high and the government had a lot of food on hand, food prices went up. This was blamed on inefficient markets and hoarding.

2.3.1.4 External Sector A remarkable achievement of the Bangladesh economy has been its ability to take advantage of emerging global opportunities gradually. In

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the early years, the importance of primary commodity exports shifted from domestically produced agricultural raw materials such as jute and processed jute goods to readymade garment exports based primarily on imported intermediate materials such as fabrics and accessories. The openness of the economy has gradually expanded, with the trade/GDP ratio ranging from 11.0% in FY1975 to more than 48% in FY2012. However, trade/GDP has been declining since 2012 and is expected to fall to around 31% by 2020. The average trade-to-GDP ratio went from around 19% in the 1970s to more than 40% in the 2010s. This shows that the economy is more than twice as connected to the global market as it was in the 1970s. Exports displayed irregular fluctuations in the seventies and early eighties. Exports began to increase steadily from US$11.98 million in 1985 to US$46,363.75 million in 2019, followed by a decline in the COVID-19 pandemic period. Over the years, there have been significant periodic fluctuations in imports, with years of a mild or sharp increase followed by years of a mild or sharp decline. Nonetheless, Bangladeshi imports increased from $2.86 billion in 1985 to $64.24 billion in 2019 (World Bank 2022). The current account balance (CAB) was consistently negative in the 1970s and 1980s. The current account balance (CAB) has swung between a positive and negative balance in the remaining period. The deficit in its trade balance, with larger deficits relative to GDP in the seventies and early eighties. During the remaining period, deficits as a percentage of GDP ranged mostly between 4 and 7.5%. However, when CAB was negative, its size was smaller than the corresponding annual trade deficit because of positive net private transfers, including remittance. Remittance has played an important role in determining the CAB’s shape and size. A positive CAB has resulted in the years when current transfers, dominated by remittances, have more than compensated for the deficits in trade, services, and income accounts. Otherwise, CAB has been negative. Remittances have increased with annual fluctuations, reaching US$24,777.7 million in FY2021 from a meagre 18.76 million in FY1976. Remittances as a percentage of GDP have been going up for a long time, with small changes every year. They went from a very small 0.19% in FY1976 to 10.6% in 2012.

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2.3.1.5 Poverty and Inequality Bangladesh has made impressive progress in reducing the incidence of poverty in the past 50 years. However, poverty reduction was not steady, and the rate of poverty reduction varied over the years. In 1973–1974, the poverty rate in rural areas was 63.3%, and urban areas had a lower rate at 51.9%. In 1976–1977, the rural poverty rate peaked at 78.9%, and urban poverty peaked at 68.4% in 1977–1978. In subsequent years, poverty declined but remained above the initial levels. Thus, poverty remained at high levels without any noticeable trend in the seventies. The observed rate was caused by a number of economic shocks, such as the Bhola Cyclone of 1970, the Liberation War of 1971, the flood and famine of 1974, the oil price shock of 1973, the sharp devaluation of 1975, and the high and fluctuating rate of inflation, especially the rise in global food prices. However, many anti-poverty measures in the 1980s helped all counts of poverty decline. From 1981–1982 to 1991–1992, for example, rural poverty fell by 26.4% points, or at an annual average rate of 2.64%, while urban poverty fell by 19.3% points, or at an annual average rate of 1.93%. As a result, the national poverty rate has steadily decreased by 15.1% points, or at an annual rate of 1.89%. But the rate at which extreme poverty has gone down has been slower than that of absolute poverty (Fig. 2.2). During the period from 1995–1996 to 2016–2017, poverty declined, but at a slower rate for both absolute and extreme poverty. In the case of absolute poverty, national, rural, and urban poverty declined at the rates of 1.23, 1.34, and 0.42%, respectively. In the case of extreme poverty, poverty in urban areas again declined at a slower rate than in rural areas. One reason for the slower decline in poverty is the existence of hard-toreach groups among the poor. Another reason is the lack of expansion in job opportunities in the growing manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, Bangladesh has shown the potential for continuity of such progress in the future, and its efforts have been recognized as achieving MDG Goal 1 Target 1 of halving extreme poverty in 2015 from its level in 1990. Bangladesh is on track to meet Goal 1, Target 1.1, which is to end

43

1999-00

2004-05

2009-10

Poverty

2015-16

2016-17

11.30

12.1

21.8

23.1

24.3 12.90

17.60

31.5

25.1

40.0

34.3

48.9

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Extreme poverty

Fig. 2.2 Poverty in Bangladesh (percent) (Source BBS)

extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. This is measured by the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day. Nonetheless, slowing down poverty reduction in the face of robust growth seems to have caused increased inequality in society. Income and consumption growth benefits are increasingly concentrated in the upperincome groups. During the period from 1973 to 1991, the national Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, fluctuated between 0.36 and 0.39, followed by an increase to 0.43 in 1995–1996 and then a continued increase to 0.48 in 2016–2017. The Gini coefficient in rural areas increased from 0.35 in 1973 to 0.44 in 2016–2017, with annual fluctuations. The Gini coefficient in urban areas increased from 0.38 in 1973 to 0.50 in 2000. In recent years, the Gini coefficient in urban areas has fallen. In a word, the progress of Bangladesh in just 50 years is remarkable in South Asia. The country has become an emerging economy in South Asia and a symbol of hope and aspiration for many independent states worldwide.

2.3.2 West Bengal West Bengal has undergone a major shift in its development strategies, being far ahead of many states but lagging behind some developed states

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of India due to its socioeconomic, political, and macroeconomic development. It is one of the provinces under the Indian federal system that has a limited number of macroeconomic policy options in the hand of the local government compared to what the government of Bangladesh can exercise. But the centre–state borrowing mechanism is one of the areas where it may feel less pressure than Bangladesh, which has to agree to stricter conditions for borrowing from outside the country. To understand the macroeconomic development in West Bengal, we have identified a few areas for our discussion. The indicators are nominal and real GDP, as well as per capita real GDP at level and growth rate, the sectoral contribution from agriculture, industry, and service sectors, inflation rate (rural, urban, and national), inequality, employment level, and fiscal variables.

2.3.2.1 GDP and Sectoral Growth As previously stated, West Bengal is expected to have a $210 billion economy by 2022; it also maintained a positive growth rate during COVID-19 in 2020–2021, when the overall Indian economy contracted by 7.25%. However, from 2004–2005 to 2016–2017, the state lagged the Indian average growth rate for most of the time. It is perplexing to see West Bengal’s economic growth rate continue to fall from 8.03% in 2009–2010 to 2.84% in 2014–2015. During this time, the ruling parties shifted from the left to the Trinamool Congress (in 2011). The left parties’ last phase witnessed severe political turmoil, which seemed to have affected economic growth even after the change of power. However, from 2015 on, the economy seemed to have been pushed back to the growth track, which was again facing the COVID-19 headwind. In 2020–2021, the WB’s economy recorded a growth of 1.06%, though India as a whole recorded a massive economic contraction of 7.25% in the same year (Fig. 2.3). We need to assess further the 34 years of rule of the Left Front since 1977 and another 11 years of the Trinamool Congress of West Bengal since 2011. Overall, this period does show relative political stability in the state, as only two governments ruled the state. Surprisingly, other

2 Macroeconomic Development of Bangladesh …

India

45

West Bengal

10 8.03 7.79 7.76 7.2 8 6.29 6.36 6.35 6.13 6.13 5.78 4.9 4.72 4.17 6 3.01 2.84 4 1.06 2 0 -2 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 -4 -6 -8 -7.25 -10

Fig. 2.3 GDP growth rate of India and West Bengal (in percent) (Source Constructed. Data for India: Economic Survey 2021–2022 [Base Year: 2011– 2012] and for West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012])

parties dominated India’s central governments during this time period, indicating a political break from the centre–state relationship. Nevertheless, the relative political stability in West Bengal prevented it from performing better on the economic front during these two long rules. Most of the measures of economic prosperity reflect this downturn. For instance, “In terms of per capita state domestic product (SDP), West Bengal had been the richest state in India in 1960. By the end of the last millennium, the state’s SDP (per capita) rank had declined to nine. In 1947, the state’s share in the country’s total industrial production was 24%. By the time the left front came to power, it had already decreased to 11.9%. The next 30 years registered a further decline, and the state, which was known as the most industrialized state of India, contributes now only 4.6% in the industrial output of India” (Khasnabis 2008: 104) (Fig. 2.4, Table 2.2). However, a further assessment of economic growth may explain the relative decline of West Bengal in recent years, particularly in the new millennium. Interestingly, the average PCNSDP growth rate of West Bengal during 2000–2005 was even marginally higher than that of the rest of India. The rate of growth gap merged by 1.3% between 2005 and 2010. Between 2000 and 2010, the gap was 0.6%. The situation appears

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8.00% 7% 6.00% 4.00%

5.50% 4.60%

4.10% 4%

5.70%

5.50% 4.90%

5.20% 4.20%

2.00% 0.00% Growth (1994- Growth (2000- Growth (2005- Growth (2000- Growth (20122000) 2005) 2010) 2010) 2020) West Bengal

India

Fig. 2.4 West Bengal and India-growth rate of Per Capita Net State Domestic Product (PCNSDP at constant prices) (Note Growth Data from 1993–1994, 1999– 2000, 2004–2005, and 2011–2012 have been used as base years for growth data of 1994–2000. Similarly, 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2012–2020, respectively. All growth rates presented are averages of year-on-year annual growth rates. Source Ghatak [2021] and RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy)

to have deteriorated during the TMC Party’s tenure in power from 2012 to 2020, with the PCNSDP growth rate in India standing at an annual average of 5.20% versus 4.2% in West Bengal. Table 2.2 shows the sectoral economic growth in West Bengal since 1994. West Bengal performed well in agriculture during the leftist regime. Among the three sectors, the growth in the agricultural sector seems to have remained a strong point, and the sector has consistently done better than the national level of growth in the same sector through 2020. Though the growth rate declined substantially to 2.4% between 2000 and 2010, it was still higher than the national average rate during that period. For the period 2012–2020, growth increased slightly to 3.3%. It would be helpful to list the major agricultural crops and allied segments of West Bengal in 2015. As per the order of weight against the national output share, they are jute, betel, cauliflower, cabbage, inland fish, tea, paddy, etc. Interestingly, in India, WB is the largest producer of rice. In 2017–2018, its rice production totaled 14.99 million tons (IBEF 2022). But West Bengal’s main crop, rice, is much less productive than in Punjab or Andhra Pradesh (Khasnabis 2008).

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Table 2.2 West Bengal and India—sectoral GDP growth (constant prices), 1994– 2020 (in percent) Year

WB

India

Agriculture Manufacturing Services Agriculture Manufacturing Services 1994– 2000 2000– 2010 2012– 2020

4.2

7.3

9.4

2.6

7

7.9

2.4

7.1

10.1

2.1

7.4

8.5

3.3

6.6

6.5

1.6

8.6

7.9

Source Ghatak and RBI

An interesting aspect of the agricultural sector of West Bengal is that it is still deriving the benefits of land reform that the Left Front government implemented. However, the story that has remained unsung is the growth of the manufacturing and service sectors of West Bengal between 1994 and 2010, when the manufacturing sector grew almost at par or higher than the national rate. During the same time, the service sector recorded a perceived higher growth rate than the national average. The period between 2012 and 2020 of the TMC rule seems to have failed to keep the growth momentum in both these sectors as their growth rates declined below the national average rates. It should be noted that West Bengal is a key hub for the jute and tea industries thanks to the natural resources like tea and jute found there and in the neighbouring areas. The state produces leather and products linked to leather, making it one of the leaders in leather goods manufacturing. The state is a major producer of sugar, chemicals, alloy steel, and fertilizers.

2.3.2.2 Exports and External Sector West Bengal is one of the Indian federal constituents. So, getting access to data related to its external sector becomes very difficult due to the unavailability of data for one state’s exports and remittances from the rest. However, among the Indian states, WB is a major exporter of products related to leather, information and communication technology, jute and textile goods, agricultural items including shrimp and tea, coal,

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transport items, etc. It accounts for about 50% of India’s leather goods exports (IBEF 2022). The USA, the EU, Japan, Iran, etc., are the major importers of West Bengal’s exports. West Bengal earns remittances from the state’s migrants. However, it is almost impossible to offer realistic data as many workers migrate domestically, and those who go abroad send their money back home, while multiple federal and state remittance sources are used for sending the money back home.

2.3.2.3 Poverty and Unemployment Poverty is one of the areas where West Bengal has performed much better in recent times, particularly under the TMC rule, as the state-level poverty position came down to 14% against the Indian overall figure of 22.8%. Studies have put forward several explanations for this phenomenon. Bhattacharya and Devulapalli (2019) argued that agricultural growth, thanks to the land reforms of the Left Government and expenditures on social welfare schemes, caused a rapid improvement in rural per capita consumption expenditure. This resulted in a sharp drop in poverty in the state from 20 to 14% between 2011–2012 and 2017–2018 (Fig. 2.5). This was indeed the highest decline for any Indian state (Jha et al. 2022). Ghatak (2021), however, argues that the amount spent on rural welfare schemes is minuscule, and that may not significantly increase the rural per capita consumption expenditure. So, other factors, including higher employment, remittances from domestic migrants, etc., might be contributing to this increase. However, this strategy of benefiting the rural or agriculture sector more may be at the cost of urban and industrial or service sector development (Jha et al. 2022). West Bengal has had labour market issues as a result of high rates of unemployment in both urban and rural areas (Table 2.3). Interestingly, the urban unemployment rate in India is higher than the rural rate. In West Bengal, the same tendency may be observed. However, West Bengal’s performance under the TMC has been more prominent in terms of reducing both rural and urban unemployment (between 2011–2012

49

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0.9

2012-2018 Change

-6

-4.2

2000-2012 Change

-7 22.8

2017-18

14 21.9

2011-12

20 26.1 27

1999-2000 -10

-5

0

5

10

India

15

20

25

30

WB

Fig. 2.5 West Bengal and India—poverty position, 1994–2020 (in percent) (Source Ghatak [2021] and Bhattacharya and Devulapalli [2019])

and 2017–2018). Though the most current figures show an increase in the unemployment rate, it has continued to be lower than the national average. According to Table 2.3, the urban and rural unemployment rates in 2018–2019 were 4.9 and 3.5%, respectively. The figures for the country were 7.7 and 5.0%, respectively. Keep in mind that formal sector employment in West Bengal grew from 18.0% in 2011–2012 to 22.0% in 2017–2018 (Jha et al. 2022). But that does not change much about the fact that a large number of people still work in the “unorganized sector”.

2.3.2.4 The Fiscal Sector In the fiscal sector, both West Bengal and India followed deficit budget management throughout the last decade or more, but West Bengal has been found to be more cautious regarding spending. This could also be due to the fact that the opposition was in power the whole time, which caused the government to manage the budget in a conservative way. This could affect GDP growth at the state level, while Bangladesh can borrow

1993–1994 25 17 2004–2005 62 45

1999–2000 76 47

2004–2005

28 15

1999–2000

2009–2010 40 34

19 16

2009–2010

2011–2012 48 34

27 17

2011–2012

2017–2018 65 78

38 53

2017–2018

2018–2019 49 77

35 50

2018–2019

Note Employment figures are the sum of principal status and subsidiary status Source NSSO Employment & Unemployment Survey Reports; NITI Aayog; and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), NSO

West Bengal 18 All India 12 Urban overall (per thousands) State/Union Territory 1993–1994 West Bengal 79 All India 45

State/Union Territory

Table 2.3 State-wise unemployment rate—(adjusted usual status) rural overall (per thousands)

50 M. K. Barai et al.

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money from other countries if it needs to. One noticeable thing is that even during the COVID-19 crisis, the West Bengal government did not engage in too much liberal borrowing. We find some similarity in this kind of COVID-19 management in other federal systems, like the USA, where many states needed to be in line with the central government in spending COVID-19 rescue packages, which slowed down their recovery from the pandemic. They had to wait for the central government to make a decision in this regard (Fig. 2.6 and Table 2.4). Social service sector expenditure as a percent of GDP in India has reduced from 10.35% of GDP in 2010–2011 to 4.94% in 2020–2021 (MTFPS 2022–2023). In the same period, the corresponding figure as a percent of State GDP is 9.38–19.01%, which means the state policy has some unique characteristics which are quite different, and it is tilted towards the left, whereas the centre is tilted more towards the market. The same pattern can also be seen in agricultural and agri-allied rural development. The figure grew up from 4.15 to 9.79%. That is why even though the leftist party is not in power, the current state Government has not completely abandoned its pro-poor village and pro-poor policies, which might have some implications for equity at the cost of efficiency. 14.00 12.00 10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00 2.00 0.00

WB FD as Percent of GSDP 1

FD as Percent of GDP India 2

Fig. 2.6 Fiscal deficit of West Bengal vis-a-vis India

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Table 2.4 Fiscal deficit of West Bengal India, 2010–2011 to 2022–2023

Financial year 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2021 2021–2022 (Revised Estimate) 2022–2023 (Provisonal Estimate)

Fiscal deficit (crores of Indian rupees)

Gross state GDP WB

WB FD as percent of GSDP

FD as percent of GDP Indiaa

19,534.96 17,704.88 19,146.64 25,347.9 27,345.29 20,890.69 25,385.4 28,930.9 33,485.55 36,831.07 44,687.65 53,431.76

460,959 520,485 591,464 676,848 718,082 797,300 872,527 974,700 1,102,283 1,207,823 1,301,017 1,536,681

4.24 3.40 3.24 3.74 3.81 2.62 2.91 2.97 3.04 3.05 3.43 3.48

4.9 4.5 4.1 3.9 3.5 3.5 3.4 4.6 9.2 6.8

62,397.01

1,713,154

3.64

Source: Medium-term fiscal policy statement & fiscal policy strategy statement for 2022–2023, West Bengal a Union

2.4

Budget Documents

Bangladesh and West Bengal of India: Macroeconomics in a Comparative Setting

The macroeconomic development of West Bengal is inseparable from the macroeconomic development of India. This issue should be considered when we compare West Bengal with Bangladesh. It is to be noted that, due to globalization and increased migration of people worldwide, the concepts of nation and nationalism are gradually becoming more dominant than countries and states. This is happening not only in South Asia, but it is equally true in other parts of the world. A word of caution on the variability of the data reference should be given here. As we have used data from various sources, there is a possibility of differences as they may differ based on the method, base period, and type of year used. We are aware of this possibility and would like to caution the reader about it.

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2.4.1 Real GDP Growth Rate Using this indicator, we can easily understand how vibrant West Bengal is compared to Bangladesh and India over the last fifteen years, from 2014–2005 to 2019–2020. Figure 2.7 shows that Bangladesh performed better in terms of real GDP growth rate, especially in recent times. Looking at the two growth lines for two entities, the line for Bangladesh fluctuates less than that of West Bengal. However, the growth line for West Bengal stayed above the line for Bangladesh till 2009–2010. The political turmoil and change of political power in West Bengal seem to play a role in this regard. On the other hand, Bangladesh has had a stable political environment since 2008 under the current Awami League government under the premiership of Sheikh Hasina. The development push of the present government is reflected through the “big push” to construct various big infrastructure projects throughout the country. Figure 2.3 shows growth data for the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPI-M) rule only between 2006 and 2010, out of 34 years (1977–2011). Interestingly, during that time, West Bengal was faring better than Bangladesh. But when the TMC took over in 2011, West Bengal started lagging India and Bangladesh for a fairly long time. 2006 2021 10 8 2020 6 2019 4 2 2018 0

2007 2008 2009 2010

2017

2011

2016

2012 2015

2013 2014

West Bengal

Bangladesh

Fig. 2.7 Real GDP growth rate for Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2006–2021 (Source Bangladesh: WDI [Base Year: 2015 Constant US Dollar], West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012])

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However, the performance of West Bengal has remained slightly better during the COVID-19 period compared to Bangladesh. The Indian economy shrank by 7.2% in 2020–2021, a year in which a severe COVID-19-led recession was the leading cause.

2.4.2 Growth Rate of Per Capita Real GDP The comparison of per capita real GDP growth rates for Bangladesh, and West Bengal shows a nearly similar trend in their real GDP growth lines. Nonetheless, from 2013 to the end, Bangladesh has shown a higher growth rate. Indeed, Bangladesh has done well with its economy among the South Asian countries. In terms of India, we observe its success in maintaining a reasonable per capita GDP growth rate, even though its position has recently suffered due to COVID-19. In the industry literature, there is a concept named “First Runner’s Advantage”. It is unclear whether West Bengal and India could successfully follow the growth path based on the idea (Fig. 2.8). 8.00 6.00 4.00 2.00 0.00 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

-2.00 -4.00 -6.00 -8.00 -10.00 WBPCG na

INDPCG na

BDPCG na

Fig. 2.8 A comparative dynamics of per capita real GDP growth rates in West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh (2004–2020) (Source Constructed. Data for India: Economic Survey 2021–2022 [Base Year: 2011–2012] and for West Bengal: Handbook of Statistics of Indian States [Base Year: 2011–2012])

2 Macroeconomic Development of Bangladesh …

55

10 5 0 2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

West Bengal

2017-18 India

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

Bangladesh

Fig. 2.9 CPI-based inflation in West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh (Source Handbook of Statistics on the Indian States, Reserve Bank of India, 2020–2021 and World Development Indicator)

2.4.3 Inflation The recent inflation records of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and India have been mixed. The most recent trend of inflation in West Bengal is high. West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh jointly suffer from post-COVID-19 stagflation pressure, which is to be tackled at any cost. This area needs to be managed carefully as the incidence of inflation falls more on the poor segment of the population (Fig. 2.9).

2.4.4 Unemployment Unemployment, or joblessness, is one of any region’s most important macroeconomic indicators. If we examine the West Bengal scenario, we can see that the government was tremendously successful in containing it to a tolerable level compared to the whole of India (Table 2.5). Both rural and urban unemployment management for males, females, and the overall government is successful. The success in containing rural female unemployment is praiseworthy. Due to the unavailability of data, we compare only India and Bangladesh (Fig. 2.10). Bangladesh unambiguously performed better compared to India for the period 1991–2021. During COVID-19, the performance of Bangladesh was even praiseworthy.

72 45 95 57

Urban male (per thousands) West Bengal 63 All India 40

Urban female (per thousands) West Bengal 142 All India 62 84 69

56 38

33 18

22 16

2004–2005

65 57

35 28

28 16

17 16

2009–2010

64 52

43 30

24 17

28 17

2011–2012

60 108

67 71

17 38

43 58

2017–2018

37 99

53 71

14 35

40 56

2018–2019

Not Applicable: Not Available Note Employment figures are the sum of principal status and subsidiary status Source NSSO Employment & Unemployment Survey Reports; NITI Aayog; and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), NSO

28 10

Rural female (per thousands) West Bengal 17 All India 8

1999–2000 28 17

1993–1994

Rural male (per thousands) West Bengal 18 All India 14

State/Union Territory

Table 2.5 Rural–urban, and male–female unemployment rate of WB and India (adjusted)

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1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Bangladesh

India

Fig. 2.10 A comparative picture of unemployment in Bangladesh and India (1991–2021) (Source World Bank, WDI)

2.4.5 Poverty If we examine the poverty alleviation drive of the West Bengal Government, we can say it is as per national standards. Now we will compare it with Bangladesh’s counterpart (Tables 2.6 and 2.7). Both Bangladesh and India started with a high rate of poverty and managed to control it within a very short time. However, the poverty reduction drive in India yielded a moderately faster outcome despite all the odds. Considering previous comparisons between Bangladesh and West Bengal and using deductive logic, we can say West Bengal managed it more efficiently than Bangladesh. However, the growth drivers in Bangladesh are more effective.

2.4.6 Inequality In Bangladesh, poverty is reduced, and growth is enhanced at the cost of rising inequality. In India, the situation is slightly better in terms of inequality management. Here the increase in growth is moderate, with a moderate increase in inequality. West Bengal has the same pattern as India (Table 2.8).

35.7

36.0

254.6

3203.7

2602.5

213.5 26.1

27.0

Percentage

Persons (in lakh)

Persons (in lakh)

Percentage

1999–2000 (30-day recall period)a

1993–1994 (30-day recall period)a

4076.1

289.1

Persons (in lakh)

37.2

34.3

Percentage

2004–2005 (based on MRP consumption)b

3546.8

240.3

Persons (in lakh)

29.8

26.7

Percentage

2009–2010 (based on MRP consumption)b

2697.8

185.0

Persons (in lakh)

21.9

20.0

Percentage

2011–2012 (based on MRP consumption)b

Not Applicable MRP: Mixed Recall Period. a Lakdawala Methodology. b Tendulkar Methodology (Please see notes on the table) Source National Sample Survey Organization; and NITI Aayog (Erstwhile Planning Commission)

West Bengal All India

State/Union Territory

Table 2.6 West Bengal and all-India poverty level

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Table 2.7 Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (percent of the population) Year

Bangladesh

Year

India

2000 2005 2010 2016

48.9 40 31.5 24.3

1993 2004 2009 2011

45.3 37.2 29.8 21.9

Source WDI, World Bank

Table 2.8 Gini Index of inequality between Bangladesh and India Year

Bangladesh

Year

India

1983 1985 1988 1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

25.9 26.9 28.8 27.6 32.9 33.4 33.2 32.1

2016 1977 1983 1987 1993 2004 2009 2011

32.4 33.3 32.1 32.6 31.7 34.4 35.4 35.7

Source WDI, World Bank

2.4.7 Comparative Analysis Using a summary table, we can look at the big picture of macroeconomic indicators over the last fifty years (Table 2.9). If we examine the whole table, we can see that the performances of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh are somewhat mixed with similar macro indicators. Nonetheless, after checking them, we can safely say that Bangladesh is leading in most of them.

2.5

Conclusion

Bangladesh and West Bengal inherited a common language, history, culture, and colonial origin. Moreover, both places are in one of South Asia’s most densely populated areas. Both places have undergone dozens of structural changes due to political affiliation and social change. Even

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Table 2.9 The stock taking of macroeconomic indicators in the West Bengal Vis-à-vis Bangladesh (1972–2021) Macro variable

West Bengal

India

Bangladesh

Real GDP growth rate Sectoral performance

Increased moderately Substantial growth performance in agriculture High Moderate Reduced substantially Increased moderately Moderate

Increased moderately Moderate growth performance in agriculture

Increased substantially Moderate growth performance in agriculture High Higher Reduced moderately Increased substantially Biggest

Inflation Unemployment Poverty Inequality Fiscal deficit

High Highest Reduced substantially Increased moderately Bigger

Source Compiled from all the tables

though we came across a few studies comparing West Bengal and India, and Bangladesh, only a few studies are solely dedicated to comparing the two Bengals. This is the research gap that we attempted to fill. To this end, this chapter made a noble attempt to deal with the macroeconomic perspective of a comparative picture of these two entities within the last 50 years. We used a desk research method to compile data and reports published from various sources in Bangladesh and West Bengal and found that West Bengal performed pretty well in terms of poverty alleviation, and agricultural and rural development. At the same time, Bangladesh made tremendous progress in service industries like readymade garments, achieving the fastest growth in real GDP and per capita real GDP by resorting to relatively aggressive budget financing from internal and external sources and having a stable policy regime for a sustainable period. That is why the question arises whether West Bengal could successfully reap the benefits of a federal system of government where the voices of each state may not be heard with equal emphasis if a different political party than the ruling party of West Bengal runs the central government. A debate may arise over whether the unitary or federal system helps spur growth and reduce poverty, unemployment, and inequality. These

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are the research issues that should be addressed from a broader macropolitical standpoint, considering the historical and cultural context of the two Bengals. Is there any role for privatization and unions? In West Bengal, workers’ unions are powerful, which might inhibit the industrial transformation of rural structures at a slower pace. In contrast, it is faster in Bangladesh with a rapid rate of privatization and limited challenges from unions, but laws of order and governance are the major hindrances to a smooth transition. Even with all the macroeconomic progress and problems, both West Bengal and Bangladesh are moving to a higher level of development as quickly as possible. This puts the two Bengals in a prominent position in South Asia, whether they rule themselves or are ruled by people of different ethnicity. Both places still have problems with poverty, inequality, and government that need to be fixed for the good of the general population.

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India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). (2022). West Bengal. https://www. ibef.org/states/west-bengal. International Monetary Fund. (2022). IMF World Economic Outlook Database April 2022. International Monetary Fund, 28 April. Jha, D., Ghatak, S., & Maiti, D. (2022). Prosperity or Decay? Political Stability in West Bengal. Economic and Political Weekly, 57(25), 18 June 2022. https://www.epw.in/journal/2022/25/special-articles/political-sta bility-west-bengal.html. Kamal, N. (2009). The Population Trajectories of Bangladesh and West Bengal During the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study Nahid Kamal A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Population Studies of the London School of Economics for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009. Karak, A. (2017). Pattern of Industrial Growth in West Bengal During 1980– 1991: Structural Demand and Agriculture–Industry Relations Anirban Karak First Published May 24, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1177/097317411 7700468. Khan, M. H. (2010). Bangladesh: Partitions, Nationalisms, and Legacies for StateBuilding, SOAS. University of London, July 2010. Khasnabis, R. (2008). The Economy of West Bengal. Economic and Political Weekly, 43(52), 103–115. https://www.epw.in/journal/2008/52/specialarticles/economy-west-bengal.html. Klass, L., & Morton, S. (1996). Community Structure and Industrialization in West Bengal . University Press of America Inc. Kumar, R., Shivakumar, I., & Satishkumar, R. (2020). Regional Disparities and Indian States: A Macro Level Study. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(13), 87. Lahiri, A., & Yi, K.-M. (2005). A Tale of Two States: Maharashtra and West Bengal. Mahmud, M., Otsuka K., Sawada, Y., & Yamada, E. (2018). Development Transformation in Bangladesh: An Overview. In Y. Sawada, M. Mahmud, & N. Kitano (Eds.), Economic and Social Development of Bangladesh: Miracle and Challenges. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. Mandal, A. (2016). Comparative Study of Marginal Farms in India vis-avis West Bengal; Evidences from Last Decade. Economic Affairs, 61(4, December), 589–598. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-4666.2016.00073.5, http://ndpublisher.in/admin/issues/EAV61N4c.pdf Mansur, A. H. (2020). Bangladesh: Impediments to Enhanced Revenue Moblization and Equitable and Efficient Spending. CGD Policy Paper 167. Center for Global Development, Washington DC. (www.cgdev.org)

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Mujeri, M. K., and Hussain, I. (2001). Poverty alleviation through improved irrigation practices: Bangladesh perspectives. In Hussain, I.; Biltonen, E. (Eds.) Irrigation against rural poverty: an overview of issues and propoor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia. Proceedings of National Workshops on Pro-Poor Intervention Strategies in Irrigated Agriculture in Asia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam [9-10 August 2001, Colombo, Sri Lanka]: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 3-12. Nayak, S., & Sahoo, D. (2020). Dimensions of Foreign Direct Investment Inflow in India After 1991. FIIB Business Review, 9 (2), 106 - 117. https:// doi.org/10.1177/2319714520914203 Nayak, S., & Sahoo, D. (2022). Regional Economic Growth in India: Convergence or Divergence? Competitiveness Review. PRS Legislative Research. (2022). West Bengal Budget Analysis 2022–23. 13 March. Retrieved 18 March 2022. Raychaudhuri, A., & Das, T. K. (Eds.). (2005). West Bengal Economy: Some Contemporary Issues. India: Jadavpur University Press. Rahman, H. (1992). Structural Adjustment and Macroeconomic Performance in Bangladesh in the 1980s. Bangladesh Development Studies, Vol. XX, Nos. 2 & 3. 89-125. Rahman, A. (2018, November 12). Bangladesh’s Graduation from LDC: A ‘Development Surprise’. The Financial Express. Accessed 4 September 2019. http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/26th-anniversary-issue-1/a-develo pment-surprise-1541934101. Roy, N. R. (1950). A History of the Bengali People: Early Period (Bangalir Itihas Aaadi Porbo), Shudhanghu Sekhar Dey, Dey’s Publishing, Kolkata. Saha, K. P. (1930). Economics of Rural Bengal. Sawada, Y., Mahmud, M., & Kitano, N. (2018). Economic and Social Development of Bangladesh: Miracle and challenges. Palgrave MacMillan, 1-311. Shepherd, A., & Kyegombe, N. (2004). India’s ‘Poorly-Performing’ States Andrew Shepherd, Ed Anderson, and Nambusi Kyegombe Background Paper 2 for ODI study on Poor Performing Countries. https://cdn.odi.org/ media/documents/4827.pdf. Singh, V. (2019). How Land Reforms by the Left Empowered Dalits, Adivasis in West Bengal, 27 June. https://www.newsclick.in/Land-Reforms-Left-Emp owered-Dalits-Adivasis-West-Bengal. UN-DESA [UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs]. (2018). Leaving the LDC Category: Booming Bangladesh Prepares to Graduate,

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NY. Accessed 13 March 2019. https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/ news/policy/leaving-the-ldcs-category-booming-bangladesh-prepares-to-gra duate.html. World Bank. (2022). World Development Indicators. Accessed 2 August 2022. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. Zwart, P. D., & Lucassen, J. (2020). Poverty or Prosperity in Northern India? New Evidence on Real Wages, 1590s–1870s. Economic History Review, 1–24.

3 Agriculture: Bangladesh and West Bengal Arindam Banik

3.1

and Munim Kumar Barai

Introduction

It is often argued that healthy, sustainable, and inclusive food systems are critical to achieving development goals. Accordingly, the agricultural sector is expected to be integral to the economies of West Bengal and Bangladesh. This sector is also considered two Bengals’ social-cultural and economic fabric. Ideally, a healthy agricultural industry with efficient backward and forward linkages creates an efficient supply chain. This is the process that helps ensure a safe and reliable supply of input A. Banik International Management Institute, New Delhi, India M. K. Barai (B) College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu-shi, Japan e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_3

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for them, such as irrigation, seeds, and fertilizers, and then generates a market for their products for the right price, improves energy security, and contributes to employment and economic development, traditionally in semi-urban and rural areas. In this context, farming serves as a nexus for related sectors, from farm machinery manufacturing to food processing. The agricultural sector also contributes to the nation’s overall economic growth by providing crucial raw inputs for producing a wide range of goods and services, including many that generate substantial export value. There was a time when policymakers argued against the appropriateness of technology adoption in developing economies due to the large concentration of small farms and its capital-intensive characteristics. Hence, it was argued that this might compound the misery of the poor. This is different from the case of the two Bengals. In reality, the adoption of new technology in the two Bengals averted widespread starvation and helped millions of people escape hunger.1 Recent data reveals that agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed 269 million people in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Indeed, growth in the agriculture sector has been two to four times more effective in raising incomes among the poorest than in other sectors in the two Bengals.2 It is helpful to mention that agriculture is also crucial to economic growth: accounting for 4% of global gross domestic product (GDP), and in some developing countries, it can account for more than 25% of GDP.3 Agriculture plays a vital role in the two Bengals’ economic growth. Extensive irrigation, high-yielding crop varieties, more efficient markets, and mechanization, enabled by policy reforms and investments in agriculture research, human capital, and roads, have driven the agriculture sector’s growth. The industry is a significant source of rural jobs in Bangladesh. Over 87% of rural people derive at least some income from agriculture. However, two-thirds of rural households rely on the farm 1 Banik, A. (1998). New Technology and Land Elevations: Small Farms in Bangladesh. Dhaka: University Press Limited. 2 World Bank. (2016). Agriculture in Bangladesh: A Key Poverty Reducer. Washington, DC: mimeo. 3 See https://www.fao.org/3/i2490e/i2490e01c.pdf, visited on December 17, 2023.

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and non-farm incomes. Pro-poor agriculture growth has stimulated the non-farm economy in Bangladesh: a 10% rise in farm incomes generates a 6% rise in non-farm incomes. As non-farm incomes continue to grow, the government needs to focus on fostering a more robust rural non-farm economy. In West Bengal, empirical studies on non-farm livelihood choices of rural households are limited. A few studies4 have explored the determinants that affect households’ choice to engage in non-farm economic activities. Interestingly, a rural household’s choice of non-farm livelihood activity in West Bengal is determined by either availing an opportunity to get an informal job in a prosperous state or staying in a village in distress.5 The wages are significantly higher in prosperous states than that in West Bengal. In addition, the northern part of West Bengal remains a less developed region of the state. The farmers who migrated to this region post-1971 from Bangladesh are partially responsible for West Bengal’s current agricultural growth. However, the agricultural sector in this part of Bengal needs to be more accurately understood by Kolkata-centric policymakers. In light of the above discussion, Section 3.2 compares the agrarian structure of the two Bengals. Given the large number of farmers under less than one hectare of land in this region, this section also examines demographics, rice cultivation patterns, yield rates, and cropping patterns. Section 3.3 presents farmers’ access to credit and impediments to the two Bengals. Section 3.4 concludes.

4 For example, Ghosh, M., & Ghosh S. (2021). Households Choices and Their Drivers to Rural Non-Farm Livelihood Diversification in West Bengal. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 5(6), 1158–1178. 5 For example, some impacts of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in rural West Bengal may be observed to stop migration from West Bengal to other prosperous states.

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Existing Agrarian Structure

In the context of India, the President validated the three farm reform bill—The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020, The Farmer’s (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Services Bill 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 in 2021.6 Ideally, the laws may lead to many disruptions in the agricultural sector in the long run, provided the concerned state also has a well-coordinated supply chain from agriculture to manufacturing. Nevertheless, the structure of agriculture is not in that direction in West Bengal. It is also evident that alternate job opportunities in the non-farm sector in West Bengal are nearly non -existence and therefore, there is also pressure on land. The existence of a small owner-operator or small tenant-operator farmer is a testimony to this.7 The 70th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) Report8 reveals that the percentage of a tenant holding to total farm holding for West Bengal is 21.7%, with an all-India average of 13.7%. Interestingly, the incidence of tenancy is under-reported in these surveys as tenancy in most states is not permissible legally. In Bangladesh, the claim of “pure tenant” farms over total rented-in land has increased 6 Banik, A. (2021). The Biggest Challenge: The Future of Indian Farmers. The IIC Quarterly, 48 (2, autumn), 59–65. 7 Some studies estimate that about 40% of the total Indian farmers are “tenant” farmers. They don’t own the land they work on because agricultural land tenancy is illegal in most of the states in India. Tenancy contracts are verbal and not registered. They are the most vulnerable group. The State cannot serve these groups because it does not see in official papers. It is to be noted here that the PM-Kisan uses landholding records to identify the recipients. States such as Odisha and Telangana have had farmer income support programmes even before PM-KISAN. Odisha’s KALIA programme covers tenant farmers as well as agricultural labour. Given a minimal amount of resolve, state governments can certainly identify tenants using their apparatus. Some of the fertilizer subsidies are availed by the tenant farmers/actual tillers in these two states. A recent study argues that restrictions on land leasing make it much more difficult for landless and land-poor marginal farmers to access land, pushing many to seek land through informal leases that heighten their land insecurity. Tenant farmers who hold informal leases are not able to avail themselves of credit and financing, crop insurance, and other agricultural support services. Because their lease agreement is informal and not legally binding, they reasonably fear that they could be evicted if the landowner has a change of heart. 8 National Sample Survey. (2013). India—Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households, January–December 2013, NSS 70th Round. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.

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from 45% in 2000 to 50% in 2010, rising further to 65% in 2016. The increase in the share of cultivated land under tenancy and the rise of landless tenants have been explained by several factors that underpinned rural structural transformation in Bangladesh, such as the spread of education, expansion of regular jobs, and urbanization have encouraged renting out of the agricultural lands on the part of land-rich households. It is also true that the growth of microfinance and the rapid development of the market for mechanized services have made tenant farming an increasing scale and economically viable proposition. This applies to landless tenants as well. An interesting trend may be observed among the landless households in rural Bangladesh; for example, some landless groups are entering the land market as tenants, while other landless groups are moving out of the land market, increasingly involved in nonfarm jobs. Thus, the agricultural route of upward mobility via landless tenancy must be recognized as equally potent as the non-farm route for uplifting landless households out of poverty.9 West Bengal is one of the two states10 of India that made severe efforts to implement land reform. Most of the activity is associated with a drive to register tenants and identify ceiling surplus land known as “Operation Barga”, which was initiated shortly after the ascent to power of the Left Front in 1977. The first element of the reform was the vesting of any “above-ceiling” land (i.e., land owned more than the ceiling of 12.5 acres) with the government and its subsequent distribution to landless or small landowners, commonly referred to as pattadars. A second element was the rapid registration of sharecroppers, village by village, to prevent them from eviction and provide them with permanent and heritable tenancy rights. The amount of (shared) rent to be paid to landlords was limited to 25% (50% if the landlord provides all non-labour inputs) and land leasing through mechanisms other than share tenancy. The law also prohibited the transfer of land received via land reform through sale, gift, exchange, or (sub)lease. To prevent elite capture, eligibility for reform benefits is tightly regulated. While there are significant gains, such 9 Sen, B. (2018). The Rise of Landless Tenancy in Rural Bangladesh: Analysis of the Recent Evidence. Presented a paper at BIDS Research Almanac 2018, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), 11–12 November, Dhaka. 10 Kerala is another state.

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as the choice of the right target group, namely, small-scale sharecropping tenants and landless agricultural labourers, quasi-property rights bestowed on the sharecroppers increase their incentives, the levels of beneficiary productivity and welfare remain far below average, something that could likely be avoided if land reform beneficiaries would receive full ownership right instead of being recognized as permanent share tenants and if restrictions on transferability of land were abandoned. Figure 3.1 reveals an interesting picture. It shows the contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product of Bangladesh and the gross state domestic product of West Bengal in 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021. In both cases, the contribution of agriculture to their national and state income has been consistently declining. However, the magnitude of the decline is astronomical in the context of Bangladesh, specifically immediately after its independence in 1971. We have constructed Figures 3.2 and 3.3 to show the employment position in the agriculture sector in Bangladesh and West Bengal over the period of 1991, 2001, and 2011. The distribution also highlights the importance of the sector in terms of employment generation or contribution to the respective economies. Figure 3.2 shows that even in 1991, about 70% of the total employment in the Bangladesh economy was in the agriculture sector, while it

58.0

51.0 32.0

31.7 21.8 16.8

40.4

1961

37.6

1971

38.7

1981

42.7

1991

West Bengal

34.6

2001

11.6 22.5 2011

12.8 2021

Bangladesh

Fig. 3.1 Share of gross value added of agriculture and allied services to GDP/GSDP: 1961–2021 (in percent) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank)

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3 Agriculture: Bangladesh and West Bengal

69.5%

62.4%

49.7%

44.2%

44.0%

2011

2001

1991 West Bengal

46.5%

Bangladesh

Fig. 3.2 Employment in agri-sector (percent of total employment) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank)

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0%

91 64

46

38

43

78 54

42

40

65

45 52 West Bengal

Bangladesh

West Bengal

1991

2001 Percent of Male in Agri

Bangladesh

West Bengal

Bangladesh

2011 Percent of Female in Agri

Fig. 3.3 Share of male–female employment in agriculture against their total employment in the economy—1991 to 2011 (in percent) (rounded) (Source Data collected from various Statistics published by the Governments of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the World Bank)

was about 50% in West Bengal. In the subsequent surveys in 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh saw a rapid decline in total employment in the sector. This is depicted by the figure that, in 2011, 46.5% of the employment was in the sector. West Bengal, on its part, saw a marginal decline in the share of employment in the sector, which stood at 44.0% in 2011. So, by 2011, the agriculture sector had nearly the same level of employment ratio in both Bengals. However, the data trend of employment

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for the sector in Bangladesh indicates that the sector is losing its preeminence due to the decline in the share of total employment in the country. In 2019, 38.3% of the total employment was in the agricultural sector (World Banks 2023),11 which was in line with the declining trend. This reduction may be explained by the relative expansion of the manufacturing and construction sectors and their increased contribution to the economic growth of Bangladesh. Another interesting observation could be made on the male–female composition of employment in the sector in Bangladesh and West Bengal. What is counterintuitive is the number of female workers working in agriculture in Bangladesh. The available figure for 1991 for Bangladesh suggests that an overwhelming number of women—91% of the total employed women—were employed in agriculture. Though the figures have declined in subsequent periods—78 and 65% in 2001 and 2011, respectively—they still have remained substantial. On the other hand, of the total employed male population in the economy, the share of employment in agriculture remained at 64, 54, and 40% in 1991, 2001, and 2011, respectively (Fig. 3.3). This difference may be explained by the fact that microfinance organizations in Bangladesh mainly focus on rural women in the entire microfinance operations. This lopsidedness creates scope for women to get engaged in more agricultural-related activities. At the same time, the rapid pace of infrastructural development works and urbanization in Bangladesh are requiring more and more people in construction and related activities. Due to the hazardous nature of the jobs involved, they mostly become male-dominated areas of employment. Not only that, the flow of overseas migrant workers, which constitutes a significant annual flow of the male population from rural Bangladesh, may have some bearing on the employment structure in the agriculture sector (Table 3.1). In West Bengal, about 70.4% of the total population is reported to be rural residents, as opposed to 60.05% in Bangladesh. There are nearly

11

World Bank. (2023). World Development Indicator. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL. AGR.EMPL.FE.ZS?locations=BD.

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Table 3.1 Agriculture: Bangladesh and West Bengal, 2021 Percentage of the population living in rural areas The number of Farm households (million) Area under cultivation (million hect.) (a) Average size of land holding (hect.) (b) Number of farm households (%) operate less than one hectare of land (c) Land cultivated (%) by less than one hect. of farm households Rice yield 12 (tonne/hect.) (a) Aus (b) Aman (c) Boro (d) Total rice

Bangladesh

West Bengal

60.05

70.4

16.5 7.84 0.48

7.24 5.49 0.76

88.5

83

60

53

1.74 2.15 3.83 2.81

2.6 2.74 3.39 2.88

Note Percentage of Farmers based on Agricultural census 2015–2016; One hectare: 2.47 acres

16.5 and 7.4 million farmers13 in Bangladesh, and West Bengal, as the recent “Agricultural statistics14 ” published by the Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh shows. It is helpful to mention here that the farmers are enumerated based on the land they operate, which differs from the land they own.15 The average landholding size was 0.48 12

One tonne of paddy is expected to produce 0.67 tonnes of raw rice or 0.68 tonnes of parboiled rice. 13 Actual cultivators or operators. Farmers such as Owners, Owner-cum-tenants and tenants are incorporated. 14 See https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/PDF/At%20a%20Glance%202019%20Eng.pdf. 15 At all-India levels, marginal, and small farmers operate less than or equal to two hectares of land together contributing 87% of the total farmers. Interestingly, wide inter-state variation exists in the distribution of farmers under marginal and small farm categories. The marginal and small farmers together under this category provide 62% of the total farmers of India in Southern, East, and North-East Indian States, the highest being in Uttar Pradesh (15%) and mostly in Eastern Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar (11%). The lowest number of farmers under this category has been reported in Punjab and Haryana is only one percent. A look at the data sourced from Agricultural Statistics shows that the states such as Haryana and Punjab witnessed a decline in the number of farmers and an increase in the number of agricultural labourers. As regards land use pattern for 2017–2018, about 85.05 and 84.09%

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hectares in Bangladesh and 0.76 hectares in West Bengal. The farmers who operate less than one hectare of land16 were 88.5% in Bangladesh and 83% in West Bengal. The farmers in this category cultivate 60% of Bangladesh and 53% of the total land available for cultivation in West Bengal. The rice farming for these categories of farmers is subsistence in nature in rainfed areas and produces rice mainly for household consumption with a little marketable surplus. However, rice has emerged as a commercial crop under irrigated areas in some parts of the two Bengals where farmers produce rice mainly for the market. The average rice yield during the Aus season is 2.6 metric tonnes in West Bengal and 1.74 in Bangladesh. The average rice yield during the Aman season is 2.74 t/ha in West Bengal and 2.15 t/ha in Bangladesh. During the Boro season, the average yield is 3.83 t/ha in Bangladesh and 3.39 t/ha in West Bengal. The overall rice yield is 2.88 t/ha in West Bengal and 2.81 t/ha in

of available geographical area in Haryana and Punjab was under agriculture, respectively. The national average geographical area available for agriculture was 55.03%. Though the latest data on the number of farmers and agricultural laborers is not available, the 2011 Census data revealed that there was a decline of 7.15% in the number of farmers and an increase of 26.02% in the number of agricultural laborers in the country between 2001 and 2011. With exception of the states such as Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, all other states witnessed a decline in the number of farmers between 2001 and 2011. The number of farmers declined from 22.17 million in 2001 to 19.06 million in 2011 in Uttar Pradesh. This trend may also be observed in the number of farmers in Punjab (7.25%) and Haryana, (21.77%) between the Census of 2001. However, the number of agricultural laborers witnessed a growth of 6.29, 16.34% in Punjab and Haryana, respectively, during this period. The number of farming labourers went up significantly in States such as Uttar Pradesh (6.54 million), Bihar (4.93 million), Madhya Pradesh (4.79 million), the undivided Andhra Pradesh (3.14 million), West Bengal (2.83 million), Maharashtra (2.67 million), Rajasthan (2.41 million), Chhattisgarh (2 million), Odisha (1.74 million), Jharkhand (1.59 million), and Gujarat (1.68 million) during the period. The average landholding size was 2.22 hectares in Haryana and 3.62 hectares in Punjab. The average size of the landholdings in the country was 1.08 hectares, according to Agricultural Census. Uttar Pradesh, the largest State in the Country, has an average landholding of 0.73 hectares. Another state, Bihar, has even the lowest average landholdings at 0.39 hectares. This partly explains why farmers and their unions from most states, such as Southern India, North East, and Eastern India, except Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh are silent, on three farm reform bills. Various studies impart that most of the transactions made by the farmers are the non-market type, and they are less concerned about implementing the bills and their consequences. 16 Farmers who operate land between 0.05 and 2.49 acres are considered small farmers in Bangladesh. In India, this category is known as marginal farmers.

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Bangladesh. The yields are significantly higher than yields recorded forty years ago in the two Bengals.17 Total rice production in Bangladesh was about 10.59 million tons in 1971, when the country’s population was only about 70.88 million. However, the country now produces about 37.4 million tons to feed the 166.30 million population. Such an increase in rice production has been possible largely due to the adoption of modern rice varieties on around 66% of the rice land, contributing to about 73% of the country’s total rice production. In contrast, West Bengal had a population of 44.31 million and produced nine million tonnes of rice in 1971. In 2021, West Bengal produced 15.57 million tonnes of rice for its 102 million population.18 It appears that rice production and productivity have increased significantly, since the early 1970s, after the introduction of genetically improved high-yielding varieties (HYV) during the mid-1960s. The widespread adoption of HYVs as well as crop and farm management practices; policy support to improve irrigation facilities, market infrastructure, and the supply of chemical fertilizers and agricultural credit; subsidies on farm inputs; and farmers’ enthusiasm to adopt HYV were the drivers of the impressive growth in production and productivity of rice in this region. However, there is no reason to be complacent. Agriculture remains a high-priority sector in the two Bengals’ economies. Studies reveal that despite significant achievements in crop production in the last 40 years, in two Bengals, the above increase in production and yield rate will not be sufficient to feed the increasing population.19 Fresh long-term 17

Boyce, J. (1987). Agrarian Impasse in Bengal: Institutional Constraints to Technological Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 18 West Bengal is a state under the Indian federal system. The food deficit, if any, in the state is matched by surplus food from other states. In contrast, Bangladesh has to import from other countries such as India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam if there is a food deficit. For example, Bangladesh imported 1.35 million tons of Rice in 2021. The country imported Rice worth US$ 356 million from India (96%), followed by Myanmar (US$8. 2 million: 2%), Vietnam (US$5 million: 1%), and others. 19 Since the mid-1990s, countries that rely heavily on cereal production, particularly rice, were advised by international agencies that a highly liquid, global cereal market would be healthy and desirable for all. Accordingly, many countries, such as Bangladesh, got convinced that it would be safe to cover any shortfall in domestic output with purchases from the international

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forecasts of demand for food items, factoring in new uses and consumption patterns, would be needed to estimate if a supply–demand gap is emerging in the longer term. Investments in agriculture would have to be revived to increase production, including investment needed for better water management. Hence, farm sector reforms have been long-awaited in both Bengals in light of new scenarios. However, it needs a credible business model to implement such policies.

3.3

Farmers’ Access to Credit and Their Impediments

Almost all farmers operating land under the less than one-hectare category are indebted to the two Bengals. They borrow in various forms in an interlinked market to meet their immediate cash flow in uncertain situations such as crop failures, medical needs, marriage, religious functions, education, death in a family, natural calamities, and so on. While the governments are reportedly ready with a package that will provide low-cost credit, alternative income sources include dairy and poultry, improved irrigation, and crop insurance. These may be helpful but need to be more. It may not be factually incorrect to say that farmer suicide is a global phenomenon. But while these are largely engendered by psychological and sociological factors in the developed world, in developing economies such as in the two Bengals’, the causes are primarily economic. The farmer-debtor is generally required to repay the debt right after the harvest. This means that the farmer is trapped in a regressive market mechanism in two ways. First, with no other means to repay the debt, the farmer is forced to sell the product immediately after the harvest

market, particularly from India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Some countries, such as Bangladesh, were burdened with high production costs, even dismantling export bans and reduced import tariffs. The said international agencies even argued that there will always be a glut of food production worldwide. During the 2008 food crisis, Bangladesh policymakers learnt a lesson the hard way. The new government then decided on self-sufficiency in food. See Sengupta, N., & Banik, A. (2009). Understanding Bangladesh from a Neighbour’s Door. The Daily Star, January 24.

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quite often to the creditor or agent, probably at a pre-arranged price or in pre-decided quantities. Second, the sale of crops immediately after the harvest means that the farmer-debtor probably receives less produce than they could have obtained later when the market prices stabilize.20 The evidence also suggests that, in general, there are strong links between credit and marketing. Farmers operating land less than onehectare category, on average, borrow much larger amounts from commission agents or traders than workers from employers or tenants from landlords, or even those who have no other dealings with their creditors. Moreover, links between credit and output are the strongest in areas dominated by the mentioned category. On reflection, this is hardly surprising since traders and commission agents will seek out business and seal it with finance when there is a crisis in a farm family. It is often argued that selling farm products produced by the mentioned category of farmers immediately after harvest further exasperates their economic condition. In most cases, the prices are often distorted because, at the local level, the market structure is oligopolistic. So, they have less bargaining power. Evidence suggests that marketing middlemen earn large margins on average in the potato areas in West Bengal. This margin may be demonstrated as a barrier to entry into this trading business in addition to farmers’ limited access to markets.21 While all that has been stated above is true of farmers in general, cash crop farmers deserve special attention. Interestingly, farmers who go for cash crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, and spices differ from typical small farmers. They have relatively large landholdings and risk appetites; farming is an act of commerce for them. The anticipated incentives in the output market are the motivating factors for hard work and high input costs. The results are, however, only sometimes as expected. During harvest time, the supply of crops often overshadows demand, and thus price goes down. This is due to the pressure created by 20

Banik, A. (2006). Farmer Suicides: Beyond the Obvious. The Hindu Business Line, June 20. Mitra, S., et al. (2017). Asymmetric Information and Middleman Margins: An Experiment with Indian Potato Farmers, International Food Policy research Institute, May 3, 2017 mimeo.

21

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both formal and informal lenders for loan repayment immediately after harvest. Consequently, not only are marginal input costs higher than the marginal revenue, but even average input costs are sometimes higher or just marginally lower than the average revenue, leaving little or no cash surplus for loan servicing. Besides, the minimum support price hardly matters to them because of their inability to participate in a distorted market.22

3.4

Conclusions

This chapter compares and contrasts the agricultural development of the two Bengals based on the statistics published by governments and international agencies. We find that agricultural development in Bangladesh and West Bengal has helped to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed 269 million people. The evidence is compelling. For example, total rice production in Bangladesh was about 10.59 million tons in 1971, when the country’s population was only about 70.88 million. The country now produces about 37.4 million tons to feed the 166.30 million population. Our results also show that West Bengal had a population of 44.31 million and produced nine million tonnes of rice in 1971. In 2021, the state produced 15.57 million tonnes of rice for its 102 million population. This is particularly important given the degree of distortion in market outcomes in a typical village due to inefficient backward and forward linkage in a typical supply chain. Our discussion suggests that the increase in production and yield will not feed the increasing population. The context of a discussion regarding raising the overall standard of living of the population implies factors 22 The late decision to procure rice under minimum support price is another problem in West Bengal. For example, the state government targets collecting 5.5 million tonnes of Kharif paddy (Aman) by October 2023. But by January 10, 2023, they procured only 1.9 million tonnes from farmers. This is the peak period when the maximum quantum of rice should be procured. The state is expected to produce more than 11 million tonnes of Aman rice this season out of its estimated total production of 16 million tonnes this year. This will affect the interest of small and marginal farmers as they must hold back their stock for a short period. This may also affect the state government’s cheap rice grain scheme, see The Daily Telegraph, January 11, 2023.

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such as achievement of nutritional security for the population through an emphasis on the improvement of land use pattern, soil, the potential of irrigation, drainage, and technological inputs for planning based on an increase in per unit productivity. Our analyses suggest five sources of farmers’ economic welfare: productivity, easy access to the credit market, insurance, knowledge, and crop diversity. The structure of male–female employment in the agriculture sector could be an area of interest for further examination. Contrary to the perception, the agriculture sector in Bangladesh has a higher share of employment of the total employed female workers in the economy. Though the readymade garments (RMG) sector dominates the discussion of female employment in Bangladesh, the agriculture sector as an employment zone should have drawn attention and importance relative to the share of female employment. Experts argue that farmers may be encouraged to form cooperatives to facilitate an efficient supply chain. This may help the farmers to negotiate a mutually favourable price point for their produce with the traders. In this context, the government of India has recently decided to facilitate farmers’ cooperatives to increase the collective power of the country’s small farmers. There are many co-operatives societies in two Bengals to support farmers and non-farmers. The organizational structure and economic incentives are different. Experts often support the AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) model23 for this to reap the full benefits of such government policies. There is no inherent technological reason why substantially higher benefits could not be realized in the agricultural sector, but there are barriers. Such barriers have to be resolved first to retrieve the full benefits.

23 The AMUL Model of dairy development is a three-tiered structure with the cooperative dairy societies at the village level federated under a milk union at the district level and a federation of member unions at the state level. Experts argue that Farmers’ Producer Organisations (FPO) may also be structured by following this model as many small and marginal farmers dominate the farm sector. In India, FPOs already registered under the Companies Act or various central and state cooperative society laws are eligible for the FPO scheme. The FPOs should be registered and administered by farmers, and also the organization should be focused on activities related to agriculture and allied sectors.

4 Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal Munim Kumar Barai , Arindam Banik , Sampada Kumar Dash , and Helal Uddin

4.1

Introduction

In the days of the service economy, two consecutive developments have once again established the importance of the manufacturing sector for both the developed and developing world. These are COVID-19 and the War in Ukraine. Both have caused the breakdown of the global supply chain (GSC) and triggered an acute shortage of commodities worldwide, though in two different ways. GSC was building up during the era of M. K. Barai (B) Graduate School of Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Oita, Japan e-mail: [email protected] A. Banik · S. K. Dash International Management Institute, New Delhi, India H. Uddin Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Oita, Japan

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_4

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globalization, and over the years, China has emerged as the centre of the system due to its rise as the global manufacturing hub. But COVID-19 that began in China disrupted the supply chain as the country locked down various towns to stop the disease outbreak. It soon emerged as a true pandemic worldwide, hitting the whole chain unprecedentedly. The 2020 breakdown of the GSC has amply established that a certain level of industrial development is needed, from a strategic point of view, for all. The outbreak of the Ukraine War and the Collective West’s response to it has again pushed the chain to a level where countries all over are finding a supply-side crisis affecting them all. These two back-to-back developments have also shown the massive scale of the hollowing out of developed countries’ industrial capacity, particularly in a few decades of globalization, making their economies prone to internal and external shocks. It has also created a dependence on and function of many systems simultaneously, which may, however, break down at any moment. These are the lessons that mankind should have learned from the two devastating catastrophes the world has faced within a space of three years. There might be a revisit and acceptance of the economic idea of import substitution, a process to strengthen the domestic manufacturing sector, though from a refined point of view (Barai and Dhar, 2021). When comparing the importance of the manufacturing sector in different nations, one method that may be utilized is to examine the proportion of manufacturing value added (MVA) in the GDP and the MVA per capita. In addition, manufacturing exports per capita may be used as the first measure of the international competitiveness of a country’s manufacturing (Zaman and Berkel, 2022). The purpose of the chapter is to discuss the evolution and progress taking place in the manufacturing sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal, mainly based on the first method. In doing so for Bangladesh, the chapter discusses the structural change in both economies in terms of GDP composition to understand the changes that have taken place. This may indicate the manufacturing sector’s importance in the economy. In the process, the chapter analyses the structure of the manufacturing sector in terms of value added, employment generation, and export revenue earning. For example, readymade garments in Bangladesh have become a large “sun-rising”

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industry that now contributes about 82 per cent to Bangladesh’s total exports and has engaged four million people. Significantly, it contributes 11 per cent to the total GDP. While dealing with the sector, the chapter tries to locate critical growth areas over the years and identify the sector’s potential for future development that may propel the economy of Bangladesh. This line of inquiry sheds light on the sources of development and growth potentials of the manufacturing industry in terms of size, market orientation, factor intensities, and subsectoral contribution. The barriers to the sector’s growth are also discussed to make it comprehensive from the discussion point of view. On the other hand, West Bengal was once a leading state during independence in industrial output and the creation of employment in India. Unfortunately, it seems to have fallen back as an industrial power due to a number of factors like excessive political interference, poor work culture, a hostile central government, and the state government’s poor governance. In effect, the public and private sectors chose states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu to seek alternate destinations for securing “less risky” returns on investment. Notably, in 1950–51, about 73 per cent of India’s industrial production originated from three coastal provinces. Bombay accounted for 33 per cent, West Bengal 27 per cent, and Madras 12 per cent. Only Uttar Pradesh was an exception that contributed 10 per cent of the total production.1 However, the situation started changing after the partition of Bengal. The major industries of the State before Independence were coal, jute, tea, engineering, iron, and steel. More interestingly, West Bengal had more factories and factory employees than any other province in India during this time. Nevertheless, the partition adversely affected two significant industries, jute, and tea. In the process, the State lost its industrial base. It not only fell far behind some States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, but the State also had to suffer a process of de-industrialization. Now the State has come a long way since the preIndependence period. But the situation does not seem to have changed; instead, it appears to have worsened. It seems helpful to mention here 1 It is helpful to mention that Gujarat was part of the province of Bombay during 1950–51. For details, see, Ray, S. C. (2011).

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that there are several issues to work data published by the government of West Bengal, specifically immediately after 2011. For example, inconsistency of definition of variables, change in base years arbitrarily without validation, collection of employment information, and so on. Researchers have similar problems with central agencies also. Conceivably, this satisfies the policymakers to distort many facets of the actual situation of a country or state. Notwithstanding the issues, we tried to use data collected from various sources with utmost caution. The chapter has been devoted to analysing the present condition of the manufacturing sector of two economies. The chapter has been divided into four sections, including the introduction, to achieve the objective. Sect. 4.2 examines the manufacturing sector of Bangladesh. Sect. 4.3 of the Chapter evaluates productivity growth factors, especially capital and labour, across industry groups in West Bengal. Sect. 4.4 concludes.

4.2

Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh

The manufacturing sector in Bangladesh is growing in its footprint in the composition of the GDP in the economy. Figure 4.1 has been constructed to show the changing share sectoral contribution to underline the growing importance. The share of contribution of sectoral value added has been calculated based on values in the current US$. 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1960

1970

1980

1990

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

2000

2010

Manufacturing

2020

2030 Services

Fig. 4.1 Bangladesh—share of sectoral value added, 1970–2021 (Source Constructed data from the database: World Development Indicators [Last Updated: 12/22/2022])

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Figure 4.1 shows that Bangladesh was an agriculture-dominated economy until the 1970s. But the 1980s saw a shift in GDP structure as the service sector surpassed the share of agriculture. Even up to 2012, agriculture was the second-largest sector in the economy after the service sector. However, the manufacturing sector overtook the agriculture sector in 2013 for the first time. In 2021, the manufacturing value added to the economy rose to US$88.4 (in current value), though far behind the service sector (US$213.5 billion in current value), but well ahead of the agriculture sector’s value of US$48.4 billion (World Bank, 2023). The figure gives us a clearer picture of the change in the structure of the economy of Bangladesh. In its arduous journey to the present level of economic and social progress, the share of the agricultural sector has declined from 52.2 per cent in 1971 to 13.8 per cent in 2021, while the share of the manufacturing sector has risen from 5.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent during the same period. On the other hand, the service sector has grown way ahead of the two other sectors by contributing about 61 per cent to the economy. Though this is tremendous progress, it may depict a lopsided development for a country like Bangladesh. By its nature, the service sector is highly capital-intensive and requires a more educated and skilled workforce. But the composition of human resources in Bangladesh is more supportive of a combination of the development of manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The development of these sectors could have provided more employability as Bangladesh is still a labourintensive country. So, it has the advantage of specializing in industries with high workforce requirements.

4.2.1 Employment and Labour Productivity in the Manufacturing Sector It is estimated that around 2 million new skilled and unskilled workers annually join Bangladesh’s job market. In addition, the job rotation labour also enters the existing market. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS, 2017), in the fiscal year 2016–17, there was a 109.1 million working-age population in Bangladesh. Among them, 4.2 per cent are unemployed, 41.8 per cent are not in the workforce, and 58.2

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per cent are employed in different sectors. This large workforce group worked mainly in agriculture, industry, service, and overseas sectors. In the employed category, 40 per cent were employed in Agriculture, 20.4 per cent in industry, the service sector employed 39 per cent, and the rest 0.06 per cent were employed overseas. Table 4.1 shows the ten years of employment shift in a different sector. In 2009 agricultural sectors accommodated almost half of the employed population, 47.53 per cent. Whereas the service sector employed 35.68 per cent and only 16.79 per cent engaged in the industry sector. Over the period, employment opportunities in different sectors have changed. In 2019, the agriculture sector lost 10 per cent of its employment opportunity, and the other two sectors, e.g., the industry and service sectors, created 10 per cent of employment opportunities together. Manufacturing employed the lion’s share of the workforce in the industry sector, around 14.43 per cent. The next is the construction sector employed 5.58 per cent. At this point, we can also look at the per-worker value added (PWVA) situation in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has progressed in this area, but the pace has remained slow. For example, the industrial value added per worker was US$ 2954, which rose to about US$5,649 in 2019. This is very much close to the labour productivity of India. In South Asia, Sri Lanka has the highest level of per-worker value added, presently about $10,846, while Pakistan has remained the laggard with $3,297 PWVA (Fig. 4.2). The worst part for Pakistan is that its value has declined recently.

4.2.2 Major Industries in the Manufacturing Progress Let us now try to explain some of the significant areas where Bangladesh has made progress that propped up the share of the manufacturing sector, making the sector increasingly crucial in the economy. In the following discussion, we will discuss some of the major manufacturing areas where Bangladesh has been making progress.

Agriculture Crops and horticulture Forestry Fisheries Industry Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Power, gas and water Construction Service Trade, hotel and restaurant Transport 46.32 1.73 2.72 0.51 9.49 0.26 2.82 15.64 6.41

44.57

1.66 2.62

0.00

10.06 0.29

2.87

17.24

6.32

6.77

15.34

3.39

9.71 0.23

0.23

1.76 2.77

47.16

8.44

16.45

3.16

10.97 0.21

0.21

1.64 2.58

43.88

7.37

15.47

4.79

12.34 0.18

0.18

1.61 2.54

43.18

Table 4.1 Share of total employment in the economic sectors, 1996–2017 LFS LFS LFS LFS LFS 1995–96 1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2010–11 Sector (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

6.40

14.50

3.70

16.40 0.20

0.40

1.54 2.42

41.15

LFS 2013–14 (%)

9.40

13.40

5.60

14.40 0.30

0.20

1.45 2.29

38.96

LFS 2015–16 (%)

(continued)

10.50

14.34

5.58

14.43 0.20

0.20

1.38 2.18

37.06

LFS 2016–17 (%) 4 Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal

89

0.00

0.00

100

13.07

13.80

100

1.03

0.57

LFS 1999–00 (%)

100

6.32

5.64

0.68

LFS 2002–03 (%)

100

5.49

5.49

1.48

LFS 2005–06 (%)

Source Ministry of Finance (Bangladesh Economic Review, 2022)

Finance and business Commodities and personal services Public administration and defense Total

Table 4.1 (continued) LFS 1995–96 (%) Sector

100

4.24

6.26

1.84

LFS 2010–11 (%)

100

5.80

6.20

1.30

LFS 2013–14 (%)

100

6.20

6.20

1.60

LFS 2015–16 (%)

100

6.08

6.08

1.97

LFS 2016–17 (%)

90 M. K. Barai et al.

4 Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal

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20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Bangladesh

India

Indonesia

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fig. 4.2 Industry (including construction), value added per worker (constant 2015 US$) [Source Constructed. Data from the database: world development indicators (Last Updated: 12/22/2022)]

4.2.2.1 Readymade Garments (RMG) Industry The success story of Bangladesh’s industrial progress has remained chiefly the story of the readymade garments (RMG) sector. However, some other areas are promising to make rapid progress in the future. Nonetheless, RMG has been deemed to be the sun-rising industry of Bangladesh. We also find the trickle-down industrialization of Bangladesh in the backward and forward linkage sectors of the RMG sector and that Bangladesh is becoming independent of others for running the industry on their own, increasing the total value added simultaneously. The importance of the RMG sector may be highlighted because it constituted about 82 per cent of the total Bangladesh export accounts (Fig. 4.3). The RMG expert was only US $471 million in 1988–89, and by the end of 2019, the RMG export reached US $33.1 billion. As a corollary, the RMG industry is helping Bangladesh not only in terms of foreign reserves creation but also creating employment opportunities for its people, especially women. Currently, the RMG sector contributes 20 per cent of the country’s GDP and engages 5 million people, and 80 per cent of them are women (Berg et al., 2021). Looking at the background, we find that Bangladesh’s RMG sector started its journey in the 1980s with the initiative of Desh Garments (the first garments factory in Bangladesh). At the beginning of the

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50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0

100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0

RMG Export (US$ million) RMG’s Share (%) to Total Export

Total Export (US$ million)

Fig. 4.3 Bangladesh—total exports, RMG exports and share (%) of RMG in total—1988–2021 (Source Constructed from BGMEA data)

1990s, the demand for Bangladeshi clothes increased when the USA and the European Union (EU) countries needed cheaper garment products for their customers. They started to outsource RMG items at a cheaper cost and introduced the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) quotas for that Bangladesh, creating markets without facing competition. The quota restriction negatively affected countries such as China, Hong Kong, South Korea, etc. At the same time, Bangladesh saw the quota as an opportunity to grow as its RMG quickly entered two big markets without competition from the big players in this industry. Not only that, due to the MFA, top brands from the US and EU set up their production units in Bangladesh. The MFA quota, as well as the World Trade Organization (WTO)2 membership, helped Bangladesh’s RMG sector to have Duty-Free and Quota Free (DFQF) preferential market access in developed and developing countries (Sarker, 2018). Different international trade agreements, such as Asia–Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) and South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), also helped Bangladesh expand its trade network in South, South Asian, and East Asian countries. There are several initiatives taken by the Bangladesh government to expand its export. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zone (EPZ) deceleration attracted domestic and foreign investment to set up their 2 In 1995, WTO succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which came into being in Geneva in 1947, having 23 founding members. Bangladesh is a founding member of WTO.

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garments industry in the EPZ. Another high wave was observed in the fiscal year 2010–11 due to the high demand for woven products, mainly from the EU (Rahman and Chowdhury, 2020). As a result, the RMG export increased by around 43 per cent in the fiscal year 2010– 11 compared to the FY 2009–2010 (Fig. 4.4). Interestingly, the GDP of Bangladesh continued to grow at a rate of over 6 per cent for over a decade until the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. The growth in GDP during the period is partially explained by the expansion in terms of production, export, and employment of the RMG sector of Bangladesh. The COVID-19 significantly impacts of Bangladesh RMG industry. Bangladesh RMG supplied most world-known brands such as H&M, GAP, JC Penney, Primark, and Uniqlo in Europe, America, the UK, Russia, and Japan. During the pandemic, most orders were cancelled by top brands. According to BGMEA (2023) report, over US $3.15 billion of pending orders has been cancelled (Aktar et al., 2021). According to Zahir (2020), COVID-19 forced the closure of 1142 garments factory, and 2.26 million workers lost their job. Figure 4.4 shows a very interesting aspect of the growth rates of Bangladesh’s total exports and RMG exports from 1988 to 2021. In the decade of 1990s, the RMG export growth rate was all the time higher than that of the total exports. However, onward 2010, the growth rates have remained almost the same, indicating that most of the growth rate of total exports may be explained by the RMG export growth. This is 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30%

RMG Export Growth Rate

Total Export Growth Rate

Fig. 4.4 Growth rates of total exports and RMG exports, 1988–2021 (Source Constructed from BGMEA data)

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because of the sheer share of export of RMG to total export, hovering around 80 per cent. Another development should also be brought to notice here. The GDP of Bangladesh had been growing by over 6 per cent during the 2010s. The expansion could partially explain the growth in GDP during the period RMG has remained at par or higher than the growth rate of total exports in Bangladesh.

4.2.2.2 Pharmaceutical Industry The pharmaceutical industry is an emerging industry after the RMG in Bangladesh, with a multi-billion-dollar size. The pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh started its journey immediately after the birth of Bangladesh in 1971. Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) was established in 1972 with 23 member companies. According to the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), approximately 257 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers operate in Bangladesh, and 150 are fully functional. Based on the DGDA, 3,657 Allopathic, 2400 Homeopathic, 6,389 Unani, and 4025 Ayurvedic registered drugs are manufactured in Bangladesh (Faisal, 2019). The pharmaceuticals industry of Bangladesh fulfils 98 per cent of domestic demand, and the rest 2 per cent are specialized products like vaccines, anti-cancer products, and hormone drugs imported from outside the country (Faisal, 2019). After fulfilling the domestic demand, Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry exports drugs to 150 countries. In the fiscal year 2021–2022, it exports US $ 188.78 million worth of drugs (Fig. 4.5). Bangladesh pharmaceutical production units produce both generic and registered or patent drugs. Based on WTO’s TRIPS accord, Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firms do not require to grant/acquire a patent to re-engineer and sell any new innovative molecule. This reengineering facility and low labour cost have made Bangladesh an attractive global drug production place. According to Chaudhuri (2020), Bangladesh is permitted to produce 450 generic drugs for 5600 registered brands worldwide. In Bangladesh, the top 20 firms cover 85 per cent of the market share, and the rest by the remaining firms.

95

4 Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh and West Bengal

400

364.07

350 280.58

300 250

205.18

200 150 100

139.99 89.17

150.72

198.86 169.02

129.95

188.78

135.79

103.46

50 0 2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

Chemical Products (in million US$)

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Pharmaceuticals (in million US$)

Fig. 4.5 Chemical and pharmaceuticals exports of Bangladesh (Source Export Promotion Bureau [2022])

4.2.2.3 Leather Industry In the 1970s leather industry was considered one of the largest industries in Bangladesh. Based on the Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB), Bangladesh’s leather goods market worth was about BDT 160 billion in FY 2018–19. The main leather products in Bangladesh are garments, shoes, belts, bags, jackets, suitcases, wallets, and some fancy items. Those products are sold both in domestic and international markets. Bangladesh fulfills about 60 per cent of domestic demand, and the rest 40 per cent is imported from overseas. On the other hand, Bangladesh exports about 85 per cent of its leather products, which meets 10 per cent of the total world’s leather products demand. The main leather and leather export market are Australia, Europe, Japan, Singapore, and the USA. Based on the Bangladesh Textile Today (BTT) reports for 2018, Bangladesh has a vast potential to increase its export in the domestic and international markets. BTT found that Bangladesh still has a low labour cost in producing leather goods. Hence, Bangladesh has a highvalue addition potential. The government of Bangladesh drew the same conclusion, and as a result, the government adopted a five-year plan from

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1400 1245.18

1234

1200

1085.51

1000

1019.78

941.67

800 600

756.18

797.6 565.6

536.96 464.43

607.88

569.88 478.75 337.62

336.81

400 232.61

200

183.1

247.28 164.62

220.55 98.31

252.65 119.14

151.37

0 2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Leather (in million US$) Leather Products (in million US$) Leather Footwear (in million US$) Total Leather & Leather Products (in million US$)

Fig. 4.6 Bangladesh: Exports of leather goods, 2017–22 (Source Export Promotion Bureau [2022])

2016–2021 to reach US $5 billion in export earnings from leather products. But in FY 2020–2021, leather sectors only export US $ 941.7 million, representing 2.4 per cent of the total country’s export (Eusuf et al., 2022). The figure has gone further up in FY 2021–22 to US$1,245 million (Fig. 4.6), indicating a growing prospect for the industry.

4.2.2.4 Construction-Related and Other Manufacturing Areas According to figures from the World Bank, Bangladesh’s urbanization rate is between 5 and 6 per cent annually (Ahmed et al., 2020). In contrast, during the last two decades, a substantial number of individuals have reached the middle-income bracket. The majority reside in two major cities, Dhaka and Chittagong. In Dhaka, 68 per cent of the population lives in leased housing, and the same is true of the port city of Chittagong. Commercial construction companies contribute significantly to accommodate the growing demand for living houses.

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Bangladesh’s retail building sector is governed by the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB). In 1991, there were initially just 11 members. More than 1500 construction enterprises are now operating in Bangladesh, and 1191 are REHAB members. REHAB members are “Class A” construction enterprises in Bangladesh, according to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). The government-led construction projects of infrastructure development, such as roads, bridges, and highways, as well as other small, medium, and large-scale construction schemes, are pushing related manufacturing activities (Fig. 4.7). Approximately 7.6 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product is generated by the construction industry, which employs about 3.33 million people, or 5.6 per cent of the entire labour force (Mirrealestate, 2022). Some of the other industries that are showing increasing contributions to the manufacturing sector are ship shipbuilding, low-tech engineering products, etc. In 2008 and 2012, Ananda Shipyards and Shipways Ltd. built and shipped more than 20 vessels to Europe and earned more than $100 million. Even though Bangladesh has previously shown its ability to construct many kinds of ships, up until 2012, it exported only multipurpose vessels (MPV) and ferries (Ministry of Industries, GOB 2021). DPDC area project

355.94

Padma Bridge Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project

408.32 559.98

Matarbari power plant

718

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

2150 0

1000

2000

3000

Fig. 4.7 Budget allocation for megaprojects (US$ million), 2020–2021 (Source Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh)

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0.9

0.85

0.8 0.7 0.6

0.58

0.5 0.4

0.35

0.3 0.2 0.1 -0.1

0.1

0.09

0 2007

-0.01 2008 2009

0.1

0.09 0.02

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2018

Fig. 4.8 World’s shipbuilding market shared by Bangladesh (%) (Source Authors’ calculation based on Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh)

Three Asian nations: China, Japan, and South Korea, dominate 90 per cent of the worldwide shipbuilding market. Europe provides an additional 5 per cent, while the rest of the globe competes for the remaining 5 per cent. Bangladesh is trying to establish its place in the remaining 5 per cent of the market. In that pursuit, Bangladesh reached about 0.9 per cent of that segment (Fig. 4.8). At the same time, the shipbuilding sector in Bangladesh enjoys 20 to 30 per cent less expensive labour costs compared to nations such as Japan, South Korea, and China. Shipbuilding requires expert, semiskilled, and unskilled labourers. According to the Bangladesh Investment Board, it generates 6,000 new jobs annually.

4.3

Manufacturing Sector of West Bengal

4.3.1 GSDP and Industrial Decline Presently, West Bengal is an economy of about $190 billion (PRS Legislative Research, 2022), a whole Indian economy of over $3.1 trillion. In 2020–21, West Bengal constituted 5.72 per cent of the Indian economy, a decline from 8.65 per cent even in 2001–02 (Fig. 4.9). But when India became Independent in 1947 from the British colonial masters, West Bengal was a leading state in terms of its agricultural and

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manufacturing power. Though the agricultural sector of West Bengal is still a big part of the Indian economy, its industrial power has declined substantially. Table 4.2 unfolds interesting insights into West Bengal’s decline in industrial production and employment share. The state had one of India’s highest industrial output and employment shares in 1955-56. But gradually, with time, there has been a huge decline in manufacturing output and employment, and the figures for 2007–08 indicate the magnitude of the fall. It is to be noted that the decline of production and employment shares of some states may be attributed to the curving out of other states. As a result of such divisions, their physical sizes and aggregate population declined. But for West Bengal, this is not holding as the state was not divided since Indian Independence in 1947. So, West Bengal’s decline in industrial output and employment relative to other states shows how its industrial power failed to grow and maintain its share among the Indian states. The sheer size of the decline is another issue. What could be the possible reasons for this decrease? The list could be a long one. Topping the list may be the state’s perceived unfriendly political culture to the industrial and entrepreneurial class, particularly after 1977. This legacy has continued beyond our data period too. For example, the Singur Movement in 2009 that led drove the TATA’s Nano project out of the 10.000% 8.000% 6.000% 4.000%

0.000%

1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

2.000%

Percentage share of Net State Value Added

Fig. 4.9 Percentage share of net state value added of West Bengal to India (Source Economic Survey, various issues)

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Table 4.2 Share in industrial production and employment (%): 1955–56 and 2007–08 State

1955–56

West Bengal Haryana Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Madras/Tamil Nadu Gujarat Bombay/Maharashtra

2007–08

Production

Employment

Production

Employment

24 na na na 10 8 na 31

27 na na na 10 9 na 31

3.9 4.5 6.6 6.6 7.0 9.6 16.1 18.7

4.9 4.9 10 6.9 7.2 14.8 10 13

Source Annual Survey of Industries various issue and Ray (2011)

state. That impacted not only the viability of the project but vitiated the investment environment of the state in the long term. This fall could be explained by the decrease in the share of factories in West Bengal to all of India, as shown in Fig. 4.10. This may indicate why people in the state under all categories, such as inept, semiskilled, and skilled workers are desperate to migrate to other states or countries if they have the information network. In the process, the state is sidelined in the process of development. It is also possible to draw a share of the manufacturing sector in West Bengal’s GSDP over the period 1980/81–2008/09 (Fig. 4.11). It 18.00% 16.00% 14.00% 12.00% 10.00% 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00%

15.80% 13%

6.40%

1960-61

1970-71

1980-81

5.09%

4.64%

1990-91

2000-01

3.89%

3.91%

2010-11

2019-20

Fig. 4.10 Percentage share of factories in West Bengal to all India (Source Annual Survey of Industries, various issues, and Economic Survey, various issues)

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Fig. 4.11 Share of manufacturing in West Bengal GSDP (Source Government of West Bengal [Economic Review, various issues])

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2012/13

2020/21

Agriculture and Allied Sector

2022/23 Industry

Service

Fig. 4.12 Sectoral share of gross state domestic product of West Bengal (%, at current price) 2012–13 to 2022/23 (Source Government of West Bengal [Economic Reviews])

is further corroborated that the share of manufacturing in West Bengal’s GSDP has weakened over the years. However, we have a slightly different picture in Fig. 4.12, showing a rebound in the manufacturing sector. The figure shows that from a GSDP share of 17.2 per cent in 2012–13, the manufacturing share climbed up to 22 per cent in 2022–23. Though activities in steel production, textile, leather etc., have increased, the possible cause of this increase needs further investigation. A report published by the Planning Commission (2013) finds that unregistered factories have a higher Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) than the registered factory sector. This perhaps caused the state’s highest

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number of unregistered enterprises (16.13 per cent) of the total unregistered companies in India (Government of West Bengal, 2011). In recent times, unregistered manufacturing enterprises, under small-scale unorganized enterprises,3 have been a key feature of the West Bengal economy. Khasnabis (2008) has an interesting observation in this context. He argues that this trivial production has facilitated a peculiar condition in West Bengal, where the economy has grown significantly even in the face of a decline in the importance of large-scale manufacturing industries.4 It has also been argued that the industrial decline in West Bengal has been policy-induced, particularly by the central government. With the freight equalization policy adopted by the central government, the entire eastern region of the country was adversely affected in terms of losing its advantage in the industrial sector. Moreover, with the licensing policy in place, there have been allegations of discrimination against the Centre in giving industrial licences in West Bengal (Chakravarty, 2010). Khasnabis op cit, on the other hand, argues that the labour productivity in West Bengal could have been higher. The below-par productivity made the industrialists unsure of earning a requisite profit rate on their investments in West Bengal, prompting them to leave the state. Chakravarty (2010) depicts the labour productivity of some selected states. Her study shows that West Bengal has a low level of labour productivity compared to states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. This can be a possible hindrance to industrial growth in the state. Chattopadhyay (2005) findings are indicative here. According to him, 3

The employment contract in such unorganized sectors is pathetic. The violations of labor laws are rampant. The employees are recruited in the name of “permanent”, but the employers ask them to resign at any point in time, threatening them with termination if it is not followed. They pay only three months’ advance salary in case the concerned employee leaves. 4 Planning Commission op. cit observed that the most common reason one comes across in the mainstream media and certain sections of academia is the issue of labor militancy. It is argued that there has been a flight of capital from the state because of the very strong and militant trade union movement in West Bengal. This is, however, only sometimes true. One of the trade union power indexes is the number of industrial disputes involving strikes. In 1980, the total number of industrial disputes involving strikes was 78. In contrast, industrial disputes involving strikes decreased to only 15 in 2010. The other industrial dispute involving lockouts registered an increase in the same period. In 1980, the total number of dispute-related lock-outs was 130, which increased to 269 in 2010. While the number of strikes decreased in the state, the share of manufacturing in GSDP declined. However, the number of lockouts continued to rise.

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“the profitability of the total manufacturing sector has gone down in the state. The productivity of capital in the manufacturing sector has declined while labour productivity has increased. However, the latter has increased mainly due to a few industry groups, which are highly capital-intensive and have contributed around 85 per cent of the profit of the total manufacturing sector. TFP of the West Bengal manufacturing sector as a whole has been declining, while it has been increasing in the case of India. TFP of six industry groups that played a dominant role during the early 1960s has gone down except Jute industry, which is a dying industry. That means no new industry groups have come up to take up the position of these industries, which have been performing poorly. Therefore, while the State of West Bengal has shown an impressive improvement in the case of the rural sector, the industrial slowdown has not been arrested as yet in the State”. On the whole analysis, numerous factors explain the industrial decline in West Bengal. In light of this chapter, we have identified key factors, such as there has been a decline in the manufacturing sector in West Bengal, with the unorganized sector contributing more to the manufacturing output in the state than the organized sector and the labour productivity in West Bengal is less than that of India. However, in the large skilled intensive sector, it has increased. As regards employment in manufacturing, Planning Commission op. cit observed that the economy of West Bengal shows that a bourgeoning unorganized sector marks the state, and the dynamism of the manufacturing sector in the state has practically vanished, with the main growth impetus coming from the real estate and construction sector. It is inexplicable how this economy will be able to create employment and growth in the long run in a situation where it is struggling to survive and losing the manufacturing sector can still register high non-agricultural employment.

4.4

Conclusion

The chapter describes the historical developments and analyses the present condition of the manufacturing sector in the two Bengals. It

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brings out many facts and factors that have yet to be presented to the readers for a clear and better understanding of the sector and the contrasting progress made by two Bengals over their existence. For Bangladesh, the readymade garments industry (RMG) has become one such example where it has been doing very well. But at the same time, Bangladesh is diversifying its industrial strength into the areas where more and more advanced and skilled workforce is required. Pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding are two examples in this regard. The major area of concern has become the industrial productivity of its labour force. Bangladesh’s industrial sector has a comparatively low productivity performance since the nation’s production is mainly centred on readymade clothing and associated goods. These commodities serve as the starting point for industrialization, and prosperous countries gradually expand their production to include toys, light electrical goods, bicycles, and other items (and eventually more complex electronic products or heavier machines). Bangladesh has yet to be able to climb the value added ladder (Rahman, 2021). But this does not mean that effort is there to make industrial inroads in some sectors where Bangladesh seems to have comparative cost advantages. Ideally, West Bengal could have become a strong garment hub in India if only successive state governments and policymakers had the vision and strategies to recognize the state’s potential. But the chapter reveals that the decline in manufacturing in West Bengal can be explained by factors such as partition, excessive political interference, poor work culture, a hostile central government, and the state government’s poor governance. In effect, the public and private sectors chose states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu to seek alternate destinations for securing “less risky” returns on investment. In addition, the total manufacturing sector’s profitability has decreased in the state. The study shows that the productivity of capital in the manufacturing sector has declined while labour productivity has increased. However, the latter has increased mainly due to a few industry groups, which are highly capitalintensive and have contributed around 85 per cent of the profit of the total manufacturing sector. The total factor productivity of the West Bengal manufacturing sector as a whole has been declining, while it has been increasing in the case of India. The TFP of six industry groups that

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played a dominant role during the early 1960s has gone down except for the Jute industry, which is a dying industry. That means no new industry groups have emerged to take up the position of these industries, which have been performing poorly. The government needs some appropriate strategy for infrastructure development, simplification of procedures, and sector-specific recommendations to transform into a strong economic power.

References Ahmed, S., Hossain, M. M., & Haq, I. (2020). Implementation of Lean Construction in the Construction Industry in Bangladesh: Awareness, Benefits, and Challenges. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation. Aktar, R., Siddika, S., Auntu, S. K., Rahman, M. M., & Adnan, A. T. M. (2021). Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on RMG Sector: A Study of Bangladesh. International Journal of Science and Business, 5(11), 1–11. Barai, M. K., & Dhar, S. (2021). Covid-19 Pandemic: Inflicted Costs and Some Emerging Global Issues. Global Business Review, 1–20. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.1177/0972150921991499. BBS [Bangladesh Bureau Statistics]. (2017). Population Census, 2017 . BGMEA [Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association]. (2023). Export Performance. https://www.bgmea.com.bd/page/Export_Per formance Berg, A., Chhaparia, H., Hedrich, S., & Magnus, K. H. (2021). What’s Next for Bangladesh’s Garment Industry After a Decade of Growth? Mckinsey & Company Insights Reports. Chakravarty, D. (2010, February 6): “Trade Unions and Business Firms: Unorganized Manufacturing in West Bengal”. Economic and Political Weekly. Chattopadhyay, S. K. (2005). Trends in Total Factor Productivity of Manufacturing Sector in West Bengal: A Sectoral and Temporal Analysis. Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai: mimeo. Chaudhuri, S. (2020). Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Industry Bangladesh, 1982 to 2020. Centre for Development Studies, Working Paper, 495.

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Eusuf, M.A., Khaleque, M. A., &Rana, E.A., (2022). Employment and Working Conditions in Bangladesh’s Leather Industry; Evidence from a Survey of Tannery Workers. Retrieved from https://www.inkota.de/sites/default/files/2022-09/ Report%20Conditions%20in%20Bangladeshs%20leather%20industry_E ngl.pdf Access date November 20, 2022. Export Promotion Bureau. http://epb.gov.bd/site/view/epb_export_data/Faisal, M. A. (2019). Pharmaceuticals Industry of Bangladesh; The Multi-billion Dollar Industry. Pharmaceuticals Industry of Bangladesh. 3rd Edition. Government of West Bengal. 2011. Economic Review, 2011–12 (Statistical Appendix). Khasnabis, R. (2008). The Economy of West Bengal, Economic and Political Weekly, 43(52), 103–115. Ministry of Finance, GOB. (2022). Bangladesh Economic Review 2022. Ministry of Industries, GOB. (2021). Shipbuilding Industry Development Policy 2021. https://moind.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/moind.portal.gov. bd/page/66b4934c_1ad2_4ab3_a9f8_329331d9b054/12.%20Ship%20buil ding%20Industry%20Development%20Policy%202021.pdf Mirrealestate. (2022). Overview of Real Estate Industry in Bangladesh. Retrieve from https://www.mirrealestate.com/blog/the-real-estate-sector-inbangladesh. Access date November 20, 2022. Planning Commission. (2013). Factors Impacting Non-Agricultural Employment Growth: A Study in West Bengal . Institute of Applied Manpower Research, IAMR Report no. 6/2013. PRS Legislative Research. (2022). West Bengal Budget Analysis 2022–2023. https://prsindia.org/files/budget/budget_state/west-bengal/2022/West%20B engal%20Budget%20Analysis%202022-23.pdf Rahman, J. (2021). In Charts: Comparing Productivity in Bangladesh with the Rest of South Asia, Dhaka Tribune. https://scroll.in/article/993945/in-chartscomparing-productivity-in-bangladesh-with-the-rest-of-south-asia Rahman, K. M., & Chowdhury, E. H. (2020). Growth Trajectory and Developmental Impact of Ready-made Garments Industry in Bangladesh. In Barai, M. K. (Ed.), Bangladesh’s Economic and Social Progress (pp. 267– 297). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. Ray, S. C. (2011). The Political Economy of the decline of Industry in West Bengal: Experiences of a Marxist State Within a Mixed Economy, Working Paper 2011–10. Department of Economics Working paper series, University of Connecticut.

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Sarker, R. (2018). Trade Expansion, International Competitiveness and the Pursuit of Export Diversification in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 41(2), 1–25. World Bank. (2023). World Development Indicator. https://databank.worldb ank.org/source/world-development-indicators Zahir, S. (2020). What Order Cancellation Means for the Bangladesh RMG Sector? Retrieved from https://databd.co/what-order-cancellation-means-forthe-bangladesh-rmg-sector. Access date November 21, 2022. Zaman, Z. U., & Van Berkel, R. (2022). Is Bangladesh’s Manufacturing Sector Fit to Compete? Dhaka Tribune. https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/ 2022/10/11/is-bangladeshs-manufacturing-sector-fit-to-compete

5 Financial Sectors in Bengals: Towards Development and Inclusion Paramita Mukherjee and Rajashri Chatterjee

5.1

Introduction

Bangladesh made headlines after India fell behind Bangladesh in terms of per capita income in the year 2020–2021. Years ago, the world also talked about the microcredit revolution led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who, through Grameen Bank, showed Bangladesh a way to reduce poverty and raise income in rural areas significantly. Along with trade liberalization, financial liberalization measures were undertaken in the 1990s in Bangladesh, including liberalization of interest rates, abolishing priority sector lending, strengthening central bank supervision in regulating banks, improving debt recovery, and P. Mukherjee (B) Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Hyderabad, India e-mail: [email protected] R. Chatterjee International Management Institute, Kolkata, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_5

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broadening capital market development. West Bengal, on the other hand, as a state in India, has also undergone reforms undertaken for the financial sector that were initiated with the new economic policy in 1991. With the deregulation of interest rates, the introduction of prudential norms for banks, and several measures for developing capital markets, a significant transformation occurred in the context of financial markets and institutions in West Bengal. The financial system of Bangladesh is comprised of three broad fragmented sectors in terms of the regulatory framework and organizational settings, viz. formal sector, the semi-formal sector, and the informal sector (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). The formal sector refers to all financial institutions operating under structured regulatory frameworks, e.g., banks, financial institutions (FIs), insurance companies, capital market intermediaries, such as brokerage houses, merchant banks, etc., and microfinance institutions (MFIs). The semi-formal sector includes a few specialized financial institutions that are not under the supervision of financial sector regulators but are governed by their Acts or legal framework under various government ministries. They include Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC), Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Limited (BSBL), Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Grameen Bank, Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), several cooperatives and credit unions and discrete government programmes. The informal sector refers to mainly the private intermediaries that are mostly unregulated. These institutions’ operational activities are governed by several regulators, viz. Bangladesh Bank supervises the banking system; Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission looks after the stock market operations; Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority regulates the insurance companies, and Microcredit Regulatory Authority regulates the microcredit institutions. The Ministry of Finance also plays some oversight role in certain aspects. The financial system in West Bengal, like other parts of India, is predominantly bank-based. However, with financial reforms, new financial products such as mutual funds have come up, and retail investor participation in stock markets has increased. Apart from banks, many non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have also come up. With

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different schemes of the government and the prevalence of a number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state, microfinance institutions also assumed importance in recent times. The two Bengals had to part ways in 1947 owing to political, social, and a number of other factors, and the journey of their economies and the financial sectors have not been the same. This chapter collates some observations about the process of financial liberalization and development in West Bengal and Bangladesh, the role of certain financial institutions, and discusses some key achievements towards financial inclusion in both the Bengals in the recent past. The rest of the chapter is structured as follows: Section 5.2 presents a discussion on the overall scenario in the banking and other sectors in Bangladesh and also describes the success story of the Grameen Bank. Section 5.3 summarises the scenario of banking and microfinance in West Bengal, followed by a discussion in Sect. 5.4 where the two Bengals stand in terms of financial inclusion. Section 5.5 concludes the chapter.

5.2

Financial Sector in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s financial sector has undergone some transformations in the last few decades. According to the IMF Financial Index Database, Bangladesh’s overall financial development index has recorded a gradual increase over the years, from around 0.14 in the 1980s to about 0.2 towards the end of the twentieth century and finally to 0.25 in 2019. Though the development of financial institutions was higher than that of the financial markets earlier, in the last two decades, the progress in financial markets has been remarkable, with the index for markets moving up to 0.21 in 2019, from about 0.07 in the 1980s. The index for financial institutions also has risen from about 0.2 in the 1990s to 0.28 in 2019. The structure of the financial system in Bangladesh is presented in Table 5.1. Banks account for over 90% of financial institutions’ assets

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(World Bank, 2010). Bangladesh went for The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2003.1 Since then, the share of banks’ total assets in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and private credit ratios to GDP have each increased by about one-third. The share of bank deposits in GDP is at par with other South Asian countries. Nonetheless, there has been a substantial expansion in the number of bank branches and access to banking and microfinance services, while the shares of state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) and specialized banks in total bank assets have declined over the years (World Bank, 2010). This has happened due to the increase in domestic private banks holding most of their banking assets. The subsections discuss the scenario of banking, microcredit, and other financial institutions and markets.

5.2.1 Banking Six state-owned commercial banks account for 25.1% of the total banking assets in Bangladesh. Out of the total banking assets, total loans account for 63.8 to 66.5% from 2017 to 2020 (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). During the same period, the ratio of loans and advances to total deposits ranged between 83.2 and 87%, while the credit-deposit ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) in India averaged 76%. Advances to the deposit ratio in Bangladesh have remained quite high for the last two decades. Since 2017 it was consistently above 80%, like that from 2000 to 2002, though it fell between 2002 and 2017, it was never below 72% (Fig. 5.1). Between 2015 and 2019, advances hovered in the range of 14.2 to 18.5%, barring 2018 at 6.9%, and growth in deposits ranged between 9.7 to 17.2% barring 5.1% in 2018. In terms of the soundness of banks, private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign banks (FCBs) are doing well when it comes to compliance with Basel III norms of Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) and non-performing loans (NPL) to Loans ratio. But the state 1 FSAP is a joint programme of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank launched in 1999 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. It helps countries reduce the likelihood and severity of financial sector crises.

Financial System

Formal Sector

Financial Markets/Infrastructure Money Market Foreign Exchange Market Payment and Settlement Systems

Table 5.1 Structure of financial sector in Bangladesh

State Owned Commercial Banks (SOCBs) (6) Pvt Commercial Banks (PCBs) (43) Foreign Commercial Banks (FCBs) (9) Specialised Development Banks (SDBs) (3) Government owned (3) Others (31) Authorized Dealers (ADs), Money changers, Mobile Financial Services (MFS) providers, Payment System Operators (PSOs), Payment Service Providers (PSPs), Online Payment Gateway Service Providers (OPGSPs), etc

Banks

Others

FIs

Numbers

Institutions

(continued)

Bangladesh Bank

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Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) Life Non-Life

Govt. owned (2) Others (77)

Merchant Banks (63) Credit Rating Companies (8) Asset Management Companies (AMCs) (48) Depository Participants (DPs) (497)

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)

Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) Microcredit Market Microfinance MFI (746) Microcredit Institutions Regulatory (MFI) Authority (MRA) Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC), Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), Samabay Bank and Grameen Bank, Cooperatives and Credit Unions, Government Pension Scheme, Central Provident Fund, Private sector pension/ gratuity funds, and discrete govt programmes, etc

Insurance Market

Capital Market

Source Bangladesh Bank, Financial Stability Report, 2020

Informal Sector

Semi-formal Sector

Table 5.1 (continued)

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90.0

14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0

85.0 80.0 75.0 70.0 65.0

2000

2002

2004

2006

Advance (BDT bln)

2008

2010

2012

2014

Deposit (BDT bln)

2016

2018

2020

Credit-Deposit Ratio (right axis)

Fig. 5.1 Trend in banks’ credits and deposits in Bangladesh (Source Financial Stability Report [2020])

Table 5.2 Key indicators of the banking sector in Bangladesh Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) 2004 SOCBs DFIs/ SDBs PCBs FCBs Overall

NPL to Loans ratio

2008 2011 2015

2019

4.1 6.9 11.7 6.4 5 9.1 −5.3 −4.5 −32 −32 10.3 24.2 8.7

11.4 24 10.1

11.5 21 11.4

12.4 25.6 10.8

2004 2008 2011 2015 2019 25.3 42.9

25.4 25.5

11.3 24.6

21.5 23.2

23.9 15.1

13.6 8.5 24.5 1.5 11.6 17.6

4.4 1.9 10.8

2.9 2.9 6.1

4.9 7.8 8.8

5.8 5.7 9.3

Source Bangladesh Bank, Financial Stability Report (2020)

banks’ (SOCBs) position is quite vulnerable (Table 5.2). In terms of the capital adequacy ratio, the banking industry in Bangladesh was able to maintain higher than the regulatory minimum capital requirement of 10% in line with the Basel III norms; CRAR remained at 11.6% in end-December 2020. As of 2020, 49 banks are CRAR-compliant, constituting 72.4% share of the banking system’s total assets (Fig. 5.2). However, the improved capital base of the PCBs and FCBs contributes to the overall compliance of the banking sector, but the CRAR of SOCBs at 4.3% in December 2020 is still far behind the regulatory requirement. Also, specialized banks (SDBs) have a negative capital adequacy ratio. Also, the CRAR of banks in Bangladesh is the lowest among the banks of its neighbouring countries in South Asia, with Pakistan at 18.6%, Sri Lanka at 16.5%, and India at 15.8% in 2020.

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45

40.3

40 35 30

27.6

26

25 20 15 10

6.1

5 0 10 (upto 10%)

20 (>10% to 15%

16 (>15% to 20%)

13 (above 20%)

Number of banks (CRAR)

Fig. 5.2 Asset share (%) of banks by CRAR in Bangladesh (Source Financial Stability Report [2020])

Regarding asset quality, domestic banks in Bangladesh are vulnerable (Yesmine et al., 2023). Out of the loans disbursed, 27.1% of loans went to large industries, followed by wholesale and retail trade (17.9%). Though a drop in the ratio of NPL to total advances was observed between January–March 2018 and October–December 2020, from 10.8% to 8.1%, the ratio remains quite high; the ratio went up to 12% during the quarter of July–September 2019. As on December 2020, among the bank groups, SOCBs and SDBs have exceedingly high NPL to loans ratio, with SOCBs at 21%, SDBs at 13.3%, PCBs at 4.8%, and FCBs at 5.7%. SOCBs account for 47.9% of total NPLs, while PCBs and SDBs account for 42.5% and 4.6%, respectively [Annual Report (2019–2020)]. Islamic banking activities are also part of the banking system in Bangladesh. Eight full-fledged Islamic banks with 1311 branches operate as of end-December 2020. In addition, nine conventional banks operate nineteen Islamic banking branches, and fourteen conventional banks operate 198 Islamic banking windows that provide Islamic banking services. Recent demand for Islamic banking can be observed with its “equity-based and interest-free” banking philosophy. Total deposits of such banks have gone up from around BDT 1700 billion to around BDT 3000 billion between 2016 and 2020. As of December 2020, Islamic banks have a share of 21.3% of total deposits of the entire banking

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system2 and 20.2% of total assets, and 24% of investments in terms of loans. The average CRAR of this group of banks was 12.5% in 2020, significantly higher than 10.9% in 2016; also, barring one bank, Islamic banks have a CRAR greater than 10%.

5.2.2 Microfinance in Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus established Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1983 to self-support of the poorest people through loans on easy terms. Banks, in general, are reluctant to lend money to anyone without collateral. Grameen Bank model is based on the premise that even the poorest of the poor can manage their financial affairs and development given suitable conditions. The instrument in this system is microcredit, i.e., small long-term loans on easy terms. In a bank unit covering about 15 to 22 villages, a Field Manager and a number of bank workers visit villages to familiarise themselves with the local milieu and identify prospective clientele. They then explain the bank’s purpose, functions, and mode of operation to the clientele. Groups of five prospective borrowers are formed; in the first stage, only two of them are eligible for a loan. The group is observed for a month in compliance with the rules of the members. Only if the first two borrowers repay the principal and interest over fifty weeks do other group members become eligible for a loan. Thus, there is substantial group pressure to keep individual records clear, and the collective responsibility of the group serves as collateral on a loan. This was successful in Bangladesh and is now followed in many other countries. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are valuable tools for poverty alleviation. Financial services offered by MFIs are general microcredit for small-scale self-employment-based activities, micro-enterprise loans, loans for the ultra-poor, agricultural loans, seasonal loans, loans for disaster management, and savings facilities for the members. The MFI sector is mostly dominated by female members (90.4% in FY 2020), indicating that female participation in getting access to microcredit is 2

This consists of Islamic banks and conventional banks.

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considerably higher than their male counterparts. Also, 78.1% of female members and 82.6% of male members are availing of credit facilities from MFIs (Bangladesh Bank, 2020), MFIs, banks, and government programmes served 33.3 million customers as of December 2020. It is estimated that over half of all poor households use MFIs’ wide range of loans, basic and long-term savings (“retirement savings”), and insurance services. About 80% of MFI members have active loans; the rest only maintain deposits. From 2016 to 2020, MFIs recorded positive annual growth in terms of the number of members and borrowers and the amount of outstanding loans (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). The concentration in the microfinance sector is high in terms of loans, savings, and the number of members, as the number of institutions is small. In 2020, the top 10 MFIs mobilized 71.97% of the total savings of the members, extended 71.96% of the MFI sector’s outstanding loans, and served 73.3% of the total members of MFIs. If the size distribution of loans is considered, we find a shift towards bigger loans during the period 2016 to 2020, e.g. the share of loans worth up to BDT 10,000 and loans of amount from BDT 10,001 to 30,000 has declined to 21.2 % in 2020 from 46.3 % in 2016, whereas the share of loans of amount BDT 100,001 to 300,000 and above 300,001 has significantly increased from 17.8 % to 33.4% (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). The NPL to advances ratio of the MFIs sector stood at 3.3% in 2020, substantially lower than that of the banks and FIs. In terms of profitability, MFIs have had the highest ROA and ROEs in recent years among financial institutions, including banks, Islamic banks, and financial institutions (Table 5.3). While banks have the lowest ROA of 0.3 and the second lowest ROE of 4.8% in 2020 (FIs have an ROE of 3.9%), MFIs’ ROA and ROE stood at 5 and 11.8%. Around 93.2% of the banks had ROA below 2.0%, and 64.4% had ROE below 10%. Islamic banks also have ROEs close to MFIs, but the ROA is much lower (0.5%), and the profitability of FIs is no better than the banks.

Source Bangladesh Bank Financial Stability Report, 2020

Table 5.3 Profitability of different financial institutions

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5.2.3 Other Financial Institutions and Markets Apart from banks, specialized financial institutions (FIs) operate in Bangladesh by offering specialized financial services that include lease financing, term financing, syndicated financing, bridge financing, SME financing, equity financing, merchant banking, and venture capital financing. As of end-December 2020, 34 FIs were operating with one under liquidation process; among them, 3 are government-owned, 19 are privately owned local companies, and the remaining 12 are established jointly under local and foreign participation. The formal financial sector in Bangladesh is comprised of the money market that pertains to the banking system, microcredit institutions, non-bank financial institutions, interbank foreign exchange markets, the capital market or the stock markets, the bond market, and the insurance market. While Bangladesh Bank regulates the banking system, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission supervises the functioning of the stock market, the Insurance Development, and Regulatory Authority plays the role of the regulator in the insurance market, and Microcredit Regulatory Authority supervises microcredit institutions. At the end of the calendar year (CY) 2020, the aggregate assets of the FI industry reached BDT 901.74 billion. The share of loans and leases to total assets was 74.4%, and FIs’ total assets to GDP ratio accounted for 3.2% in 2020. From 2013 to 2020, the ratio ranged between 3.2 and 4.3%. The sectors which have major shares in the loans and leases extended by FIs during 2020 included housing (18.9%), trade and commerce (13.6%), power, gas, water and sanitary (10.8%), iron steel and engineering (4.8%), and textiles (4.6%), among others (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). The ratio of non-performing loans and leases to total loans and FIs is quite high at 9.5% in CY19 and went up to 15.0% in CY20. But the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the FIs was 14.2% in end-December 2020, while the minimum prescribed CAR is 10% as per the Basel II standard. During 2013 and 2020, CAR has not fallen below 13.5% and reached 21.2% in 2014. Insurance has a stabilizing role for the financial sector in an economy. A significant difference between banking and insurance is that the average maturity of life insurance companies’ liabilities is longer than

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that of their assets. In Bangladesh, insurance products are available in the form of life insurance, general insurance, reinsurance, microinsurance, and Takaful or Islamic insurance with different schemes and endowments. Currently, 32 life insurance companies (including a foreign company and a public company) and 46 general (non-life) insurance companies (including a public company) are operating in Bangladesh. The ratio of insurance premiums underwritten in a particular year to GDP is an estimate of the insurance penetration ratio (IPR) in a country. This IPR gradually declined from 0.67% to 0.5% during 2015 and 2020; during the same period, non-life and life insurance penetration ratios declined to 0.16% and 0.34% in 2020 from 0.18% and 0.49%, respectively, in 2015 (Bangladesh Bank, 2020). Also, the insurance density or per capita premium has declined in Bangladesh. The ratio indicates total premiums to the total population, thereby showing the average level of insurance coverage of mass people; It was USD 9.7 in 2020 compared to around 10 in 2019, but it has increased compared to 2015 (about USD 7.4). Among the financial markets, stock markets play a key role in financing an economy. The market capitalization to GDP ratio of the capital market (Dhaka Stock Exchange) is gradually declining, which refers to the diminishing contribution of the capital market towards the economic growth in Bangladesh (Fig. 5.3). 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

Fig. 5.3 Market capitalization to GDP in Bangladesh (%) (Source Financial Stability Report [2020])

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Financial Sector in West Bengal

The efficacy of the financial sector ensures the health and growth of an economy and the well-being of the populace. The financial sector in India evolved through various phases post-independence, i.e., post1947. The first phase covering the 1950s and 1960s, displayed some instability connected to laissez-faire and underdeveloped banking sector; the second phase covering the 1970s and 1980s, witnessed the initiation of a financial development process under government auspices across the nation; the third one, since the 1990s ushered in significant developmental initiatives with gradual and carefully assessed liberalization and financial deepening (Mohan & Ray, 2016). The financial institutional framework in the country consists of banks and non-bank financial institutions. The banks are classified into Commercial Banks (including Regional Rural Banks, i.e., the RRBs), Cooperative Banks, and niche banks like Payment Banks and Small Finance Banks (SFBs). The non-bank institutions consist of Development Banks (almost obsolete at present), Insurance Companies, Mutual Funds, Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and others such as Pension Funds, Primary Dealers, etc. The financial markets in India again include Money Market, Stock Market, Bond Market, Foreign Exchange Market, Commodities Market, Credit Market, and Derivative Market. The financial sector in the state of West Bengal, comprising of these institutions and markets, like in any other state of India, has witnessed a variety of structural, organizational, and technological transitions and development. Against this backdrop, this part of the chapter tries to present an overview of certain significant components or pillars in the context of the financial sector of West Bengal.

5.3.1 Banking Sector in West Bengal The banking sector is the most crucial and offers key strength to support the growth of the financial sector. West Bengal observed growth in deposits and credit by the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) over the last decade, 2012–2021, at an average annual growth rate of 10.16

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40 35 30

Credit Growth

Deposit Growth

25 20 15 10 5 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Fig. 5.4 Trend in credit and deposit growth by SCBs in West Bengal (Percent) (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021)

% and 7.01 %, respectively (Fig. 5.4). All-India average annual growth rates were 10.95 % and 9.78 % for deposits and credit, respectively, for the same period (RBI, 2021). During the pandemic, deposit growth and credit growth during 2021 were seen to move in opposite directions for West Bengal, with deposit growth improving compared to that in 2020 while credit growth decelerating to a substantial extent as both lenders and borrowers remained risk averse amidst uncertainty during the period as observed by Care Ratings for the Indian banking sector.3 The banking sector is already stressed by the rising gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio of the SCBs; hence, credit growth is expected to be sluggish during periods of uncertainty. During the Financial Year (FY) ending March 2018, the deposit growth rate of SCBs in India fell to around 6.6%, the slowest in 55 years. The state of West Bengal also witnessed very low growth during the same period. The reasons for the same for India are cited as a reversal in the trend of huge deposits after November 2016 due to demonetization and the desirability of other savings instruments.4 During the period from 2004 to 2011, the annual 3

The Hindu (2021). Bank NPAs set to rise, deposit growth outpacing credit flow; Available at https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/bank-npas-set-to-rise-deposit-growth-outpacingcredit-flow/article34740975.ece, accessed on March 20, 2022. 4 India Today (2018). Note ban effect? Bank deposit growth lowest in 55 years; Available at https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/note-ban-effect-bank-deposit-growth-lowest-in-55years-1226357-2018-05-04.

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90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 West Bengal

ALL INDIA

Fig. 5.5 Credit–deposit ratio of SCBs in West Bengal and India (Percent) (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021)

average growth rates of deposits and credit for West Bengal were 18.5 % and 22.9 %, respectively; the annual average deposit growth rate and credit growth rates for the nation during the same period were 19.97% and 24.6%, respectively (RBI, 2021). Both deposit and credit growth had suffered a significant decline for West Bengal and India as a whole in the FY ending March 2009 amidst the risks and uncertainties of the global financial crisis. The credit–deposit (C–D) ratio, which implies the extent to which the banks have relied on their deposits, or the core funds for lending, showed that for West Bengal, it has been declining over the years in the last decade from 2012 to 2021 falling from 63.8% to 55.1 % during the first half over the period 2012–2016 and then mainly staying around 50 % during 2017–2020. The ratio suffered a drop to 46.5% in endMarch 2021 (Fig. 5.5). On average, the all-India C–D ratio was 78.5% over 2012–2016 and 76% over 2017–2020. The ratio in 2021 was much lower at 71.7%. The lower ratio for both India and the state as of endMarch 2021 highlighted the impact of excess liquidity and lack of credit demand amidst disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, during 2004–2011, the state’s ratio initially rose from 49.5% in 2004 to 64.7% in 2007 and averaged 62% from 2008 to 2011.5 The fall in the 5

The ratio for India has also seen a rising trend over the years 2004–2007 increasing from 58 per cent to 75 per cent and then on average being 74 per cent during 2008–2011.

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C–D ratio, on the one hand, is the outcome of an increase in deposits and a fall in demand for credit on the other. But this is not bad as the companies have sought alternative avenues for finance, such as bond markets. The credit portfolio of banks in West Bengal shows a declining share in the total credit of India for some sectors. For instance, West Bengal’s outstanding credit to agriculture by SCBs in 2021 has been around 2.5 times the amount in 2012, rising from | 18,700 crores as of end-March 2012 to | 46,372 crores as of end-March 2021 with the share in the amount for the whole nation is 3.33% and 3.05%, respectively (RBI, 2021). The state’s credit to the industry by SCBs again rose by | 24,457 crores during the same period from | 117,100 crores as of end-March 2012 to | 141,557 crores as of end-March 2021 with the share in the total amount for India declining from 6.03% to 4.57%, respectively. However, personal loans by SCBs for West Bengal outstanding in endMarch 2021 has been | 107,044 crore which is about 4.09 times the value of end-March 2012 (i.e., | 26,200 crores). In this case, the share in all-India total has risen from 3.5% in 2012 to 3.7% in 2021. The non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of total advances of banks in West Bengal rose from 4.4% in 2014 to 11.06% in 2018, which has been a grave concern.6 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India are SCBs operating at the regional level in various states to serve rural areas with basic banking and financial services primarily. However, they serve semi-urban and urban regions as well. Hence while discussing West Bengal’s banking sector, the role of RRBs cannot be ignored. The trends in RRB operations during the last two decades are discussed here. In India, as of March 31, 2021, there were 43 RRBs sponsored by 12 SCBs with a total of 21,856 branches operating, with three RRBs in West Bengal viz. Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank, Paschim Banga Gramin Bank, and Uttar Banga Kshetriya Gramin Bank are sponsored by Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, and Central Bank of India, respectively (NABARD, 2021b). 6 Firstpost (2018). NPA crisis: More financial scams in the offing, says West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, Available at https://www.firstpost.com/business/npa-crisis-more-financ ial-scams-in-the-offing-says-west-bengal-finance-minister-amit-mitra-5038881.html, accessed on April 27, 2022.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, several initiatives were taken by the government and RBI to enable the banking sector to face disruptions and challenges and move on effectively. The overall performance of these three RRBs in the last three years is presented in Table 5.4. It is evident that the C–D ratio varies considerably across RRBs. The performance in terms of gross non-performing assets (GNPA) is poor for 2 out of 3 RRBs in West Bengal. However, in terms of the Net Interest Margin (NIM), the performance of all three RRBs is similar. However, there is considerable variation in the performance of these banks. The trend in deposits and credit of the RRBs for West Bengal and India is presented in Fig. 5.6. Both Deposits and credit have been rising over the years, registering a jump to about 6.8 times and 8.4 times, respectively, between 2004 and 2021. However, despite that, the share of these deposits in total deposits of RRBs in India has recorded a declining trend over the same period and stands at slightly more than 5% for the last three years. Similarly, the share of credit in the total credit for India exhibits a declining trend, plunging from 5.75% in 2004 to 3.7% in 2021. The credit–deposit ratio of RRBs in West Bengal is also not high—it ranges between 44.6 to 47.4% from 2019 to 2021, while the C–D ratio of RRBs at the all-India level was between 64.4 to 71.4% (Fig. 5.7).

5.3.2 Microfinance and Financial Inclusion in the State of West Bengal The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2019–2024 aims at expanding and sustaining financial inclusion at the national level by effectively engaging all stakeholders in the financial sector (RBI, 2020). This sector is undergoing much evolution in terms of intensifying competition, technological advancements, and changes in the regulatory framework. “Microfinance, involving an extension of small loans and other financial services to low-income groups, is an important economic conduit designed to facilitate financial inclusion and assist the poor to work their way out of poverty. It is argued that microfinance can facilitate the achievement of national policies that target poverty reduction,

Source NABARD (2021a; 2020b)

Table 5.4 Performance of three RRBs in West Bengal 5 Financial Sectors in Bengals: Towards Development …

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30000

8.00 7.00

25000

6.00 20000

5.00 4.00

15000

3.00

10000

2.00 5000

1.00 0.00

0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Credit (Rs Crore) Deposits (Rs Core) WB's Share in All India Deposits (%)- right axis

WB's Share in All India Credit (%) -right axis

Fig. 5.6 Trend in credit and deposits of RRBs in West Bengal (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021) 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Credit-Deposit Ratio WB

Credit-Deposit Ratio All India

Fig. 5.7 Credit–deposit ratio of RRBs in West Bengal (Source RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021)

empowerment of women, assisting vulnerable groups, and improving standards of living” (Jain, 2019). Thus, microfinance is imperative for India to drive sustained economic growth and development. The industry players in the domain of microfinance are the NBFCMFIs, Banks, SFBs, NBFCs, and Non-profit MFIs, out of which RBI

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does not regulate only the Non-profit MFIs. The total microfinance industry loan portfolio outstanding on March 31, 2021, has been | 247,839 crores, with 1028 lakh active borrowers showing 17% and 12% increase, respectively, over the previous FY ending March 31, 2020 (NABARD, 2021a). In India, in an overall loan portfolio outstanding of | 247,839 crores, the share of banks, NBFC-MFIs, SFBs, NBFCs, and Non-profit MFIs were 44%, 32%, 15%, 8%, and 1%, respectively (NABARD, 2021a). If we look at West Bengal’s share in the All-India total of loans outstanding for NBFC-MFI, Non-profit MFIs, and NBFCs, we found that to be 5.77%, 5.3%, and 2%, respectively. A discussion about banks’ involvement in microfinance pertaining to the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) for West Bengal has been put forth later in the chapter. The industry in India disbursed 553 lakh loans during 2020–21 in the amount | 200,081 crores, with banks having the largest share in terms of both the number and amount of loans disbursed. West Bengal is 8th among the Indian states in terms of microfinance loans outstanding as of March 31, 2021. However, the state faces substantial delinquency challenges. The microfinance sector evolved much through the decades in terms of penetration in the country due to such revolutionary initiatives. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) initiated the Self-Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP) during 1992–1993 to link the unreached and underserved poor households to the formal banking and financial services sector. The programme has emerged as the world’s largest microfinance programme from the point of view of the client base and outreach. Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) are, on the other hand, fundamentally informal credit groups of small/marginal/tenant farmers/asset less poor who do not possess the proper title of their farmland and who are willing to jointly undertake the responsibility of repaying loans taken by the group from the banks. Financing of JLGs was again introduced in 2004–05 by NABARD in 8 states with the support of 13 RRBs. Based on the percentage of SHGs with bank loans outstanding as on March 31, 2021, West Bengal is among the eight states with a credit linkage percentage above the All-India average and ranked second

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with 85.6% of its SHGs with bank loans outstanding, following Bihar topped the list with 85.7% (NABARD, 2021a). Given the SHG-BLP, while traditionally, the southern states outperformed, West Bengal and Bihar displayed superior performance in the past few years. West Bengal observed 418.9% growth in annual bank credit disbursement to SHGs during 2015–2016 to 2019–2020; growth in SHGs’ savings with banks during the same period has been 115.2% (NABARD, 2016; 2020a). Trends in the performance of the SHGs in West Bengal over the last decade are depicted in Table 5.5. The impressive growth is observed for all the banks for the state of West Bengal in terms of savings of SHGs with various banks, viz. commercial banks, RRBs (taken as a separate segment as they played a crucial role in microfinance and financial inclusion process in the country) and the cooperative banks during the decade from 2011 to 2021. Considering the trends for all these banks, the savings amount growth has been 396.5%. The number of SHGs with these savings has increased by 65.9%. West Bengal ranked third and fourth among the states in terms of this savings amount as of March 31, 2021, and March 31, 2011, respectively (NABARD, 2011, 2021a). In terms of the amount of bank loans disbursed to SHGs by the commercial banks, RRBs, and cooperative banks in West Bengal during 2020–21 compared to the scenario during 2010–11, a notable increase is observed for all the banks for the state (Table 5.5). Considering all of these banks together, the growth in the disbursed amount and number of SHGs to whom the loans were disbursed has been 1205.13% and 346.63% during 2010–11 and 2020–21. It occupied the third and fifth position among the states regarding this disbursed amount in 2021 and 2011, respectively. West Bengal’s SHGs’ share in the amount of loans disbursed to SHGs of India by banks has exhibited substantial growth. Similarly, the share of SHGs in West Bengal in total bank loans outstanding against SHGs with the commercial banks, RRBs, and cooperative banks at all-India levels, also recorded a considerable surge. Considering the total, the growth in the bank loan outstanding amount for West Bengal has been 749.82%. The number of outstanding SHGs against these loans has increased by 88.79%. The Non-performing Assets (NPAs) as a percentage of loans outstanding against SHGs has increased

Savings Amount

Loans O/S Amount

No. of SHGs

8.45

16.42

Loan disbursed amount

25.33

18.03

300113 ########

No. of SHGs

Loans O/S Amount

15.08

15.58

306481 ########

No. of SHGs

3.03

2021.75

2.31

15346.2

2.74

NPA as Amt. of Amt. of Amt. of NPA as % % to NPA as % GNPAs GNPAs GNPAs to Loan Loan to Loan against against against O/S Outstand O/S SHGs SHGs SHGs ing

18134.5

Savings Amount

9.60

21.31

190403 30581.48

No. of SHGs

13.44

201326

No. of SHGs

13.84

74314.75

Savings Amount

Loan disbursed amount

13.06

7.83

38762 25029.54

No. of SHGs

23.52

57683

No. of SHGs

15.36

86367.68

Loan disbursed amount

Loans O/S Amount

12.53

6.60

160559 49034.27

No. of SHGs Loans O/S Amount

24.02

15.19

127105 115185.49

No. of SHGs

1031

2.1

Amt. of NPA as % to Loan GNPAs against Outstandi ng SHGs

4775.36

Amt. of GNPAs against SHGs

4.15

NPA as % to Loan O/S

No. of SHGs

13.13

23.98

6.44

Loans O/S Amount

18.95

367.43

2.72

Loan disbursed amount

10.64

Loans O/S Amount

12.94

16.37

38256.1

3

NPA as % to Loan O/S

12.34

946390 #########

No. of SHGs

20.40

589161 751623.65

Amt. of NPA as % Amt. of GNPAs to Loan GNPAs against Outstand against SHGs ing SHGs

7.09

85594 13528.65

No. of SHGs

9.85

Loan No. of disbursed SHGs amount

55061 10468.66

No. of SHGs

21.28

Savings Amount

Loan disbursed amount

11.45

Loans O/S Amount

3.96

10.47

4.80

501284 ########

No. of SHGs

11.03

131912 57589.80

No. of SHGs

8.93

666314 80314.14

No. of SHGs

2010-11

3420.18

2.28

Amt. of NPA as % to Loan GNPAs against Outstandi ng SHGs

Total

Savings Amount

2020-21

151711 28746.68 1105714 398758.64

No. of SHGs

NPA on Bank Loans to SHGs (Amount in ₹ Lakh)

8.36

3.99

255131 87361.73

Loans O/S Amount

15.93

10.02

Savings Amount

303819 ########

No. of SHGs

Savings Amount

2010-11

Cooperative Banks

2020-21

Bank Loans Outstanding against SHGs (Amount in ₹ Lakh)

512804 ########

No. of SHGs

38089 22091.60

5.69

2.27

2010-11

Savings of SHGs with Banks (Amount in ₹ Lakh)

RRBs

Bank Loans Disbursed to SHGs (Amount in ₹ Lakh) Loan disburse d amount

8.00

Loan disbursed amount

No. of SHGs

4.96

15.88

No. of SHGs

7.45

231365 ########

7.50

168262

9.80

324200 20985.98

No. of SHGs

600569

Savings Amount

2020-21

Source NABARD, 2021; NABARD, 2011 Note Amount of GNPAs against SHGs during 2010–11 for private sector commercial banks was not reported

West Bengal

West Bengal WB's share in India (%)

West Bengal WB's share in India (%)

West Bengal (WB) WB's share in India (%)

No. of SHGs

2010-11

Commercial Banks

2020-21

Table 5.5 Performance of SHGs in West Bengal

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from 2.28% as of end-March 2011 to 3% as of end-March 2021. But the ratio is quite low. Because of the financing of JLG, the cumulative number of JLGs and cumulative loans disbursed to JLGs for West Bengal as on March 31, 2021, were 1,235,325 and | 1,445,026.25 lakh. If we look at India as a whole, the number and the amounts were 13,382,781 and | 21,316,487.68 lakhs, respectively, on the same date (NABARD, 2021a).

5.3.3 Other Financial Institutions and Markets Among other financial institutions, mutual funds in India have recorded phenomenal growth after the financial market reforms of the 1990s. It commenced in 1963 with the initiative of the Government of India and RBI to establish the Unit Trust of India. Subsequently, it evolved through various distinct phases with the entry of new players, viz. nonUTI, public sector mutual funds, and private sector funds, and investors were provided with various mutual fund product offerings. The Central Government and RBI took several crucial measures to assist and support the pandemic-stricken domestic financial markets constructively and positively. In terms of the Average Assets Under Management (AAUM) of mutual funds in India, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, and West Bengal retained their top five positions in Q1FY22. Further, West Bengal is the second and third highest contributing state for the Balanced Schemes and Other Exchange Traded Funds categories, respectively, during the period mentioned above. Among the financial markets, stock markets in India have transformed significantly in the last three decades, though the corporate bond market did not show much progress. There are 5,361,472 registered investors of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in West Bengal as of March 31, 2022 (Indiastat, 2022). During the 8-month period in the FY 2021–22, Kolkata’s share in the Turnover of the Equity Cash Segment at the BSE ranged between 2 to 3.4% from April to November 2021. The Calcutta Stock Exchange, one of the oldest exchanges in Asia and the second oldest in India after the BSE was established in 1908 in West Bengal, practically stopped functioning in 2013.

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5.4

Analysis of Financial Inclusion

Access to financial services by all sections of society is one of the primary pillars of financial inclusion. As per the IMF Financial Development Index database, access to financial institutions is measured by bank branches per 100,000 adults and ATMs per 100,000 adults, while the% of market capitalization assesses access to financial markets outside of the top 10 largest companies and the total number of issuers of debt (domestic and external, finance and non-finance corporations). For Bangladesh, access to financial institutions and markets both have shown considerable progress, with access to financial markets exhibiting greater progress over the years. For Bangladesh, access to financial institutions has gone up from 0.08 in early 2000 to 0.14 during 2017–2019; access to financial markets, on the other hand, has recorded a larger increase, from around 0.15 in early 2000 to more than 0.3 during 2016–2019 (Fig. 5.8). According to the World Bank’s Global Financial Inclusion Index, 50% of all adults in Bangladesh owned an account either in a financial institution or mobile money account in 2017 and among them, who have access to a bank account, only 6% have a debit card (UNDESA, 2018). Also, the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and other digitally enabled tools in financial services is low, ranging between a to 4% during 2017 for different age groups and purposes. In 0.35 0.30 FIA

0.25

FMA

0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2013

2014

2012

2011

2009

2010

2008

2006

2007

2004

2005

2003

2002

2001

1995

2000

1990

1991

1985

1980

0.00

Fig. 5.8 Access to financial institutions and Markets (Source IMF Financial Development Index Database)

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2014, only 7.5% used automated teller machines (ATMs) as the main mode of withdrawal, in contrast to 78% who used bank tellers as the main mode of withdrawal. Banking is oriented towards urban areas. The Global Findex survey found that only 50% of adults living in rural areas have a bank account. Important initiatives for financial inclusion in Bangladesh include opening no-frill accounts that require a nominal opening balance, bank accounts for farmers, freedom fighters, beneficiaries under Social Safety Net,7 and garment workers in any state-owned commercial and specialized banks. There has been a remarkable growth in no-frill accounts, agent banking, internet banking, mobile financial services, debit, and credit card services with compound annual growth rates (CAGR) at 7%, 225.1%, 27.7%, 114.1%, 18.8%, 16.6%, respectively, during 2014 to 2019. Apart from individuals, financial inclusion for firms and farms also has shown progress. For instance, the CAGR of SME financing, male and female entrepreneurs from 2014 to 2019 was at 25.3%, 10.3%, and 16.5%, respectively, per the SME quarterly financial statement report. Moreover, there has been an increase in the share of urban-based branch percentage, from 42.6% to 51.5%, from 2010 to 2019, while there has been a drop in the rural-based branch percentage, from 57.4% to 48.5%, owing to several reasons. West Bengal is part of the financial inclusion initiatives in India, such as Jan Dhan Yojana. Regarding CRISIL’s Inclusix, the index for financial inclusion, West Bengal was among the top 20 states, owing to the success of microfinance institutions such as Bandhan Financial Services (the largest MFI in the country) in 2013. The score of West Bengal in 2013 was 46.6, and MFIs boosted the branch penetration and deposit penetration scores of the state to 51.1 and 41.3, respectively, taking all the three-dimensions, viz. branch, deposit, and credit penetration, to the “above average” category. The state has made considerable progress as its score improved from 27.2 in 2010 to 46.6 in 2013 and to 53.7 in 2016. As of 2016, the level of financial inclusion in West Bengal remains below the all-India average level in branch penetration and credit 7 Mehta, A. (2021). Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh: Initiatives, Achievements and the Way Forward amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, IMPR event reports, Available at https://www.imp riindia.com/event-report/financial-inclusion-in-bangladesh/, accessed on April 20, 2022.

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penetration but has remained high in deposit penetration and insurance penetration.8 In terms of digital financial transactions that include online Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), RuPay card usage, and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in West Bengal, the volume of transactions stood at 10,641.67 million during the quarter of October to December 2020, while the value of transactions stood at | 47,159.2 billion.9 Suppose one looks at the basic measures of financial inclusion for both Bangladesh and West Bengal. In that case, it is observed that in 2020, the number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults in Bangladesh stood at 8.99. The number of offices of SCBs per 100,000 population in West Bengal was 9.02 in 2020, implying that a greater number of branches are there in West Bengal (Table 5.6). It may be concluded that the number of branches in West Bengal per 100,000 adults is much more than in Bangladesh, as the figure stated here is per 100,000 population. Such a gap is even larger in the case of the number of ATMs as in 2020, the number per 100,000 adults in Bangladesh and per 100,000 population in West Bengal stood at 10.18 and 11.49, respectively. Also, in terms of digital financial services or digital financial transactions, West Bengal is much ahead of Bangladesh. Therefore, based on some basic measures, it may be inferred that the level of financial inclusion in West Bengal is higher than that of Bangladesh.

5.5

Conclusion

The chapter presents a concise overview of the banking and financial institutions in Bangladesh and West Bengal in the recent past. The analysis covered the role of the banking sector in both Bengals, along with the performance of microfinance institutions and Islamic banks in Bangladesh and the performance of microfinance institutions, self-help groups, and regional rural banks in West Bengal. Among other institutions in Bangladesh, NBFCs are playing a significant role at an increasing 8

CRISIL Inclusix (2018), Available at https://www.crisil.com/content/dam/crisil/our-analysis/ reports/Research/documents/2018/march/crisil-inclusix-financial-inclusion-surges-driven-by-JanDhan-yojana.pdf, accessed on April 20, 2022. 9 Indiastat.

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Table 5.6 Scenario of Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh and West Bengal

Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults Number of ATMs per 100,000 adults Number of Active Accounts under Mobile Financial Services (millions)

No of offices of SCBs per 100,000 population* No of ATMs of SCBs per 100,000 population* Volume of digital financial transactions (Million)

Bangladesh 2014 2015 8.51 8.52

2016 8.88

2020 8.99

5.81 12.15

7.09 13.22

8.03 15.87

10.18 29(2019)

West Bengal 2016 7.87

2020 9.02

2021 9.03

12.15

11.49

12.29

Oct-21 3393.27

Nov-21 3550.55

Dec-21 3697.85

Source UNDESA (2018), World Bank, RBI, Indiastat, and authors’ calculation *Authors’ computation based on projected population from census data

rate, whereas in West Bengal, mutual funds and the insurance sector have grown significantly since the reforms were undertaken in the 1990s. A brief comparison shows certain similarities and certain interesting differences. First, it is observed that West Bengal being a state in India, has advanced quite well in insurance with an insurance penetration ratio of 3.76% at all-India levels, while Bangladesh still lags behind others with a ratio of 0.5% in 2020. Second, in both Bengals, the banking sector is dominant in the financial sector, but Bangladesh banks extend a much higher amount of loans (83% in 2020) than West Bengal banks (46.5% in 2021). Third, mutual funds have emerged as a prominent way of participation in stock markets by retail investors in West Bengal. Still, it seems they are not much developed in the Bangladesh financial sector. Fourth, in terms of basic measures of financial inclusion, West Bengal has so far shown higher progress than Bangladesh in achieving access to financial services and moving towards digital financial services for all. The chapter can be extended to a more focused analysis of commercial banks and the insurance sector if the data on West Bengal becomes available in the future.

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References Annual Report. (2019–2020). Bangladesh Bank Annual Report. Bangladesh Bank. (2020). Financial Stability Report, Issue II. CRISIL Inclusix. (2018, February). Financial Inclusion Surges, Driven by JanDhan Yojana (Vol. 4). Indiastat. (2022). West Bengal Economy Data. Jain, M. K. (2019). Microfinance as the Next Wave of Financial Inclusion, Speech Delivered by Shri M.K Jain, Deputy Governor, RBI, at the SIDBI National Microfinance Congress 2019, Mumbai on November 26, 2019, Available at https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1088 Mohan, R. & Ray, P. (2016). Indian Financial Sector: Structure, Trends and Turns (Working Paper No. 580). Stanford Center for International Development, Available at https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/ 2016/10/stanford-working-paper-no-580-indian-financial-sector-septem ber-2015.pdf NABARD. (2011). Status of Microfinance in India 2010–11. NABARD. (2016). Status of Microfinance in India 2015–16 . NABARD. (2020a). Financial Statements of Regional Rural Banks, 31 March 2020. NABARD. (2020b). Status of Microfinance in India 2019–20. NABARD. (2021a). Status of Microfinance in India 2020–21. NABARD. (2021b). Key Statistics & Financial Statements of Regional Rural Banks, 31 March 2021. RBI. (2020). Report on National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2019– 2024, January 10, 2020, Available at https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/Public ationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=1154#1 RBI. (2021). Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2021. UNDESA. (2018). Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh: A Concept Note. In Evidence-based E-government Policies for Advancing Governmental Service Delivery and Accountability in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals, Joint Project of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and Access to Information (a2i) Programme, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. World Bank. (2010). Financial Sector Assessment—Bangladesh, Open Knowledge Repository. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/ 15917

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Yesmine, T., Hossain, M.E., Khan, M.A., Mitra, S., Saha, S.M. and Amin, M.R. (2023), “Benchmarking the banking sector of Bangladesh: a comprehensive analysis of performance and efficiency”. Asian Journal of Economics and Banking, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 121-145. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEB-082021-0094

6 Education in Two Bengals: A Comparative Development Narrative of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India Sudeshna Lahiri, Sheikh Mohammed Rafiul Huque, and Mohammad Baktiar Rana

6.1

Introduction

The education system is the broader means of scholastic learning beyond formal schooling and informal education. Learners acquire knowledge from natural settings and the cultural boundary where they live and interact with the sociocultural environment. However, cultures are influenced by important elements such as religion, language, history, politics, S. Lahiri (B) Department of Education, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India e-mail: [email protected] S. M. R. Huque · M. B. Rana Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] M. B. Rana e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_6

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and political ideologies, among others (Galtung, 1990). The indigenous education for the Bengali natives can be considered in terms of two historical periods: education in ancient Bengal and education in medieval Bengal. The ancient Bengal was not under the state’s direct influence or interference; the institutions’ funding was through endowment and donations by people in power or philanthropists (“Condition of Education in Pre-Colonial and Colonial: Bengal-An overview”, n.d.). In the post-Vedic age, there was the advent of the Buddhist system of education that went beyond the caste system with the aim of mass education. The educational intuitions were sponsored by rulers and ran with the aid received. The scholars from East, South, and Southeast Asian countries sought knowledge from Vikramsila and Nalanda (“Condition of Education in Pre-Colonial and Colonial: Bengal-An overview”, n.d.). As a rich province of the Indian subcontinent, Vedic and Buddhist education flourished in the greater part of the Bengals, especially in Bangladesh. Some of the institutions as Vihara, Stupa, and monasteries, sprawled over Paharpur in the greater Rajshahi district, Jhewari in Chittagong, and Mainamati in Comilla district (Ghosh, 2013). A study commissioned by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, NIEPA (2018) shows that India implemented the modern education system through Madrasa (religious schools) with the incorporation of pedagogy of teaching in the conventional methods of the learning process. By the end of the eighteenth century, a number of missionary organizations pushed the East India Company to permit them to spread Christianity and English education throughout India. Charles Grant, an officer of the Company, took the initiative in this effort. (Imam, 2013). Further, South Asian students had been bearing the “burden of English”, which they somehow tried to overcome with the introduction of value-based education, which also included the voice and choice of the marginal people with the lower status, the most deprived section of society in undivided Bengal (Spivak, 1988). Since ancient times, Hindu and Muslim rulers relied on the professional class for civil and revenue administration. The British used this class to lay the groundwork for a new civil society when they seized control of the Bengal state. The urban population was significantly drawn from professional and trading

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classes, consisting of high-caste Hindus known as bhadraloks. Conversely, Muslims were the raiyats, farmers who had no right to their soil, the landless labourers, and the artisan classes living in the rural areas of East Bengal (Rahim, 1992). The goal of the pyramidal colonial education system, which was first implemented in 1835 in urban (Calcutta and surrounding areas), was to produce a native lower-echelon civilian group of administrators to run the business’s finances and the judicial departments. The colonial regime prioritized liberal philosophy with a linguistic and literary orientation from the beginning. Most of the students were upper-caste Hindus who came from Calcutta or nearby (Gilbert, 1972). It is important to note that the Bengali Muslims’ first response to English schooling was less positive than the caste Hindus’. Since they belonged to the farming class, the Bengali Muslims’ distrust was not based on cultural considerations. It was not done for anti-British or ideological reasons either. Instead, it was brought on by their lack of access to education and the government’s resistance to offering to that marginal group (Ross, 1974). However, most Muslims in rural areas lacked access to English-speaking urban areas where schools and colleges were located as well as financial resources to cover the educational expenses of their children. In Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions, also known as East Bengal, most Bengali Muslims were tenant farmers working under caste Hindu zamindars (Government of India, 1902). In undivided Bengal, students had to pay a premium of 108 per cent over the actual price for books, among other school materials that were overpriced. As a result, students were forced to incorporate into a home instruction system that needed to be improved in terms of quality (Adam 1868). Unlike the metropolitan area, Bangla (Bengali) was the medium of instruction for the local indigenous schools students who needed access to foreign languages (Rahim, 1992). The Wood Dispatch of 1854 promoted the idea that private enterprise should support education among the disadvantaged who could not obtain it through their own financial efforts. This was done to recognize the impossibly difficult challenges of obtaining an English education in rural areas. Since

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the responsibility for education at the local level was delegated to the upper class in Bengal, the dispatch’s recommendation for aid to support mass education failed to materialize with a concern of profitability issues (Ahmed, 1979–1981).

6.2

Historical Perspective of Education in Two Bengals

The partition and independence of colonial India have made Bengal remain with India and its counterpart in Pakistan. Hence, it is important to look back at the shared history before understanding the trajectory of education in the two Bengals. It is sometimes difficult to give the historical encounter of education and the education system in the land of Bengal. There is a dominant view that Bengal suffered two partitions in 1907 and 1947 (Bhattacharjee, 2005). However, Bhattacharjee further argues that Bengal was partitioned a number of times in the British period. A large province of Bengal had been partitioned in 1874 to create Assam as a Chief Commissioner’s province and, later, as a province in 1905. The indigenous education for the native people of Bengal can be understood in two eras of history (“Condition of Education in PreColonial and Colonial: Bengal-An overview”, n.d.), which are education in ancient Bengal and medieval Bengal. People in power or philanthropists patronized the seat of learning. Ancient Bengal was not under the state’s direct influence or interference; the institutions’ funding was through endowment and donations. In the post-Vedic age, there had the advent of the Buddhist system of education that went by the old caste system with the aim of mass education. The educational intuitions were sponsored by rulers and ran with the aid received. The scholars from East, South and Southeast Asian countries sought knowledge from Vikramsila and Nalanda (“Condition of Education in Pre-Colonial and Colonial: Bengal-An overview”, n.d.). As a rich province of the Indian subcontinent, Vedic and Buddhist education flourished in Bangladesh. Some of the institutions as vihara, stupa, and monasteries, sprawled over

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Paharpur in the greater Rajshahi district, Jhewari in Chittagong, and Mainamati in Comilla district (Ghosh, 2013). Unlike the Vedic and Post-Vedic eras, education sprawled under the Muslim rulers established Maktabs and madrasahs under its statehood in medieval India. Researchers encountered that education during the Mughal sultanate was rich and brought a change in the field of education and knowledge in Bengal (“Condition of Education in Pre-Colonial and Colonial: Bengal-An overview”, n.d.; Law, 1916). A brief account of the expansion of education in this era was given by Law (1916). For example, Bakhtiyar Khilji built many colleges, and Governor Ghiyasuddin (1212– 27 A.D.) established a college. Furthermore, Law (1916) said that it was not only Islamic education but also the promotion of letters to the Bengali-speaking people. The two epics, Mahabharata, and Ramayana had been translated into Bengali with the instance taken by Muslim rulers. Besides establishing Madrasa and Maktabs, Muslim rulers took an interest in translating Sanskrit and Persian books into the language of the land, that is, Bengali. With time, Maktabas and Madrasas were not confined to Muslims only; later, Hindus and Muslims started sharing each other’s languages (Yechury, 1986). An interesting encounter with education during the Mughal era in Bengawasen was given by Acharya (1978). The ruling class or zamindar class, most of them Hindus, in Bengal patronized classical Sanskrit learning to reach its peak among the crème layer of the society and upper class, specifically Brahmins urbane “Navya Naaya”. Known as Benaras of Bengal, Nabadwip emerged as the seat of learning in Bengal, having a number of Tols (Sanskrit schools). Two more learning cities, Nadia and Rajshahi, were known as knowledge hubs since the Sanskrit Tols received endowments from Hindu Zamindars. Hence, Madrasas (Persian and Arabic schools) and Tols existed almost simultaneously in all the Bengal districts. Acharya (1978) further illustrated the difference between the two types of institutions, in other words, Pathsalas and Maktabs. Since Maktabs were attached to the mosque in the area, they retained their religious character, and the teachers were the religious functionaries. On the other hand, pathsalas were secular and democratic since the influence of the Buddhist movement democratized the ancient

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Hindu learning system. Muslim teachers and students also found their resort in these Bengali village schools. During the early nineteenth century, an Indigenous system in India catered to two types of schools—the students from elite families and the students from rural areas with a mode of instruction in vernacular language (Chaudhary, 2009). Until 1813, the British merchants and the East India Company were hardly interested in expanding education among foreign people under their supremacy (Acharya, 1978). It was illustrated by Sinha (1967) that Sanskrit Tols were functioning in Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, and Rangpur. While Calcutta Madrassah was founded by Warren Hastings, in 1781, Jonathan Duncan instituted Sanskrit College at Benaras in 1792. Moreover, indigenous education got dowsed by the British rulers through their policy of a complete system of education. Before British merchants and rulers, the Baptist missionaries from Europe (1793–1837) were concerned with education (Laird, 1968). They started to establish the schools, initially, in their catchment and eventually all over Bengal from Dacca, Chittagong, and Suri. Till 1816–1818, there had been over 100 elementary schools founded. A college in Burdwan in 1817 by Maharaja Tejeschandra; Hindu College at Kolkata in 1817, and Serampore College in 1818 was founded as Higher education institute (Sinha, 1967). Initially, the pupils were from Eurasian, European, and missionary families attending the schools established by missionaries, but later the schools were attended by the natives also. Moreover, the Calcutta School Book Society was initiated in 1817 to provide cheap textbooks to locals and natives. The Society tried to improve the indigenous schools in the vicinity similarly to that of Serampore Institution since 1818. With more illustration, Laird (1968) reported that the schools were established around Chinsura in 1814 by Robert May, who belonged to the London Missionary Society. These schools got and subsidized by the Bengal Government. Evidently, the missionaries from Europe and Britain focused mainly on expanding school education in Bengal. In 1820, Bishop’s College was founded by the first Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, Bishop Thomas Middleton, at Howrah; they initially intended to admit a few nonChristians for the training of the Indian clergy in 1819. Until 1835, the schools were founded in South Calcutta, Baruipur, Jessore, and Dacca

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villages. Besides Serampore College, missionaries established a second higher education institution, Hindu College in Calcutta. The Hooghly College in 1836 was constituted and furthered with the founding of two schools in the locality by alums. Contrary to the massification of school education, Macaulay, in February 1935, gave a minute on education when seeking advice on Section 43 of the Charter 1813 as well as expenditure of one lakh rupees. His introduction of English as a mode of instruction was to promote Science in the state and colonial India and to segregate class from the mass (Indira, n.d.). Gradually, education was taken over by the Government under the dominion of the British empire. Post-missionary, the era known as the Bengal Renaissance focused on the massification of education, education reforms, women’s education, and the struggle for freedom. Along with the education reforms constituted by British rulers, there were social reformers and philanthropists among Bengali natives and European scholars. As per the Charter Act of 1813, Indian education should emerge as the responsibility of the East India Company (O’Dell, 2014). Mrs. Wilson established a number of girls’ schools in 1826 Bengal. Further, Bethune Ladies College in Calcutta was established in 1849. Keshab Chunder Sen inaugurated the Brahmobondhu Sabha (Association inspired by Brahmo Ideals) to elevate the status and educate women in 1868 (Sen, 2004). The association started the “antahpur” schools for women who were not allowed to go out to get a formal education in schools. Several schools were established in Calcutta and Dhaka (erstwhile Decca) for women. It was until English Education Act in 1835 that parliamentary members and officials started taking education with serious concern. In 1840, women’s education was initiated to mark its presence in Bengal. For example, Bethune School in 1849 was instituted to give instruction in English to Bengali girls. Moreover, women were admitted to the University of Calcutta in 1877 (O’Dell, 2014). The first official document as national policy on education stating East India Company’s role in school education was Wood’s Education Dispatch in 1854 (Chaudhary, 2009) as a renewal of the charter in 1835. The education of Arts, Science, Medicine, Law, and civil engineering was discussed in the dispatch (Sinha, 1967). Soon after the Wood’s Dispatch, colonial India and Bengal received their first University, which was the

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University of Calcutta, in 1857. The University of Calcutta catered to the education of scholars from Bengal, northern India, and South-East Asia. In pursuance with Wood’s Dispatch, the Calcutta College of Civil Engineering was established in November 1856 in Calcutta; later took a name as Bengal Engineering College in 1857 and affiliated to the Calcutta University to give licentiate courses in Civil Engineering. In 1865 it was shifted to its present quarters at Shibpur (Howrah), occupying the premises and buildings belonging to the Bishop’s College. The impartment was to make English the medium of instruction at the collegiate level; and English and vernacular language (Bengali as the language of the land) the medium of instruction at the secondary level (Nurullah & Naik, 1943). A prejudice against the vernacular institution might have caused a failure to plan vernacular education in Chinsurah, Dacca, Bhagalpore, and Saugor. The first-time policy document, i.e., Woods Dispatch, outlined primary, secondary, and tertiary education development. Most importantly, this document accentuated the expansion of primary education for the rural masses in vernacular medium. The new system of schooling, thus initiated in the 1860s, was incorporated in public schools managed by provincial governments with rural and urban boards along with privately managed schools, which could be aided or unaided by the Government or endowments. In 1944, the Report of the Sargent Commission on Post-War Education Development in India was set to formulate the development of the education system in India. In between, the Hindu College was re-Christened as Presidency College in 1855. The Indian Education Commission, set in 1882 under the Chairmanship of 1882, recommended a bifurcation of studies by providing for a new course of non-literary and commercial character with the added bait of admission to public services (Sinha, 1967). There was a massive expansion of higher education institutions in Bengal province from 1882 to 1902 on the recommendations of the Indian Education Commission. The missionary institutions mainly played the private education counterpart as per recommendations in 1882. Under the University of Calcutta, 20 colleges were affiliated alone in Calcutta. Besides that, the University has affiliated 26 colleges all over the Bengal province and 2 in the Assam region (Nurullah & Naik, 1943). Later, the Indian Universities Act of 1904 was instrumental

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in appointing the faculty in Higher education institutions. The revolutionary Calcutta University Act constituted in 1917–1919, laid the foundation for establishing more Universities. Moreover, there should be intermediate colleges for imparting instruction in Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, teaching, etc. These colleges should be attached to secondary schools and work as “intermediatory” between matriculation and higher education or colleges. Most importantly, Bengal received one more University in Dhaka (erstwhile Dacca) in 1920. The Hartog Commission in 1929 proposed an inter-University board to coordinate the courses of study in India and in securing universities in their abroad as reported by Nurulla and Naik (1943). There had been quite a number of Bengali young man went to British Universities. The Calcutta University (or University of Calcutta) introduced University Training Corps in 1936. Dacca University decided to introduce Military Science as one of the courses in the graduate programme. Based on the 1919 Act, only a few institutions were established that fell neither as a university nor under any university affiliation. Some examples of such higher education in Bengal province were Bose Research Institute (Calcutta) in 1917, the Visva Bharati in 1922, and the Serampore College. The Sargent Plan of Education came in 1944 and submitted its report to the Central Advisory Board of Education. However, Bengal met a vertical split, and either piece became part of two different countries in 1947. Considering two Bengals, education during periods of history transverses its sites of learning from the north-western part (Bihar) of Bengal to East Bengal (Bangladesh) and later developed a hub in and around the Gangetic plains of southern Bengal. The seats of learning changed with the era depending upon the route of travel the preachers of education took to approach the land.

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Education in Bangladesh: A Contemporary Perspective

6.3.1 Structure and Stream of Education The education system in Bangladesh is divided into three tiers. These are primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Different educational programmes and types of institutions are classified under each level. Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) administer and monitor the education system in Bangladesh. MOE oversees two significant divisions: the Technical and Madrasa (Religious) Education Division and the Secondary and Higher Education Division (TMED). The MOPME and Directorate of Primary Education ( DPE) are responsible for the management of preprimary, primary, and mass education in the country (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information Statistics (BANBEIS, 2019). However, the country’s formal education system can be broadly classified into general education and religious or madrasa education (Huque, et al. (2022). In addition to that, there are Monthly Pay Order (MPO) institutions operated by some non-government organizations under a special scheme. In MPO institutions government shares in the payroll of the educational institutions. The scheme provides non-government institution teachers with 100 per cent of their basic salary from the government. The MPO encompasses student results, student numbers, and infrastructure development. (Uddin, 2019). The pre-primary stage of education attempts to create an environment that facilitates enthusiasm for learning to prepare the children for school education. It consists of one-year schooling aimed at 5+ children. According to the constitution of Bangladesh, primary education is free and compulsory for all children. There are 129,258 primary education institutions where around 20,122,337 students have enrolled 51.08 per cent of whom are girls (BANBEIS, 2019) (Table 6.1). There are three phases of secondary education: junior secondary (Classes VI–8), secondary (Classes IX and X), and higher secondary (Class XI and Class XII). Students in Class IX must select one of two streams: technical and vocational education and training or

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Table 6.1 Status of number of educational institutes, teachers and students by levels and type Type name

Total number of institutions

Primary school

129,258

Secondary school College

Ebtedayee madrasa (primary) Post–primary madrasa (Dakhil to Kamil) Professional education institute Teacher education Technical and vocational education Universities

20,660 4551

Management Public: 65,620 Private: 63,638 Public: 675 Private: 19,985 Public: 651 Private: 3900 (3039 are having MPO)

6378

9278

471

216 7052

148

Public: 3 Private: 9275 (7624 are having MPO) Public: 121 Private: 350 Public: 84 Private: 132 Public: 898 Private: 6154 Public: 45 Private: 103

Total teacher

Total students

721,801

20,122,337

246,845

5,571,314

127,767

4,385,210

29,344

961,091

113,577

2,491,268

14,545

143,553

3060

35,039

53,684

1,100,177

30,730

1,179,796

Source Adopted from BANBEIS (2019)

general education (any one of the three groups: science, humanities, and business studies) (TVET) (Chowdhury & Mahbub, 2018). In secondary vocational education, classes IX and XI can enroll in two-year certificate programmes. Polytechnic and technical schools and colleges offer diploma programmes (Fig. 6.1) (Rahaman, 2017). The 145 English Medium Schools, most of which are located within city corporations and are managed privately, offer instruction in the English language. The British Curriculum System is primarily used in English Medium Schools. Among 145 schools, 88 use the Edexcel curriculum, 52 use the Cambridge International Examinations (CIA), and the remaining 5 use another curriculum (BANBEIS,

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2019). This educational system begins at the pre-primary level and ends at the primary level and secondary level, or A-level, which is roughly like the 12 years of the Bangladeshi educational system. Students who complete O-level (equivalent to 10+ ) and two Alevel topics are eligible to apply for admission to universities in Bangladesh (Fig. 6.1) (Admission Notice of the University of Dhaka, 2019–2020; Admission Notice of Jahangirnagar University, 2019– 2020). After secondary education, Bangladeshi universities, colleges, and professional and specialized institutes offer tertiary education. The primary institutions of higher learning in Bangladesh at the moment are 103 private universities and 45 public universities, both of which are governed by the University Grant Commission (UGC, 2018). While private universities are owned by the private sector and primarily supported by student tuition fees, public universities are owned and funded by the government (Huq & Huque, 2014). Besides, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) offers remote learning courses that are not

Fig. 6.1 Structure of education in Bangladesh (Source Chowdhury & Mahbub, 2018)

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offered on campus. In Bangladesh, National University serves as an affiliating university that oversees colleges that offer tertiary education in this format. However, religious Madrasas are another Bangladesh education stream (Islam & Mia, 2007). These Madrasas emphasize Islamic studies more than the conventional national curriculum. In the case of Madrasa education Ebtedayee, Dakhil, Alim, Fazil, and Kamil are the equivalent of primary, secondary, higher secondary, bachelor’s, and master’s, respectively (Islam & Mia, 2007). Besides, religious education streams also exist for Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus.

6.3.2 Administrative Structure and Funding of Education The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) are the two government ministries in charge of overseeing and running the education system of Bangladesh. The MOE’s Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) is in charge of managing post-primary, secondary, and higher education, including madrasah and other specialized forms of education like government teacher-training colleges, while the MoPME’s Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), which oversees primary education administration, is in charge of managing post-primary, secondary, and higher education. The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh oversees the standards and compliance of all public and private universities and coordinates and oversees all tertiary education. While the Madrasah Education Board oversees Alia Madrasah education, including the administration of public examinations from Dakhil to Kamil levels, the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) is responsible for technical and vocational education administration (Chowdhury & Mahbub, 2018). Bangladesh has a highly centralized funding mechanism. The main education expenditure is met through a central government funding source. In 2015–2016, education spending accounted for 10.71 per cent of the national budget, equivalent to 1.54 per cent of GDP, which was reduced to 1.33 per cent of GDP in 2019 (See Fig. 6.2) (BANBEIS,

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2018). Mainstream primary education is supplied to students for free because the government pays all related expenses. Contrarily, almost the entire secondary education sector has been developed by the private sector, and this was primarily done on a not-for-profit basis. This is true even though the cost of developing the physical infrastructure of the schools as well as the salaries and wages of the teachers, are paid out of the national education budget. Students must pay a minor tuition fee for post-primary education, which is comparable to $0.14 to $0.22 per month for junior secondary and $0.22 to $0.58 per month for secondary and higher secondary (UNESCO, 2007). According to UNESCO, this charge is imposed by the government for all public schools and most government-aided private institutions to collect fees similar to those for public institutions. On the other hand, private institutions set their own tuition rates, which are often far higher than those set by the government (UNESCO, 2007). However, the UGC evaluates the funding requirements of public institutions at the tertiary level and advises the government accordingly. Most of the money for private institutions comes from tuition, which is much more expensive than public universities. To support the implementation of the government’s educational development goals, Bangladesh also receives a sizeable quantity of grants and loans from development partners such as the World Bank, AusAID, USAID, Asian Development Bank, and DFID (Chowdhury & Mahbub, 2018).

6.4

Education in West Bengal: A Contemporary Perspective

Bangladesh and West Bengal are not only a monolith in terms of geography and climate, but it also strongly shares a homogenous culture where the Bangla language created the indestructible gravitational pull. The organized way of educating a large group of people in an academic setting needed to be present in ancient, unified Bengal. Instead, it is a more modern-day initiative that begins visibly after British colonial rule. West Bangla, occupying 88,752 square km of land, is the fourth largest state in India in terms of population. The current literacy rate in West

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Govenment Expenditure on Education (Total % of GDP)

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

2018

2014

2016

2012

2010

2006

2008

2004

2000

2002

1998

1996

1994

1992

1990

1986

1988

1984

1980

1982

0

Fig. 6.2 Trend of government expenditure on education (Total per cent of GDP)

Bengal is 76.26 per cent (West Bengal Literacy Rate 2022. (n.d.), with 31.87 per cent of people living in urban regions and the rest in rural areas. Grossly a large group of the population belongs to youth and child who needs institutional enrollment to have their formal education to educate their mind. With more than 1.5 million schools, 8.5 million teachers, and 250 million students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, the Indian education system is one of the biggest in the world (UNICEF, 2018). It should be mentioned here that the Republic of India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories. Naturally, overall education has central and state influence with local involvement. Before narrating the education of West Bengal, it should be clearly mentioned that the National Education Policy of India 2020 will guide West Bengal Education. The aim for India’s future educational system is described in the National Education Policy of India 2020 (NEP, 2020), which the Indian Union Cabinet adopted on July 29, 2020. The old National Policy on Education, 1986, has been replaced with the new policy. The

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old National Policy on Education, 1986, had a profound influence on the current education of West Bengal, which will be narrated here. School education in West Bengal has a long heritage and history where Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) being the seat of learning. Started by Christian missionaries and reformists, schools in pre-independent India spread their wings with gradual progress, and soon, Kolkata played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in India. The public and private sectors have provided education at various levels of schools. The school education in West Bengal had not only pledged to eradicate literacy, but also many social reformers came to the forefront to educate the women population.

6.4.1 Structure of Education at Various Levels The Government of West Bengal restructured the educational pattern to 10 + 2 system from its previous structure where the public exam (higher secondary) signified 11 years of schooling. Primary Education consists of the first half of the ten years of schooling, i.e., classes I to V, followed by the Upper Primary level from class VI to VIII, to the first public exam, class X. Hence, after Class V, it takes another 5 years to complete secondary education, which further requires two more years (+2) to complete Higher secondary education. Following Fig. 6.3 portrays the overall education structure in India. The overview distribution of schools across the State is vividly given in DISE & Semis Report (2011–2012) prepared for West Bengal, given in Table 6.2 (NUEPA, 2011). The wide range and spectrum of schools in West Bengal make it a mammoth structure that requires management of these schools districtwise. The figure varies considerably in the number of schools as given in DISE 2013–14 (NUEPA, 2014a). The number of schools imparting elementary education is 94958, where Government schools contribute to 81,915, and the number of privately recognized schools is 9657 (NUEPA, 2014a). A further revelation gives 10.17 per cent of private share to total schools, which are divided as 0.43 per cent of privately

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Fig. 6.3 Education structure in India (UGC, 2022)

aided and 9.74 per cent privately Unaided. As reported in DISE (2013– 2014), for the quantification of schools having elementary classes, the number of recognized Madrasas in West Bengal is 561, and unrecognized Madrassa covered under DISE is 1125. Moreover, the percentage of schools in rural areas to total school is 86.43, and 2.87 per cent of elementary schools contribute to girls’ schools. At the Secondary and Higher secondary level, a break-up given by U-DISE 2013–14 (NUEPA, 2014b) shows a vibrant picture of stakeholders (Table 6.3). The percentage of Higher secondary and secondary schools reveals how the school system in West Bengal assumes a pyramidal structure.

6.4.2 Enrolment The demography of West Bengal has certain features. As per the census in 2001, the male population is 41,465,985, and the female population is 38,710,212. The provisional census data of 2011 explains that the population in West Bengal is 91,347,736 (stands fourth in India as per the population), comprising 46,927,389 males and 44,420,347 females. There is a slight improvement in the sex ratio to 947 in 2011 as

Primary Primary with upper primary Pr. with Up. Pr & sec/H sec Upper primary only Up. primary with sec./H.sec Secondary only Secondary with higher secondary

School categories

43 30

14

2

7

0

0

96

3133

8322

3

3

0

0

5

5

5

686 4

0

0

41

8

27

286 26

0

1

138

184

446

6390 705

0

0

9

4

10

117 10

0

0

12

1

32

15 2

0

0

18

28

51

671 92

0

0

355

56

102

8 2

0

0

8

84

28

807 120

Welfare Local Pvt. Pvt. Others Central Unrecognized Madrasa and body aided unaided govt. Recognized Unrecognized other dept

49,654 22

Dept. of education

School management

Table 6.2 Schools in West Bengal across levels of education & management state West Bengal year 2011–2012

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0

0 96

0 61,238

0 705

0

0 388

0

21 7885

0

0 150

0

0 62

0

0 860

0

0 523

0

0 1047

0

Welfare Local Pvt. Pvt. Others Central Unrecognized Madrasa and body aided unaided govt. Recognized Unrecognized other dept

5

Dept. of education

School management

Source DISE & Semis Reports (2011–12) generated and published by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA)

Higher secondary only No response All districts

School categories

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6.08

6.04

0.82

Private unaided

0.75

Private aided

0.00

0.02

Others government management

0.85

0.68

Central government

0.96

0.82

Unrecognized schools

3.47

4.79

Recognized madrasas

Source NUEPA (2014b). Secondary education in India progress towards universalization U-DISE (2013–14)

Secondary 0.06 schools Higher 0.05 secondary schools

Local body

Table 6.3 Percentage of higher secondary/secondary schools by management

0.25

0.32

Unrecognized madrasas

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compared to 934 in 2001. To add up to this data, DISE (2013–2014) reported that 2.87 per cent of elementary schools contribute to girls’ schools (Table 6.4). The summary of the equity with respect to single-sex and coeducational schools are explained in U-DISE 2013–2014 (NUEPA, 2014b) as given in Table 6.5. As per U-DISE 2013–2014 (NUEPA, 2014b), the percentage of co-educational schools in West Bengal is much more than single-sex Secondary/Higher Secondary schools. Moreover, secondary schools/sections, as well as Higher secondary schools/sections, contribute to 72.67 per cent of rural schools. Table 6.4 Enrolment with respect to gender in West Bengal for 2011–12 West Bengal

Schools

All 92,066 Districts

Enrolment (I–VIII)

Enrolment (IX–XII)

Boys

Girls

Total (I–VIII)

Boys

Girls

7,369,870

7,458,087

14,827,957

1,850,915

1,850,429

Source NUEPA (2011). DISE & Semis Reports (2011–12). New Delhi

Table 6.5 Summary with respect to single-sex and co-education schools Percentage of rural Secondary Higher secondary Schools schools schools/sections schools/sections Numbers 9902 Percentage 17.87 of single-sex girls’ school Percentage 69.81 of coeducational school

6345 15.48

76.61

72.67

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Table 6.6 Distribution of teachers by training status and by category of school West Bengal

Total

Primary

Upper primary

Total regular teacher

No. of untrained teachers

Per cent of untrained teacher

166,494

74,083

44

Total regular teacher

No. of untrained teachers

Per cent of untrained teacher

90,056

29,515

33

Source Report of joint review mission on teacher education: West Bengal. India, New Delhi: Government of India, MHRD

6.4.3 School Teachers As per Joint Review Mission (2013), the progression of teachers for the academic session 2012 in West Bengal is given in Table 6.6. A dearth of trained teachers has been realized by DISE (District Elementary Education Report Card 2011–2012): West Bengal has accounted for only 42.7 per cent of regular and 17.3 per cent of contractual trained teachers in elementary schools. Where Delhi recruits professionally trained teachers for every vacant post of teachers teaching at elementary classes, the recruitment process in West Bengal needs to give a more encouraging picture [ss in DISE (2013–14) and U-DISE (2013–14)]. A large population of teachers (including contractual) still needs to be professionally trained, even when a number of in-service teachers have taken up teacher-training certification in the preceding academic year (2012–13). However, West Bengal has been among those states that seemed to have compromised with the teachers’ training while recruiting teachers teaching at Secondary/Higher Secondary classes. The further break-up of the constituent Teaching community in West Bengal is given in Table 6.7.

6.4.4 Pupil–Teacher Ratio in Schools The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has clearly mentioned that Pupil–Teacher Ratio should not exceed 40. As surveyed by IIMC (2011), Table 6.8 gives a comparative status across the country.

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Table 6.7 Teacher profile by category in West Bengal 2011–2012 Teacher category

Rural area

Headteacher Acting headteacher Teacher Para teacher Part-time teacher Community teacher Language teacher Others No Response Guest Teacher GGHC_Contract_Tch All District

Urban area

Male

Female

Male

Female

38,915 14,833 185,698 22,453 322 101 53 301 0 1421 630 263,827

11,245 5537 116,505 23,069 100 68 26 195 0 244 408 157,397

4942 1845 38,421 2616 59 16 22 49 530 59 81 48,110

3739 1692 48,793 5084 77 24 13 102 0 89 91 59,704

Source DISE & Semis Reports (2011–12) generated and published by National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA, 2011)

Table 6.8 Year-wise pupil–teacher ratio State West Bengal Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Kerala All-India average

Primary level

Upper primary level

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

45

44

34

57

57

51

37

37

35

31

32

33

33 23 34

32 24 34

32 24 33

33 22 31

33 27 31

33 26 31

A completely literate state, Kerala, is placed higher in the ranking than West Bengal when it comes to Pupil–Teacher Ratio (PTR). The PTR in upper primary schools in West Bengal was much above the national average. It implies that there is an acute shortage of upper primary schools in West Bengal. The Government needs to take immediate steps to bring the PTR to par with the RTE norms (IIMC, 2011). The recent survey reported in DISE (2013–2014) and U-DISE (2013–2014) may be referred to for more recent and explicit data. A comprehensive picture is given in Table 6.9.

a Excluding

27

All govt. schools 13

20

teachers teaching in composite schools

20

All unrecognized schools 27

Primary levela

29

Upper primary levela

57

28 All unaided schools

Higher secondary level

Secondary level

All aided schools

Primary and upper primary level

Pupil–teacher ratio

Secondary & higher secondary level

Table 6.9 Pupil–teacher ratio in schools (2013–2014)

37

25

All schools

All schools

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Amazingly, the Pupil–Teacher ratio (s) at the Primary and Upper Primary levels gives a very glaring and encouraging scenario for school education in West Bengal, however, Higher secondary level classes may seem to be overcrowded with students. The reasons may be attributed to a smaller number of schools with Higher secondary classes and a smaller number of recruited teachers.

6.4.5 Higher Education in West Bengal 6.4.5.1 Historical Perspective of Higher Education in Bengal In India, West Bengal has set a landmark of being a significant state in terms of different aspects such as cultural, social, historical, and educational. The modern education system in India started along the banks of Ganga-Bhagirathi with the establishment of the Hindu College (1817), which was later named the Presidency College (1855). Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar established the Metropolitan Institution in 1869. It was the first private college in undivided Bengal. It continues as Vidyasagar College in Kolkata. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore established the Ashramik education system in Santiniketan in 1921. It is now a central university and an institution of national importance by the Act of Parliament in 1951. After partition, the National Council of Education, Bengal was established, and later it became the Jadavpur University in the year 1955. St. Xavier’s College was established in 1860, and in 2006, it became the first autonomous college in the state. Other remarkable missionary colleges are Serampore College (1818), St. Paul’s (1864), Scottish Church College (1830), etc. Bengal was also one of the pioneering states in India in promoting women’s education. Bethune College (1879), and Loreto College (1912) are examples. In the field of science and technology, Bengal’s excellence is notable. Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur (1856) was only the second such institution in British India. It was renamed as the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology by the Government of India in 2014. After independence, the number of higher education institutes has

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constantly increased, and several policy reformations have occurred in Bengal to expand higher education and address quality issues. Several colleges in Bengal are noted for their significant contribution to the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth century. In this context, Chandernagore College (1862), Krishnanagar Government College (1846), Krishna Nath College, Murshidabad, Government College of Art and Craft (1864), Lady Brabourne College (1939), and so on can be mentioned. One of the oldest educational institutions in India specializing in studying Sanskrit, Indian languages, and Indological Studies is Sanskrit College, established in 1824. It was upgraded to the Sanskrit College and University in 2016.

6.4.5.2 Recent Higher Education Profile of West Bengal Bengal has been the hub of higher education since the British period. With the passage of time, different higher education institutions have been established and expanded. The state government is trying to provide quality education, and for this purpose, various initiatives are taken from time to time; several schemes are implemented for the disadvantaged section of society to widen the scope of higher education.

6.4.5.3 Universities in West Bengal There are 49 universities are operating in West Bengal and Category-wise breakdown is given in the following Table 6.10: Table 6.10

Category-wise universities in West Bengal

University type

Total number

Central University State University Deemed University State Private University Total

01 35 02 11 49

Source UGC, Data as on 03.03.2022

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6.4.5.4 Chronological Growth of Universities in West Bengal Expansion of HEIs is a major objective of the state government of West Bengal. From 2015–16 to 2019–20 number of universities has increased to widen access to higher education (Table 6.11).

6.4.5.5 College Density in West Bengal According to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 2019– 20, West Bengal is placed at number nine out of the top ten states in terms of college density. College density here refers to the number of colleges per lakh eligible population (18–23 years). The following Fig. 6.4 shows the status of these top ten states (Tables 6.12 and 6.13). Table 6.11

Number of universities in West Bengal during the last 5 years

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

34

41

43

45

47

Source UGC, Data as on 03.03.2022

Fig. 6.4 College density in West Bengal (Data source AISHE report 2019–20)

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Table 6.12

College density in West Bengal and average enrolment per college

No. of colleges

No. of colleges per 100 thousand population

Average enrolment per college

1411

13

1179

Table 6.13

Number of Private and Government Colleges and Enrolment Private Private Private Government Total unaided aided total

Institutions Students

Table 6.14

682 277,972

231 362,692

913 640,664

498 1,021,064

1411 1,661,728

Gender-wise enrolment at various levels in West Bengal

Level

Male

Female

Ph.D. M. Phil Postgraduate Undergraduate PG Diploma Diploma Certificate Integrated

8063 1195 62,665 865,130 3390 114,991 4859 9336

4773 983 90,360 924,953 2129 58,776 3695 5595

Source (AISHE) All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-2020, 2021

6.4.5.6 Profile of Student Enrolment in West Bengal This section presents the details of student enrolment in the following tables. The enrolment status for private and government colleges and gender-wise enrolment at different higher education levels are thoroughly analysed here (Table 6.14). Total student enrolment has been classified into 8 levels viz: Ph.D., M.Phil., Postgraduate, Undergraduate, PG Diploma, Diploma, Certificate, and Integrated. The data has been collected through the report of the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019–2020, published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Government of India.

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6.4.5.7 Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education (18–23 Years) The estimated Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher education in India is 27.1 per cent, which is calculated for the 18–23 years of age group. For Scheduled Castes, it is 23.4 per cent, and for Scheduled Tribes, it is 18.0 per cent. Overall, from the year 2015–2016 to 2019–2020, an upward trend was observed among the male and female population regarding Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education (18–23 Years) in West Bengal. GER for the Male population has increased during the last 5 years, from 19.1 in 2015–16 to 20.3 in 2019– 20. For the Female population, GER has increased from 16.2 to 19.6 during the period.

6.4.5.8 Recent Development of Higher Education in West Bengal: An Overview The major focus area of the state Government in higher education are Expansion, Equity, Excellence, and Employability. Many colleges and universities have been established under the supervision of the higher education department. The state Government is trying its best to provide greater access to students from different sections of society: SC/ST/OBC, female and differently abled students, and strives to be more responsive to national and global economic needs. Regulatory Bodies: The Department of Higher Education, the Education Directorate, and the Directorate of Technical Education are the administrative bodies of higher education in Bengal. The HE Department comprises the College Service Commission (CSC), Universities, and the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education (WBSCHE). It also acts as the mediator with the UGC. Autonomy: Higher education institutions in West Bengal enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Universities are monitored and run by their respective executive bodies and syndicates. Government-aided colleges have their respective governing bodies.

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Vocationalization: Vocationalization of higher education is being constantly encouraged by the state Government. Several divergent Diploma, Degree, and Certificate Courses such as media studies, ICT in commercial practices, tourism management, community service extension, ITI, etc. are being offered by the universities to widen the employment scopes. Open and Distance Learning: To widen the scope and access to higher education, West Bengal has emphasized the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. To strengthen the ODL mode, West Bengal established NSOU in July 1998 to provide greater access and higher education opportunities to various disadvantaged groups of aspiring learners. Rashtriya Uchchatar Siksha Abhiyan (RUSA): RUSA is a central government scheme. It was launched in 2013 in this state to provide funds to higher education institutions in West Bengal. Funds have been sanctioned to various universities and colleges for different academic purposes, infrastructure expansion, co-curricular activities, health and hygiene issues, computer labs, libraries, education society, conducting seminars, and various awareness programmes. Development Programmes: Various in-service training and development programmes are arranged by several universities of West Bengal for the improvement and skill development of the teaching and nonteaching staff of higher education institutions. ICT Integration: The government of West Bengal has taken different initiatives to implement ICT and several digital technologies to widen the scope and access to higher education. In recent years, the online and blended mode of the teaching–learning process has been effectively implemented in West Bengal during the pandemic period. e-Governance Initiatives: The State Govt has taken several eGovernance initiatives for learners and government employees. Admission to all students in UG and PG courses of state-aided colleges and universities was made the first time totally through online mode in the session 2015–16.

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Respecting Linguistic Diversity: Bengal’s first Hindi-medium degree college was established in August 2014 to promote linguistic diversity in West Bengal. This college is located at Banarhat, Jalpaiguri. Recently, in SET (State Eligibility Test), Santhali is introduced as a subject by West Bengal College Service Commission (WBCSC). Financial Support to Learners: West Bengal Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme in the year 2006 was started to provide financial support to the economically weak but talented learners of the State to pursue higher education at various levels after the Madhyamik or Secondary Examination.

6.5

Compare and Contrast Among Two Bengals: A Critical Review

In Bangladesh’s current fiscal year 2022, the education budget was only about 2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and less than 12 per cent of the total national budget. The education budget in Bangladesh as a percentage of the national budget has been floating between 9 to 11 per cent. In the last seven years, the allocation for the education sector as a share of GDP has ranged between 1.87 and 2.21 per cent (Eusuf, 2022). However, the comparison of budgetary allocation on education at the state level and national levels is difficult to compare. The education budget in India in the fiscal year 2022 has been allotted Rs. 104,278 crores which ranges between 2.8 per cent to 3.1 per cent of GDP (Chakrabarty, 2022). West Bengal’s overall budget for the fiscal year 2020–2021 was Rs. 3,830,000 crores, with Rs. 5144 cores set aside for education (The Economic Times, July 08, 2021). The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is the indicator calculated by dividing the female gross enrollment ratio in primary and secondary education by the male gross enrollment ratio in primary and secondary education. A GPI of less than 1 suggests girls are more disadvantaged than boys in learning opportunities and a GPI of greater than 1 suggests the other way around. Eliminating gender disparities in education would help increase

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the status and capabilities of women (Metadata Glossary, 2022). The GPI indicator at the national in Bangladesh and India depicted positive outcomes, which were more than 1. A point to be noted here is that the GPI is higher in Bangladesh than in India, with an upward trend. The index signifies that female enrollment in education is higher in Bangladesh than in India. Surprisingly. GPI in West Bengal is significantly lower than in Bangladesh, which is poorly portrayed among the social group community with an upward trend in the last five years (Table 6.15). Since uneducated women are more likely to be employed than educated women, South Asia has frequently highlighted the usually unfavorable link between rising educational levels and falling rates of women’s workforce involvement (Sathar & Desai 2000; Das & Desai 2003). If family income is high, women would have less incentive to work (Goldin, 1990; England et al., 2012). Abraham (2013) argues that the rising incomes of Indian households have enabled Indian women to withdraw from the labour market. However, caste also impacts women’s educational opportunities (Dunn, 1993). Thus, part of the higher labour force participation rates among illiterate women may be a result of their lower caste status (See Table 6.16). Similarly, some of the declines in labour force participation with more education may result from the higher concentrations of higher-status Forward Castes (such as Brahmins, Kayasthas, Kshatriyas, etc.) among moderately educated women Table 6.15 Year

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Comparison of GPI in respective of country and state level

Country

West Bengal

Bangladesh

India

1.13 1.10 1.17 1.16 1.17 1.21

1.02 1.02 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.00

All groups

Social group Scheduled caste (SC)

Scheduled tribe (ST)

0.85 0.87 0.88 0.94 0.99

0.81 0.82 0.87 0.93 0.96

0.79 0.77 0.81 0.87 0.93

Source AISHE Reports; The World Bank (2022a,b)

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(Chatterjee et al., 2018). Women from urban working-class origins with enough education typically lived in male-dominant budgets, in which male family members had significant or total control over the woman’s income. The women workers from lower-middle-class origins and those with less education, on the other hand, believed that their budgeting arrangement allowed them to retain control over 90 per cent or more of their own income. In a rural working-class household with little to no education, particularly among garment workers, a similar situation was seen (Kibria, 1995). Equitable education is one of the main goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first three goals are no poverty and inclusiveness, and equitable quality education for all (United Nations Bangladesh, 2022). However, decent employment for underprivileged people is also required for the overall socioeconomic development of Bangladesh. In that mechanism, the underprivileged groups would be turned into a skilled workforce and may have access to every sphere of mainstream society. Programmes offered by the Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) are vastly different from the typical Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) model, and they combine fundamental education with the development of practical skills to prepare underprivileged children for the job market. CMES developed a primary education system for bringing science and technology closer to the life of children and adolescents. It has 25 field units comprising 25 Table 6.16

Women’s education and participation in the labour force in India

Status of education

Any work (%)

Salaried work (%)

Family farm or business (%)

Casual wage labour (%)

Illiterate Incomplete primary Primary Secondary Higher secondary College graduate

53 47

3 4

36 32

30 22.8

33 22 23

4 6 12

23 15 11

11.8 4 2.5

28

22

7

0.3

N = 72,620; Source Chatterjee et al. (2018)

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rural technology centres, 76 advanced basic schools, 413 basic schools, and many outreach centres for gender programmes across Bangladesh. A total of 70,000 students, including children and adults, are enrolled in an expanded version of their educational programme, which has about 20,000 students engaging at once (Talukdar, 2022). However, Parivar Education Society, an NGO with the spirit of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, has been working for children highly vulnerable to exploitation, victimization, and trafficking in West Bengal. These children are orphans, street children, and extremely impoverished children from tribal areas. This NGO in Kolkata, the largest in West Bengal, has two residential educational institutions with over 2000 resident children providing free residential schools for children from underprivileged backgrounds (Sen, 2022). Calcutta Rescue, an NGO, in Kolkata, has been providing health care and education to the economically disadvantaged sections of society for over three decades and has served over 30,000 impoverished people through its health, education, and nutrition initiatives (Sen, 2022). BRAC provides non-formal education under their three years education programme for children 8–10 years old. Currently, this initiative runs more than 35,000 schools in more than 25 per cent of Bangladesh’s rural areas. (BRAC, 1995). Children from low-income homes who have never attended school or left the formal education system are the pupils targeted by this non-formal education system. BRAC’s education programme could be distinguished from the formal system of education in Bangladesh in various ways: the class size of non-formal primary education (NFPE) is only 33, parent–teacher meetings are held on a regular basis, school hours are fixed in each session with the advice of the parents, a decentralized management system works in the programme, and supervision of the school on a regular basis (Nath et al., 1999). In metropolitan India, ragpickers are among the social groups that receive the least attention. The same is true in Kolkata. Tiljala Society had an impact in this area. Tiljala Society for Human and Educational Development, an NGO, in Kolkata seeks to improve the lives of ragpickers by empowering them. It has several programmes to improve their life; many lives have been altered throughout the years. In five community centres located in the centre of each of its target neighbourhoods in

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Central Kolkata, Tiljala SHED offers daily after-school programmes for 600 kids from kindergarten to Class XII. The youngsters are given remedial academic assistance and computer and English classes here (Sen, 2022).

6.6

Conclusion

The wide range of untrained teachers skewed posting of teachers in various areas of both Bangladesh and West Bengal, and uneven scatter of primary schools defying the laid catchment area from habitation make it one more time to think about the extent of the success of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The improved statistics regarding enrolment in primary and upper primary level classes, as in DISE (2013–14), give a glaring picture and hope for the immediate future. In sum, the quality and quantity of school education in Bangladesh and West Bengal require serious attention to live up to the legacy created by the predecessors. In recent times the demand for higher education has been very high; as a result, the number of higher education institutions has increased throughout the two Bengals. In the last few years, both Bangladesh and West Bengal have also witnessed the establishment of new colleges and universities. The Governments of Bangladesh and West Bengal have also created a policy for establishing Private Universities. Under this policy, many private universities have been established in both Bangladesh and West Bengal. This encourages the participation of the private sector in higher education. Despite having many higher education institutions, Bangladesh and West Bengal face various problems and challenges related to higher education. Quality assurance is the most important factor for achieving higher education goals. The parameters for assessing the quality of higher education institutes in Bangladesh and West Bengal must be revised and redefined to make a unified quality-assurance mechanism. Industry-Academia collaboration needs to be strengthened to provide more employability and promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Chowdhury, R., & Mahbub, S. (2018). Education in Bangladesh: Changing Contexts and Emerging Realities. In R. Chowdhury (Ed.), Engaging in Educational Research, Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects (pp. 1–18). Singapore: Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10. 1007/978-981-13-0708-9_1 Condition of Education in Pre-colonial and Colonial: Bengal—An Overview. (n.d.). http://14.139.211.59/bitstream/123456789/546/6/06_ CHAPTER_01.pdf Das, M. B., & Desai, S. (2003). Are Educated Women Less Likely to be Employed in India? Washington, DC: World Bank (Social Protection Discussion Paper No. 313). Dunn, D. (1993). Gender inequality in education and employment in the scheduled castes and tribes of India. Population Research and Policy Review 12(1): 53–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01074509. England, P., Gornick, J., & Shafer, E.F. (2012). Women’s Employment, Education, and the Gender Gap in 17 Countries. Monthly Labor Review, 135(4), 3–12. Eusuf, M. A. (2022, June 8). Education Budget in FY 2023: What Needs to be Addressed? The Financial Express. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/ views/education-budget-in-fy23-what-needs-to-be-addressed-1654699121 Galtung, J. (1990). Cultural Violence. Journal of Peace Research, 27 3), 291– 305. Ghosh, S. (2013). Locating South Eastern Bengal in the Buddhist Network of Bay of Bengal. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 74, 148–153. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44158810 Gilbert, I. A. (1972). Autonomy and Consensus Under the Raj. In S. H. Rudolph & I. Rudolph (Eds.), Education and Politics in India: Studies in Organization, Society and Policy. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Goldin, C. J. (1990). Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women. New York: Oxford University Press. Government of India. (1902). The Census of Bengal, 1901. 6, 1–485. Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Press. (AISHE) All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20. (2021). https://rur alindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/all-india-survey-on-higher-educationaishe-2019-20/. Retrieved on November 22, 2022. Huq, S. M. M., & Huque, S. M. R. (2014). Public and Private Higher Education Concerns and Challenges: A Case of Bangladesh. In N. Baporikar (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Higher Education in the MENA Region: Policy

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and Practice (pp. 420–441). IGI Global: USA. doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/ 978-1-4666-6198-1.ch018 Huque, S. M. R., Aziza, T., & Farzana, T. (2021). Contemporary Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Challenges and Innovation in Education. In Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (pp. 79–105). IGI Global. https:// doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-6632-9.ch005 IIMC. (2011). Restructuring of School Education System in West Bengal . Retrieved from http://www.wbsed.gov.in/wbsed/readwrite/55.pdf Imam, H (2013). British Education Policy in South Asia: A Critical Appraisal. International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research, 64(6), 28– 31. http://www.ipedr.com/vol64/006-ICHHS2013-W10017.pdf. Indira, R. (n.d). History of Education Policy in India. http://epgp.inflibnet.ac. in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000033SO/P000300/M013097/ET/ 145258955205ET.pdf Islam, M. R., & Mia, A. (2007). The Role of Education for Rural Population Transformation in Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 8(1), 1–21. Kibria, N. (1995). Culture, Social Class, and Income Control in the Lives of Women Garment Workers in Bangladesh. Gender and Society, 9(3), 289– 309 Laird, M.A. (1968). The Contribution of the Serampore Missionaries to Education in Bengal, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 1793–1837. 31(1), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X 00112807 Law, N. N. (1916). Promotion of Learning in India During Muhammadan Rule. New York: Longmans Green & Co. Nath, S. R., Sylva, K., & Grimes, J. (1999). Raising basic education levels in rural Bangladesh: the impact of a non-formal education programme. International Review of Education, 45, 5–26. Metadata Glossary. (2022). Metadata Glossary (SE.ENR.PRSC.FM.ZS). The World Bank. https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/millen nium-development-goals/series/SE.ENR.PRSC.FM.ZS Ministry of Human Resource and Development. (2013). Report of Joint Review Mission on Teacher Education: West Bengal . India, New Delhi: Government of India, MHRD. Retrieved from www.teindia.nic.in/Files/jrm/JRM_Rep orts/JRM_Report_WB.pdf National Education Policy [NEP] 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_Eng lish.pdf

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NIEPA. (2018). Evaluation of the Implementation of the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas. National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/ upload_document/spemm_report.pdf. NUEPA. (2011). DISE & SEMIS Reports: 2011–12. Retrieved from http://semisonline.net/DiseSemisStatistics/DISE percent20percent20SEMIS percent20Reports_WestBengal_U-DISE_2011-12.pdf NUEPA. (2014a). Elementary Education in India—Progress Towards UEE: Flash Statistics: DISE 2013–14. New Delhi: NUEPA. Retrieved from http:// www.dise.in/Downloads/Publications/Publication2013-14/FlashBook201314.pdf NUEPA. (2014b). Secondary Education in India: Progress Towards Universalization, U-DISE 2013–14. NUEPA: New Delhi. Retrieved from http://dise.in/Downloads/Publications/Documents/SecondaryFlash percent20Statistics-2013-14.pdf Nurullah, S. & Naik, J. P. (1943). History of Education in India During the British Period . London: Macmillan O’Dell, B. D. (2014). Beyond Bengal: Gender, Education, and the Writing of Colonial Indian History. Victorian Literature and Culture, 42(3), 535–551. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1060150314000138 Rahaman, M. M. (2017, February 25). Secondary Education: A Long Way to Go. The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/education-employment/sec ondary-education-long-way-go-1366504 Rahim, A. (1992, August). The Political Economy of English Education in Muslim Bengal: 1871–1912. Comparative Education Review, 36(3), 309– 321. Ross, E. D. (1974). Both Ends of the Candle. In A. Basu (Ed.), The Growth of Education and Political Development in India, 1898–1920 (p. 178). New York: Oxford University Press. Sathar, Z. & Desai, S. (2000). Class and Gender in Rural Pakistan: Differentials in Economic Activity. In B. Garcia (Ed.), Women, Poverty and Demographic Change (pp. 175–192). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sen, K. (2004). Lessons in Self-fashioning: “Bamabodhini Patrika” and the Education of Women in Colonial Bengal. Victorian Periodicals Review, 37(2), 176–191. Sen, S. (2022, May 6). 10 NGOs in Kolkata Giving a Better Life to the Poor. give INDIA. https://www.giveindia.org/blog/10-ngos-in-kolkatagiving-a-better-life-to-the-poor/

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Sinha, N.K. (1967). The History of Bengal (1757–1905). Calcutta: Calcutta University Press. https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.11667 Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea. New York: Columbia University Press. Talukdar, M. M. H. (2022, February 2). Promoting Education Among the Underprivileged. The New Age. https://www.newagebd.net/article/161571/ promoting-education-among-the-underprivileged The Economic Times. (2021, July 8). Bengal Budget FY 22: Special Focus on Social Service Expenditure, Education and Health Care. https://econom ictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/bengal-budget-fy22-specialfocus-on-social-service-expenditure-education-and-health-care/articleshow/ 84223268.cms The University Grants Commission (UGC). (2018). Achievement in Higher Education in Bangladesh, University Grants Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The World Bank. (2022a). School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)-Bangladesh. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE. ENR.SECO.FM.ZS?locations=BD The World Bank. (2022b) “World Bank Open Data”. https://data.worldb ank.org. Accessed 22 November. 2022. Uddin, S. S. (2019, August 3). MPO Enrolment of Non-government Schools: Nepotism Must be Wiped Out. Bangladesh Post. https://bangladeshpost.net/ posts/mpo-enrolment-of-non-government-schools-8391 UGC, India. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.ugc.ac.in/stats. aspx UNICEF. (2018). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/india/ media/2596/file/Catalysing-transformational-change-in-school-education. pdf United Nations Bangladesh. (2022). Our Work on the Sustainable Development Goals in Bangladesh. United Nations Bangladesh. https://bangladesh.un.org/en/sdgs#:~:text=Our percent20Work percent20on percent20the percent20Sustainable percent20Development percent20Goals percent20in percent20Bangladesh,-How percent20the percent20UN&text=In percent20line percent20with percent202030 percent20Agenda,to percent20enhance percent20the percent20development percent20impact United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]. (2007). Secondary Education Regional Information Base: Country Profile: Bangladesh. Bangkok, Thailand: UNESCO

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West Bengal Literacy Rate 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https:// www.indiacensus.net/states/west-bengal/literacy William Adam. (1868). Adam’s Report on Vernacular Education in Bengal and Behar. Submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838, ed. Rev. J. Long (Calcutta: Home Secretariat Press, 1868). p. 32. Yechury, S. (1986). Educational Development in India. Social Scientist, 4(2–3), 153–154.

7 Health Care and Social Development Sahana Roy Chowdhury and Sayani Roy Chowdhury

7.1

Introduction

In 1947 Partition of Bengal divided British Indian Bengal based on the Radcliffe line, creating West Bengal as a province of India and East Bengal as a province of the Dominion of Pakistan. The transition towards two separate socio-political territories from a united and economically dominant province of Bengal was not a smooth one; several political and legal hindrances and oppositions gathered momentum right after this division. While almost all the jute mills and coal mines, the then major port and city Kolkata, and its surrounding commercial and industrial hub fell in West Bengal, the jute cultivating lands and most of the S. Roy Chowdhury (B) International Management Institute, Kolkata, India e-mail: [email protected] S. Roy Chowdhury High Court, Calcutta, Kolkata, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_7

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agrarian economy fell under East Bengal. This created major hindrances in strategizing economic planning. Quite understandably, the economic configuration in then east Bengal was, to start with, agrarian with limited trade facilities and infrastructure, whereas for West Bengal, although infrastructure and commercial connectivity were not a big issue in getting cheap and appropriate raw materials, especially in the food and agriculture sector became a critical constraint. Food shortage and scarcity of resources and raw materials in the agri- and related sector was rampant. On social sector repercussions of the partition, numerous issues emerge; the influx of refugees and migration in both regions is one such issue. Any discussion on the evolution of social development and health sector scenarios in these two regions, without the discussion of these historical contexts, would have been grossly flawed. If we look into the demographic transition of West Bengal, we find (Table 7.1) that the population has almost doubled post-1971; also, the district-wise population density as depicted by the West Bengal Development Report (Planning Commission, 2010) based on the data of Economic review 2007–2008, the south-central districts are highly populated while the less densely populated districts are worse served due to lack of infrastructural facilities. The report states: “One major contributory factor in this development has been immigration from the neighboring Indian states and from Bangladesh and Nepal. This imposes severe burdens on the infrastructure and land availability of the state”. On the other hand, after partition, East Bengal constituted East Pakistan, where “Religious affinity was given priority over geographical Table 7.1 Historical perspective of population density in West Bengal

1971 1981 1991 2001

Population density

Population (in lakh)

India

West Bengal

West Bengal

216 273 324

615 767 904

443.12 545.81 680.78 801.76

Source Government of West Bengal. Economic Review, 2007–2008

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distance and cultural and linguistic differences”.1 It was thought that a better standard of living would be achieved with the West Pakistan government ensuring fundamental rights. However, not only the people of East Pakistan were deprived of their rights due to the political hegemony of the Western wing but also due to the denial of many of their social and economic rights. For example, although the population share of West Pakistan was the lesser major share of the national budget (75%) was spent on West Pakistan. The economic reasons, along with other political and social rights, fuelled the liberation war and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Bangladesh, at the time of independence, was economically backward with limited resources. Also, dependency on foreign aid was 88% in 1972, which came down to 2% in 2010. The GDP per capita increased from US$200 in the 1970s to around US dollar 1900 in 2011 in PPP terms. On the other hand, per capita arable land declined from 0.13 hectares to 0.05 hectares in 2012, raising concern over food security, which is purely due to (almost) doubling of population. The country’s estimated poverty level stood as high as 82.9% in 1973–1974. Dhaka city’s population rose to 2 million in 1974 from 0.7 million in 1961, and within a decade, it leaped to 3 million in 1981, mostly due to the massive influx of immigrants.2 Bangladesh has eight administrative divisions and, under them, 64 administrative districts. The distribution and concentration of the population as per Census 2011 in the districts are shown in Fig. 7.1 (Govindaraj, 2018). This shows Dhaka has the highest population concentration for obvious reasons. We see that both West Bengal and East Bengal started with multiple constraints when they started their journeys separately. To start with, common challenges are an unpredicted influx of immigrants—refugees, among other factors. In both regions, massive socioeconomic and political stress was observed in the planning process. This is also reflected in the social development and health indicators with which these economies started their journeys. Although the growth paths and development 1

https://www.efsas.org/publications/research-dossiers/1971-liberation-war,-birth-of-bangladeshand-comparison-with-present-day-pakistan/. 2 Helal and Hossain (2013): https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd/journal/08MohammedHelal.pdf.

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Fig. 7.1 Distribution of Urban Populations and Areas in Bangladesh, by Administrative District, 2011 (Source Statistics from GOB 2014)

indicators started climbing after a couple of decades for both these economies, stark differences are evident in the outcomes. This chapter sheds light on the commonalities and differences in the health sector and the social development indicators. It also intends to provide a performance appraisal of the two regions along their development trajectories over the course of time. Before comparing the health performance and challenges and the development indicators of the two Bengals, it is interesting to note the historic divergences in some of the vital statistics indicators and their reasons, as analyzed in very narrow literature (Kamal, 2009). Interestingly, not only disease shocks such as the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 or related, but also food crisis and famine and economic reasons have played very big roles in determining the crude death and birth rates, and that have had long-lasting impact deterministic impacts on the demographic profiles of both the regions. West Bengal (WB) is found to have a more volatile and high level of crude death rate than East Bengal (EB) in the early decades of the twentieth century. This is due to unhealthiness primarily, among other reasons. Literature shows that the influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 was the turning point for WB,

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undoubtedly WB was hit hard in terms of death as compared to EB, but the recovery strategies and a mix of known and unknown factors made WB remarkably less vulnerable in the 1943–1944 famine and other disasters later. Nonetheless, for both the Bengals, the death rate later was much less and did not return to the pre-crisis levels (Fig. 7.2). Coming to the diseases that were major causes of death due to disease were smallpox, malaria, cholera, etc. By the end of the nineteenth century, smallpox and cholera ceased to be the prime causes of death in Bengal. Only malaria was the major disease-causing death (Kamal, 2009). This disease was known as Burdwan fever, known by the districts of origin, Nadia and Jessore in EB. Malaria was the major cause of population stagnation in WB. The smallpox vaccine was introduced in 1802, but full coverage in rural Bengal was done in 1922, mostly due to opposition from traditional “tikadars” and inefficient compulsory vaccination drive (Ray, 1998). Later, respiratory diseases emerged as prime reasons for death, and Calcutta—WB became the epicentre. This is due to growing air pollution and smoking habit. Thus, the evolution of disease burden in both the Bengals remained an interesting area of study under vital statistics. Influenza mortality was more pronounced in East Bengal in terms

Fig. 7.2 Annual crude death rates in Bangladesh and West Bengal 1900–1949 (Source Annual registered CDR in East Bengal [Bangladesh] and West Bengal were calculated using data for undivided Bengal. The registered rates were corrected using suitable correction factors)

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of person per thousand; however, the next big cause of mortality was reported during the 1943–1944 famine. Sen (1981) estimated famine mortality to be 1.5 million, based on the 1951 census of West Bengal. He also arrived at an estimate of three million famine-related excess deaths.

7.2

Bangladesh

7.2.1 Health: Evolution and a Brief Historical Perspective According to a WHO publication (Ahmed et al., 2015b), Bangladesh has gone through several reforms in healthcare infrastructure and impressive improvement in key indicators such as maternal death, immunization coverage, and death due to infectious diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, etc. Going through the historical perspective of the health sector policies emphasizing outcomes starts from the 1970s. The First Five Year Plan (1972–1978) emphasized primary health care (PHC) as the key to improving health care, while the second and third plans worked on strengthening human resources, the third and fourth plans (1986–1998) implemented child nutrition, immunization related health programmes. The 1990s witnessed massive institutional reforms Bangladesh had its first National Health Policy passed in 2000 that emphasized providing primary health care to all and having PHC clinics at the district/thana level. Nonetheless, factors such as poor government allocation of budgetary resources in health care and large out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure, lack of skilled manpower in health service, inequitable access to basic health services, and many other reasons have slowed the achievement of many important targets including the universal health coverage. A primary concern relates to the unequal distribution of healthcare service-related infrastructure; for example, most of the informal sectors consisting of untrained service providers of all sorts of medicines are concentrated in rural areas and the surrounding, whereas the formal sector is mostly concentrated in urban areas. On the other hand, NGOs have emerged as instrumental primary donors in channelizing resources across regions,

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investing in capacity building, monitoring, and evaluating health gains. Also, with a ratio of doctors to nurses to technologists of 1:0.4:0.24 health workforce is skewed towards doctors, in stark contrast to the WHO recommended ratio of 1:3:5 (Ahmed et al., 2015a). Noticing these issues, the twenty years Health Care Financing Strategy (2012– 2032) programme was launched, where target-based objectives were defined, such as reducing OOP from 64 to 32% of total health expenditure, among other policies. Among recent challenges, mental health, non-communicable diseases, obesity, and diabetes have become disease burdens in recent times. Among major reforms in the health sector, Bangladesh Government and donors developed Health and Population Sector Strategy developed in 1997. This made a series of strategic institutional and governance reforms to give example, earlier project-based interventions were to be substituted with coordinated sectoral interventions. Major developments include community clinics, unification, and bifurcation of certain schemes as found necessary. A high level of OOP expenditure is a barrier therefore, a Healthcare Financing Strategy (2012–2032) has been developed to provide direction in achieving universal health coverage (UHC). This 20-year strategy programme aims at a reduction of OOP from 64 to 32% of total health expenditure, an increase in government expenditure from 26 to 30%, an increase in social protection from less than 1 to 32%, and a reduced dependence on external funds from 8 to 5% (Ahmed et al., 2015a). The 1990s saw several drastic reforms in the health system, such as Health and Population Sector Programme (HPSP) that was launched during (1998–2003); a glimpse of those is given in Table 7.2 In terms of health outcomes, Bangladesh could make several benchmark achievements. The first post-independence National Population Census of 1974 found that the total fertility rate (TFR) was 6.9 per woman. In 2019 the TFR in Bangladesh was said to be 2.0. With the global TFR at 2.5 in 2019, India’s TFR was 2.3, Pakistan’s was 3.3, and Sri Lanka’s and Nepal’s were both 2.0.3 Bangladesh received a UN award for its achievement in 2010 in MDG, especially in terms of reducing the child mortality rate (Table 7.3). 3

Bangladesh’s journey with health in the past 50 years, The Daily Star, February 10, 2022.

Basic services are provided through a package called Essential Service Package (ESP) to make health services cost-effective

Health Policy 14 August, 2000

All the basic services under ESP are delivered through one-stop service centers at the thana (THCs), Union (UHFWC), and partially at the village-level Community Clinics replacing domiciliary services

Changes in the health system

Policy/programmes

Table 7.2 Recent reforms in the health system of Bangladesh ESP is implemented as a cost effective way of providing primary care services with some pitfalls. Urban areas have been kept outside the ESP intervention Initially, Community Clinics failed to produce the desired result due to noncooperation of service providers due to their conflict of interests and because of the unwillingness of the community to accept the withdrawal of domiciliary service. Above all, change of the political regime also led to the the underperformance of Community Clinics

Impact on the health system

188 S. Roy Chowdhury and S. Roy Chowdhury

Policy/programmes

(continued)

Unification did not produce positive results as it was done without considering the institutional constraints. Deep-rooted differences between different cadres of personnel have posed serious constraints to adequate service provisions SWAp has helped create a common funding pool for donors, reduced duplication, and brought about greater control over funds by the government. A uniform financial accounting procedure has been developed and implemented. Significant progress has been made in standardizing and unifying disbursement procedures and reducing transaction costs associated with managing multiple donor funds Despite these achievements, some structural issues still act as barriers to the full implementation of SWAp

Unification of health and family planning wings of the ministry of Health at the thana level and below instead of top-to-bottom unification

Transition from a project-driven approach to a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) has taken place In planning, the newly introduced SWAp enfolded all the relevant programmes as a single entity rather than having separate plans for individual projects In the implementation, all sources of funding, including GOB, donors, and households, were considered as sectoral resources as a whole

Impact on the health system

Changes in the health system

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DSF has been implemented in the form of a maternal health voucher scheme. The scheme is implemented with provisions for antenatal and birthing care at home and in public or private sector facilities. It also provides for transport and maternity care in 46 poorest upazilas

The Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme (HNPSP) (2003–2010)

Domiciliary services have been reinstated, and CCs have been revitalized

Health and family planning wings have again been bifurcated

Changes in the health system

Policy/programmes

Table 7.2 (continued) Impact on the health system The voucher scheme has been able to produce a very positive result The program coverage expanded from initial 10 upazilas in 2007 to 46 upazilas in 2012. Performance data at the output level also continue to improve. The safe delivery rate is now at an impressive 89% amongst the voucher recipients, who constitute approximately 50% of the pregnant women in the target upazilas. More strikingly, the maternal mortality rate among the voucher-holder women is 12 per 100,000 live births, in sharp contrast with the national rate of 194 per 100,000 live births (DGHS 2011) Implementation of the philosophy of integrated planning through SWAp is facing difficulty Duplications, and overlapping continue to exist Currently, with the reinstatement of domiciliary services, and other upgrading attempts, CCs have been able to create enthusiasm among the villagers. The rate of CC utilization has increased in recent years

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Impact on the health system Centralized procurement of logistics for all programs results in delays in providing supplies and logistics. This often prevents the newly constructed health facilities from functioning properly

Changes in the health system Decentralization of health services has been implemented partially through delegation of some administrative and budgetary authority to the local level

Source Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Policy/programmes

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82 116 3.3 – –

87 133 3.4 – –

–

3.3 322(2001)

94

66

1999– 2000

51

3 –

88

65

2004

43

2.7 –

65

52

2007

41

2.3 194(2010)

53

43

2011

36

2.3 –

46

38

2014

31

2.3 –

46

38

2017–2018

Source Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), various rounds, and Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey 2010

Infant mortality rate (per 1.000 live births) Under-5 mortality rate (per1,000 live births) Total fertility rate (births per women) Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) (per 100.000 live births) Prevalence of stunting among children under5(percentage)

Table 7.3 Key health indicators, Bangladesh, selected years 1993– 1996– 1994 1997

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7.2.1.1 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Universal Health Coverage is officially here with the rights of the citizens to receive health care as per their needs. Increasing OOP (64% of Total Health Expenditure, with two-thirds of OOP being spent on medicines) and limitation on services availability, rising user charges made Bangladesh a country with the highest incidence of catastrophic payment in the Asia–Pacific region (Doorslaer et al., 2007). A recent estimate found that 7% of households spend more than 25% of their monthly non-food expenditure on health care as OOP. However, in a given month, the proportion of the population falling below the international $1 poverty line due to OOP on health care decreased from 4% in 2000 to 3.1% in 2005 and 0.7% in 2010 (Rannan-Eliya et al., 2012). Given this situation, we can understand the importance of having UHC in Bangladesh. One of the very interesting resources on Bangladesh UHC is the Country Summary Report on Bangladesh commissioned under the Japan–World Bank Partnership Program. After a series of discussions and consultations with stakeholders in October 2012, the Health Care Financing Strategy 2012–2032 was approved; the document in this strategy provides a statutory roadmap for Bangladesh to achieve UHC by 2032. The World Bank has elaborately analyzed and compared the UHC design and performances of 24 developing countries, including Bangladesh. The UHC is analyzed by looking into two aspects: first, how the financing gap (FG) is tackled, and a provision gap (PG) is overseen. While FG is the trend of lower per capita spending on the poor and mitigating it via UHC is to spend additional resources in a pro-poor way, PG is underperformance or lack of access to health services for the poor which can be mitigated by changing incentives for wider service delivery. Thus, evaluating UHC is not only to see its efficacy in terms of performance but also to see how the rules of the game are changed over time for better outreach toward mitigating inequity. There are concerns relating quality of UHC, even if it is indeed feasible to roll it out. However, as and when it gets implemented, research studies and international practices show that the requirement of adequate skill sets and investment in skill development towards service delivery and maintenance

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become constrained. Therefore, a well-thought-out longer-run design of UHC is required. The World Bank’s Bangladesh document on UHC underscores this. On the coverage aspect, it is typically observed that non-communicable diseases (NCD) are the predominant causes behind morbidity and mortality, and therefore, this should be well covered under any UHC design. A rapid increase in NCD may be attributed to rapid urbanization, where more than half of the slum dwellers stay in concentrated pockets of the Dhaka division. Another dimension of UHC and other health sector interventions is the development of community clinics that involve women workers primarily. The incentives are output linked in most cases. To achieve the UHC target of SDG 3.8, two broad indicators are monitored: (a) the coverage of essential health services (3.8.1) and (b) the proportion of a country’s population with catastrophic spending on health (3.8.2). The latest report on UHC progress monitoring (Ahmed et al., 2019) takes the UHC service coverage index to monitor the coverage of essential health services, and this is computed based on tracer indicators. Catastrophic spending is reported if OOP expenditure exceeds 10 and 25% of household total income or consumption. The coverage in Bangladesh was 46 in 2015, which is the same as the index in the African region but lower than the global average (64). Asia (53), and India (56) is a better performer in the South Asian region. In 2010 the catastrophic threshold at 10% level was lower in Bangladesh as compared to India, Nepal, and similar countries, but at the 25-threshold level, it is much higher in Bangladesh.

7.2.1.2 Public, Private, and OOP Expenditure in Health According to the Bangladesh National Health Accounts, Bangladesh spends US$16.20 per person per year, of which 64% comes from OOP. Notably, despite growth in THE in Bangladesh, it remains one of the lowest in terms of GDP share in the South-East Asian region. Also, interestingly, as per World Health Organization (WHO) the composition of this expenditure is worth examining, public spending on medical goods and medicine increased sevenfold in absolute terms between 1997 and

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2007, but as a share of THE, it fell by 8%. Surprisingly, government expenditure as a share of GDP remained stagnant at 1% of GDP. Under OOP drugs and medical goods, retail outlets contribute the highest and remain the primary cause of concern (Table 7.4). Interestingly, due to a lack of supply-side interventions, attention has shifted to demand-side policy interventions in most developing countries, including Bangladesh. The most popular is the voucher system. The government provides vouchers or coupons that can be exchanged for health services at the patient’s choice. This is another way to channel subsidies for health services. This also helps build up multiple health service providers at competitive rates with quality assurance—since this is completely market-determined. This structure has become quite popular in both Bangladesh and India, including West Bengal.

7.2.1.3 Health Insurance Status: The Demand-Side Intervention Bangladesh has less than 10% of life insurance subscribers who have health coverage.4 Although the concept of insurance support and schemes existed, the push from the government was not adequate; only in the 1990s, the insurance companies could penetrate the market. Two types of health insurance businesses are there in Bangladesh at present: standalone health insurance policies and the other one is life insurance coverage that covers health insurance as well. Health insurance is dominated by group insurance, in which 80% is paid by good employers, largely in multinational corporations and a few in small businesses. There is some health insurance for selective group factory workers, specifically in the garments industry. After a collaborative consultation and conference in 2020 rolling out of health insurance schemes in all garment companies was announced. There was an expectation that this step would increase productivity and absenteeism in the workplace. The initial objective was to enroll approximately 20,000 employees in health insurance coverage for a four-year-period from 2017 to 2021. Under 4

https://www.lightcastlebd.com/insights/2021/09/healthcare-insurance-in-bangladesh-an-area-inneed-of-rapid-improvement/.

Source MoHFW (2010) and World Bank (2012)

Total Health Expenditure (THE) in PPP$ per capita Total Health Expenditure in US$ per capita Total Health Expenditure as % of GDP Mean annual growth rate in Total Health Expenditure Mean annual growth rate in GDP Public expenditure on health as % of Total Health Expenditure Public expenditure on health as % of GDP OOP as % of total health expenditure NGO expenditure as % of Total Health Expenditure External assistance to NGOs as % of Total Health Expenditure Other private expenditure as % of Total Health Expenditure 10% 28%

8% 31% 1% 59% 2% 7% 1%

36% 1% 57% 1% 5% 1%

1%

9%

1% 61% 2%

115 3.00% 8%

10.1 2.80% 10%

9.2 2.70%

1%

8%

1% 64% 2%

11% 26%

13.7 3.20% 15%

37

2005

1%

8%

1% 64% 1%

14% 26%

16.2 3.40% 16%

46

–

–

1% 62% –

– 36%

19.4 3.50% –

52

2008

2007

30

24

20

2003

1997

2000

WHO estimates

National reports

Table 7.4 Trends in health expenditure in Bangladesh during 1997–2011

–

–

1% 61% –

– 37%

22.4 3.70% –

58

2009

–

–

1% 61% –

– 37%

24.8 3.70% –

61

2010

–

–

1% 61% –

– 37%

26.5 3.70% –

67

2011

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this scheme, any beneficiary would avail of medical expenses worth up to BDT 15,000 in exchange for an annual premium of BDT 575 per person, 48% of which would be paid for by donors, and the workers would pay for the balance. During covid times also government launched a special health scheme for doctors, nurses, and health sector frontline workers; under this scheme, doctors would be entitled to get BDT 1,000,000 if they die of covid while doing any covid treatment. This was introduced by the state-owned Jiban Bima Corporation. Nonetheless, in comparison with the insurance schemes and diversity therein that the comparable countries do have, including India (and WB) is far more advanced in terms of both quality and coverage, e.g., as directed by the insurance regulatory body Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, mental health is also included. However, the government in the recent budget speech in 2021, mentioned rolling out widespread health insurance schemes to include the low-income category as well under their universal health coverage scheduled to be rolled out by 2030, the existing health insurance schemes mostly cater to the high-income group for the purely economic reason—better known as the “adverse-selection problem”.

7.2.1.4 Health Infrastructure: Supply-Side Scenario To talk about infrastructure first and foremost comes to mind is the distribution of health professionals in the public and private sectors since this has a direct impact on both the quality and price of health services. It is found that an estimated 62% of medical doctors are working in the private sector in 2013 (Ahmed et al., 2015a), and it is increasing day by day (Fig. 7.3). Moreover, the workforce is skewed with a ratio of doctors to nurses to technologists of 1:0.4:0.24, whereas the WHO recommended ratio is 1:3:5. Shortage of doctors is 90,000, and of the nurses is 273,000 nurses and 455,000 technologists (Table 4.5). The Ministry has a target of achieving a ratio of 1:1:1 in the foreseeable future.

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Fig. 7.3 Density of the healthcare professionals per 10,000 population (Source Bangladesh Health Bulletins 1997, 2007, 2012)

7.2.1.5 Legal and Regulatory Atmosphere, Immunization Intervention and Medical Tourism Bangladesh inherited a highly centralized healthcare system from the British. Later on, after getting independence in 1971, several committees were formed to streamline the structure of healthcare facilities in the country. The Bhore Committee is one such committee that recommended, inter alia, integrating curative and preventive health care. This is extremely important from an outcome point of view, and many countries are found to do well in overall healthcare indicators, whereas, on delving deeper, preventive health care needs to be more focused. The committee further recommended catering to an equal spread of healthcare service distribution. The provision of doctors’ and nurses’ facilities is to be prioritized in the rural areas for the country’s overall development of healthcare indicators. The constitution (Article 18) mentions that the states have their primary duty to provide nutritional requirements and

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improve public health care as their primary duty. Following this through the central control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the broad health framework gets implemented in the country. Still, we find that the majority of the healthcare expenditure in the country is taken care of by the private sector. There are several challenges that the health sector face, which need states’ intervention. As mentioned earlier, health service access inequality is a major problem. Also, the availability of affordable drugs remains a major public policy issue. This was taken up in the National Drug Policy of 1982, taking care of quality as well as identifying proper distributive channels of essential drugs at affordable prices. However, with a gradual reduction in the list of drugs under control, the spirit of these regulations faded away. Since 2010 leading pharma companies have increased the prices of even commonly used drugs for several reasons, increasing import prices, USD appreciation, etc. If we investigate other areas of regulatory intervention that are expected with the emerging economic growth and industrialization of Bangladesh is “occupational health”. Bangladesh has not yet ratified the necessary international labour standards on occupational safety and health policy, e.g., the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention 2006 (No. 187) and the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981 (No. 155) (ILO: OSH Country Profile Bangladesh). Bangladesh recently amended the Labor Act 2013, which mandates safety committees be created in factories with 50 workers or more and posting of safety welfare officers in workplaces with more than 500 employees. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) under the Ministry of Labor and Employment (DIFE web) is responsible for enforcing labour laws (Ahmed et al., 2015a). The GHS (Global Health Security Index) index ranks Bangladesh 95 among 195 countries, the index score being only 35.5; it is clear enough that despite a good effort from the Government, the result is not at all satisfactory. In a study conducted by Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), it was very well observed that hard challenges for the country in “an overly-centralized health system, weak governance structure and regulatory framework, weak management and institutional capacity in the

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), fragmented public service delivery, inefficient allocation of public resources, lack of regulation of the private sector—which employs 58% of all physicians, shortage of HRH, high turnover and absenteeism of health workers, and poor maintenance of health facilities and medical equipment”.5 Again, for regulations, it was found that “[W]hile there exist a number of Acts and Ordinances to regulate the health system, including regulation of different types of providers, practice facilities and NGOs, many of these legal instruments date from several decades ago” (Ahmed et al., 2015b). Bangladesh has a pluralistic healthcare system, which is highly unregulated and consists of four key actors: government, for-profit private sector, not-for-profit private sector (mainly the nongovernmental organizations), and international development organizations (Ahmed et al., 2015c). Public health care is steered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through its different Directorate Generals: Health Services, Family Planning, Drug Administration, Nursing and Midwifery, Health Economics Unit, etc. Private health care encompasses for-profit private, not-for-profit private (mainly the NGOs), and informal providers (village doctors and another vast array of different unqualified providers). The public healthcare services are organized along four levels: community-level health care (provided by the domiciliary health providers and community clinics), primary-level health care (provided in Rural Health Centers, Union Subcenters, Union Family Welfare Centers, and Upazila Health Complexes), secondary-level health care (provided in District Hospitals, General Hospitals, Chest Disease Clinics, Tuberculosis Clinics, and Leprosy Hospitals), and tertiary-level health care (provided in Post Graduate Medical Institutes, Specialized Healthcare Centers, Medical College Hospitals, and Infectious Disease Hospitals). The private sector also has health facilities ranging from individual doctors’ offices to high-end tertiary-level international standard hospitals (Government of Bangladesh, Health Bulletin 2017 ). The government highly subsidizes public health care, with nominal payments required from patients, especially outpatient care. Health insurance, both national and private, is practically non-existent. Health financing is 5

https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=113588#ref53.

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underfunded; only 2.64% of gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on health, which is the lowest in South Asia.6 Health financial coverage is so sparse that nine percent of households face catastrophic health payments, 5.6% face impoverishment, and seven percent face distress financing (borrowing or selling household assets to finance healthcare costs). In a report of the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (An Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India), submitted to the Ministry of Tourism (Market Research Division) Govt. of India it was observed that: “A huge number of patients are visiting outside the country each year for medical purposes. Most importantly, health care services are not right of entry uniformly, and the marginalized people of rural and slum dwellers of the urban areas are treated in a highly discriminatory nature to access healthcare management. Even those who are lower middle class and middle-class people do not also get proper treatment facilities. Moreover, maximum upper-class people in the country do not trust healthcare supporting personnel, including doctors, and nurses. If there is no other alternative, in that case, when seriously sick, the people of the country take treatment in the country”.7 A large number of Bangladeshi citizens coming to Kolkata for treatment purposes has been evidenced by OPD registers of many Hospitals in Kolkata.8 Accessibility to quality treatment is a challenge for the residents of Bangladesh. But the biggest challenge is quality treatment at affordable cost. Unlike India, there is no income tax benefit for Mediclaim premium payment. Therefore, the incentive to secure treatment costs is also absent.9 In 2016 Government of West Bengal declared free treatment in Five Government hospitals for outside and resident patients. But in 2018, it was also stated by the Chief Minister of West Bengal that the Universal Free treatment policy was being used 6

World Bank, Data Bank, 2015, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS? locations=BD-NP-BT-IN-MV-LK-PK-AF. 7 https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-04/Final%20Report%20on%20Visit%20of% 20Nationals%20of%20Bangladesh%20to%20India.pdf. 8 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/89979795.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest& utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst. 9 https://nbr.gov.bd/uploads/publications/107.pdf.

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by neighboring countries and it must be limited to the residents of West Bengal only.10 Therefore, the Government policy of universal free treatment induced Bangladeshi patients to choose between no-cost quality treatment in Kolkata versus costly treatment in the home country Bangladesh. Another important issue is so far as medical tourism is concerned, there is no reverse flow of patient-tourist from Kolkata to Bangladesh. This unidirectional medical tourism can be explained by the existence of affordable, comparably better treatment—facilities in the nearest neighboring Indian State of West Bengal. Coming to another important aspect of medical tourism is the Medical Negligence cases. The fact remains that no patient must consider the aspects of medical negligence beforehand. Nonetheless, this is an important aspect like any other accident. It was found that in the year 2018, a total of 3241 cases of medical negligence had been filed in India, and in the year 2019, 2638 cases of medical negligence cases were filed. Bangladeshi citizens can also file medical negligence cases under Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and the Recent Amendment in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 if any negligence-related issues happen allegedly.

7.2.2 Social Development In an article, Asadullah et al. (2014) show that Bangladesh, among comparable developing countries primarily in terms of per capita income, has made commendable progress in every possible indicator of social development, especially education, health, sanitation, and fertility. There have been regime switches regarding the progress that Bangladesh could achieve in comparison with India and Pakistan, in particular, during the 1980s and in the recent phase i.e., post-2000s. From Fig. 7.4, we find that in the early 1980s, Bangladesh was behind India and very close to Pakistan’s performance—close to the straight line; however, in the recent decade, we find Bangladesh is above the line and performancewise doing much better in female secondary enrolment rate. This is an 10

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/only-bengal-residents-to-now-get-free-treatm ent-at-govt-hospitals-mamata-banerjee/.

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Fig. 7.4 Female secondary school enrolment rate

important indicator since it caters to education enrolment outcomes and has several ramifications on driving the transition in growth and development and positive impacts on an economically developing society. The development transition path of Bangladesh has been very interesting and worth studying, a mix of both “support-led” and “income mediated”.

7.2.2.1 Poverty, Inequality, and Informalization Post-division poverty increased in both Bengal, there were several reasons: Famine, as already mentioned, has been a crucial factor behind the increase in poverty and catastrophic health shocks in both Bengals. Another big reason is migration, or a huge influx of people from both ways but primarily from EB to WB post-independence of EB. The rate of decline in poverty in Bangladesh has been lower than that observed in West Bengal. The headcount ratio has been declining at the country’s rural and urban levels, but the level of inequality has risen. Both the headcount ratio as well as the level of inequality are higher in Bangladesh relative to West Bengal. However, the human poverty index, which encompasses health, education, and nutrition deprivations, has been improving faster than income poverty in the country. Environmental

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degradation and an increase in the salinity of water triggered migration in very unique situations in Bangladesh, creating many undocumented “climate refugees”. Poverty is directly connected with food self-sufficiency and agricultural growth in any agrarian society like Bangladesh and WB. Data shows that every year almost 0.20 million people add to the total population, on the other hand, an estimated annual reduction of agricultural land is 0.08 million hectares approximately, mainly due to a sharp rise in construction and rapid urbanization-related activities. The per capita arable land declined sharply from 0.13 hectares to 0.05 hectares in 2012, raising food security concerns (Helal and Hossain, 2013). Just after independence, Bangladesh had an official poverty figure of 82.9% in 1973–1974. It needs to be mentioned that there has been a radical change in the poverty measurement methodology from static to dynamic where poverty headcount rates were based on both upper and lower poverty lines using the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method. Quite remarkably, based on this new methodology, the poverty ratio declined sharply in the 1980s and declined considerably between 1990 and 2010. A rapid surge in migration led to a huge remittance inflow in the country and has contributed to the country’s development.

7.2.2.2 Policy Intervention and Way Forward Overall, it is quite evident that Bangladesh has taken a leap forward from what has been defined sarcastically as a “Bottomless basket” during its independence to achieve the status of a low-middle income country, with a major upliftment in health and social development indicators in general. However, inequality in terms of health service access and quality service remains to be an area of policy intervention; bringing transparency, clarity, and stringency in the regulatory atmosphere with respect to health and social sector policy interventions are some other areas of intervention way forward.

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West Bengal

7.3.1 Evolution and a Brief Historical Perspective The remarkable start of the evolution of the WB health sector postBengal’s division started in 1946 with the submission of the Bhore committee report, which recommends combatting the hardest hurdle towards a better health strategy—poverty. With India’s lack of commitment to having public health revolution in combatting communicable diseases. The first and second 5-year plans were dedicated to the development of rural infrastructure with large-scale investments and the building of PHCs along with procurement of lifesaving drugs and largescale vaccination drives (Kamal, 2009). The 1953 Malaria eradication programme was the largest public health intervention programme in history with 30% of India’s health budget. On the demographic front, a sudden drop in fertility rate was observed in India and major states; this decline in infant mortality rate (IMR) is partially explained by the decline in the birth rate brought about by the mass sterilization campaign during the Emergency period—the 1970s.On the other hand, for Bangladesh, the reasons for the decline in mortality were different: the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1986, and the Drug policy of 1982 made essential drugs affordable. On the socioeconomic front, several policy interventions on women empowerment by NGOs especially, have done a very good job in terms of achieving socioeconomic transition Table 7.5 provides a comparison of the quality of life in terms of life expectancy in WB and EB and in India. We find that WB did much better in recent times compared to EB and India’s average. Looking into the prime causes of death in both the Bengals, cardiovascular disease is the main cause. A strand of literature studied and compared the causes of mortality in EB and WB to understand the health policy dynamics and possible interventions. Strangely, “senility” was found to be another cause of death in EB, unlike in WB. This encompasses a broad range of causes related to old age, for example, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, which do not get a proper diagnosis. In Bangladesh, studies—among micro-credit recipients in the Matlab area (Chowdhury and Bhuiya, 2001) in their recent reports show that

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Table 7.5 Comparison of life expectancy Bangladesh 1960s 1970s 1981–1985 1986–1990 1991–1995 1996–2000 2001–2006

Male

Female

48.1 45.0.8 54…8 60.0.6 61.4 64.6

49.0.2 46.0.9 52.1 60.9 63.1 66.1

West Bengal

India

Male

Female

Male

Female

49 56.4 60.2 61.5 64.5 66.1

50.9 58 61.2 62.0.8 67.0.2 69.3

55.4 51.1 59.7 62.4 64.1

55.7 58.1 60.9 63.4 65.4

Source 1970s for Bangladesh—1974 BRSFM; 1981 onwards are Matlab MCH-FP data. For West Bengal-SRS data for 1981–1995; 1996 onwards, Health on March 2003–2004, and figures for the 1970s are from Dyson (1979)

while recent development-oriented policy design focus on the material aspects of women empowerment via micro-credit access and related, mental illness and depression are among the highest in this group. On the other hand, in WB, respiratory-related diseases are on the rise, the causes being the unplanned growth of environment-unfriendly industries. On comparing the other health indicators, such as IMR, it is found that IMR is at least 1.5 times higher in Bangladesh; Jain (1985) and Dyson (1979) provide an excellent regional comparison in the pre-and post-independence eras of India. However, on comparing the body mass index (BMI—also known as the Quetelet Index, is defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters [kg/m2 ]). of the two regions for Bangladesh, the data source is DHS 1999–2000, and for WB, it is NFHS 1998) which shows that the two regions have the same average BMI for women—20; below 18.5 is considered undernourished. This is a good index to understand the average health condition of women since BMI depends on genetic factors as well as nutritional factors as well. In WB high prevalence of anaemia is observed, even among wealthy urban households. It needs to be mentioned that health is a state subject central government plays an advisory role and often a key role, but the primary decision maker in the case of WB and all other states in India remains to be the state. However, capacity building in terms of building health infrastructure, training, and knowledge updating with the know-how

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of state-of-the-art health sector technologies, adopting new machinery and equipment, etc., on supply side, and on-demand side mitigating the so-called adverse-selection problem and market failure risks by subsidy provisioning in the health insurance market and other subsidies and intervention programmes, etc. are all mostly funded and designed by the centre. This is unlike the bottom-up approach in most of the countries that follow best practices in their health sector governance and regulation, e.g., Canada. Also, a well-designed holistic framework to seek advice should be prepared, rather than developing ad-hoc task forces to manage sudden health issues that break out in regions/localities or states. As suggested in the 2011 policy, the National Health Mission 2012– 2017 proposed establishing a State Health Systems Resource Centre (SHRCH) to provide technical assistance at the state level. This is a good step ahead. Therefore, all the states, including WB, have been heavily dependent on the Centre’s funds, although many initiatives and new health schemes have been designed and implemented by the state government in recent times. If we investigate the preventive health service mechanism in WB, data shows that 56.3% of the households do not have access to sanitary facility facilities. The picture is dismal in the rural areas where the percentage of households not having toilet facilities is as high as 73.1 as per the 2001 census. As per the NITI Aayog states’ categorization on health indices and their improvements, states were categorized, and WB was categorized as the least improved status among the large states, with minimal changes in the incremental status of health in recent years. Regarding preventive health measures also, immunization rates in particular WB among the large states, have reported a decline in immunization coverage. The data source for this estimate is primarily NFHS-4 (2015–2016). However, based on the composite Index scores for the reference year (2015–2016), the States are grouped into three categories: Aspirants, Achievers, and Front-runners. The state WB is categorized as Achievers—who are the middle one-third of states. Regarding vacant positions of specialists in the district and public hospitals, WB is not doing that badly among the large states.

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Fig. 7.5 Average out-of-pocket expenditure per delivery in a public health facility (in INR)—Larger States

7.3.1.1 Pub Investment, OOP The poor in West Bengal rely mainly on private health care too—85% of household expenditure on health is to private practitioners. In terms of OOP expenditure as per the NITI Aayog (2018) report, WB, among the large states, has performed worst with very high OOP (Fig. 7.5).

7.3.1.2 Health Insurance Status In India, several central government insurance schemes are successfully running as demand-side interventions, specifically for the lower income group. Examples are RSBY, and the world’s largest insurance scheme that was rolled out a few years back—the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The hospitals are provided with a subsidy, and the insurance holder gets to choose hospitals in the privet sector as well for the required health service. This is to complement the ailing public sector hospitals, which are heavily subsidized or owned by the government and are unable to provide the service. However, the problem is that many times the hospitals do not find it worthwhile to serve patients under this public insurance, rather patients with higher capacity to pay, holding insurance rolled out by private entities with better coverage, and obviously with higher premiums are most likely to be entertained. These need regulatory interventions rather than only rolling out insurance schemes for the lower income category and enrolling more and more private hospitals.

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The states do follow similar guidelines and they often complement the centre’s insurance policy interventions. The factory workers’ social security health insurance Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme by an Act of 1948 is no different. The contribution comprises both employee and employer’s contributions at a specified rate determined by the apex body. It is mentioned in the SDR of WB (Planning Commission, 2010) that because of the changing dynamics in the labor market ESI scheme has been in a noticeable mess, particularly in the 1980s.

7.3.1.3 Health Infrastructure Health infrastructure inequality is quite prominent in the state of WB. This is also quite evident in EB, as depicted by different literature. On one hand, for medical tourism a huge influx of both critical and noncritical patients gather in WB, especially in the Kolkata sub-region; on the other hand, if we look at the infrastructure spread in other districts far away from Kolkata, we see the stark gap that prevails. Not to talk of the health service delivery, but the existence of functional PHCs shows the level of inequity in the distribution of health infrastructure in the state. As per the NITI Aayog (2018) based on the 2015–2016 state report and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW, GOI) data proportion of functional 24 × 7 PHCs in WB among large states is remarkably small (Fig. 7.6). Notably, this is in sharp contrast in terms of the proportion of districts with functional cardiac care units, which are quite many in number.

7.3.2 Social Development 7.3.2.1 Poverty, Inequality, and Informalization Studies on poverty and inequality show that in 1999–2000, 27% of the population in West Bengal was below the poverty line when the national average was 26.7%. During the next decade, poverty fell to 20% while the national average fell to 22%. In a more recent report on the disease burden, The Lancet (2017) estimates the disease burden and risk factors

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Fig. 7.6 Proportion of functional 24 × 7 PHCs—Larger States

in every state of India in their Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016 and grouped states as per theory, epidemiological transition level (ETL) in 2016. This is a ratio of all-age DALYs due to CMNNDs versus those due to NCDs and injuries together. A smaller ratio indicates advancing epidemiological transition—i.e., a higher burden of NCDs and injuries than CMNNDs. With a ratio in the range of 0.31– 0.40, WB is categorized as higher-middle ETLs among all Indian states. Also, a significant inverse relationship existed between the epidemiological transition ratio and the states’ SDI (state development index), with a correlation coefficient of −5.82 in 1990 and −1.81 in 2016. Worldwide also, scientists are claiming that the disease burden is shifting towards non-communicable diseases from communicable ones. According to the Planning Commission (2010) of WB, it was found that in terms of the Human Poverty Index (HPI) measured by using National Family Health Survey-3 data for the year 2005–2006 WB ranked 9th among 15 states. Deprivation of public provisioning has been very high compared to health deprivation, which is common in most states. Also, if one investigates the changing development regime of the state, it is reported that the state has undergone structural changes substantially in the 1990s in favour of the non-farm share; however, the mismatch and disproportionate growth of the income and employment share in the informal sector as compared to the organized sector, has been remarkable. In that sense, inequality has increased tremendously in the last couple of decades in the state. The good part is the incidence of wage

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inequality in registered manufacturing is lower in WB compared to the industrially faster-growing regions of India, but the factory sector fails to absorb the growing labor force of WB, and the situation has deteriorated during the post-reform period.

Education and Skill According to the state development report of WB, the state has a higher literacy rate than the national average consistently over the NSS 55th round, but the rate of growth of literacy has been below the national average. The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) designed and developed primary education under the West Bengal Education Act, 1973. Accordingly, the district planning boards work under the broad vision of WBBPE—the state policy. Since education is on the concurrent list of the Indian constitution centre’s funds and policies, it complements state policies to achieve medium to longer term targets such as the SDG targets. On budgetary allocation, education share in SDP has been consistently higher than the share spent by the central government during the 1980s and the 1990s. However, it is losing its shine in the last few decades. Regarding the performance indicators in higher education, the state development report mentions: “Perhaps there was no demand deficiency in the state for technical education. It was rather the supply side problem. While many other states have increased their intake capacities, West Bengal lagged behind…” (Planning Commission, 2010).

7.3.2.2 Policy Intervention and the Way Forward As we depicted above, WB has done exceptionally well in terms of income growth and development in terms of social indicators. However, health regulation and delivering “quality” service access in an equitable manner remains to be a policy challenge for WB. Also, the supply-side factors are not growing in pace with the growth in the demand-side

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factors in terms of service requirements, this becomes even more serious when one considers the burgeoning medical tourism sector in WB.

7.4

A Comparative Analysis of the Two Bengals

We find in the literature of both the Bengals that prior to their political division in terms of socioeconomic configuration, they were comparable and very similar to each other. Both were the agro-based economy and in terms of the type of industries that prevailed in both Bengals closely resembled each other. The political division triggered the politicoeconomic and sociological divergence in their growth and development pattern and in terms of strategizing on industrial planning in the early phases of planning, with post-division constrained resources. Nonetheless, both the Bengals, with their new set of challenges, could eventually design compatible policies and in fact, both did show tremendous progress in important domains of development. However, the international perception of various organizations that work on developmental aspects, such as the World Bank, has put Bangladesh much ahead in achieving milestones of development. On the other hand, many expectations remain over WB since in comparison with the early decades of their growth path performance of WB in several noteworthy indicators has become inconsistent and unsatisfactory over time. Nonetheless, in terms of language, culture, and socioeconomic configuration, the two Bengals still share innumerable commonalities, and therefore, many collaborative policy mechanisms can make both the Bengals better off in every possible dimension of development and growth.

7.5

Summary and Conclusions

This chapter outlines the health sector scenario and the social sector development aspects and provides a comparative depiction of the scenarios in the two Bengals. A varied group of the available literature is looked at to understand, describe, and analyze the changing

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scenarios of the health sector in the two Bengals over the pre-and postdivision timeline. A general observation based on anecdotes and research publications is that the pre-division of Bengals was not very different in their socio-political and economic configuration, but after division, this changed grossly, primarily due to the disproportionate distribution of economic resources, migration, and varied strategic policy and planning. The health issues and challenges that emerged during the initial phases after their independence relates to these criteria to a large extent. While WB could manage to get complementary support from the centre since it is a state/subnational territory, EB had to plan a lot and faced severe policy challenges on several aspects of building a decent health sector framework. In the 1980s and 1990s, WB and EB could hit decent targets in the health sector and socio-developmental performances. However, in both regions, multiple challenges emerged and sustained, such as inequity in access and inadequacy of quality health services, tilted distribution of health infrastructure towards urban concentrations, etc. These are the commonalities of challenges that the two Bengals shared; however, there are individualistic policy challenges. Health insurance is another domain that needs critical attention since both the Bengals have shown very poor market penetration of the health insurance sector for several economic and political reasons. However, possible synergies do exist, especially regarding medical tourism and cross-cultural collaboration in sophisticated healthcare service delivery. This chapter also outlines such possibilities with their pros and cons.

References Ahmed, S. M., Alam, B. B., Anwar, I., Begum, T., Huque, R., Khan, J. A. M., et al. (2015a). Bangladesh Health System Review: Health Systems in Transition (Vol. 5). Asia Pacific Observatory on Public Health Systems and Policies, World Health Organization. Ahmed, S. M., Alam, B. B., Anwar, I., Begum, T., Huque, R., & Khan, J. M. (2015b). In A. Naheed & K. Hort (Eds.), Bangladesh Health System Review. Dhaka, Bangladesh: World Health Organization.

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Ahmed, S., Alam, B. B., Anwar, I., Begum, T, Huque, R, Khan, J. A. M., et al. (2015c). Bangladesh Health System Review, 5(3). Manila: World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific. Ahmed, S., Begum, T., & Cotlear, D. (2019). Bangladesh—Unravelling the ‘Good Health at Low Cost’ Story. Universal Health Care Coverage Series No. 41, World Bank Group, Washington, DC. Asadullah, M. N., Savoia, A., Mahmud, W. (2014). Paths to Development: Is there a Bangladesh Surprise? World Development, 62, 138–154. Chowdhury, M, & Bhuiya, A. (2001). Do Poverty Alleviation Programmes Reduce Inequality in Health? The Bangladesh Experience. In D. Leon & G. Walt (Eds.), Poverty, Inequality and Health: An International Perspective. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Doorslaer, E. V., O’Donnell, O., Rannan-Eliya, R., Somanathan, A., Adhikari, S. R., Garg, C. C., Harbianto, D., Herrin, A. N., Huq, M. N., & Ibragimova, S. (2007). Catastrophic Payments for Health Care in Asia. Health Economics, 16(11), 1159–1184. Dyson, T. (1979). Infant and Child Mortality in the Indian Subcontinent, 1881–1947. In A. Bideau, B. Desjardins, & H. Perez Brignoli (Eds.), Infant and Child Mortality in the Past. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Government of Bangladesh. (2018). Health Bulletin 2017 [Internet]. Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/en/home/4364-hea lth-bulletin-2017. Govindaraj, R., Raju, D., Secci, F., Chowdhury, S., & Frere, J.-J. (2018). Health and Nutrition in Urban Bangladesh: Social Determinants and Health Sector Governance. Directions in Development—Human Development; Washington, DC: World Bank. https://openknowledge.wor ldbank.org/handle/10986/29091. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. Helal, M., & Hossain, Md. A. (2013). Four Decades of Economic Development of Bangladesh: An Assessment. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 58(2), 335–362. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/89979795.cms?utm_source= contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/only-bengal-residents-to-nowget-free-treatment-at-govt-hospitals-mamata-banerjee/ https://nbr.gov.bd/uploads/publications/107.pdf https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-04/Final%20Report%20on% 20Visit%20of%20Nationals%20of%20Bangladesh%20to%20India.pdf https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=113588#ref53

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Islam, M. R., Rahman, M. S., Islam, Z., Nurs, C. Z., Sultana, P., & Rahman, M. M. (2017). Inequalities in Financial Risk Protection in Bangladesh: An Assessment of Universal Health Coverage. International Journal for Equity in Health, 16(59). Jain, A. K. (1985). Determinants of Regional Variations in Infant Mortality in Rural India. Population Studies, 39(3), 407–424. Kamal, N. (2009). The Population Trajectories of Bangladesh and West Bengal During the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study, Thesis A thesis submitted to the Department of Population Studies of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Lancet. (2017). Nations Within a Nation: Variations in Epidemiological Transition Across the States of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32804-0 NITI Aayog. (2018). “Healthy States, Progressive India”, with technical assistance from the World Bank, and in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Planning Commission of India. (2010). West Bengal Development Report. Rannan-Eliya, R. P., Kasthuri, G., Begum, T., Rahman, A., Hossain, N., & Anuranga, C. (2012). Impact of Maternal and Child Health Private Expenditure on Poverty and Inequity: Out-of-Pocket Payments by Patients at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare facilities in Bangladesh, and the Impact of the Maternal Voucher Scheme on Costs and Access of Mothers and Children. Technical Report B. Ray, K. 1998. History of Public Health: Colonial Bengal 1921–47. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi and Company. Sen, A. (1981). The Great Bengal Famine. In An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford: Clarendon Press. World Bank. (2015). Data Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH. XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=BD-NP-BT-IN-MV-LK-PK-AF

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition Pinaki Dasgupta

An entrepreneur’s life is always a continuous journey—Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Biocon

8.1

Introduction: Some Hits but Mostly Misses

8.1.1 Early Eighteenth Century Only a little is known about entrepreneurship and industrial activity during the seventieth Century and before that. Entrepreneurship evidence from undivided India comes in only from Eighteenth Century P. Dasgupta (B) IMI, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_8

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and beyond. Prior to that, most of the economic activities remained regional in nature and were agriculture driven. As the Mughals started consolidating their kingdom and more regional powers started getting integrated into the Mughal stronghold, economic activities started to get standardized and moved beyond the local regions. As their era was gradually beginning to lay seize in much of Northern India and gradually extending beyond the Deccan, it gave rise to a new set of occupations and roles for the people. Craftsmen, artisans, and standards for doing trade got established. In a fragmented country where regional power (primarily through kingdoms) controlled the local economic activities, there were limitations regarding the movement of people and goods. Agriculture remained the primary source of income and revenue generated from selling and consuming commodities. There were money lenders and pawn shops predominantly who controlled the business side of agriculture. For lack of evidence, much of the backdrop related to Indian business dates back to the eighteenth century and after. The challenges to conducting any form of commercial activity often came with unique problems. First, infrastructure concerning connectivity within regions and cities remained a concern. This usually meant limited access to the hinterlands of the country. The port cities, mainly Surat, Masulipatnam (now Machilipatnam), and Bengal (now divided into West Bengal and Bangladesh), remained the major points of connection to up North cities and regions. Most economic activity that was carried out remained within a radius of 300 square kilometers due to product perishability remaining an issue. Infrastructure constraints did not allow for goods to move beyond a designated area. Road conditions were often not favorable, and connectivity was a challenge. Second, there was also the problem of standardized weights and coins. Most traders who carried their commodities for sale were restricted because weights were different across regions. Or the coin value changed from one region to the other. This made it difficult for traders to do business seamlessly. Third, security issues for cargo movement were another major concern. Robbers, thugs, and thieves often moved around on highways, which remained a threat to the traders moving interstate with their consignments. Fourth, the recurrent tolls and taxes at checkpoints remained a major barrier too.

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Evidence suggests that there were 16 toll points at 60 miles, making goods movement slow and expensive. In all these complexities and challenges, the nature of business and the context of entrepreneurship emerged as a median of a recurring set of events. This mainly dealt with agricultural commodities, selling and purchasing land, pawning valuables, and, to a limited extent, dealing in handicrafts and handloom. Industrial activity in the actual form was restricted, most of which was trading. Traders mostly originated as Jains and Vaishnav Banias from the western part of the country, Khatris from the north-west regions, Jains and Agrawal Banias from the north & east, and Chettiars & Komatis from the south.1 The context of religion played a role here, and predominantly the Hindu social division contributed significantly to it. The Muslim traders were centred around the Sindh-Gujarat region, and the Parsees remained restricted in the agricultural areas of Surat-Navsari. The traders from Rajasthan (later labeled as Marwaris) remained restricted to their homeland. In addition to inland trade, which was restrictive (in nature) due to infrastructure and security constraints, Trade was conducted with overseas merchants. They mostly originated from the Persians, Armenians, and Arabs. After the collapse of the Mughal era around the 1750s and thereafter, the British, French, and Dutch started gradually dominating the landscape of business and trading. However, in the early part of the eighteenth century, the three count 1750s (English, French, and Dutch) were heavily dependent on the Indian traders owing to a large trade imbalance that existed. The port cities were controlled by the local warlords who were often under the tutelage of the Mughal emperor, and the colonial merchants often had to deal with such chieftains. Bullion remained the primary form of engaging in trade and, with heavy import from West Europe into Trade being done here in India. However, much of that would change in the later part of the eighteenth century with the Mughal empire’s fall and the colonial power’s rise. Interestingly and historically, the Portuguese were the first to set foot in India in 1498 (Vasco De Gama) with an entourage of ships, traders, 1

Source Tripathi, Dwijendra. (2004). The Oxford History of Indian Business. Oxford University Press.

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and a few translators looking to do Trade. During Vasco De Gama’s soiree around Mozambique, he came across a few merchants from the Gujarat and Kutch region, who were the first to sensitize him and his entourage about India and its resources. However, the Portuguese influence quickly dwindled and remained restricted around Goa’s ports. The ones that continued to dominate the landscape were the English EIC, Danish EIC (in a limited way), and French EIC. In all of it, trading remained the mainstay confined to agricultural commodities, textiles, and textile-based products. Industrialization and its manifestation through industrial goods did not see the sunlight until almost the turn of the Century. As some of the inventions and discoveries of the West started seeping through into the subcontinent vide the colonial powers, some form of entrepreneurial roots started taking shape. However, formalized approach to it still was a long way from the current form.

8.2

The Later Part of the Eighteenth Century and Thereafter

As the Mughal empire disintegrated after the demise of Emperor Aurangzeb, the colonial powers were grabbing every possible opportunity to take control of the resources. This was the time when the British, French, and Dutch made all possible efforts to take control of the ports from where the bulk of commodities moved. The most fortified forts and ports) were controlled by the English at Surat, Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta; the Dutch did so from Surat, Cochin, Pulicut, Masulipatnam, and Hooghly, and the French controlled the Surat, Pondicherry, and Hooghly ports. Due to a heavy trade imbalance with India, the colonial powers relied on bullion supply from homelands. Therefore, it made sense to seize and control the resources on which the import dependence was so high. Among all of the colonial powers, the British, and especially the East India Company (EIC), were perhaps the most successful. The fractured Mughal empire converted into tiny competing states, the military innovations of Frederick the Great, and innovations in European governance, banking, and taxation allowing the EIC to raise vast sums of

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money, were all reasons for the British eventually to control the resources and the wealth in the subcontinent.2 It is interesting to note here that most of the trade being conducted with India was through merchants or traders, often where the individual or the family controlled the supply chain. Compared to the European counterparts, who were mostly joint stock organizations. This aspect of entrepreneurial context (family-run businesses) continues to dominate the landscape of business in India and other South Asian economies too. While the demand for European goods was limited in (undivided) India and the European countries depending heavily on imports, the requirement of finance was heavily imbalanced. Demand for textiles, spices, indigo, saltpeter, and a few other products remained quite high. However, the European imports scale remained quite high (Trade was spread across Asia, Africa, and Latin America) compared to the volume of business that the Indians did with some of their Indian counterparts. Also, as the trade imbalance heavily favored India and the exporting nations, bullion remained the dominant means of exchange for all trading activity. Shortly after 1750 and thereafter, the EIC started consolidating its power in Eastern India and gradually in the rest of the country. The important cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Surat started to come under the control of the EIC. The support of the British government, the banking fraternity, and the professional approach to conducting business all helped them to seize control and power. The local chieftains and the heads aligned with the officials of the company for their own gainful advantages too. The famed Battle of Plassey, which was fought between Robert Clive (working for EIC and the British Government) and Siraj ud-Daula (the Nawab of Burdwan), saw the Nawab’s own general, Mir Jafar Ali Khan conspiring against him and giving the EIC much needed foothold in Bengal and the adjoining regions. At that point in time, the region of Burdwan and around being agriculturally flourishing was flush with revenue and Agri-Resources. Between 1750 and the early part of the twentieth century the, British government was able to control the resources across the length and breadth of the country. While on one 2

Source Dalrymple, William. (2019). The Anarchy. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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end of the continuum, it led to a major balance of trade deficit for India (as most of the resources on which they dependant was now in their control) yet on the other end the gradual formalization of business also took shape. It gave rise to the concept of Agency Houses.3 Parallelly, the development of infrastructure (road, rail, and the banking sector) and some of the early inventions (steam engines, use of coal, spinning jenny, etc.) of the twentieth century further helped in the rapid industrialization process. As the British hegemony started to take control of the resources and the country, it became quite evident that the balance of power was now shifting from the East to the West. One of the major outcomes of the industrial revolution in England and the impact that was felt in India was the pattern of doing business and the entities involved in doing business changed. Earlier, the merchants and the agents controlling the resources and the money flow became more organized, and the scope of the operations expanded. With the growth and development in infrastructure, the physical proximity decreased. It encouraged traders and merchants to increase the geographical scope of their business. Specific commodities like textiles, spices, cotton bail, and bullion, to name a few, got the necessary fillip. However, with mechanization, the control of resources shifted too from the East to the West. Cotton, for instance, which formed the bulk of exports, reduced sharply as cotton manufacturing gained propensity with the industrial revolution. Goods now being produced in the West were now being imported and traded in the East, a sort of role reversal. The rise of the Agency Houses, as discussed earlier, directly affected the industrial revolution. Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were the hubs of these Agency Houses and laid the foundation of early entrepreneurial initiatives. The EIC encouraged the Agency Houses as they served two major purposes; one, it acted as a business agent of others from whom it charged a fee

3 Agency Houses acted as a business agent for others on fee basis and every agency had an organic link to a firm in London of which the India unit was an agent. After the complete control of the subcontinent and as EIC was eventually phased out, every British citizen could actually do business with India as Free Merchants. The agency houses were the representative agents for free merchants, whose interest was represented through them.

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or service, and second, every Agency House had some link to its original entity in London.4 The Parry’s in Madras, the Forbes in Bombay, and the Palmers in Calcutta were the first Agency House to set up shops in the three cities. They continue to operate even today, with patterns of holding have changed over time. However, the context of how entrepreneurial perspectives and their foundations were laid with the Agency House, especially these three entities. They delved into multiple kinds of products, and the support of the EIC through financial and non-financial aid further assisted in their growth. The context of the discussion here is leaning more towards the entrepreneurial initiatives in Bengal, particularly in the background of undivided Bengal versus the two Bengals. Therefore, we now veer towards the discussion from the context of how Bengal, and especially undivided Bengal, remains a significant part of the discussion. How Bengal saw the seeds of entrepreneurial initiatives flourish, and what is the present state of the same? However, much of the deliberations in the earlier sections are about how the seeds of entrepreneurial spirits were sown and have grown over time. The key takeout that must be kept in mind is trade and business, and its history started flourishing from the late eighteenth century onwards. As the Mughals started making their way into the subcontinent, trading, money lending, and some forms of Agri-produce sales were visible. Later making way for the same to become more established and well-spread. The advent of Britishers, EIC, and the Agency Houses started giving a more formalized shape to the spirit of entrepreneurship.

8.2.1 Bengal (Undivided Bengal) and Seeds of Entrepreneurship Bengal and the historical significance of the region have been well known, particularly since the Britishers started controlling the three vital resources of the region, jute, collieries, and tea plantations. In 4

Source Tripathi, Dwijendra. (2004). The Oxford History of Indian Business. Oxford University Press.

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contrast, the western part of the country was controlled by the Parsis, Gujaratis, Kutchi Memons, and Sindhis and this owed mostly to the entrepreneurial capabilities of these communities. The south and western part of the country was also controlled by Indian enterprises.5 What is interesting to note between Bengal and the rest of the country are the differences in the availability of resources. While Bengal thrived on Agriculture produce both in terms of grains and cash crops, the rest of the country was still limited in natural produce. Often the produce did not reach markets because of accessibility as an issue. The colonial rulers somehow managed to seize control of the abundance in Bengal. In his famous article,6 Prof. Omkar Goswami writes that the Europeans prospered since the Bengalis, Biharis, Assamese, and Oriyas were indigent, feckless, and devoid of entrepreneurial drive. Most of the businesses engaged in Bengal were meant for export markets, and the Britishers had better access and control of the same. The control over resources and the oligopolistic kind of control that the Britishers had in the region meant very little for the locals to build on. Things changed, though, with the advent of the Marwari community in the region. They hailed from the Marwar region of Western India and were generally entrepreneurial in their drive. In our earlier discussions, we have mentioned how the Parsis, Banias, Gujaratis, and Bohris controlled the money lending and trading business historically. After the end of World War 1, a lot of entrepreneurial initiatives started blooming in the eastern part of the country. It first started with the Agency Houses (as discussed earlier), followed by the entry of the Marwaris and the subsequent rise of the Swadeshi Bengali Companies, finally culminating with some transnational companies in the later years making their way to India and Bengal. In between, though, the domestic trading companies did their bit through petty trading of basic goods and commodities. Table 8.1 provides an indication of the same between the time 1813–1831. Though the British hegemony existed in much of the commercial activities being carried out in the region, the Marwaris stood their 5

Source Goswami, Omkar. (1989). Sahibs, Babus, and Banias: Changes in Industrial Control in Eastern India, 1918–50. The Journal of Asian Studies, 48(2) (May), 289–309. Association for Asian Studies. 6 Source Ibid., 290.

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Table 8.1 European agency houses and Indian merchants, bankers, and agents in Bengal, 1813–18317 Native merchants Bankers, Shroffs, and brokers Banians and agents European agency houses

1813

1823

1831

5 25

20 49

25

24

21 54 22 31

Note The numbers of Indian merchants and bankers are likely to underestimate their total population in Calcutta, as the registers were constructed around those with close proximity to British interests

ground and were eventually able to create their own footing. Table 8.2 gives an indication of how the community was able to move up the value chain of commercial activity gradually. Particularly, G.D. Birla and his stubbornness to permeate the British hegemony is well known. A noteworthy mention here has to be about a particular dataset with respect to column 5 of Table 8.2. In 1904–1903 there were 133 members listed in the Jute Bailers Association (Calcutta), with seventy of them being Indian (44 were Marwaris) and 63 European. Fifteen years later, 137 members in the Association were predominantly (63%) Indians and the majority from the Marwari community.8 In the tea plantation business, though, the Scottish-origin Britishers were fastidious and rigid in their control of the plantations. Much of the commercial tea trading was in their control. As tea was consumed heavily by the Britishers, it was exported back to homelands (notice that tea was never imported by Britain but was exported from India and China to Britain, which meant that revenue implications were different as most of the Trade was initially controlled by the mercantile firms, later by the agency houses and eventually the advent of the transnationals). Nearly 86%9 of the tea plantations were under British control, and the collieries were controlled through the joint stock holding patterns through European holding companies (most of them remained 7 Source Aldous, M. (2020). Partners, Servants, or Entrepreneurs? Banians in the NineteenthCentury Bengal Economy. Business History Review, 94 (4), 675–697. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0007680520000689. 8 Source Ibid., 292. 9 Source Goswami (1989: 292).

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Table 8.2 The transformation from traders to industrialists of some Marwari families10 Family name of industrialist

Trader/banker

Broker

Speculator

Board of Director of British Managing Agency

Birla Goenka Bangur Hukumchand Jalan Jatia Singhania

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes – No No No No

Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes

Yes Yesa Yesb Yes Yes No Yes

– No information available a Due to the failure of two

British managing agencies, McLeod, and Octavious Steel; not by setting up a mill themselves b By buying the British managing agency Kettwell Bullen Co.

Britishers, though). However, in the colliery business, as entry barriers were low, particularly in terms of skills to mine, the Marwaris, and a minuscule presence of the Bengalis in the sector existed. The holding rights were still with the colonial powers. Yet, with so much resistance, the Marwari community spearheaded by G.D. Birla was truly at the center of the action. In the earlier paragraph, his stubbornness was mentioned as how he quashed the British hegemony in the jute business. The true entrepreneurial spirit of India perhaps was fostered through the contribution of G.D. Birla and some of his contemporaries with the opening of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The seeds of entrepreneurship were formalized in 1926 when ICC was set up directly against the European-controlled Bengal Chamber of Commerce. Later, the All India Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)11 was also formed with the support of entrepreneurs like Birla, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Dinshaw Petit, Walchand Hirachand, Lala Shri Ram, and others. 10

Source Oonk, Gijsbert. (2014). The Emergence of Indigenous Industrialists in Calcutta, Bombay, and Ahmedabad, 1850–1947. Business History Review, 88 (Spring), 43–71. https:// doi.org/10.1017/S0007680513001384. 11 Source Ray, Rajat K. (1979). Industrialization in India: Growth and Conflict in the Private Corporate Sector, 1914–47 . Delhi: Oxford University.

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The resilience of the Marwari community in controlling the Jute industry and gradually getting into the entrepreneurial context is also complemented by another community, called the Swadeshi companies of Bengal, which started with the Swadeshi movement around the end of the 19th Century and continued well until the middle of the twentieth century. Before we get into the discussions about the Swadeshi companies, it is noteworthy to discuss the origins of entrepreneurial activities from within the region (Bengal). After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the Britishers had complete control of the country, particularly Bengal. Known for being resource endowed and for better control of the same, the concept of the Zamindari system was introduced around this time. This empowered the locals, financially and authority-wise. Though the concept had its own faults and did not see through for a long time (it got phased out by the 1930s) ye, it held a new set of empowered Zamindars (now turned entrepreneurs). As illustrated in Table 8.2 are the names of some of these leaders who excelled in their Trade and accumulated wealth. Initially, though they worked closely with the colonial government, they started phasing out by the end of the nineteenth century. The term often associated with these people working closely with the in Hindi) to them. colonial government was Banian (pronounced In principle, they were the agents to the agency houses or the mercantile firms, or the American companies doing business in British India. Some of the prominent names that emerged from this period are the Nandys of Kasimbazar (Krishna Kanta Nandy was the Banian of Warren Hastings), Pal Chaudhuris of Ranaghat, Nabakrishna Deb of Sovabazar in the eighteenth century and the Tagores, Ghoshals, Mitras, Mullicks, Duttas of nineteenth century North Calcutta. Randulal De was the local “Banian” of American firms conducting business in British Calcutta.12 But most of them lost interest in mercantile and commerce and were investing heavily in the land (by the mid-nineteenth century) and they lost focus. So, these firms were heavily investing in acquiring Zamindari instead of pursuing further Trade with the British. By the last decade of the nineteenth century, the remaining Banians (Bengali intermediaries) 12

Source http://swatantramag.com/swadeshi-movement-in-bengal-bengali-contribution-to-ind ustry/ (accessed 18 October 2022).

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had lost the patronage of the Britishers. The Marwaris eventually filled this vacuum, the stories of whom have been discussed earlier. Coming to the discussion on the Swadeshi companies, the movement of which started in the early 1900s. The movement, which started pan India with the solo moto of creating indigenous goods, now became prominent in Bengal too. Some of the names that emerged are listed in Table 8.3. In addition, there were numerous MSME that operated across 24 Parganas, Howrah, Calcutta, and Comilla. Foundry, Machine tools, manufacturing of knives, scissors, locks & keys, chains, iron safes, trunks, boxes, buckets, mugs, water tanks, cutlery, crockeries, water taps, spiral staircases, pipes, surgical instruments, gates, agricultural implements, machinery to be used in smaller industrial units like machinery for crushing sugar, for making matchsticks at small scale, cutting timber, water pumps, machinery for making pottery, drilling machines, lathes, presses, weighing machines, machinery used in bakeries & food processing units, and soap making. Traditional artisans ran numerous workshops in the hinterlands of Bengal. By 1947, Howrah alone had close to 1000 nearly medium-sized units owned by Bengalis. Bengalis were also present in small-scale paper manufacturing, small-scale match manufacturing, food processing industries (a sector still thriving in the biscuit segment), gold jewellery (the Bengali artisan is still soughtafter pan India), printing & publishing industry, footwear industry, household articles of daily use and Ayurvedic Medicines. Simultaneously, Table 8.3 Prominent business leaders from the late eighteenth century Bengal13 Name

Type of trade

Ramdulal Dwarkanath

Leading Bengali shipowner Indigo, silk, sugar, coal, shipping, and banking industries in collaboration with the European merchants Union Bank, indigo, and silk Export–import Trade

Digambar Mitra Motilal Seal

13 Source Bhattacharyya, Amit. (1986). Swadeshi Enterprise in Bengal 1900–1920 (pp. 5–6). Mita Bhattacharyya Publishing.

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the retail sector also grew as these Swadeshi goods needed a point of sale along with the publishing sector. These goods also needed an avenue to advertise and publicize (Table 8.4). Some of the names like Martin Burn, Bengal Chemicals, Immunity & Deys Chemicals, Bengal Lamps, and Bengal Waterproof (Duckback) went on to carve a successful niche for themselves and thrived through the twentieth century too. As competition intensified and the domestic Table 8.4 List of Swadeshi companies with Bengali holding origins14 Pre 1900s entities

Post 1900 entities

14

1. PM Bagchi & Co. 2. CK Sen & Co. 3. Bengal Chemicals 4. Sakti Aushadhalaya 1. Bengal Chemicals 2. Calcutta Chemicals 3. Alembic Chemicals 4. East India Pharmaceuticals 5. Mohini Mohan Cotton mills 6. Sri Annapurna Cotton mills 7. Bangalakshmi Mills 8. Dhakeshwari textile Mills 9. Calcutta Fanworks 10. Scientific and Industrial Glass works 11. Bharat Battery Manufacturing 12. Bengal waterproof, Bharat Jute Mills 13. India Machinery Company Ltd. 14. Bengal Immunity 15. Krishna Silicate & Glass Works 16. Comilla Union Bank 17. Comilla Banking Corporation 18. Bengal Central Bank 19. Hooghly Bank 20. House of Labourers and its Steel Construction Co. Ltd. 21. Bengal Pottery Works 22. Hindustan Cooperative Insurance 23. GD Pharmaceuticals 24. Sulekha Ink 25. Nadia Tanneries 26. Bengal Lamps 27. Sreenath Mills

Source http://swatantramag.com/swadeshi-movement-in-bengal-bengali-contribution-to-ind ustry/ (accessed 18 October 2022).

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market started throwing its own set of challenges, the Swadeshi companies started feeling the pressure. Besides, the colonial powers often wrested the initiative and thunder from under these companies by arresting the founders of these companies under some pretext. Yet, the period of the late nineteenth century till the middle of the twentieth century remained noteworthy from the context of understanding the context of entrepreneurship in undivided Bengal. The Swadeshi companies continued their successful run till the middle of the 1930s, after which came the onslaught of a more formalized form of entrepreneurial initiatives from Europe and America. Companies like Unilever, Colgate, and General Electric to name some (refer to Table 8.5 for more details) started entering the country. Thereafter things started changing, and the Swadeshi companies started getting restricted. The local factors, some political and some financial (backed by a preference for new and improved products from the MNC brands), were responsible for restrictive operations. As the nation in 1947 went for partition, it completely changed the fabric of the economy and business. Yet the context of entrepreneurship in Bengal remains about being fearless, innovative, scientific, knowledgebased, and focused on the MSME sector. As of 2022, some of these businesses, like Foundry, Machine Tools, Leather, Processed Foods, and Textiles (Hosiery), continue to operate in different stages of capacity. The next two sections cover the post-independence era and how both the Bengals have been able to carve their space in the entrepreneurial context, the seeds of which were laid in the pre-partition days. What remains noteworthy to see is much of what happens today in the twentyfirst century, the foundations were laid in times as discussed in the era of pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial.

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Table 8.5 An illustrative list of Multinationals in India, 195015 Parent company

Subsidiary company

Date

PUCa

Activity

AEI

AEI (India) Ltd.

1924

25

AEI Manuf. Co. Ltd.

1939

25

Alfred Herbert

A. Herbert (India)

1919

25

Babcock & Wilcox Braithwaite

1947 1930

25 39

British Oxygen

Babcock & Wilcox Braithwaite (India) Ltd. Indian Oxygen

1935

93

Cadbury Fry

Cadbury (India) Ltd.

1948

13

Chloride Crompton Parkinson

Chloride and Exide Crompton Greaves

1947 1937

15 50

Greaves Cotton

1937

25

Dunlop Rubber GEC

Dunlop (India) Ltd. GEC(India) Ltd.

1926 1911

170 50

GKN

Guest Keen Williams

1931

141

Godfrey Philips

Godfrey Philips (India) Goodlass Wall Ltd. Alkali & Chemical Corp Imperial Tobacco J. Stone & Co. Ltd. Jensen & Nicholson Ltd. Metal Box (India) Ltd. Philips (India) Ltd.

1936

70

Elec. Engineering Elec. Engineering Machine Tools Boilers Mech. Engineering Industrial Gas Cocoa products Batteries Elec. Equipment Elec. Equipment Tyres Elec. Equipment RJY Equipment Tobacco

1933 1937

25 93

Paints Chemicals

1908 1931 1922

461 27 33

Tobacco Engineering Paints

1933

105

Containers

1931

35

Elec. Equipment

Good lass Wall ICI Imperial Tobacco J. Stone Jensen & Nicholson Metal Box (India) Ltd Philips

(continued)

15 Source Tomlinson, Brian R. (1978). Foreign Private Investment in India, 1920–1960. Modern Asian Studies 12(4), 676–677.

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P. Dasgupta

Table 8.5 (continued) Parent company

Subsidiary company

Date

PUCa

Activity

Turner Newall Westinghouse Brake Unilever

Asbestos Cement Co. Saxby & Farmer

1934 1923

60 25

Lever Brothers Hindustan Vanaspati

1931 1934

88 105

Union Carbide

Union Carbide (India)

1934

101

Asbestos Rly Equipment Soap Vegetable Oil Batteries

a PUC

8.3

refers to paid-up capital, in units of Rs.100,000

Bangladesh: The Story so Far…

8.3.1 East Pakistan to Bangladesh After 1947 as India and Pakistan were coming to terms with the new realities and each one of them was struggling to understand the new dynamics of politics, Trade, economy, and finance, it brought in a new normal. With Bangladesh, the context first started with being part of Pakistan till 1971 and then chartering a new story for themselves after 1971. After Bangladesh was formed and with the country virtually at tenterhooks, it wasn’t easy to come out of. Major industries were running dry, and the state took control of these industries (called State-owned Enterprise-SoE), mainly cement, sugar, power, and other core sector industries. However, they soon realized that it was difficult for them to make the business sustainable and profitable. Since most of them were taken away from private enterprises earlier, in the late 70s and early eighties government embarked on a denationalization programme under which a number of manufacturing enterprises were returned to former local owners. The government introduced several important macroeconomic measures, namely, exchange rate adjustment, massive monetary reform to reduce inflation, and some more de-regulatory measures to enhance the role of private enterprise. A major change of direction occurred in the early 1980s with the adoption of a market-oriented development strategy supported by a number of liberalizing policy reforms undertaken along the guidelines of the World Bank and the IMF and

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

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implemented under fairly rigid aid conditionality. Bangladesh devaluated its Taka exchange rate in nominal and real terms during the late 1980s. The monetary policy of Bangladesh was formulated in a way to keep inflation low. Significant changes were also brought in public spending. From the mid-1980s, tariff and non-tariff barriers were substantially reduced to accelerate trade liberalization in the country. As a result of these actions, export values increased by sevenfold in less than 15 years. During the late 1990s, Bangladesh significantly improved both its economic and Trade performances. It notably reduced its dependence on foreign grants and loans. The country started its journey by stabilizing its economy. The economy began to experience handsome GDP and trade growth, and it was moving towards self-reliance. Bangladesh has also started attracting FDI from many countries around the globe.16 Bangladesh has been continuously trying to break through in the global markets with its pronounced efforts through a strong entrepreneurial drive across sectors. Table 8.6 gives an indication of the global foray that the country has made. This is a culmination of the efforts from the MSME sector particularly. COVID-19 though has remained a spoiler, but today, Bangladesh has been striving hard to create jobs and employment opportunities through a competitive business environment, increased human capital and skilled labor force, efficient infrastructure, and a policy environment that attracts private investments. In post-pandemic times in policy measures, Bangladesh has revised its small and medium-sized enterprise policy and enhanced support to entrepreneurship, targeting 7 million small and medium-sized enterprises (UNGA, 2020). The outcome is further reflected in Fig. 8.1.

8.3.2 The Rise of CMSME Sector With an aim to increase income, food security, and nutrition for the poor and vulnerable, the Government of Bangladesh is designing newer sustainable development strategies to uplift the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers and micro-entrepreneurs 16

Source Bilateral Investment Flows & Potential Opportunities in Select South Asian Countries: IFC Report (2011).

5.05 5.57 6.46 6.52 6.01 6.06 6.55 7.11 7.28 7.86 8.15 5.24

Fiscal year

FY2008-09 FY2009-10 FY2010-11 FY2011-12 FY2012-13 FY2013-14 FY2014-15 FY2015-16 FY2016-17 FY2017-18 FY2018-19 FY2019-20

759 843 928 955 1,054 1,184 1,316 1,465 1,610 1,751 1,909 2,064

7.6 6.82 10.9 8.7 6.8 7.4 6.4 5.9 5.4 5.8 5.5 5.7

Inflation rate

Total debt to GDP (%) 39.3 37.4 38 37.4 36.6 35 32.3 31.5 30.8 31.9 33.1 35.7

Budget deficit as % of GDP −3.5 −3.2 −3.9 −3.6 −3.9 −3.6 −4.1 −3.9 −3.4 −4.7 −5.5 −5.23

22,507 23,738 33,658 35,516 34,084 40,732 40,704 43,122 47,005 58,865 59,915 54,785

Imports, million USD 15,565 16,205 22,928 24,302 27,027 30,187 31,209 34,257 34,656 36,668 40,535 33,674

Exports, million USD 9,689 10,987 11,650 12,843 14,461 14,228 15,317 14,931 12,770 14,982 16,420 18,205

Remittance million USD

7,471 10,750 10,912 10,364 15,315 21,508 25,020 30,168 33,493 32,943 32,716 36,016

Foreign exchange reserve mil USD

68.5 69.18 71.17 79.1 79.93 77.72 77.67 78.26 79.12 83.7 84.03 84.6

Currency exchange rate

Source UN CDP Triennial Review Meeting; Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. 5 February 2021.

17

Note Figures for FY 2019–2020 are provisional

GDP growth (%)

Per capita income, USD

Table 8.6 Key macroeconomic indicators, FY 2019–202017

234 P. Dasgupta

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

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Fig. 8.1 International merchandise trade18

across selected value chains. With the ongoing support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Government of Bangladesh supports small farmers and micro-entrepreneurs through development projects for the sustainable growth of selected rural commodity value chains with comparative advantages, market demand, growth potential, and backward linkages. The beneficiaries include ultrapoor households, poor transitional households, and enterprising poor. In Bangladesh, the SME sector contributes 25% to the GDP, about 40% of gross manufacturing output, accounts for 90% of the private sector enterprises, and about 70 to 80% of the non-agricultural workforce working in the sector, which is around 25% of the country’s total labour force (Light Castle Partners, 2020). Annexure 1 (Table 8.15) explains how the CMSME (Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise) has evolved. Table 8.15 also is about the numbers that the sector has been able to throw up over the years. Several policy measures covering the sector have also been developed. Table 8.7 provides an understanding of how the sector is defined and categorized as per investments and employees.

18

Source https://unctadstat.unctad.org/countryprofile/maritimeprofile/en-gb/050/index.html (accessed on 18 October 2022).

236

P. Dasgupta

Table 8.7 Categorization of enterprises19 Amount of investment (replacement cost and value of fixed assets, excluding and factory buildings), BDT

Type of industry Cottage industry

Below 1 million

Micro industry Small industry Medium industry Large industry

1.0 million to 7.5 million Manufacturing Services Manufacturing Services Manufacturing

7.5 million to 150 million 1.0 million to 20 million 150 million to 500 million 20 million to 300 million More than 500 million

Services

More than 300 million

Number of employed workers Not exceeding 15 16 to 30 31 to 120 16 to 50 121 to 300 51 to 120 More than 300 More than 120

What remains noteworthy to view from both Tables 8.7 and 8.15 that the kind of initiatives that have been taken in the sector, which have resulted in a continuous rise in the number of units in the sector. There are close to 8 million units as per 2013 data, and the bulk of them are in the cottage sector, followed by Micro, Small, Medium, and finally, large enterprises. The critical sectors like Textile, Leather, MFI, etc., where they operate the tierization helps create a better supply chain structure and integrated value chain. One of the burgeoning sectors, like textiles, stands tall among all. Data in Table 8.8 reveals the surge over the last 12 years. Though the pandemic was a spoiler and new destinations like Vietnam are challenging yet Bangladesh has been bullish all through the sector. And the CMSME has remained the most active in the sector. For products like cotton T-Shirt Bangladesh remains the safest best, and there is possibly no competition barring India and Turkey (in a limited way).

19 Source United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Access to Finance of in Bangladesh, MSME Financing Series No. 5 (Bangkok, United Nations 2021), available at https://www.unescap.org/kp/2021/ micro-small-and-medium-sizedenterprises-access-finance-bangladesh.

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Table 8.8 Comparative statement on export of RMG & Total export of Bangladesh20 (value in million USD) Year

Export of RMG

Total export of Bangladesh

% of RMG’s to total export

2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2021 2021–2022

17,914.46 19,089.73 21,515.73 24,491.88 25,491.40 28,094.16 28,149.84 30,614.76 34,133.27 27,949.19 31,456.73 42,613.15

22,924.38 24,301.90 27,027.36 30,186.62 31,208.94 34,257.18 34,655.90 36,668.17 40,535.04 33,674.09 38,758.31 52,082.66

78.15 78.55 79.61 81.13 81.68 82.01 81.23 83.49 84.21 83.00 81.16 81.82

In leather too the role of the CMSME sector has been quite pronounced. These entrepreneurial initiatives have helped the sector boom, but such activities need backing, where the MSME loans and the MFI institutions have been instrumental in Bangladesh. Figure 8.2 and Table 8.9 provide the patterns of loans disbursed sector-wise and the top MFI institutions, respectively. Trade remains at the top in terms of disbursal, which boosts the export sector and creates the desired fillip. This remains critical to the growth drivers where the context of entrepreneurial drive or the fabric of entrepreneurship is essentially MSME driven. In most South Asian economies like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, or Bangladesh, the MFI initiatives have remained pronounced, and especially with Bangladesh, it has been effective. The initiatives of BRAC, as listed in Table 8.9, have indeed been noteworthy. Aarong, among one of their several initiatives, focuses on women’s empowerment and collaborates with them to create fabric and RMG for more upscale markets, both online and offline. They have been able to bypass the commission agents and have better market access. Today, across Bangladesh, Aarong is a brand of repute and class, all because of BRAC and its consistent support. Similarly, Muhammed Yunus and his 20

Source The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) website.

238

P. Dasgupta

Fig. 8.2 MSME loan disbursement broken down by sector 2010 and 201921

Table 8.9 Top MFls—branches, members, and borrowers22 Name of the organization

Number of members

Number of borrowers

Number of branches

ASA Brac Bureau Bangladesh TMSS SSS Jagarani Chakra Foundation Sakti Foundation Uddipon Podopkhep Sajeda Foundation Total

7,577,355 6,841,622 1,512,489 993,304 600,906 490,507

6,156,543 6,005,174 1,017,136 844,772 489,007 404,906

3042 2172 802 856 353 361

475,255 474,783 373,949 280,416 19,620,586

430,861 337,979 334,676 236,338 16,257,392

424 307 296 178 8791

Grameen initiatives are well-known globally. He was awarded the Noble Prize in 2006 for his path-breaking efforts in the social sector and particularly upliftment of the underprivileged section of society. The Yunus 21 Source United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Access to Finance of in Bangladesh, MSME Financing Series No. 5 (Bangkok, United Nations 2021), available at https://www.unescap.org/kp/2021/ micro-small-and-medium-sizedenterprises-access-finance-bangladesh. 22 Source Ibid.

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Foundation and the Grameen Bank entity continuously strive to nurture entrepreneurship and empower the underclass to be self-sufficient. Mr. Yunus had realized very early that after the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 and the way the economy was ravaged, the growth has to come from within and not from outside. His focus, therefore, has been to drive the spirit of entrepreneurship succinctly and across the mainstream population, where the segment is often missing out due to a lack of opportunity and access to resources.

8.3.3 Women Entrepreneurs In the previous section, there have been deliberations about how women in Bangladesh have remained at the forefront of driving entrepreneurial growth. In Bangladesh, half of the population is female, and in recent times, women’s contributions to the country’s economic and social development have been substantial. A look at Fig. 8.3 illustrates that loan disbursement among women has gone up continuously, an indicator of how they too are actively participating in economic activities.

Fig. 8.3 Loan disbursements to women MSMEs23

23

Source Ibid.

240

P. Dasgupta

Yet, participation has been low in the formal economy, and progress as entrepreneurs in Bangladesh is remarkably poor. Few women participate in the CMSME sector as compared to men, and in recent years, the Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank (BB), the Central Bank of Bangladesh, and the Asian Development Bank have increased the financial support of female-owned CMSMEs in both rural and urban Bangladesh. The government has been making efforts women more into entrepreneurial activities and, in 2007, created the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) under the Ministry of Industry. In 2008, the initiative received further emphasis through the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. SMEF has been working closely to increase its skills in loan certification processes, business information, and marketing of products. The SMEF works in partnership with government agencies, donors, the banking sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and support agencies to boost female entrepreneurs’ knowledge, capacity, and experience in CMSMEs.24

8.3.4 Large Corporates Alongside the CMSME initiatives in entrepreneurial drive, Bangladesh also has a presence of large corporates. However, due to the size of the market, growth has been horizontal for most companies. They have diversified across product categories instead of vertically growing within the category. There are several large organizations in Bangladesh like the Beximco Group, Abdul Khair Group, PRAN RFL, Basundhara Group, ACI, and Square Group, to name a few. Most of these organizations have diversified interests in pharmaceuticals, cement, textiles, banking, gas (recent), real estate, processed foods, etc., to name some. With the privatization of the gas excavation sector, several private initiatives are now being explored by the players. However, a lack of resources has forced many of them to seek partners from within and outside the region. The stifling problems of land availability and, therefore, high land prices 24

Source Chowdhury, Dilruba Shoma. (2019). Financing Female Entrepreneurs in Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: Evidence from the Financial Sector in Bangladesh 2010–2018. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 6, pp. 397–416.

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(along with ownership issues of the land), power, and infrastructure are typical problems in the country. This has hurt the external FDI sector immensely, but the government has been making serious efforts to rectify some of these bottlenecks to FDI inflow. In the later part of the section, the case studies on some of the Indian companies highlight the problems specifically and how they have been making attempts to overcome them.25

8.4

West Bengal: Mixed Bag

8.4.1 Teething Troubles After partition in 1947, West Bengal took a substantial amount of time to regain and recompose itself. Immediately after the partition, a series of aftershocks took some time for the state and region to come out of. Political unrest, religious unrest, land-related disputes, and refugee migration were some issues that stifled the state. Punjab and West Bengal were two states which had to bear the brunt of the refugee crisis. A substantial portion of the refugees from West Pakistan moved through Punjab into Delhi, as opposed to East Pakistan, who made Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the adjoining area their base. The Northern side of now Bangladesh migrated into Meghalaya and Tripura, but the bulk of the refugee population (from Central, East, and South Bangladesh) moved to Calcutta. Now, at this time, especially between 1947 and 1950, Calcutta and around was going through a tumultuous time. In the initial part of the discussion (Section I and the part on undivided Bengal) where there were deliberations on the Swadeshi companies, the Merchant firms (also referred to as agency houses), the American and European transnational companies and finally, the domestic trading firms which were controlled by the Marwaris and the Banians. It was a transitional time with the (i) partition and its aftermath, (ii) the colonial powers receding interest and hold in the region, (iii) Delhi becoming the new power center of the country (even 25

Source Bilateral Investment Flows & Potential Opportunities in Select South Asian Countries: IFC Report (2011).

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P. Dasgupta

though the Britishers had already moved their capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, yet Calcutta remained an important center of trade and commerce), (iv) the rise of the political unrest in the state largely from the Communist and Socialist parties within the state and (v) the emergence of new power centers (mainly the Marwaris) and declining hold of the agency houses and the multinationals. West Bengal, and specifically Calcutta, was going through all the harangues. At the crux of the problem was the division of the country into two, with the prosperous agricultural-rich regions going into East Pakistan. Bengal itself was divided with Assam (the process of being delinked had started much before, though) as a separate state; the mine-rich Bihar was separated from West Bengal, and Orissa, another state rich in resources, was created as a separate state. Second, the political atmosphere in Bengal was gradually growing turbulent, with the Communist Party gradually incubating, the seeds of which had been already sown much before independent India. The political unrest, gradual labor-related issues, and the class divide (of the working middle class versus the labour class) were now something more visible due to the dwindling opportunities in the manufacturing sector. The traditional Calcutta Bhadra Lok or Babu26 was threatened, and the Communist-led faction refused to cow down to the Indian Babus. They felt that everybody had an equal voice in an independent country (which was not a far-fetched thought). Third, at the power centre in New Delhi, things were not in favour of West Bengal. Even though the state Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Ray (a noted medical practitioner), was close to the power centre in Delhi, he wasn’t able to wrest initiatives for the state the way Maharashtra and Gujarat did. The jute industry, the mainstay of the region, suffered owing to tax-related issues, which were changed at the Central government level without consulting the state and the stakeholders. The benefits to other states regarding manufacturing were more beneficial. Despite Bengal remaining at the core of it all for the longest time. 26 The term Bhadra Lok or Babu came up during the time of the British era when the educated Bengali who served directly under the Englishmen had their own snooty and arrogance appeal around themselves. The zamindars were the first to carry that aura which later got into mainstream urban centres when for administrative purposes the Britishers were increasingly using the services of the educated Bengali.

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Externally, the colonial Agency Houses were gradually beginning to fold up, and some of them started offloading their stakes into local companies, especially the Marwaris and the Banians. Some of the Swadeshi companies also brought in stake too. However, the Swadeshi companies were also going through their own set of challenges and constraints. Resources, especially in the form of capital, remained a perennial problem, something where the Marwaris thrived. A strong network and a well-knit family ensured that the Marwaris were able to consolidate themselves better. The European and American transnationals, like the rest of the country, were gradually spreading their network. Backed by better quality products, a strong distribution network, attractive publicity, and competitive pricing, they were able to wrest the initiatives, particularly in packaged goods. One must remember that the concept of packaged goods was something that the country as a whole was getting used to, and these transnationals had the firstmover advantage. Tea, soaps, biscuits, detergents, edible oil, etc., were now being packaged and sold, which ensured a signal of quality and guarantee. The Swadeshi companies were finding it difficult to compete here. Barring a handful like Bengal Chemicals, Bengal Lamps, Dey’s Chemical, most of them started folding up by the mid-50s. Backed by labor unrest and strike, the companies were now virtually choking up. The Marwaris were consolidating now, first in commodities like Jute and Tea, and later, they diversified into multiple business interests related to manufacturing (cement, sugar, steel, etc.). However, the smaller units that thrived around Howrah, Chuchura, Dankuni, Burdwan, and around continued to operate. They were in the foundry and die business, manufacturing various products that were relevant to different industries across the state. The power shift was visible and complete by the mid-1950 when Agency houses and multinationals had gradually sold their stakes to the Marwaris (some of it by choice and some by force). The three specific reasons attributed to the dwindling colonial power in the commercial world (considering from the days of EIC and onwards, the Britishers had a vice-like grip on Trade and commerce) were; the managers of these Indo-British firms were not adaptable enough, second the growing shortage of capital in the post-War period and the resultant depression (the Marwaris were better placed in terms of capital to

244

P. Dasgupta

wrest control) and finally the third being the habit of these companies to work in a more imperial setting and better control.27 Table 8.10 gives an indication of how gradually the British control ended in the Indo-British firms.

8.4.2 The Tumultuous Years Between 1951 and 1952 the first general elections were held in the state, and four competing political parties, Indian National Congress (INC), Jan Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha, and the Left-led, CPI fought for the Lok Sabha and State elections. Eventually, INC riding on the nationalist movement and the popularity of Pandit Nehru, Congress won the elections. Between 1951 to 1977 (for a brief period of two years between 1967 and 1969, the Left-supported United Front came to power and displaced Congress for the first time), Congress ruled the state. Between 1977 and 2011, the Left Front, headed by CPI(M), was in power for about 34 years, a period longest anyone has served as a party. It is important to discuss the political backdrop in the quest to discuss how entrepreneurship as a subaltern existed in the realms of things. With (i) political unrest, (ii) the Naxalbari movement that started in 1967 and went on till the late 70s, (iii) trade unions and their politicization (see Table 8.13 for total man-days lost because of this), (iv) the bickering among the stakeholders running the state, and (v) the frosty centre–state relationship with respect to resource allocation, all perhaps brought industry as a whole to a standstill. Once the winds of change started blowing in the rest of India, starting in 1991, West Bengal could perhaps only smell the whiff of it and not experience it. What was even more ironical, the next political party, led by Mamata Banerji (Trinamool Congress) that broke through the stranglehold of the Left Front government to seize power in the 2011 elections was based on the agenda of opposition against liberalization and particularly land acquisition in the name of industry. And that was perhaps the death knell in many ways.

27

Source Roy, Tirthankar (2017). Transfer of Economic Power in Corporate Calcutta, 1950– 1970. Business History Review, 91, 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007680517000393.

0(2)a 0(2)a 9

14(27)a 14(27)b 30–33b Martin Burn, Bird Heilgers, Macneill Barry, Andrew Yule (SurajmullNagarmull/McLeod, Bangur/Kettlewell Bullen, Mehta/Jardine Henderson, Goenka/Duncan and Octavius Steel, Killick/Ruia)a,c

37 32 Martin Burn, Bird, Andrew Yule, Inchcape, Sassoon, Begg, Jardine, Wallace, Duncan, Finlay, Killick, Kilburn, Brady, Steel, McLeod

Notes a. Percentage in parentheses includes Indian-owned groups whose assets consisted mainly of the assets of formerly Indo-British firms b. Figure depends on how the Birla group assets, which were nominally together for some years and then divided, are treated c. Italics indicate those listed as “monopoly” in 1965–1966 by the Monopolies Enquiry Committee

(Williamson Magor/Khaitan)

1997

1969

47

1939

Assets of Indo-British companies as share of top 25 business groups (percent)

Indo-British group companies Indo-British group companies of Calcutta Firms of Calcutta in 39b top 25 firms of India Names of groups

Table 8.10

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246

P. Dasgupta

A state with a glorious past, thriving industries, and a rich history of entrepreneurship is now struggling to stay afloat. Though Bengal continued to prosper industrially till 1965, and with the introduction of the five-year plan, industrial output in West Bengal grew by 287%. Employment in organized sector was the second highest after Maharashtra. Two major setbacks with, the harvest failure in 1965– 1967 and the war of 1965, drained the resources and led to a temporary recession. West Bengal suffered heavily; some of the established units like Braithwaite & Co., Bridge & Roof, Burns & Co., Indian Standard Wagon, Jessop, Texmaco, etc., suffered heavily, and the ancillary industries suffered heavily. The Marwaris, who controlled the jute business, gradually moved to other business interests in other states. The big groups, Birlas, Dalmias, Goenkas, Khaitan, Bangur, etc. started investing in the more lucrative states and cities. Bombay, which competed with Calcutta for a long time, was now hands down the winner and firmly placed to become the country’s commercial capital. Even worrisome was private capital being withdrawn from the state and invested in other parts of the country. A steady outflow (brain drain) of bright young minds to other parts of the country and the USA particularly upset the state demographics. Table 8.11 provides a perspective on how industrial disputes compare West Bengal to the rest of the country. It is noteworthy to see that with a population that is 8% of the country, the numbers in the person-day lost are substantial. With time the number has been on the rise. This remains the challenge through most of the time when the initial Congress was there, followed by a moment of the United Front and eventually the 36 years of the Left Front led by CPI(M). Table 8.13 translates to the direct person-day lost across the country. Further, if one were to look at Table 8.12 closely, which is quite a paradox in terms of the regime at the Centre versus the one at the state level in West Bengal. Between 1970 and 1977 the total industrial licenses issued to the newly favoured states of Maharashtra and Gujarat as compared to West Bengal is an indication of how possibly the dynamics have worked. This is on the back of the internal factors (social and political unrest, strikes, agitation, etc.) that affected the state and the external factors about a raw deal being given to the state.

171.5

50.2

67.2

417 2.6 172.4

2776 16.7

India

93.8

894 6.7

West Bengal

1969

190.5

2627 18.3

India

94.2

806 4.5

West Bengal

1970

205.6

2889 18.3

India

Source Das, Ritanjan. (2013). History, Ideology and Negotiation: The Politics of Policy Transition in West Bengal, India: Ritanjan Das. A thesis submitted to the Department of International Development of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London.

28

Note Average population of West Bengal between 1961 and 1971: 39.6 million Average population of India between 1961 and 1971: 493.7 million

2815 14.9

West Bengal

438 1.6

1968

West Bengal

India

1967

Industrial disputes in West Bengal vis-à-vis India; 1967–197028

Stoppages Workers involved (in lakhs) Person-days lost (in lakhs)

Table 8.11

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

247

29

Source Ibid.

112 39 36 46

1970

162 66 51 81

1971 131 57 36 54

1972 171 75 63 41

1973 265 89 99 107

1974

Industrial licenses issued to states; 1970–197729

Maharashtra Gujarat Tamil Nadu ¯ West Bengal

Table 8.12

255 97 141 74

1975 143 83 61 56

1976 150 60 32 40

1977 1389 566 519 499

Total

56.6 30.4 44.8 49.5

Average population 1971–1981 (in millions)

248 P. Dasgupta

30

Source Ibid.

3515 3707 1250 1021 553

856

980 830

1046 547 6236

1280

946 1200

544 129 18,076

1980

2972 8405 3770 1711 664

1979

630 762 8028

2422 1208

636

1464 3840 497 1476 531

1981

833 416 16,133

403 316

646

45,279 1999 2348 1414 2015

1982

772 785 15,191

582 882

571

17,440 2217 1575 1809 2747

1983

Person-days lost by States; 1979–198930

Maharashtra Tamil Nadu ¯ Kerala Bihar Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Rajasthan West Bengal

Table 8.13

1143 665 20,285

954 1535

515

7491 4142 2.036 1465 2.806

1984

583 570 11,085

935 654

285

2750 2136 737 415 2036

1985

1185 684 8554

233 861

528

3436 3591 2327 577 7926

1986

1645 1002 14,600

767 255

1435

4040 3305 2163 1908 2609

1987

294 492 18,773

1153 417

1472

4629 1984 1666 490 1689

1988

215 216 6252

147 284

166

2269 1471 699 184 2518

1989

37.7 39.2 61.4

41 43.4

118.6

70.9 52.2 27.3 58.4 60

Average population 1981–1991 (in millions)

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

249

250

P. Dasgupta

8.4.3 Didi O Didi In 2011 riding on the success of the huge agitation against the Singur31 deal Mamata Banerji came to power in West Bengal 2011. She has continued to move from strength to strength for the last 26 years now. What remains a paradox, she resisted liberalization and the land acquisition by the Left Front, which has now become her calling card to attract investments in the state. As a state, West Bengal continues to remain a highly politicized state, and the three decades of Left Front rule have perhaps changed the DNA of the state and, more significantly, its entrepreneurial instincts. There has been evidence from the state, particularly in the MSME sector. Table 8.14 provides an interesting facet of how the sector compares to pan India. Today, it is placed at number two behind Uttar Pradesh in terms of people engaged. There have been numerous initiatives to push the sector and especially the women entrepreneurs. On the other end, West Bengal has made attempts to attract investments in the state and create a healthy atmosphere of large investments in the core sector. Some of the recent policy imperatives include 1. Focus on the sectors which are the competitive advantage of West Bengal 2. Reconstruction of public sector enterprise 3. Maintaining a balance between industry and social well-being and encouraging FDI inflow. 4. The IT and ITEs as a service sector domain is a focus priority for the State. Robust governance, incentives, and regulatory support are facilitating a faster growth of the sector. 5. Tech Companies like IBM, Wipro, TCS, and others, in collaboration with Government, have created IT literacy programmes. 31

Singur is a small mofussil town about 40 kilometres from Calcutta. The Left Front government had allotted land to Tata Motors for making their passenger vehicles in 2006. Opposition leader Mamata Banerji thought the land allotted to the company was not done in a transparent manner and the farmers from whom the acquisition was made, were given a raw deal. A violent and effective agitation put the State government in the backfoot and resulted eventually in Mamata Banerji wresting the initiative to win a historic election in 2011 and continues unabated for the last 26 years.

251

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

Table 8.14

Comparative distribution of Top Ten States (MSME)32 Fourth All India Census of MSME and Fifth Economic Census**

NSS 73rd Round Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13

State/UT Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Tamil Nadu Maharashtra Karnataka Bihar Andhra Pradesh*** Gujarat Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Total of the above ten states Other States/UT’s All

Number (in Lakhs)

Share (%)

Number (in Lakh)

Share (%)

89.99 88.67 44.48 47.78 38.34 34.46 33.87

14 14 8 8 6 5 5

44.03 34.64 33.13 30.63 20.19 14.70 25.96

12 10 9 8 6 4 7

33.16 26.87 26.74

5 4 4

21.78 16.64 19.33

6 5 5

469.4

74

261.04

72

164.5

26

100.72

28

633.9

100

361.76

100

6. The Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Promotion Industrial Parks, and Agri-export zones (AEZs) in the State aimed at promoting rapid industrial development and employment generation for the state. 7. The National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) and connectivity to the port cities is designed to create a good road infrastructure for trade. The focus industries that are significantly contributing to the socioeconomic lives of the people of West Bengal include steel, IT and ITES, textiles, leather, electronics, petrochemicals, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Based on the Chambers of Commerce membership 32

Source https://msme.gov.in/sites/default/files/MSMEENGLISHANNUALREPORT2021-22. pdf (accessed 21 October 2022).

252

P. Dasgupta

database, leading industries operating in the state are listed in Table 8.16 Annexure 2.

8.5

In Summation

West Bengal and Bangladesh are two stories of entrepreneurial spirit that got lost due to a lack of opportunity. What started with undivided Bengal and later in their respective state/country remains a work in progress. However, the social fabric of the two being the same, and with a shared past, there are similar stories of entrepreneurship emerging. Bangladesh has a population of 160 million and West Bengal 90 million, and the opportunity within the two places come in from the people. The two governments of the State (for convenience, Bangladesh is referred to as State here) have to realize the highly populated places must actually be able to create demographic dividends. In the case of West Bengal, population migration is easier as it connects to the other parts of a large country, something which remains a challenge in Bangladesh. The first point of comparison in terms of entrepreneurial perspective is the rise of the MSME sector in both regions. Across sectors in West Bengal and specifically for Bangladesh Textile, Leather, and Handloom. The product range in West Bengal is more diverse where the community has worked. The role of Self-Help Groups, MFIs, Women entrepreneurs, and the marginalized community is common in both states. Second, the states have a common and shared history of partition, and therefore much of the entrepreneurial texture flows in from there. Industries like Foundry and Forging, Lathe, Textile and Hosiery, and Food Processing, to name a few, have survived time. Some of the major industries in West Bengal are33 listed below, and Bangladesh has an almost similar lineage. • Basic Metals • Coke and Refined Petroleum Products 33

Source Roy Chowdhury, Abhishikta and Ray Chowddhury, Bibek. (2012). Manufacturing Sector in West Bengal: Advantages & Potential. The Journal of Industrial Statistics, 1(2), 283– 298.

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

• • • • •

253

Chemicals and chemical products Food Products Textiles Electrical Equipment Non Metallic Mineral Products

The third thing that emerges as a common point between the two states is the social fabric of the two. Of course, with time, the religious and social dimension has brought about changes in how each of them looks inward, yet the politics of the place remains violent and virulent too. Emotion, sentiment, political sensitization, and motivations do have a common past, and it tends to come in the way of a working relationship. The fourth aspect about the two regions; is how external stakeholders (India, China, and Korea in Bangladesh and Marwaris in Bengal) have been able to bring about changes. These changes have been structural in nature and have only been pluses for them. The fifth dimension about the constraints in resources remains common to both. As both the states were agriculture dependent for the longest time, the gradual shift to alternate sectors has been common grounds. Handloom, Handicraft, Textile, Leather, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Logistics, Rural based market products (marketed to mainstream cities) are some of the upcoming sectors that the two have explored and are meeting with common spaces to explore. However, the point of departure between the two; one is a part of the country and the other a country. This means that there are challenges from an administrative standpoint. The approach to entrepreneurship also depends on how the state is able to push and help incubate better. In the eventuality of it, though, the places remain connected umbilically, and common grounds are always there to work on.

8.6

Thoughts as Takeaway

As one revisits the quote of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw at the start of the chapter, it seems like a zeitgeist moment. An entrepreneur’s life is like

254

P. Dasgupta

a journey, which starts at point A and will continue to traverse the entire periphery of opportunities. For instance, the Marwari community, a thriving one in both undivided Bengal and later in West Bengal; a journey that started with Marwar in Rajasthan and traveling all the way to West Bengal and making it big. In 1947 millions of refugees crisscrossed the border to make a mark for themselves in their new habitat is also a journey. It is a journey in search of opportunities and building on them. In entrepreneurship, the context is also much about the same where opportunities are found and built on. The Swadeshi companies of the pre-independence era, the Marwari Community in Bengal, the European Companies coming to India, the Agency Houses, and the EIC are all about how entrepreneurial dreams have taken flight. Later the stories in Bangladesh of the Pran Group, the BRAC group, or the Grameen Bank initiatives are opportunities that have been found in constraints. What is important to note is that resources are always under constraint. The entrepreneur makes the best of it. After the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, the government and the private stakeholders knew that resources were constrained. There were millions to feed and no possible push (financial and non-financial) in sight. The gradual ascendancy helped in the sustainable use of resources to make the best use of. The CMSME and the Women’s initiatives have been path-breaking initiatives of entrepreneurship drive in the country, something which shall pay dividends in the long run. Also, the focused sectoral push will remain a strength for the country. Instead of sailing on multiple ships, the intensive focus on limited sectors has indeed been beneficial. Today, the country stands head above many bigger nations in exports. Promoting a healthy culture of investment in the workplace has helped further. There have been hitches and glitches, but there are roadblocks in the journey of entrepreneurial success. In West Bengal, the dynamics are about how the state now looks at the history of what was a glorious past and how they look ahead. Today, there are hardly any Swadeshi companies left, barring a few Bengal Chemicals, Dey’s Chemicals, G.D. Pharmaceuticals, to name a few. However, these companies remain firmly etched in people’s minds and continue to perform in the defined domain. The Hosiery industry is another flagship industry that is now reviving thanks to the spirited effort of some of the

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

255

community members. In the 1970s, the industry moved lock, stock, and barrel to Coimbatore because of frequent strikes and closures. However, the last two decades have seen a gradual revival, and there is a silver lining. The MSME sector has seen rapid strides in Handicraft, Handloom, Leather, Textile, etc., and women entrepreneurs, with the support of the state, are making rapid progress. What ails Bengal, perhaps are the larger investments. The spirit of entrepreneurship has always been there; perhaps the flames of sustained investment and a healthy environment of doing business might fan the flames more. ∗ ∗ ∗

Annexure 1 See Tables 8.15.

Table 2: MSME Landscape End-of-year data Item NUMBER of ENTERPRISES1 Number of enterprises, total Number of MSMEs Cottage Micro Small Medium Number of large enterprises

BANGLADESH

Table 8.15

2011

…

…

… … … … …

2010

…

…

… … … … …

… … … … …

…

…

2012

68,42,884 1,04,007 8,59,318 7,106 5,250

78,13,315

78,18,565

2013

… … … … …

…

…

2014

… … … … …

…

…

2015

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia SME Monitor 2021

… … … … …

…

…

2016

… … … … …

…

…

2017

… … … … …

…

…

2018

… … … … …

…

…

2019

… … … … …

…

…

2020

256 P. Dasgupta

MSME to total (%) MSME growth (%) MSMEs by sector (% share) Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries Manufacturing Transportation and communication Construction Wholesale and retail Trade Other services Others Number of MSMEs by region (% share)2 Urban Rural

BANGLADESH

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

28.5 71.5

25.7 0.3

0.1 45.9

11.1 16.9

…

…

99.97

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

(continued)

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

…

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

257

EMPLOYMENT Number of employment, total Number of employment by MSMEs Cottage Micro Small Medium Number of employment by large enterprises MSME employees to total (%) MSME employees growth (%)

BANGLADESH

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

Table 8.15 (continued)

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

85.9

1,31,68,327 5,58,870 66,00,685 7,06,112 34,66,856

…

…

… … … … …

2,10,33,994 …

2,45,00,850 …

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

…

…

… … … … …

…

…

258 P. Dasgupta

Share of female employees to total employees (%) Employment by MSME by sector (% share) Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries Manufacturing Transportation and communication Construction Wholesale and retail Trade Other services Others Employment by MSMEs by region (% share)2

BANGLADESH

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

…

29.9 0.4

0.2 39.9

20.3 9.4

…

16.5

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

(continued)

… …

… …

… …

…

…

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

259

Urban Rural CONTRIBUTION TO GDP GDP of MSMEs (Tk million) MSME contribution to GDP (% share) MSME GDP growth (%) MSME labour productivity (Tk million) MSME GDP by sector (% share) Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries Manufacturing

BANGLADESH

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

Table 8.15 (continued)

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

34.4 65.6

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

…

…

…

…

…

…

… …

260 P. Dasgupta

Transportation and communication Construction Wholesale and retail Trade Other services Others MSME GDP by region (% share)2 Urban Rural EXPORTS3 Total export value (Tk million) Total export growth (%) MSME export value (Tk million)

BANGLADESH

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

… …

… …

… …

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

8.1 …

28.7 …

…

13.5 …

9.4

…

14.0

…

2.8

…

12.7

(continued)

…

(19.2)

…

… …

… …

… …

…

…

… …

… …

… …

…

(6.4)

… …

… …

… …

…

43.6

… …

… …

… …

… …

…

5.5

… …

… …

… …

…

21,22,602 24,08,850 26,34,668 30,03,837 30,87,936 34,81,620 28,11,668

… …

… …

…

11,34,589 16,29,733 17,62,288 22,68,607

…

…

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

261

MSME export to total export value (%) MSME export growth (%) IMPORTS3 Total import value (Tk million) Total import growth (%) MSME import value (Tk million) MSME import to total import value (%)

BANGLADESH

…

…

…

…

…

10.7

…

…

6.8

…

…

…

…

30.1

…

…

5.4

…

…

21.8

…

…

17.0

…

…

3.8

…

…

(4.9)

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

(10.2)

…

…

48.2

…

…

13.5

…

…

28,22,310 36,70,702 38,69,349 47,12,495 55,11,644 57,22,675 54,41,658

…

…

…

17,94,324 26,59,405 29,42,810 31,44,291

…

…

Table 8.15 (continued)

262 P. Dasgupta

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Notes Aggregate MSME figures include cottage. Data in 2013 is based on census, except exports/imports 1 Data refer to permanent and temporary establishments, and economic households 2 Urban/rural classification refers to the definitions under the Economic Units Census 3 Data are presented in fiscal year starting on 1 July of the previous year and ending on 30 June of the reference year Source ADB Asia SME Monitor 2021. Data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Economic Census 2013; Foreign Trade Statistics of Bangladesh 2019–2020

MSME import growth (%) MSME = micro, small, and mediumsized enterprise

BANGLADESH

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

263

264

P. Dasgupta

Annexure 2 See Tables 8.16.

Table 8.16

Major large corporates in West Bengal34

ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Aces Infotech Private Limited Adhunik Corporation Limited Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited ADOR Powertron Limited Aeicorp Technologies Pvt. Ltd AI Champdany Industries Limited Ajanta Leather Fashions (P) Ltd Allahabad Bank Alstom Projects India Limited ALSTOM T&D India Limited American Reprographics Company India Pvt. Ltd Amrit Exports Pvt. Ltd Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd Ankit Metal & Power Limited Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals Ltd Arcelor Mittal Design & Engineering Centre P. Ltd Archana Apparels Pvt. Ltd Army Institute of Management Ascon Agro Products Exporters & Builders Pvt. Ltd Asian Hotels North Limited Associated Pigments Limited Axsys Technologies Limited B N Nobis & Company B P Poddar Hospital & Medical Research Limited B. M. Birla Heart Research Centre Badshah Hotels (India) Pvt. Ltd Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd Bandhan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd

IT/ITES Textiles Textiles Power IT/ITES Textiles Leather Financial Services Infrastructure Consultancies Print Trade Manufacturing Metals and Power Hospital and Healthcare Steel Textiles Education Agro Industries Hotels Chemical IT/ITES Trade Hospital and Healthcare Hospital and Healthcare Hotels Pharmaceuticals (continued)

34

Source Bengal Chamber of Commerce.

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

265

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Bankura Unnayani Institute of Engineering Batanagar Institute of Engineering, Management and Science Bates India Pvt. Ltd

Education

Bengal Institute of Business Studies Bengal Multiple Projects & Leasing Pvt. Ltd Bengal Unitech Universal Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd Bengal-Pailan Park Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited Berger Paints India Ltd Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd Balmer Lawrie Limited Birla Tyres (Prop. Kesoram Industries Ltd.) Blacker & Co. Pvt. Ltd BOC India Limited Britannia Industries Limited Calcutta Business School Castrol India Ltd CDC Printers Pvt. Ltd Century Plyboards (India) Limited CESC Limited Coal India Limited Consulting Engineering Services (India) Private Limited Daffodil Projects Pvt. Ltd Danieli Engineering India Limited Databazaar India Pvt. Ltd Delhi Business School, Kolkata Campus Devcon Systems & Projects Pvt. Ltd DIC India Limited Dr. B C Roy Engineering College

Education Industrial Packaging, Greases & Lubricants, Chemicals, Travel & Vacations, Logistics Infrastructure, Logistics Services, Cold Chain and Refinery & Oil Field Services, Education Projects Infrastructure Infrastructure Paints Steel and Power Petroleum and Natural Gas, Tyres

Food and Beverages Education Lubricants Printers Wood Electricals Coal Consultancies Housing Development Engineering Services IT/ITES Education Manufacturing Manufacturing Education (continued)

266

P. Dasgupta

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Duncan Brothers & Co. Limited Durgapur Institute of Advanced Technology and Management Eastern Institute of Management EIH Limited Elbee Securities Pvt. Ltd EMARS Mining & Construction Pvt. Ltd Enfragy Solutions India Private Limited ERGO Woodlines Pvt. Limited ESAB India Limited Ess Dee Aluminium Limited Essel Mining and Industries Limited Eveready Industries India Ltd Everett (India) Pvt. Limited Exide Industries Limited Exterior Interior Limited F Harley & Company Pvt. Ltd Ford Rhodes, Parks & Co Fortis Hospital Limited Fox & Mandal G S Marketing Associates Gannon Dunkerley & Co. Ltd Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd Gargi Memorial Institute of Technology George Group of Colleges Ghosh, Bose & Associates Pvt. Ltd Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Ltd Globe Forex & Travels Ltd Globsyn Technologies Limited Gontermann-Peipers (India) Limited Goodricke Group Limited Greaves Cotton Limited GTZ (India) Private Limited Haldia Petrochemicals Limited Hawkins Cookers Limited Hindalco Industries Limited Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited Hindustan Unilever Ltd HITECH Cellphone Private Limited

Food and Bevarages Education Education

Power Petroleum Steel

Electronics (continued)

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

267

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd Howrah Mills Company Limited Hydro Carbons and Chemicals IAL India Limited ICFAI Business School (IBS) ICRA Limited IND-EXPO India Power Corporation Limited India Steamship (A Division of Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd.) Indian Hotels Limited Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Indo-Bell Insulations Pvt. Ltd Infinity Infotech Parks Limited Infinity Knowledge Ventures Pvt. Ltd Institute of Business Management Institute of Engineering and Management International Combustion (India) Limited International Flavours & Fragrances India Limited International Institute of Hotel Management IRC Logistics Limited ISR Infomedia Limited ITC Infotech India Limited ITC Limited Standard Chartered Bank Super Smelters Limited Synergy Group Holdings Pvt. Ltd Tata Consultancy Services Limited Tata Global Beverages Limited Tata Metaliks Kubota Pipes Limited Tata Metaliks Limited Tata Steel Limited Tata Teleservices Limited Techno Electric and Engineering Co. Ltd

Financial Services

Chemicals Education Education Power Fertilizers and Chemicals Hotels Petrochemical

Education Education

Financial Services Steel Manufacturing (Solar) IT/ITES Financial Services Steel Metals Steel IT/ITES Electrical (continued)

268

P. Dasgupta

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Techno India Group Techno Industry Telco Construction Equipment Co. Ltd The British Metal Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd The Calcutta Tramways Co. (1978) Limited The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited The Mission Hospital (a unit of Durgapur Medical Centre Pvt. Ltd.) The Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Limited The Statesman Limited The Tinplate Company of India Ltd Thermax Limited Tide Water Oil Company (India) Limited Tijiya Steel Pvt. Ltd TIL Limited Tirumala Seven Hills Pvt. Ltd TM International Logistics Limited Total Agri Care Concern Pvt. Ltd Tower Infotech Limited Towers Watson India Pvt. Ltd Transafe Services Limited TRF Limited Trio Trend Exports Private Limited UGI Engineering Works Pvt. Ltd United Conveyor Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd United Liner Agency of India Pvt. Ltd United Spirits Limited Usha Martin Limited Utkarsh Tubes & Pipes Limited Vedic Realty Limited Vesuvius India Limited Vibgyor Housing Limited Victor Moses & Co Vijay Kumar & Co. (Jute) Pvt. Ltd Vikash Metal & Power Limited Vodafone Essar East Limited W H Brady & Co. Limited Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd Warren Tea Limited

Education Capital Equipment Assesoties Construction Metal Transport Financial Services Hospital and Healthcare Insurance Media Manufacturing Clean Energy Lubricants Steel Manufacturing Hospital and Healthcare Logistics Agri IT/ITES Financial Services and Insurance Transport Manufacturing Trade Manufacturing Power Sector Consultanices and Services Shipping Services Food and Beverages Electricals Manufacturing Hosuing and Real Estates Industrial Consultancies Housing Development Legal Services Agro Product Manufacturing Iron and Steel telecommunication telecommunication Chemicals Food and Beverages (continued)

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

269

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Webcon Consulting (India) Limited Wellman Wacoma Limited Wellside Infrastructure Private Limited Williamson Magor & Co. Ltd Yamai Fashions Pvt. Ltd Young Engg. & Calibration Services Pvt. Ltd Zetadel Technologies Pvt. Ltd IXIA Technologies Pvt. Ltd J Thomas & Company Private Limited Jardine Henderson Limited Jaypee Engg. & Hydraulic Equipment Co. Ltd JDS Technologies Pvt. Ltd JIS Group JPM Exports Pvt. Ltd JSW Steel Limited K S Aiyar & Co KAIL Limited (Videocon Group) Kettlewell Bullen & Co. Ltd Klystron Electronics Pvt. Ltd KND Engineering Technologies Limited KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd Kundalia & Associates Leelamayee Foods Private Limited Lexmark International (India) Pvt. Ltd Lord Realty Pvt. Ltd M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd Machineworks (International) Limited Maersk India Pvt. Ltd Magus Marketing Pvt. Limited Mahabharat Motors Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd Mahabir Impex Pvt. Ltd Management and Computer Consultants Manaksia Limited Mani Square Limited Manor Floatel Limited Mapex Infrastructure Pvt Ltd Marathon Electric Motors (India) Limited Mather & Platt Pumps Limited MCC PTA India Corp. Pvt. Ltd McLeod & Company Limited McLeod Russel India Limited

Industrial Consultancies Power Assesories Infrastructure Food and Bevarages Garments Engineering Services Manufacturing

(continued)

270

P. Dasgupta

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited Medica Hospitals Pvt. Ltd Merlin Projects Limited Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt. Ltd Mission of Mercy Hospital and Research Centre MJR Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd Mjunction services limited Modern India Con-cast Limited Mookherjee Biswas & Pathak MSA (India) Limited National Insurance Company Limited National Stock Exchange of India Limited Net 4 Communications Limited Neuerth Coal Mining Pvt. Ltd Nevaeh Technology Pvt. Ltd New Wave Display Services Pvt. Ltd Nicco Corporation Limited Nicco Parks and Resorts Limited Nokia Siemens Networks Pvt. Ltd Oil India Limited Omnivera Learning Solutions P. Ltd Orient Transport Co Oriental Exports Orion Edutech Pvt. Ltd Orr Dignam & Company Otto Projects Private Limited P K Saha & Associates P&H Mining Equipment (UK) Limited Peerless Securities Limited Pepsico India Holdings Ltd Phillips Carbon Black Limited Phoenix Yule Limited Pioneer Property Management Ltd PMC Rubber Chemicals India Private Ltd Power Max (India) Pvt. Limited Power Tools & Accessories Premier’s Tea Limited Prerana Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd (continued)

8 Entrepreneurship in Two Bengals: Lost in Transition

271

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd

Media

Pyramids Staffing Solutions Pvt. Ltd Quaker Chemicals India Limited R P Infosystems Pvt. Ltd Rajat Fiscal Services Pvt. Ltd Rashmi Cement Ltd Retben Actuarial Services RITMAN Infra Limited Rose Valley Chain Marketing System Limited Roy’s Institute of Competitive Examination Private Limited (RICE Pvt. Ltd.) Russell Credit Limited S & IB Services Private Limited S R Batliboi & Company S S Kothari & Company Samsara Shipping Pvt. Ltd Sandersons & Morgans Sanmarg Private Ltd SBI Capital Markets Limited Seahorse Ship Agencies Pvt. Limited Second Vivekananda Bridge Tollway Company Private Limited Selvel Advertising Pvt. Limited SGS India Private Limited Shalimar Chemicals Works Limited Shalimar Industries Limited Shreyas Relay Systems Ltd Siddhartha Logistics Co. Pvt. Ltd Siemens Limited Silver Trading & Services Limited Simoco Telecommunications (South Asia) Ltd Simplex Infrastructures Limited Sinclair & Company Sinclairs Hotels Limited Situations Advertising and Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd Skan Commercial Pvt. Ltd SKF India Limited Skipper Limited Solyvent Flakt (India) Private Limited (continued)

272

P. Dasgupta

Table 8.16 (continued) ABP Pvt. Ltd Southern Cooling Towers Private Ltd SPS Steels Rolling Mills Limited SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited Sri Gayatri Minerals Pvt. Ltd Sri Vasavi Industries Limited Srijan Realty Limited Steel Authority of India Limited Stemcor India Pvt. Ltd Stewarts & Lloyds of India Ltd Stollberg India Pvt. Ltd Stone India Limited

Media

Chemicals and Minerals

Steel

References Aldous, M. (2020). Partners, Servants, or Entrepreneurs? Banians in the Nineteenth-Century Bengal Economy. Business History Review, 94(4), 675– 697. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007680520000689 Bhattacharyya, A. (1986). Swadeshi Enterprise in Bengal 1900–1920 (pp. 5–6). Mita Bhattacharyya Publishing. Chowdhury, D. S. (2019). Financing Female Entrepreneurs in Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: Evidence from the Financial Sector in Bangladesh 2010–2018. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 6, 397–416. Dalrymple, W. (2019). The Anarchy. Bloomsbury Publishing. Das, R. (2013). History, Ideology and Negotiation: The Politics of Policy Transition in West Bengal, India: Ritanjan Das. A thesis submitted to the Department of International Development of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London. Oonk, G. (2014). Business History Review, 88, 43–71. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0007680513001384. Goswami, O. (1989). Sahibs, Babus, and Banias: Changes in Industrial Control in Eastern India, 1918–50. The Journal of Asian Studies, 48(2), 289–309. Ray, R. K. (1979). Industrialization in India: Growth and Conflict in the Private Corporate Sector, 1914–47 . Delhi: Oxford University Roy Chowdhury, A., & Ray Chowdhury, B. (2012). Manufacturing Sector in West Bengal: Advantages & Potential. The Journal of Industrial Statistics, 1(2), 283–298.

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Roy, T. (2017). Transfer of Economic Power in Corporate Calcutta, 1950– 1970. Business History Review, 91, 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00076 80517000393. Tomlinson, B. R. (1978). Foreign Private Investment in India, 1920–1960. Modern Asian Studies, 12(4), 676–677. Tripathi, D. (2014). The Oxford History of Indian Business. Oxford University Press.

9 Bangladesh and West Bengal: Changing Economic and Social Issues Through Literary Perspectives Sasim Kumar Barai and Uttam Kumar Biswas

9.1

Introduction

Rabindranath Tagore said, “In fact, by the extravagance of their exterior, the deities worshiped by the uncivilized people, like vampires, etc. have the same effect on the uncivilized nation despite our reluctance; Europe didn’t refrain from exerting its influence on us”.1 But during the contemporary eras, India and Bangladesh have shown an attitude towards the development approach. Both have less interest in looking to the West nowadays. Generally, a country moves forward with its science and technology at the forefront. However, the literature sheds light on the totality of that forward movement, though it can’t be said that the S. K. Barai (B) · U. K. Biswas Kolkata, India e-mail: [email protected] U. K. Biswas e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_9

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literature always presents a thorough analysis of that enlightenment. But there may have been a resultant effect of developments in progressive literature, which can’t be ascertained with statistical data. Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, are no exceptions in this regard. Before we get into the main issue we have planned to deal with, why don’t we start by bringing up a point pertinent to the conversation that will follow? Indeed, the word “Bengali” is recognized as being used to refer to a “linguistic nation” that mostly resides in Bangladesh and West Bengal of India. Even if the Bengalis are the same in the sense of being a linguistic nation, those who live in India are considered to be Indians, and those who live in Bangladesh are considered Bangladeshis in terms of their sovereign national identity. Eminent historian Professor Sumit Sarkar recently elevated an interrogation, “Who are the Bengalis?” and finally expressed, “The ideal Bengali is a Bengali gentleman”. The image and its construction began to revolve around the same group. There are also some notable exceptions, such as Meghnad Saha or Matangini Hajra. They are, however, a small group. There is another history behind this glorified class. That is the story of the traditional deprivation and neglect of the rest of society. Bengali, with these two contradictory characteristics, has self-contradictory trends’.2 Moreover; the well-known scholar cum novelist Niradchandra Chowdhury raised a critical question about the Bengali nation: “In the case of the untimely death of an individual, people attribute it to fate as they can’t find any justifiable cause of the birth defect or weakness. What can be said about the nation?”3 According to Mr. Choudhury, the Bengalis are a nation with dementia. The issue is very factual that even though we, the Bengalis, are living side by side through the grand narratives in respect of the same demographical-topographical economic structure, right now, we are far away from the entity instead of Bengali aspects. Both are differential derivatives within a nation. From the noted glimpse for clarification of the leitmotif, it emerged from the poem titled “Welcome” written by the poet Tarapada Roy, where there is an expression of an emotional hindrance— There is no welcome written anywhere, Not even on the carpet outside the door.4

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Actually, the poet was disappointed by the great gamble of the Bengal partition’s unbearable circumstances in the South Asian continent. This is an eternal truth of the internal flow of Bengalis’ misfortune, but what is the economic relationship at this juncture that happened in the lives of ruptured Bengalis? From here, this Chapter has progressed into nine more sections. Section 9.2 makes a brief review of the works of a popular stream writer of two Bengals. Section 9.3 finds the literature on Bangladesh and West Bengal that has taken their economic development as the thematic zone. Section 9.4 covers social and political protests and rights movements in West Bengal. Section 9.5 provides an overview of Bangladeshi literature before and after independence. Corruption as a literary theme in two Bengals has been described in Sect. 9.6. The role and place of the Bengali middle class in literature have been depicted in Sect.9.7. Section 8 deals with the growing importance of marginalized people in Bengali literature. Section 9.9 takes notice of the development of a new form of literature called “Border Literature”, a growing literary content area in Bangladesh and India. The Chapter is concluded in Sect. 9.10.

9.2

A Review of Popular Stream of Writers in Two Bengals

The main sources of Bengali literature in both Bengals lie in folk songs (Baoul Sangeet, Musrshedi, Jari, Hari Geet, Rayani, Jhumur, Pala Gan, Gajaner Gan, etc.), epics (Ramayan, Mahabharat) Muslim myths (derived mostly from Koran, Hadish), Mongalkabya (Manasamangal, Chandimangal) and so on. Nothing to deny; it originated from rural soil and continued until after the partition. Immediate before the poisonous Two Nations Theory formulation, there was no basic difference between the East and West, but after partition, a group of Muslim theologist cum think-tank supported by the Pakistani government wanted narratives should be in the line of Islamic diktat with no Hindu cultural influence at all. Simultaneously, a strong progressive movement generated against such anti-Bengali spirit, which took momentum through the

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1952 Language Movement and subsequently led to Bangladesh Liberation War. These tussles helped in raising the Bengali Muslim middle class in East Pakistan. A group of representative progressive writers, like Abul Fazal (Ranga Pravat ) Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, Syed Waliullah (Lal Salu, Kando Nodi Kando), Zaheer Raihan (Hazar Bachar Dore), Neelima Ibrahim (Bish Shataker Meye), Rizia Khan (Battalar Upanayas), Satyen Sen (Ruddhadwar Muktapran, Padachinha) Humayun Kadir (Nirjan Megh) and so on laid the foundation of Bengali narratives of East Pakistan. Their fictions highlighted village life and its socioeconomic issues, regional and urban life, secularism, man–woman relationship, psychosis, historical awareness, and Bengali Muslims’ nationality. Bangladeshi post-war writers covered major areas of war history, its effects on post- and pre-war Bengali society, and the military junta’s inhuman atrocities on the Bengali. The Bengali linguistic nationality appeared triumphant among Bangladeshi people, which Bengali of West Bengal lacked to some extent. Among the post-independent writers, Ahmed Sofa is considered the most talented fearless writer. His only compulsion was to be honest. Humaun Azad (1947–2004), poet, novelist, story writer, critic, linguist, and political commentator, was known for his multidimensional secular personality. His works, like “Nari”, “Dwitiyalinga”, “Pak Sar Jamin Sad Bad”, mercilessly criticized the fundamentalist, pseudo-feminist, establishment. He was the most popular writer during the 1980s. One of the most famous female writers of this time is Selina Hossain (1947), who has many titles mainly on social context and partition issues. She is equally known in both Bengals for her “Uttar Sarathi ” “Chandbene”, “Kantatare Prajapoti” ‘Kaktarua” “Bhumi O Kusum”. Her novel “Bhumi O Kusum” is considered the first in Bengali literature on the Indo-Bangladesh enclave crisis. Without any doubt, Humayun Ahmed is the most popular writer in Bangladesh according to readers’ choice. His popularity as a novelist comes immediately after Sunil Gangopadhyay in this subcontinent. Catching the sentiment of the lower middle class and the middle class, the need-based rising society is the basic motto of his fiction. Love, agony, personal crisis, and ethical crisis all these emotional aspects would fix the destinations of his noteworthy narratives like “Dighir Jale Kar Chaya Go”,’ “Madhyanna”, “Daruchinir Dweep”, “Mayurakhi”, “Debi”, “Dewal ” etc. Most

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other popular writers of this group are Rizia Rahaman (Baghbandi, Utse Fera), Akhtaruzzaman Illyus (Khoyabnama), Hassan Azizul Haque (Agun Pakhi), Imdadul Haque Milon, and so on. Its counterpart faced no such big incidents as war, and its traditional sources of literature were suitable for being molded through various experiences gained from the past and post-partition, reformative social works, and political movements. Writers of West Bengal got space for experiments. That is why it has multiple shades but never divorced the populist approach. They deal with the individual’s crisis, sexuality, inner personal conflicts and sentiments, emotional bonding, the effect of partition, economic crisis, historical issues, and even experiences of association with the Bangladesh liberation war. Simplicity and readability are the basic beauty of popular literature and the traditional style. Most of the classical Bengali writers, like Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay (Aranyak, Ichamoti ), Tarashankar Bandhyopadhyay (Hansulibanker Upakatha, Ganadebata), Manik Bandhyopadhya (Putul Nacher Itikatha, Padma Nodir Majhi) and Adwitya Mallabarman (Titas Ekti Nodir Nam) emerged during pre- and post-partition period, some of them had a long connection with East Bengal. The first three gained much popularity and continues till now. The beauty of their works was literary art and philosophy of human life. The other’s popularity is rising gradually as a writer of a separate genre; he is said to be the pioneer of mass literature. Bimal Mitra (Saheb Bibi Golam, Kori Diye Kinlam, Asami Hazir ) of the next generation was the most popular writer after Sarat Chandra Chottopadhyay, and this two were mostly translated into Indian languages. His narratives are on inner apartments’ tussle and family bonding on social background. After that a group of brilliant writers, namely Santosh Ghosh, Narendra Mitra, Sunil Gangopadhyay (Sei Samay, Purba Pashchim, Protham Alo), Shyamal Gangopadhyay, Ramapada Choudhury, Syed Mustafa Siraj (Bhalobasa O Dwontrain, Ranighater Brittanta), Samaresh Basu (Shamba, Prajapati, Mahakaler Ghora, Bibar ), Prafulla Roy, Buddhadeb Guha, Bimal Kar, Atin Bandhyopadhyay, Samaresh Majumder (kalbela, Kalpurush), Amar Mitra (Kumari Megher Desh Chai ), Abul Bashar (Phool Bou, Marusvarga)

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dominated the popular arenas. In their fiction, industrial labour disputes and exploitations, refugee issues, Naxal movements, historical events, sexuality, upper-middle-class society, psychosis, love affairs, adventure, transitional distress of rural people, etc., are the centre of attraction of individuals as well as the mass. Muslim writers could depict the plight of the undeveloped Muslim society of West Bengal and its distress, hope, and aspirations more and more in literature which left almost untouchable to the Hindu upper-caste writers. They are worthy successors of the great poet Kazi Nazrul Islam in regard to the depiction of Muslim social narratives. Female writers like Ashapurna Debi, Mahasweta Debi (Aranyer Adhikar, Rudali, Hazar Chourshir Ma), Moitreyee Debi (Na Hanyate), were the most powerful writers, and they got recognition from all over the world. Women empowerment, as well as empowerment of weaker sections like Sabar, Santal tribes, was a major concern of their narratives. The other two writers, Bani Basu (Moitrayee Yatak), Suchitra Bhattacharjya are their worthy successors. Once, Michel Foucault, a French philosopher, expressed his despair, “I get surprised to think, how art as a subject in our society is being materialistic- it has neither connection with man- nor even with life”.5 So it transpires that man, life, and society should be the main components of any form of art. Yes, no writer of any genre can deny these, but the difference between them is outlook and orientation. Other popular writers of different genres, like Amiyabhusan Majumder (Tisthaparer Birttanta, Garkhandahar ), Debesh Roy, Jhareshwar Chattopadhyay (Charpurnima, Samudraduar ), Sadhan Chattopadhyay, Swapnamoy Chakraborty (Holde Golap), Nalini Bera (Sabarnama, Subarnarenu Subarnarekha), Tapan Bandhyopadhyay (Mahulbonir Saregn, Nodi Mati Aranya), Sasim Kumar Barai (Dersho Gaje Jibon, Sundarbaner Mohal Koinya),and so on, looked more precisely on the multifunctional catalysts, crisis, surrealism, and obit social factors including minor societies (Castes, Tribes, Minorities, Transgender).

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281

Economic Development and Literary Narratives of Bangladesh and West Bengal

The people of Bangladesh are being proud of their victory in 1971. Scenarios during 1947–1971 were too hard for East Pakistan because of the anti-Bengali dictator regimes of West Pakistan. Even today, there is a trend of raising heads of the dictators’ souls from the legacy of Pakistan. On the contrary, West Bengal’s journey started according to the process of the Indian democratic form. People of India and West Bengal used to think Bangladeshis were not at par with socioeconomic and cultural aspects. Leaving aside the Bengali Nostalgia, both Bengalis are different in terms of two Bangabhumi, one is an independent country, and another is a province of a federal country. A comparative explanation of the two for the fiscal year 1950–2020 shows a big difference between them. Though India as a country has many potentials, how powerful can West Bengal be in the federal structure of India? Bangladesh is 1.66 times larger than West Bengal, and the population is higher, approximately 1.68 times. The attitude of their population towards social, economic, and political processes and goals is getting different. Bangladesh has always stayed caught up to West Bengal in terms of per capita income and GDP.6 By keeping the rural economy afloat, Bangladesh has made a progressive difference in the economy. Besides, the pioneering microfinance, a very popular mode of finance among the rural poor in Bangladesh, may have played a vital role (Fig. 9.1). A recollection of historical events can narrate why, after the partition of Bengal, West Bengal faced a downturn in its economic fortune. The fact is that the economic wheel of British India’s West Bengal was kept strong by the farmers of East Bengal. But the test run of the division of Bengal in 1905, shifting the capital from Kolkata to Delhi in 2011, accelerated East India’s fall as a whole, while Mumbai’s affinity to the West and seaport facility helped to establish itself as the financial capital of India. For example, the Bengal jute industry flourished on both sides of the Hooghly River due to an adequate supply of golden fiber from East Bengal. But the partition led to the disruption of raw jute supply to jute industries. Now, not only West Bengal but also other states have not been

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1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1950-1960

1961-1970

1971-1980

1981-1990

Bangladesh/ Erstwhile East Pakistan (PCI in US $)

1991-2000

2001-2010

2011-2020

West Bengal (PCI in US $)

Fig. 9.1 Comparative Per Capita Income, 1950–2020 (in USD). Source World Bank and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Economy of West Bengal (https://data.worldbank.org›NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD), and https://satistics times.com/economy/india/west-bengal-economy.php7

able to compete with Bangladesh in this sector. Moreover, “Indian sea merchants would live in special coastal areas like the port areas of Surat in Gujarat, the coastal area of Calicut, Kerala because of the Muslim settlement in Karmandall and the Hooghly in the lower Ganges”’8 So, it is precisely why the Merchants lived on these coasts. Statistics show that 3 million people are involved in the jute industry, including jute farmers, farm laborers, and mill workers.9 The whole scenario of that time apprehended in Digindrachandra Bandyopadhyay’s drama “Masal” (1948) has created a narrative in the play about the bargaining price of golden jute. As per the drama, pressure on Pakistan can be created only if it can create chaos among the workers. Also, as we see in the play saying that if the price is not reduced, riots will break out: Jackson: Don’t worry Mr. Das. And all will be well. I have passed everything in London today. Manager: I need to understand how the center would survive if Bengali dropped. If the jute industry is ruined, will there be no business loss?

Even today, West Bengal, the hub of the jute industry in India, is suffering greatly. “In the month of November and December 2021, in the jute industry, there was a loss of Rs. 15,000 crores, and a crisis in the mills caused a job reduction of 60,000 workers”10 As per a report

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by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China. However, in terms of acreage and trade, Bangladesh takes the lead, accounting for threefourths of the global jute exports compared to India’s 7%. Bangladesh carries its developing status forward. This has been possible only due to strengthening Bangladesh’s rural economy, microfinance, and other industries like heavy industry, textile industry, labor export, etc. The $15 billion was pumped home by migrant workers last year, called “remittances” in economic jargon, Bangladesh’s second-largest source of foreign earnings after its gigantic textile industry. This picture of rural Bengal has come up in a new narrative on the central theme of Bengali novels. As a result, the common man’s lifestyle is improved in Bangladesh. Very important for Bangladesh to reach the peak it needs to sustain development till 2026 and thereafter, as various countries will waive tariffs on their exports and imports. We may wait and see how fast Bangladesh runs after 2026.

9.4

West Bengal: Protests, Right Movements in Literature

The Bengali preparation phase began to take shape in the post-partition era, in which the initial connection of those who came from East Pakistan was little or less. After partition, social re-structuring occurred at the refugees’ destination. Prafulla Chakraborty’s book “The Marginal Men” (1990) shows how reformation took place among the political victims of partition. “Udbastu’ written by Hiranmoy Bandhyopadhyay, the then Principal Secretary, Refugee, and Refugee Rehabilitation Department, Government of West Bengal, is the most important book on primary phases of rehabilitation works, attitudes of leaders, scarcity of land, and other inherent problems thereon. It is noted here that the government took some initiatives at the micro level for refugee entrepreneurs and schemes for the generation of livelihoods for the poor refugees. An opportunity was also developed among the Bengali expatriates of Bengal to realize their rights in post-independence Bengal. At that event, the Bengalis walked through the streets as a part of the refugee

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movement and protests till 1980 to recover their lost human rights. A list in this regard is as follows11: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

Innumerable Refugees’ influx (West Bengal) Freight Equalization Policy (Government of India) 1952 Tram Workers Strike (West Bengal) 1953 Teachers Movement (West Bengal) 1954 Coal Mine Workers Strike (West Bengal) 1956 Bengali-Bihar Joint Opposition Movement 1958 Food Movement (West Bengal) 1959, 1966 Central Government Employees Movement 1960 Indo-China War 1962 Separation of Communist Party 1964 Indo-Pakistan War 1965 Impact of Naxal Movement 1967 Formation of United Front Government (West Bengal) 1967 The First Provincial Emergency, imposed under Article 356 in West Bengal by the Central Government of India in 1967 and thereafter 1968, 1969–1970, 1971. India’s role in Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistan war-1971 A debated Assembly Election (West Bengal) 1972 State emergency under Article 356 in West Bengal(1967–1968,1969– 1970 & 1971) and first and foremost, Nationwide Emergency, imposed under Article 352 in India from June 25, 1975 to December 1977 Left Front Government formed (West Bengal) 1977 Genocide of Marichjhanpi (West Bengal) 1978

From a closer look, it reveals that in the first decade after Independence, due to so many movements organized in the nooks and corners of Kolkata, the city got an identity as a city of protest and procession. As a result, literature became interested in the causes of protests. The movements were mostly reflected in street dramas such as “Kotodhane Koto Chal” (1959) and “Bichar” (1959). Utpal Dutta wrote “Mrityu Atit”, based on the 1959 and 1966 Bengal food movements. In the given situation, the economic and political structures of the state and society have

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been collectively reflected in the genres of drama and theatre because players were all political propagandists having the responsibility on stage to connect with the masses. Amal Roy, Utpal Dutt, Shambhu Mitra, Mohit Chattopadhyay, Manoj Mitra, Badal Sirkar, and others identified in their works on harsh realities of the economic situation and important political movements. Manoj Mitra’s play “Narak Gulzar” (1998) has given importance to contemporary cruelty, corruption, land grabbing, etc., in the guise of mythology. In the play “Mastanraj Nenti” he highlighted the trade (Vusimal ) of adulterated baby food. This incident happened during that period. It may be quoted here, “The report found the name of a minister in the state government . The 254-page report secretly noted that name over and over again. Secret sources said that the report mentioned the name at least 52 times, more than one hundred and twelve times. But statements by people say, “That’s just what’s happening.“ The inquiry committee members have secretly informed us that all measures have been taken to maintain confidentiality and that the government is committed to protecting confidentiality. Regarding the report, he further said, “Although the name of the Hon’ble Minister has been mentioned many times, it has been done very secretly so that no one can find out about it ”.11 In relation to this, we may remember a very new conceptual novel written by Sasim Kumar Barai, a contemporary promising fiction writer who focused on the sociopolitical, and economic plight of marginal and subaltern people. His notable novels, “Dersho Gage Jibon” (2019), “Khoishnu Purush” (2018), and “Sundarbaner Mohal Koinya” (2021), primarily deal with pathos and bathos, caste conflicts, post-1970s refugee influx and the question of nationality, professional distress of the marginal class, including marginal Muslims. The partition process is an ongoing process till today, and it frequently appears at the center of his works because partition is not a one-time event. Some of his important stories, “Nagen Kakur Chithi”, “Okolpito Porapor”, “Nengtichendra Ghater Brittanta”, “Mangso Nolar Dant’ and others cover the subsequent phases of partition and its impact on lower castes’ migration related to rehabilitation, nationality, and economic distress including Marichjhanpi genocide. Deconstruction and reconstruction of mythology on the life of oppressed people (such as Asurbadh Pala) are done in the storyline to focus on the shadowed caste struggle of West Bengal.

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Independence and Post-Independence Bangladeshi Literature

Akhtaruzzaman Ilyas noticed the powerlessness between the unbroken Bengal and Bengalis’ contemporary lives. He also noticed that the future of Bengalis was fragile. Judging from that point of view, he did not see a bright future for the Bengali entity. In novels like “Chilekothar Sipai”, “Khoyabnama”, etc., he depicted a very dark picture of the divided and distorted society of post-partition East Bengal in terms of moral degradation and the fall of the rural economy. His works have the reflection on the two-nation theory, and West Pakistani dominance cast doubt on the future of East Pakistani Bengali. But the rise of the middle class in Bangladesh right after Independence, as stated by Ahmed Safa in his article’ Mind of Bengali Muslims’, was actually the rise of middle-class Muslim society in the post-independence period. The same imagery can be found in Zaheer Rahan’s (1935–1972) fiction about Bengalis living in East Pakistan. In his novel shows, the rise of the Bangladeshi middle class started in the 1950s and 1960s. Barfagla Nadi (1969), Trishna (1962), as well as various stories like Massacre, Demak, has references to the rise of the newly established Muslim middle class. On the contrary, Harishankar Jaldas (1953), who introduced himself as a worthy successor of Adwita Mallabarman and the author of “Prakritjan”, had significantly noted the pains, agonies, and exploitation of downtrodden laundresses, barbers, blacksmiths, blacksmiths, scavengers, and the Kaivarta or fisherman community. Most of them are from minority communities of Bangladesh. He is the first writer to highlight these unknown people of shadow areas. It is a great responsibility for a state to wield the author’s sword to control the state and lead it through the path by eradicating injustices. Hasan Azizul Haque (1939–2021), a famous writer in Bangladesh, was always concerned about society. After the partition, he migrated to East Bengal from West Bengal. So, he was able to notice; by dividing a country based on religion, the imperialists ruined the natural relations of its people. And there has been the domination of religious behavior based on the majority. Selim Aldin (1949–2006), one of the excellent playwrights in Bangladesh, also wanted to capture Abaikalyagram, an unchanged village. Here, the low-economy gender relations of

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the village have identified the differences between the rural and urban people in their culture. The common man’s image in this city-city life is a major problem in third-world countries. Selim Aldin is a writer with excellent thoughts in that respect. Who has unanimously ignored Orientalism? From that point of view, his plays like “Keramatmangal”, “Keettankhola”, “Yuvati Kanya’s Mann”, “Chaka”, etc., portrayed the degraded image of Prakrit (common men) people from the middle age to modern times. These citizens are at the root of the statistics of the rural economy of Bangladesh. Even more surprising is that, with this thought, he ignored Orientalism and brought to the fore native customs. ‘Upakulmongal’ by Puja Mitra is a new phenomenon of fiction. It is a depiction of the insignificant subaltern life of the coastal region. As a storyteller, the writer raises their voice in their narratives. Here is her statement on the background of writing the novel, “The IndiaBangladesh alliance’s Rampal Thermal Power Station’ which is being built near our house. I used to talk and listen a lot while I was at university. The Sundarbans would be severely damaged if it was introduced... Tiger-crocodile, stormwater, people who depend on fortune sometimes break and twist, but as the night dawns, they rise again in an infallible call of life. A hope peddler named “Jagai Majhi” with a red scarf on his head hears the ultimate mantra of hope in their future…”.

9.6

Corruption and Literature of Two Bengals

Corruption in the Indian subcontinent has become a vicious circle and unholy nexus of power centers which negatively impacts development. Thus, the novel “Sundarbaner Mohal Koinya” (2021) by Sasim Kumar Barai, narrates how the Beat Officers of the Sundarbans areas loot honey from the traditional poor honey hunters of the Sundarbans. Ordinary honey hunters fail to make profits due to atrocities committed by these corrupt officers. And in this novel, he portrays the causes of the downfall of the state’s economy due to corrupt practices hampering the growth of the rural micro-economy. Corruption is rampant everywhere in this subcontinent, including Sundarbans. Traditional honey hunters collect

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honey from the Sundarbans, betting their lives on the teeth of Royal Bengal Tigers. Honey hunting profession is one of the most dangerous professions in the world, with almost no profit, whereas the officials grab benefits. Sometimes they hide honey containers under the decks of boats, hoping for a break from the greedy eyes of the forest guards. It is to quote from the novel: Churni asked—“What is the gain of hiding in a sheath? If searched, will not they get it all?” Guiram said, “Will be managed that. Conch has to be whistled at the landing lot. The office master will realize a “pass” boat full of honey has arrived. The forest guards, it is to be said, are going to submit the pass. One jar of honey has to be thrown into the officer’s mouth. The officer will cool down by swallowing a jar of thirty-five to thirty-five kilos of honey. The officer will order the guard; no need to search for that boat. Even if the guards rattle, fifty to sixty Rupees need to be pushed into their hips. Danger lurks if denied; they will finish us during the search, bucked down in weight measurement, heckle several times for payment”.12 This novel is not only a narrative of corruption, but its central feature is an unequal fight for preserving the Sundarbans’ ecology and biodiversity under the leadership of a simple honey hunter girl, Churni. With the arrival of intruder apis mellifera from the mainland, there in Sundarbans started a fight with the jungles’ bona fide apis dorsata. The bona fide bees of the jungle fight with the intruders to keep their domain and jurisdiction intact. This fight ultimately converts to a socioeconomic tussle between the new beekeepers and the traditional honey hunters. It has a greater negative impact on the ecology of the Sundarbans. Churni wants to stop this inauspicious bee fighting to save the existence of Sundarbans. Novelist Shyantani Putotundo’s novel “Bhor”, also depicts the corrupt practices in the North Bengal Forest areas in West Bengal. Regarding transparency, South Asian countries are lying in the red zone. All big scandals in India are associated with corrupt practices of hobnobbing with powerful lobbies. It has damaged the value system abruptly, even in the common mass, and West Bengal is not lagging behind in this regard. Deshbandu Chittaranjan Das, a renowned well-wisher of the country, came to politics to serve the country with the motto of sincerity and honesty. But presently, the resolution of social trust has been totally broken down. If possible, recovery of black money would positively

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impact poverty elevation programmes, and the country’s overall development could be taken much further. But the reality is that the central government has taken no initiative to recover the black money for more than seven decades. As a result, the amount of black money is mounting to its peak rapidly every year.13 As per the index, Transparency International, and other sources, corruption is widely prevalent in Bangladesh. But the root of present-day corruption can be traced back to the Bengal partition when unethically evacuated neighbours’ property started being grabbed. It aggravated in 1971 when looting occurred during the Liberation War when the established political order nearly ceased to exist. That could not be regained properly by establishing the post-independence political system under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s regime. The normative degradation resulted in all-pervasive cooptation and misrule. To express the corruption culture in one speech, Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation, lamented: “Everyone gets golden mines; I have got a mine of thieves”. The authoritarian regimes of Zia and Ershad incorporated Islamization to consolidate military power by using the dominant values of the majority of people. However, Islamization has not increased the ethical standards of people in general. On the contrary, it has damaged communal harmony and unity in diversity. The beauty of the peaceful coexistence of multi-religious people has been pushed to a question mark. There is no sign of any change from Islamic Bangladesh to Secular Bangladesh. Corruption has become so integral to Bangladesh that it remained the most corrupt country in the world for five consecutive years (2001–2005). Despite surprising development, corruption worsened multiple times in Bangladesh in the third decade of the twenty-first century. International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, Bangladesh ranked 147th position out of 169 (among 180 countries). Scandinavian countries with little religious faith have almost no corruption, whereas the people of the Indian subcontinent are as much religious faith as so much corrupted. In 1941, Hindus made up 28% of the population in Bangladesh; by 2021, that figure has dropped to 7.95 per cent. As Bangladesh Government provided information (In July 1991), 8.5 lakh acres of vested land

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were obtained from the evacuated minorities. And the present study estimated 26 lakh acres of Hindu property have been vested in 51 years since Independence, and an average of 632 minority people are silently missing from Bangladesh daily. It has dual effects on the Bangladeshi economy; as the minority population is diminishing gradually, leaving their landed and immovable properties, those are turning to vested resources for development.14 The history of Bengal has turned into an oblivious history. Although this epic pain of Bengalis is apprehended in the Partition literature, it abstracts the issue of enemy property. Although mainstream literature has ignored the question in this context, some scattered literary texts have dared to incorporate the issue. A novel, “Arpita Jibon”, by Chandan Anowar, a Bangladeshi novelist, raised the question of the morality of “enemy property” occupiers in Bangladesh. Are not the children (the nation?) of unethical occupiers born handicapped? Simultaneously, the story “Freedom” by Zakir Talukder on “Enemy Property” is also significant. There was a difference between the Enemy Property Act and the official decree of abandoned land. In the preliminary time of Independence, we got a story called “The Story of a Basil Tree” (1948) by Syed Waliullah. The story shows that the owners had to leave the house. The basil tree germinated on vacant land because the law identified the evacuated land as abandoned after that was acquired. Subsequently, the act was amended in the form of the Enemy Property Act, of 1961. The story has got some messages for understanding the enemy property act. The occupier becomes the owner of the evicted or abandoned landed property. Entitlement of migrated Hindus’ land property gets transferred to Muslim occupiers. It’s noteworthy that it’s not only the transfer of land but also of shifting power centres. As a result, mainly Hindu migrant people in West Bengal from East Pakistan or Bangladesh always sought power by reclaiming enemy property. Navendu Sen from West Bengal used to write plays directly on this subject, “Shatru Sampatti” (1986). The Government of West Bengal awarded him the Best Playwright Award in 2002 for that play. The play was performed at Girish Mancha in September 2000. Despite being honored as the best playwright, the play failed to give much entertainment to the audience. Readers need to receive the play more than a text. A law called “Enemy Property”

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is a war-related law. It has a different meaning for Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. This law has deviated in terms of its application in divided countries. Pakistan enacted it in 1961, and its effects are felt greatly even today in Bangladesh as Vested Property Act. The Bengalis maintained silence on the matter, and never uttered a word about it except a few, though there is larger literary scope for seeking a peaceful solution. Most people of this subcontinent regard corruption as an essential part of their rightful enjoyment. But literature consciously preferred to avoid the burning issues in general, except noting human characters’ cruelty, complexity, and selfishness. In “Chandimongal Kabya” by Kabikangkan Mukunda Chakraborty, written in the medieval age, the poet made ingenious characters like Bharu Dutta and Murari Shil. They are extraordinarily evil-spirited people at that time because of the rural society. Probably “Yamaloye Jibonta Manus” (alive man in the abode of Yama) by Dinabandhu Mitra, published in Bangadarpaon,15 was the first successful short story in Bengali literature, qualifying all characteristics to be an excellent short story. Ideally, it has been able to portray the feudalistic administration pattern of Yama’s abode as well as in rural Bengal. Corruption and negligence of duty were rampant there. Alive Kuroram Datta was wrongly taken to hell instead of a dead body. While Kuroram was being shifted to hell, he forged a letter on behalf of God Shiv, terminating Yama, the headman of hell, for the negligence of duty. The forged letter made a terrible mess of the ruling order in hell. Though it is symbolic, the roots of corruption can be traced back to social structures long before British imperialists laid foundations in India. After a long wait, we finally get some dramas on the stockiest, particularly during the Great Bengal Famine of 1943. At the time, destitute people’s entitlements were exchanged. These historical events of the 1940s were captured in Bijan Bhattacharya’s drama “Nabanna”, Digindrachandra Bandyopadhyay’s drama “Dipshikha”, etc. Bengali literature came for the first time with the causes of masses from outside elitism in 1943. However, it appears from the history of Bharatiya Gananatya Sangha, the Progressive Writers’ Association supported from the back. As a result, literature leaned towards anti-fascist and socialist thoughts. In 1860, the play “Nildarpan” showed primarily the sign of good mass consciousness. However, upper-caste writers, later on, gave

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lower economic-class people less space in their works. The Gananatya Sangha laid the stone for changing the class concept. Its dramatists were Bijan Bhattacharya, Digindrachandra Bandyopadhyay, Shambhu Mitra, Ritwik Ghatak, and others. Bijan Bhattacharya’s “Agun” (1943), “Jabanbandi” (1943), “Nabanna” (1944), and “Gotrantar” (1959) are pioneer plays. Digindrachandra Bandyopadhyay’s “Deepshikha” (1944), “Bastuvita” (1947), “Mokabila” (1950), “Jibansrot” (1960) etc., are also found important. Besides these, Salil Chowdhury, Hemang Biswas, and Debabrata Biswas, composers and directors, showed their proficiency in mass music. Their songs inspired ordinary people to change society. The struggle for human rights was taken care of in Bengali dance, music, acting, and other forms of literature. Bijan Bhattacharya’s play “Nabanna” ends with the repeated utterance by a non-central character, Dayal, “Strong resistance! Strong resistance! Strong resistance!” That was the first manifestation of mass consciousness without a hero. The question is, who initiated corrupt practices against human civilization at that time, which was the bone contention of their dramas? Regular socio-political and institutional corruption needs to be better documented in the literature. Why do writers remain so indifferent? It’s a big question for us. In this context, a distinguished economist’s analysis: The impact of corruption on the public is highly dependent on the social status of corruption. We are upset when crores of rupees are embezzled in the defense department, but we are even more upset when a guy to my house next door steals government funds and pushes five bulldozers over his nose. Corruption and financial waste in front of the eyes of incompetent cowards and in a sense the rural people who are screaming for fear of beating may express their anger only through the ballot. And the amount of their suppressed anger or resentment is much higher if they see it. That is their constant companion; the representatives of the proletariat are making a lot of money. In other words, even if the level of corruption is less than that, decentralization of corruption increases the political tension and of course, it becomes the center of the danger of the ruling party.16

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Bengali Middle Class in Literature

Consequently, there was another big soul of deception in the middle class of the movement-oriented Bengalis; they wanted to be satisfied with darkness and secrecy. Because most Bengali writers are from the middle class with fewer financial problems, we cannot deny the middle-class Bengali mind. Simultaneously, as most writers belong to middle-class society, they can’t avoid their consciousness’s history of feelings and autobiographical experiences. Due to that, most fiction in this genre dealt mainly with urban sexuality, culture, and the individual. Industrial affairs and disputes, agriculture and its agronomy, rural rituals, totems, and taboos didn’t come up properly in the popular works of Sunil Gangopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Sirsendhu Mukhopadhyay, Humayun Ahamed, and so on. Yet, Sirsendhu Mukhopadhyay’s novel “Fajal Ali Asche” (Fajal Ali is Coming) deals with the psycho-phobia of the industrialists for the metamorphosis of Fajal Ali, a man who can survive absorbing sunlight like photosynthesis done by green plants. He has no other need, which may destroy the production chain if all human beings have no demand like Fajal Ali. This may lead to a serious threat to consumerism if demand can’t be developed in the mind of Fajal Ali. He symbolizes the desired survival strategy of the distressed working class. Industrialists anticipate the end of capitalism with such a disorder of demand and supply theory. Actually, it’s a search for escape from absolute exploitation. Very few Bengali writers of Bengal could pen down industrialization in a positive way, except documentation of industrial leftist movements, strikes, agitations, etc. In her novel “Jharer Mukhomukhi ”, Bangladeshi writer Rezia Rahaman tried to narrate the inner apartments’ life of the Bangladeshi upper class, direct beneficiaries of industrialization. The first episode emerged as amusement over and above non-social (Sruti O Sastrabirodhi) shake of literature. These were written at the end of the fifth decade of the twentieth century in the context of the government’s shameless activities. The sixties had gone through the distress of the inhabitants of West Bengal. But it should be kept in mind that the Naxalite movement had been covered in a wider range of literary works in this genre. It has less controversy that Naxalism, along with other

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political movements, was mainly tricky at that time. In Bengali writings resplendent with urbanism, it was a partial vision of society not echoed whole of West Bengal. At the end of the day, the metropolitan mind with suburban values was able to subserve the luxury goal of the total middle (lower to the upper middle) class. Till then, middle-class Bengalis could not become modern in thought and foresight. They were busy with movements for reforming their forthcoming life. The eminent director Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (1925–1966) developed an idea in his “Subarnarekha” (1965) Bengali film, where the celluloid initiated a serious debate on Indian untold history in contrast to documented history. A Bagdi (subaltern by caste) woman was seen dying at a railway station. She is “Koushalya”! Now the question is how the name of a Bagdi woman can be “Koushalya” which is mythically and socially reserved for the upper caste people. Suddenly, seeing the crowded people, her son came running there and saw that the woman was his mother! The son is Aviram! Whom the Brahmins had looked after. He grew up in a Brahmin family but cried out in response to motherhood, the cry for his forgotten spirit. Bringing this entity to the fore, Ritwik Ghatak wanted to convey to our society that “Koushalya” is the real mother of India and “Aviram” is the actual Ramchandra. We frequently overlook the real Ram of India in favor of the mythical Ram! The renowned dramatist Badal Sarkar, in his play “Sukhapathya Bharater Itihas 1975 ” (Happy Readability of Indian History), also criticized the loopholes of Indian history. Ever since the country became independent, and religion-caste-divided, India has had to go through that type of progress, which is not the leading vision of the country. Because of that, the reality of West Bengal’s cultural and literary perspectives also has to be judged. The majority subaltern has received no equitable share of assets or culture. A group of contemporary writers attempted to deconstruct mythical versions of the subaltern’s class struggle and reconstruct them from various perspectives.

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295

Marginalized People in Bengali Literature

Adwaita Mallabarman is an unparallel successor of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay and Manik Bandyopadhyay who created factual pictures in fiction based on ground realities. Adwaita Mallabarman, in his postindependence Bengali novel “Titas Ekti Nodir Nam”, apprehended the wider world by constructing a small version of the indigenous people (a special group of fishermen), their endless survival struggle, fear, disappointments, frustrations, and agonies. These marginalized people appear to have backwardness in all spheres. “My journey should be imperfect to fate” was Franz Fanon’s phenomenology of post-colonialism. Mahasweta Devi, Samresh Majudar, Debesh Roy, Abul Bashar, Abhijit Sen, Sachin Das, Bhagirath Mishra, Nalini Bera, and Sasim Kumar Barai are his (Mallabarman’s) derivative fellows in Post-independence Bengali fiction primarily and secondarily. Ansar Uddin, Afsar Ahmed, Shubhankar Guha, Deenbandhu Biswas, Lutfar Rahman, Lily Halder (Smt. Halder wrote the novel “Nodir Mohonay” on the struggle, hope, and aspiration of the downtrodden fishermen community), Raju Das (Dalit Dramatist), Jatin Bala, Bikash Midhya, Manoharmouli Biswas, and so on. Following Ritwik Ghatak’s outlook, group-wise separation of writers has been done due to the variation of depth in literature. Outside the framework of mainstream civic literature, it is proven that the rural lower class and economically backward subaltern Hindus and Muslims are vocal and dominant players in contemporary political movements. In parallel, mainstream writers continue to exist with people’s other several requirements, sexuality, trauma, etc. In this context, daily problems are not being expressed and marked to their original inputs and catalyst displays. So, politically disciplined people are searching for their way out to expose themselves in front of them and avoid hungry eyes. Eminent Bengali writer Debesh Roy said, “This society, time, and history complicate human beings as well as human characters. As a result, definitions for humans have to be rediscovered over and over again. So, when looking for people, you must consider society, time, and history. Society, time, and history are the people who are involved in the novel.

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Without that literature, they can’t go transparently to their determination”.17 By that time, the pace of development among the Namashudras, Rajbangshis, Paundras, Bagdis, Mallos and other lower castes, including tribes, increased through a sectarian approach in Bengali society. It is the result of the generosity of the upper caste Hindus and the resultant effects of movements by the lower castes (mainly by Namasudras). In Debesh Roy’s “Tistaparer Birttanta” (1998), Bagharu, a pivotal character, stood as the representative in the stream of history. Sumon Mukherjee, the director, once cast Bagharu as a Rajbangsi representative in the play “Tistaparer Birttanta”, wearing “Nengti” (a piece of cloth worn as underwear). The Rajbangsi community bothered to accept it in any way. Where that community seems to be real, and literature is not compatible here. In another novel, “Barisaler Jogen Mandal ” (Jogen Mandal of Barisal), Debesh Roy identified Jogendranath Mandal as “Megasthenes” of Barisal who shouldered the lower caste movement, especially the Namasudra movement in Bengal, against all inequalities, injustices for capturing power by the lower castes. Is there any surprise that Debesh Roy chose Jogendranath Maondal, an icon and undisputed leader of the Namasudra Community, as the protagonist of such a historical novel? Why did this short-lived, heroic Hindu-Muslim lower class leader re-appear like a ghost in the twentyfirst century? There are two major reasons for this: one is the report of the Sachar Committee, which opened the realization of Bengali gentlemen. Moreover, Shekhar Bandyopadhyay, in his book “Caste, Protest, and Identity in Colonial India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872–1947 ”, has highlighted the larger face of the Namashudra-Matua community and explained how Matuas had become a part of socio-politics. Right now, they play a decisive role as regulators in the democratic process in several districts of West Bengal. Naturally, Debesh Roy’s thoughts have significant relevance in the context of time with Mondal’s inclusion in the historical novel. Standing opposite to Jogendranath Mandal, another great Namasudra leader, Promatha Ranjan Thakur, the successor of Guruchand Thakur, made no less contribution to social reformatory works but got no special attention in Bengali literature, except to some extent in Matua literature. That is the fate of “Bangla and Bengali”. If we investigate the thoughts of Abhijit Sen’s novel, we will find that

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he captured the real assimilation of the lower class people of rural life, which the writer holds from the opposite side of the oriental approach. He wrote in one of his stories, “Should our development model be like this? Should it be the natural consequence of such sectarianism? The western model has taken up the pace of production that this society brought for thousands of years by breaking it under colonial rule. The academy produces craftsmen, artisans, scholars, and specialists. Where is this failure? Were we so poor in all the fields like industry, commerce, education, etc.? Our liberation lies in the evolution of our model.‘ But what is the model of our Bengali literature?”18 The outline of this consciousness in writings has a social authenticity representation. In the novel “Rahuchandaler Harh” (1985), Abhijit Sen depicted the mixed culture of rural life in the lower class, which wants a static lifecycle. It could be felt that his novel on the gypsy (Banzara) community appears larger than gypsy lives; as human beings, we are exhausted by the journey and now need to settle in a static land with non-polluted air. So, the author creates a great canvas of human agility in its significant edition of the lower classes from the viewpoint of greater India. In this novel about a mixed community, he created four dimensions of relationships. All the relationships are erotic and obviously have body contact, like Danu and a Banzara young girl, Pritem and Salma, Pema and Ananda (upper caste), Pakhi and Sojon (Namasudra). In all the relationships, it indicates the parameters of the multi-religious highest possible assimilation. Finally, this is the living picture of rural people. Moreover, such kind of social peace or moral-immoral liberal relations never gets recognition. They couldn’t come out of the mythical tradition, although their lives were full of impressive truths. If change is to be brought, the Russian thinker Pat Sloan’s view can be a worthwhile guide. In his book “Russia without Illusion” (1944), he has contextual support in this regard. Those born and brought up in a high financial culture or stable life with sustainable status normally don’t fall into false lines to their wants, like Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi-Sarmila Tagore, Shah Rukh KhanGauri, and Saif Ali Khan-Karina Kapoor. The difference between Bharat and India is made through the class concept. They face no complications from the side of society for mixed community marriage. Economic

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security keeps them safe from community resistance. Such a kind of upper-class society has achieved independence, but the fact is that none of these Banjaras or Namashudras is an independent native in person. They still rush for freedom, running from place to place for food and security. Abhijit Sen has created this image of rural life in Bengal, where the lower and upper classes have substantial living quality variances. The death of farmers is a tragic but significant event in India. But almost no narrative epic has been written about farmers for a long time. However, the peasants started a movement before Independence, initially for implementation of the Floyd Commission’s recommendation to abolish the Zamindari System, a product of the permanent settlement system. Gradually, both Hindu and Muslim farmers started demanding a two-thirds share of crops from landlords. This led to “Tebhaga Andolon”, primarily in the pre-divided Bengal districts of North and South Bengal in 1946. But the reflection in narratives about farmers’ lives was comparatively less. Is there anybody to take responsibility? Gautam Bhadra wrote the book “Agriculture and Peasant Rebellion in the Mughal Era” but in the present. Novelist Mohitosh Biswas, in his novel “Mati Ek Maya Jane” (Soil Knows an Illusion), gave an authentic description of “Tebhaga Andolon”, organized by the Namasudras and Muslim peasants in Jessore district. His novel deserves to be one of the best Bengali fictions on “Tebhaga Andolon”. Sculptor Somnath Hore wrote “Tebhagar Diary”, Golam Kuddush, Manik Bandhopahyay, and Purnendu Patri wrote stories on the movement. Shokat Ali wrote a novel named “Narhai” and Salil Choudhury’s song “Hei samal ho…” (Protect your crops…) supported protesters’ voices throughout the subcontinent. Initially, for abolishing the Zamindari System from both Bengals, “Tebhaga Andolon” played a significant role just before independence, leading to land reforms aftermath. After coming to power in West Bengal in 1977, the Leftists made major land reforms and operation “Barga” (crop sharing). “Tebhaga Andolon” left a great influence in the background on such reformative works.. Since peasants were granted “raiyat” (landholder) status, the reformatory works have helped increase crop productivity and the dignity of landless agro-labourers. A great transition occurred immediately after Operation Barga, farmers shifted from traditional

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cultivation to cash crops. The change of mindset increased the adaptability to switch over cultivation patterns from traditional paddy, and jute cultivation to cash crops like potatoes, exportable vegetables, fruits, and others since food security had already been achieved in the sixties. Ardhendushekhar Goswami’s novel “Tafsil ” (Land Schedule) captured the transitional phase of an underdeveloped area to economically developed areas in the South-Western part of West Bengal. Harishankar Jalan, an educated stranger, is the main architect of such agricultural development by developing farmers’ awareness level about the profitability of potato cultivation. “Harishankar feels proud secretly as people, especially the framers here today, can handle two pies due to his contribution”.19 The novel’s message is not only confined to Garbeta area in particular; such transitions had an immense impact on the rural economy, which took a sustainable shape in the post-1980s throughout the state. We see that Bangladesh during that period emphasized high-yielding crop cultivation with the help of NGOs. Even the common mass today can differentiate between hunger and hunger. Can any country think any other way without ensuring food security? In 2020, the Indian Agricultural Act came up and was subsequently forced to repeal due to strong protests organized by big farmers. We may make a hypothetical analysis; how many benefits would go to farmers having small holdings? Green revolution held long back; land reforms did to some extent, but the plight of marginal farmers has gotten no sea change. In this context, we may remember Deenbandhu Biswas (approximately 1935), a writer from the Bangaon region of undivided Bengal, 24 Parganas, citing from his story, “A farmer cultivates with his own hands, prepares seedbeds. He is kneeling on the mud as he plants paddy. Directly, he is the son of the soil, soaked in the sun and water”. In one of his other stories, “Garoyanpara’s Wife”, he depicted the daily life of a farmer. Their bonding with each other is moral and emotional. An urban author can’t portray the real picture of a farmer’s life. In another most delicate story, “Khela”, there are significant statements about the changing society, “although they (children) are farmers, now go to school”. There are many more of his notable stories like “Rakhali”, “Goyla’s wife”, “Ajana Meru”, “Kamini”, “Anath Ashram”, etc., where the author portrayed the life of farmers of undivided Bengal. To

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some extent, there was evidence of a changing pre- and post-partition Bengal. Farmers started sending their children to school, which increased the urge for education in rural areas.

9.9

Border Literature—A Growing Area of Literary Content of Two Bengals

Unknown and neglected issues become literary topics to conscious writers, such as post-partition ongoing border conflicts, which create new types of problems in the life of people living there. Mr. Cyril Radcliffe, Chairman of the Boundary Commission, Bengal Chapter, and its native members Justice Charu Chandra Biswas, Justice Bijon Kumar Mukherji, Justice Abu Saleh Mohamed Akram, and Justice S.A. Rahman had little time to pay attention to the plight of people living in more than 162 (111 Indian and 51 Bangladeshi as of 2015) enclaves in both sides of their proposed Bengal boundary line. Enclaves lying reversely within the jurisdiction of separated countries caused severe human rights violations to 51,473 inhabitants having almost no entity until 2015. Throughout the 67 years since Independence, these stateless people have endured unending suffering. No basic care facilities like education, health care, infrastructural facilities, electricity, safety, food security, and security of life were there as the boundary line ceased their fate. Ultimately, the dispute was resolved on July 31, 2015, through the merger of enclaves (except Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves near “Tin Bigha” within India) following the Land Boundary Agreement signed by Narendra Damodar Modi and Sheikh Hasina, Prime Ministers of the two countries. Presently, there are 223 enclaves in the world, like Kaliningrad (Russia), Vatican City, South African Lesotho, and others, which are totally different in nature and characters; their inhabitants have created international standard literature, but these are not true enclaves.20 The Indo-Bangladesh “enclaves” inhabitants were unable to produce any writer as their distress knew no bounds. Could the writers remain indifferent toward such inhumanity? No, but it took a longer time. Writers from the mainlands like Selina Hossen wrote the novel “Bhumi O Kusum” “Madhyarater Gharbadal ” (story), Amar Mitra “Kumari Megher

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Desh Chai” (novel), Sasim Kumar Barai “Rajar Fand ” (story) Shachin Das “Chitmanuser Brittanta” (story), Md. Latiff Hossen “Tasa Mashan” Arup Talukder “Epar Opar ” and many more. Raja Sahidul Aslam, editor of “Chalchitra”, published a special issue on enclaves in 2016; it was the first issue of its kind in this subcontinent. Issues of non-development, no administration, questions of citizenship, destitute of post-merger Indian refugees to India, female trafficking, and complicated human relationships came to the centre of these fictions, which created a new kind of genre of literature called “Enclave Literature” in the Bengali version both in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Under the leadership of Professor Barendu Mandal, Jadavpur University has taken initiatives to promote this new genre at the academic level and got a havoc response. Sasim Kumar Barai has opened another new Diaspora of border literature through his much-known novel, “Dersho Gaje Jibon” (Life within One Hundred Fifty Yards). People have been living in no man’s land between serpentine zero line and border fencing since construction started by India in 1986. They are almost like caged creatures with no entity. They are Indian with no amenity; requires identity cards to enter India. Its night’s isolation is darker than darkness. Citizenship turns into a question mark in the eye of a gun barrel; as a result, development issues of two to a half lakh people become a non-issue here. Here, the border is an abbreviated word derived from the boundary, offense, rifle, distress, hostility, and rowdy. In the darkness of night, the strip of isolated land merges with no entity.

9.10 Conclusion The common factor in this comparative study between a country and a state is the Bengali language. Both had the same geopolitical history and literature. East Bengal had to go through two stages before becoming an independent country: statehood to independence. Because determinant factors regarding the economic development of these two gradually engulfed much as a result of both national and international political management systems, this type of tally appears to need to be revised. Literature these days is nothing but interpretations of socioeconomic

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conflict factors, mainly because of the ethical justification of a country or part thereof. Bengali literature since the known time of Charjyapad has included romanticism, complex relationships, sexuality, caste conflicts, poverty, distress, exploitation, pathos, and bathos of human beings, but developmental issues have drawn less attention. It is probably a common phenomenon all over the globe. During the Pakistani era, a group of writers tried to Islamize and avoid the Hindu cultural influence in Bengali literature. Although a group of Bengali intelligentsia protested their best, others succeeded greatly. The ghost of the Pakistani soul emerges even today among a section of Bangladeshi writers. The glory of the Liberation War hypnotizes the other group, so their efforts to avoid the repetition of warfare frequently fail. On the other hand, after the partition, the endless refugee influx continues to play a larger role in West Bengal’s literary works. These compulsions of West Bengal also become thesis-antithesis-synthesis for literature, in contrast to another Bengal. So, its orientations, including economic changes, have diverged a lot from each other except for the Bengali version of the literature and are expected to create new types of literary genres. Acknowledgments Pritilata Kayal, Kathakali Mukhopadhyay, Anandarupa Dhar; all are students of Presidency University, Kolkata, India.

References 1. Tagore Rabindranath; April 4, 2003, Relation Between Asia and Europe (Reprint), Desh, page-63. 2. Anandabazar Patrika, 29th March, 2021. 3. Choudhury Nirodhchandra; 1988, The Fate of Bengali Nation, Suicidal Bengali, 1st vol. Mitra & Ghosh Publishers Pvt. ltd. p. 195. 4. Roy Tarapada, January 2018,’Chilamvalobasar Nil Potakatole’, the Best Poem, Dey’s, Kolkata, p. 25. 5. Mukhopadhyay Kamaleshwar, Post-editorial, Amandabazar Patrika, 06.07.2022. 6. Ishahaque Hossain Mohammad; 2001, A Decade of Development and Success, Ibid, page-14.

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7. (a) World Bank Report on Bangladesh’ per capita income; https://data. worldbank.org›NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

(b) Economy of West Bengal, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; https://satisticstimes.com/economy/india/west-bengaleconomy.php. Dasgupta Ashin; 1987, India and the Indian Ocean (1500-180), Oxford University Press, First Publication, p. 95. Roy Ranajit, 1973, The Agony of West Bengal, Bengal’s resource for British and Bombay, Madras Also, New Age, Kolkata, p.11. IASbaba.COM, April 20, 2022. Bandyopadhyay, Rajat; 2017, Neru da, the Name of the Minister in the Secret Report, January, Eakti Sristimukh Prosongo, Page-43. Barai, Sasim Kumar, 2021, Sundarbaner Mohal Koinya, Ekush Shatak, chapter 11, page-82. Nath, Harilal, 15 March 2011, KaloTaka, National Book Agency Private Limited, pp. P-2. . Barkat Abul; 2009, Abul Barkat (Chief Authors), Shafiquzzaman, Md. Shawnewaz Khan, Abhijit Poddar, Emtaher Uddin; (Translated by: Abul Barkat, Subhash Kumar Sengupta, Selim Reza), Deprivation of Minority Hindu Community in Bangladesh: Living With DedicatedProperty, Dhaka, Bangladesh, p.36. Mitra Dinabandhu, October- November 1872, Jamaloye Jibonta Manus, 7th issue of first year, Bangadarpan. Marjit Sugata, 2008, The Logic of Development, Anusthup, Kolkata-09, page 139. Ray Debesh, 2014, Facing Debesh Ray, Debesh Ray issue, Sahitya, page129. Bandyopadhyay Parthapratim, 2000, Narrated aspects of some of Abhijit Sen, Ebong Musayera, p-78. Goswami Ardhendushekhar, 2011, Tafsil, Bartika Sanskritick Sanstha, Page-16. Mandal Barendu, 2018, Chitmahaler Galpo (collected and edited), Sopan, Kolkata, Page-10.

10 Two Cinemas in Two Bengals: From Indigenization to Globalization of Bengali Film Industries of Bangladesh and West Bengal Zakir Hossain Raju

10.1 Introduction At the outset, it can be posited that the two Bengali cinemas that developed in South Asia over the last twelve decades are rare, even on the global stage. The two major Bengali-language film industries in Kolkata and Dhaka elevate the Bengali language to the level of only a few other major world languages, including English, Chinese, French, and Spanish. They all say that they have more than one film industry, even though they are in different countries and have growing cultural and economic differences. The chapter unpacks the workings of these two similar, but not quite identical, film industries that created a “national” cinema for independent Bangladesh and “regional” film culture in the West Bengal state under the Indian nation. To do that, below this chapter, we Z. H. Raju (B) Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_10

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travel through the cinematic culture as well as the social, political, and economic itinerary of the two “Bengals” from the early twentieth century to the present, the beginning of the third decade of the twenty-first century. On the way, we note and decipher important films, events, entities, personalities, and tendencies in the two Bengali cinemas during the last 125 years. On our long journey through the trends of the West Bengal and Bangladesh film industries, we discover three distinct phases of film culture in the two Bengals. The first phase—the arrival and indigenization of film media in colonial Bengal—runs from the late 1890s to the 1920s. This era of silent cinema ended once the utilization of synchronized sound in Bengali cinema began in 1931. We consider this moment the beginning of the second phase, which can also be identified as the establishment and development phase of both industries. This phase ended in the 1960s. The third phase commenced in the 1970s and saw the consolidation through transformation and commercialization of both Bengali cinemas, lasting until the 2000s. In the time after 2010, it may also be possible to find a fourth phase in which Bengali movies follow the global trend. In all, there are five sections in this chapter, including the introductory section. Section 10.2 talks about the arrival of films in colonial Bengal and the efforts to indigenize the art. The development phase of films in two Bengals is discussed in Sect. 10.3. Section 10.4 deals with the consolidation phase of the film industries in the two Bengals. The chapter is concluded in Sect. 10.5, which shows the efforts in the film industries of two Bengals trying to reach a global audience with the internationalization process.

10.2 The Indigenization Phase: Early Period and Arrival of Film Medium in Colonial Bengal (1896–1920s) Let us begin from the beginning, starting with the early period of importing and developing film culture in colonial Bengal. As we know,

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the Bengal province under British India got divided not once but twice. First, the British divided the Bengal region into West Bengal, East Bengal, and Assam provinces in 1905, during the late colonial period. The second one is well known—the partition of Bengal into West Bengal and East Pakistan that happened with the dissection of the Indian subcontinent into independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947. However, the advent of the film medium goes back even earlier than the first partition of Bengal. Cinema as a public mode of entertainment was invented in Europe in 1894–95, and this “novelty” reached South Asia’s shores. Travelling showmen of European origin came to then-India. They started showing the magic of cinema along with theatre, circus, and other entertaining performances, though mainly to an elite audience. The intelligentsia and wealthy population of Kolkata and Dhaka—the two large cities of Bengal—welcomed the first exhibition of films imported from Europe at that time. In that way, the origin of the first filmic encounter and appropriation happened both in West Bengal and thenEast Bengal (which turned out to be independent Bangladesh through the Liberation War in 1971) in the late 1890s. We may locate these events of the first film exhibition as the beginning of cinema in Bengal—the first step in indigenizing film media here. There is and has been much debate around the “beginning” of cinema in both parts of Bengal. Media historians and film industry experts tend to differ on when and how the film industry began in this part of the world. The differences emanate from their approaches to understanding “cinema”. As sustained film production by the local population began later—in the 1920s and 30 s—the Bengali filmmakers started later, too. Many of them pinpoint these local filmmaking efforts as the beginning of the film industry here. However, the film exhibition industry predates the film production industry in both Bengals. Since a film exhibition is a public showing of films and a way to share film art and entertainment with the local public, we would like to think of the first film exhibition as the beginning of the film industry in the two Bengals. Once the Lumiere Brothers in France invented the moving image camera and projector and held the first film exhibition in Paris in December 1895, they took the initiative to reach out to the world’s major cities. Bombay (now Mumbai) was one of the 17 cities where

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they took their films in 1896. Then, like most other places in the world, film exhibitions began in Bengal at the end of the 1890s as the Lumière films quickly reached audiences. The first film was shown in East Bengal at the Crown Theatre in Dhaka on April 17, 1898, by the Bradford Cinematograph Company (Hayat 1987). Some believe it happened two weeks earlier, on April 4, 1898, in Bhola, a sub-district town in southern Bangladesh, and that Hiralal Sen did the screening (Quader 1993). The early film screenings during 1897–98 in Kolkata and Dhaka—two major cities of Bengal—were, of course, limited to the town’s elite and enthusiasts of photography and new visual technology. One such enthusiast, Hiralal Sen, needs to be singled out here. Sen, a photographer born in the Manikganj district near Dhaka, was hailed as the first cinematographer and filmmaker of Bengal (and India), as chronicled by influential film historians such as Willemen and Rajadhyaksha (1994).

10.2.1 The Common Heritage: The First Bengali Filmmaker Hiralal Sen According to such film historians, Hiralal Sen, whose family migrated from their ancestral home at Manikganj (a sub-district around eighty kilometres away from Dhaka) to Kolkata in West Bengal, started filming actual footage in Kolkata and Dhaka during 1898–1901. It is believed that his Dancing scenes from ‘The flower of Persia,’ shot in Kolkata in 1898, is the earliest example of a film shot by a Bengali and an Indian (Willemen and Rajadhyaksha 1994). His Royal Bioscope Company is also the first film exhibition and production company in undivided Bengal, established in Kolkata on April 4, 1898, or 1899. Sen also shot the first film in then-East Bengal at Manikganj sub-district, near Dhaka, during 1900–1 (Hayat 1987).

10.2.2 Beginning of Feature Film Production and Theatrical Exhibition in Bengal Attempts to produce silent feature films in Bengal can be traced back to the early days of the Kolkata film industry in the 1910s. Bengalis

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came up with two silent feature films, Bilwamangal and Bilet Ferot (England-Returned), produced in 1919 and 1921, respectively. While Bilwamangal was produced by Madan Theatres, a film company owned by J F Madan, a Persian businessman, Bilet Ferat was produced by a fully Bengali-owned company—the Indo-British Film Company. Barnouw and Krishnaswamy noted that in the late 1910s, Madan Theatres owned almost all of the cinemas in Kolkata. Madan’s production wing, therefore, took the initiative to produce Bilwamangal (1919), the first silent feature by an all-Bengali cast and crew led by director Jyotish Bannerjee. Film historians note another “first” silent feature produced by an all-Bengali team in Kolkata. Bilet Pherat by Dhiren Ganguly (England Returned, 1921). Bilet Pherat was released at the Russa Theatre, the only theatre in Calcutta that Madan Theatres did not own. Barnouw and Krishnaswamy note that along with Dhiren Ganguly, three other Bengali Hindus based in Kolkata—businessman P. B. Dutt, a former employee of Madan Theatres, N.C. Laharrie; and cinematographer J.C. Sircar—formed this all-Bengali film enterprise in 1920. In Bilet Pherat (The England Returned ), Dhiren Ganguly, a graduate of the University of Calcutta and Shantiniketan, the Arts University founded by Rabindranath Tagore, satirized the pro-West attitudes of Indians back from England as well as the conservative Indians who wish to stop the inflow of new ideas. After Hiralal Sen’s short films, these two feature films—Bilwamangal and England Returned—started the first Bengali cinema worldwide. These also started what we intend to call a cinematic public sphere of or for Bengalis in colonial India. In this early period of the Kolkata film industry, it quickly became one of the two major film production centres on the Indian subcontinent. By the mid-1920s, this industry, along with the Bombay industry, was producing a hundred feature films annually—more than the films produced by England, France, or the USSR at that time (Bordwell and Thompson, 1994). Following Hollywood’s studio system, two major companies primarily led the Kolkata film industry—Madan Theatres in the 1910s–20 s and New Theatres in the 1930s–1940s. For example, the exhibition wing of Madan Theatres in Bengal owned 51 cinemas in 1920, which rose to 85 in 1927 and 126

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in 1931. Barnouw and Krishnaswamy (1963) noted that in 1927 this company controlled one-third of the total number of cinemas in India. During the 1910s, when the Kolkata film industry was slowly taking shape as an Indian “national cinema”, no sustained film production could be seen in the eastern part of Bengal. Here, however, a film exhibition structure began to develop slowly. The first cinema hall—Picture Palace—turning from jute storage towards regular screenings of films was set up at Armanitola in the older part of Dhaka in 1913–14 (Hayat 1987). During Bangladesh, this cinema became known as Shabistan, which was sadly shut down in the late 2010s. After this cinema, during the 1920s, more stand-alone film theatres were established in Dhaka and other towns like Chittagong and Narayanganj. Earlier, films were shown on the fairgrounds along with other attractions like circuses and magic shows all over Bengal province, including the eastern part of Bengal. During the 1920s, two major genres of Bengali cinema—the “social” and the “mythological” films— were developed. For both genres, the great reformist authors of Bengali literature proved to be rich sources. Many of the popular novels of these authors were adapted for the screen in the 1920s. Despite its non-Bengali ownership, Madan Theatres was quick to start transforming Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s novels for colonial Bengal cinema. In the 1920s, they released four such films: Bishbrikkha (1923), directed by Jyotish Bannerjee and Krishnakanter Will (1926), Durgeshnandini (1927), and Kapalkundala (1929)—all directed by Priyanath Ganguly. Some novels by Sharatchandra Chatterjee, supposedly the most popular Bengali novelists, were frequently produced during the 1920s. In the 1920s, Tajmahal Film Company, a small and short-lived studio in Calcutta, started making silent film versions of Sharatchandra novels such as Adhare Alo (1922), Chandranath (1924), and Devdas (1928)—all directed by Naresh Mitra (Hayat 1999). In this process of indigenizing the film medium in Bengal, an early effort of the East Bengali elite in Dhaka is mentionable. The young members of the Nawab family of Dhaka (one of the leading Muslim feudal landlord families who held local political authority during the colonial era) started making films as early as 1927. After completing a silent short, Sukumari (The Good Girl), in 1928, they started the feature film project The Last Kiss in 1929. This silent version was released at the

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Mukul Theatre in Dhaka in 1931. For this film, all local talents were used. Though the film was shot in Dhaka, the post-production lab work was done in Kolkata. The last kiss was made in three languages, with Bengali, English, and Urdu inter-titles.

10.3 The Development Phase: Establishment and Expansion of Two Bengali Cinemas (1930s–1960s) The second phase of the two Bengali cinemas took unprecedented turns and twists during the 1930s to the 1960s and thus went from an embryonic stage to an advanced state of film culture. While the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan and the eventual division of Bengal province into West Bengal and East Pakistan under these two large states played a significant political role in defining the two Bengali film industries, the developmental trends of cinema culture leading to 1947 need to be noted here. We will investigate and describe these trends in the business and artistic growth of the two Bengali films below.

10.3.1 Development of Industry and Genres in Kolkata and Dhaka After the introduction of sound in Indian cinema in 1931, the Kolkata film industry was able to keep its status as one of the two major production centres for sound films alongside Bombay until the 1950s, producing films in Bengali and Hindi. Even though East Bengali people were a big part of the audience for these films, they didn’t have much to do with making or distributing Bengali films during this time. The two major genres—social and mythological—developed in the silent period in the Kolkata film industry and carried on their popularity in the sound era too. Similarly, the dependency on reform novels by wellknown Bengali authors continued. For example, during the 1930s, the

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first decade of the sound era of the Kolkata film industry, Kapalkundala (1933) was again made into cinema alongside three other novels by Bankimchandra: Indira, Rajani, and Radharani (Rahman, 1994). If Madan Theatres led the 1920s Kolkata industry, it was New Theatres in the 1930s. B. N. Sircar, an engineering graduate of the University of London and son of Sir N. N. Sircar, Advocate General of Bengal, established New Theatres in 1931. Sircar, occupying a leading position among the Bengali elite of that time, was influential enough to bring together talented Bengalis to make social films reflecting reformist Bengali ideals, though that largely meant Bengali Hindu cultural identity. He put together Bengali directors like Dhiren Ganguly, Pramathesh Barua, and Debaki Bose to work for New Theatres (Barnouw, 1963). Researcher Bagishwar Jha (1990) found B.N. Sircar committed to raising a viable alternative to the Madans, the Parsee pioneers of film in the eastern part of the land. And the thrust would have to come from the Bengalis: artists, technicians, storytellers… Therefore, during the glorious three-decade lifespan of New Theatres, it produced a good number of “social” films signifying the lives of the Bengali middle classes. Some movies it made were based on books by Bankimchandra, Sharatchandra, and other Bengali authors. The New Theatres started its film production with Sharat’s famous novel Dena Paona (1931), a film that was hailed as the first Bengali sound feature film. Sharatchandra’s novels, mostly set in Bengali villages and focused on the sufferings of Bengali Hindu women advocating social reforms such as widow remarriage, became extremely popular on Bengali movie screens in the 1930s. New Theatres made sound film versions of several other rural-based novels by Sharatchandra, such as Palli Samaj (1932), Devdas (1935), Bijoya (1935), Grihadaha (1936), Badididi (1939), Kashinath (1943), Biraj Bou (1946), and Ramer Sumati (1947). Hindi versions of three of these, Devdas, Badididi, and Kashinath, were also released from New Theatres alongside the Bengali ones, while a Tamil version of Devdas was made in 1936. The characters of Sharat novels, such as Devdas, became household names in middle-class families in Bengal by the 1930s. Devdas, a novel written in 1917 that protested the institution of arranged marriage, became subject to several film versions in various film production centres

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in the Indian subcontinent from the 1930s on. The novel can be said to bear the quintessential style of Sharatchandra. Bordwell (1994) referred to Devdas, the 1935 film of New Theatres released both in Bengali and Hindi, as “one of the most famous social dramas… which used naturalistic dialogue to show the suffering of lovers torn apart by an arranged marriage”. P.C. Barua, son of a landlord and one of the most respected film directors in pre-independence India directed both versions of this film. Barua himself played the role of Devdas in the Bengali version, while Saigal played the same role in the Hindi version. Indian film historian Someswar Bhowmik (1996) rightly outlined the impact of literature-turned-films among the audiences in Bengal then. Bengali films had no problem finding an audience in these two decades [the 1920s–30s] because Bengali cinema, almost from the beginning, depended on popular literature. In order to watch the screen versions of literature, educated Bengalis from the middle and upper classes went to the cinemas. Ordinary viewers also wanted to watch the film translations of literature. [Translated]

A few filmmaking attempts at talkie or sound feature production by talented Bengali Muslims in the Kolkata film industry in the 1930s and 1940s can also be located. The first was the production and theatrical release of, Dhruba, co-directed by the noted Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam in 1934 (Nazrul also acted and composed the music and lyrics for this film) (Hayat, 1994). The other one is the production and theatrical release of Misery is Their Lot (Dukhey Jader Jibon Gora), the first sound feature written, directed, and produced by an (East) Bengali Muslim, Obaidul Haque, in Calcutta in 1946 (Hayat, 1987). Haque had to assume a Hindu name in the credit titles to complete and release the film. In 1979, the well-known film historian Alamgir Kabir told the story of Huq’s situation in Bengal before 1947: In 1945, Obaidul Haque, linked with cinema since his youth, went to Calcutta, hoping to make a film based on a script that he had written on the macabre Bengal Famine of 1943. In Calcutta, he was confronted with

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two major obstacles: his own ignorance about the complexities of filmmaking and the communal hostility of a section of Hindus. But slowly, using his connections in the government and by accumulating family resources, he became the first Bengali Muslim to make a [sound feature] film. It was titled Misery Is Their Lot (Dukhey Jader Jibon Gora). Some anonymous letters threatened to burn down the Calcutta cinema house where the film was to be premiered. There was no time for sentiments. Obaidul Haque changed his name to Himadri Chowdhury.

In this climate, it can be hard to imagine that the first all-Bengal conference of film distributors and exhibitors took place in January 1939 in Faridpur, a district town in the eastern part of Bengal, inhabited mainly by Bengali Muslims. This can also be seen as an important milestone in the cultural adoption of cinema among the agrarian Muslim population of then-East Bengal in the first half of the twentieth century. After the 1947 partition, Dhaka became the capital of the new province of East Pakistan and eventually gave rise to the second Bengalilanguage film industry. Though the East Pakistan government established its first film studio, EPFDC (East Pakistan Film Development Corporation), which later became BFDC in 1957–1958, establishing a separate Bengali cinema culture in East Bengal/Pakistan started in the early 1950s. Film historians like Kabir (1979) fondly remember how the first East Bengali sound feature film, The Face and the Mask (Mukh O Mukhosh), was conceived and realized by young director-scriptwriterproducer Abdul Jabbar Khan from Dhaka. He faced many hurdles in his effort to make this film. Khan accepted a challenge laid down by Khan Bahadur Fazal Ahmed Dosani, a key film personality of the former East Pakistan film industry. At a 1953 meeting of cultural activists in Dhaka, Dosani suggested that “East Bengal’s weather was unsuitable for filmmaking, not to mention the absence of suitable technicians, equipment, and artists”. Khan made the first sound feature film about East Pakistan to take up this challenge. Even though he had never made a movie before, he bought a used camera, found actors, especially women, and used a home tape recorder to record the sound. He then released and showed the movie The Face and the Mask, which scared the film

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distributors of East Pakistan, who thought people would damage theatre seats when they saw how bad it was (Kabir, 1979). This way, The Face and the Mask made history and started feature film production in East Bengal/Pakistan. The film’s success and positive changes in the East Pakistan political scene expedited establishing the first film production studio in the late 1950s. Unlike West Bengal, this studio was built as a government department here. In the East Pakistan parliament, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (later who led the 1960s antiPakistan movement and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war) proposed the bill to establish this Film Development Corporation (FDC) studio. The studio was set up in Tejgaon, in Dhaka, from 1957 to 1958. Nazir Ahmed, a BBC-trained journalist and scriptwriter was appointed its first operations director. Under his initiative, a few feature films like Asiya and Akash Ar Mati started to be made here during 1959–60. Talented directors like Zahir Raihan, Mohiuddin, Subhash Dutta, and Salahuddin started working at FDC studio and making their films, thus creating a new kind of Bengali cinema quite different from the Kolkata trend of Bengali films. Most film audiences in East Bengal and Pakistan cinema theatres in the late 1950s and early 1960s still enjoyed Bengali and Hindi films imported from Kolkata and Bombay and some Urdu films from Lahore. Home-grown East Bengali film narratives were not attracting enough box office returns, though spoken artistically on the screen. This puzzled many local film producers, who comprehended that the East Pakistan film industry would not sustain itself in the long run. However, two events in 1965 changed this scenario radically. Firstly, 1965 marked the release of a feature film called Roopban, based on a folktale. This film, directed by Salahuddin, depicting the sacrifice of a young woman, Roopban, for her husband and her family, became an instant hit. As the story of Roopban was already popular as a ‘rural opera’ (Jatra pala) in rural Bengal, many villagers ran to the nearest town to watch the movie on a big screen. Thus, it became so popular that new film theatres mushroomed in rural areas only to show Roopban. The tale of all-sacrificing Roopban seemed quite “Islamic” to many conservative Bengali Muslim viewers. This helped make film watching less “sinful” in the eyes of such rural agrarian audiences. Such a vast, new audience

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group from rural East Pakistan and the success of Roopban proved that the second Bengali-language film industry established in Dhaka could become commercially viable. Secondly, the war between India and Pakistan in September 1965 expedited the ban of Indian films in Pakistan. The ban also included East Pakistan. Thus, it stopped screening Indian Bengali and Hindi films in East Pakistan theatres and immediately opened these up for locally produced Bengali movies. So, both these events quickly turned the Dhaka film industry into a Bengali national cinema, reaching out all over East Pakistan. However, the consolidation of the Dhaka film industry into a full-fledged production industry in the mid-1960s brought bad signals for the older Bengali-language cinema produced by or in the Kolkata film industry. In the case of East Bengal, the establishment of film theatres here began in the 1910s, but the production of theatrical features started as late as the 1950s. In the circumstances, during the 1920s–1950s, East Bengal and Pakistan served as captive markets for Kolkata-produced Bengali and non-Bengali films. Though most of these film melodramas depicted Bengali Hindu lives, these films became popular among audiences in East Bengali film theatres. For example, the Uttam-Suchitra cycle of Bengali melodramatic films of the 1950s–60 s produced in Kolkata was and is very popular among the middle classes in East Bengal and Pakistan. These films are the most prominent examples of melodramatizing Bengali lives, thus enveloping the communal barrier between Hindu and Muslim audiences in both parts of Bengal in the mid to late-twentieth century. Therefore, the rise of the second Bengali film industry in Dhaka and the ban on theatrical exhibition of Indian films in East Bengal and Pakistan, as decreed during the India-Pakistan War in 1965, have contributed to declining Bengali film production in Kolkata in the 1960s and onward. While the Kolkata film industry produced 46 films per year in the 1950s, this number decreased by 35% in the 1960s and 1980s and went down to 30 films a year or less (Barnouw and Krishnaswamy 1963). Some film scholars then believed that the “Golden Period” of the Kolkata film industry ended in the 1960s. Bhowmik (1996) pointed out that during the late 1960s, the annual average production of the Kolkata

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film industry came down to 28 films from 52 films per year produced in the mid-1950s. When the exchange of films between India and Pakistan was banned in 1965, Rajadhyaksha and Willemen (1999a, b) found that Indian (Bengali and Hindi) films lost money.

10.3.2 Development of Art Film Culture in Cinemas of Two Bengals The 1950s and 1960s were not only important for the industrial development of popular cinema in the two Bengals, but this period also ushered strong art cinema trends in both Bengali cinemas. The momentum rolled by film society movements in Kolkata and Dhaka during the 1950s and 1960s influenced art cinema discourses in both West Bengal and East Pakistan. It may be recalled that Satyajit Ray and Chidananda Das Gupta began the Calcutta Film Society, the first film club by the locals in South Asia, back in 1947, just three months after India’s independence. Following their footprints, Muhammad Khasru, Wahidul Huq, and others established the first film club in Pakistan in Dhaka in 1963. This was named the Pakistan Film Society (PFS, later named the Bangladesh Film Society or BFS). Satyajit Ray is the first and foremost name in Bengali art cinema from this period. With his Song of the Road (Pather Panchali), he brought Bengali and Indian film cultures to the knowledge of European film critics for the first time in 1956. Along with Akira Kurosawa and his Rashomon (1950), the Western film intelligentsia unearthed “Asian cinema” and an iconic Indian film style for the first time through the early works of Ray. His completion of the Apu Trilogy with films like Aporajito (The Unvanquished ) and Apur Sangsar (The House of Apu) in 1956–1959 and other essential art films like Debi (The Goddess), Nayak (The Hero), Charulata (The Broken Nest ), Jalsaghar (The Music Room) and Kanchanjangha in the 1960s made Ray and his filmic style well known to major European film festivals such as Cannes and Venice. He was repeatedly hailed for his poetic and realistic visual narration of Bengal’s rural people and landscape on the cinema screen.

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Another great Bengali director, Ritwik Ghatak, became famous in the 1950s and 1960s with his films. Though his first film, Nagarik (1953), was produced two years before Ray’s Pather Pachali, it was not released until 1977. Ghatak made fewer films than Ray, but his films were and are still revered for his unorthodox style and especially for bringing the pains of the partition of Bengal onto film screens. He made Ajantrik (The Vagabond , 1958), Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud Clapped Star, 1960), Komal Gandhar (E-Sharp, 1961), and Subornorekha (The Golden Thread , 1962)—all the films received accolades from home and abroad. During the same time, a different trend in art cinema was developing in Dhaka, in East Pakistan. In 1958–1959, West Pakistani filmmaker A J Kardar shot Day Shall Dawn (Jago Hua Savera) on the banks of the Meghna River with his American cinematographer Walter Lastly, who local crew members arranged. While attempting to emulate Ray’s work in Pather Panchali, the first feature film produced by FDC studio, Asiya (1960), it was clear that they were attempting to create a Ray-style realist art film depicting the riverine beauty of East Bengal. Later, film scholars correctly coined a term like “Satyajit Ray School of Filmmaking”, which has been followed intentionally or unconsciously by many South Asian and other filmmakers. In Dhaka’s film industry, the 1960s saw the production of a number of art cinema films. One powerful film author came out of this local context through these films. He is Zahir Raihan. Raihan, a crafty storyteller with words, first worked as an assistant to Kardar in 1958–59. Immediately after that, he made Kokhono Asheni (Never Came), depicting a painter’s and his sisters’ artistic and logistic struggles in the old part of Dhaka. During the 1960s, he made films like Kancher Deyal (The Glass Wall ) and Jibon Theke Neya (Glimpses from Life), which received both popular and critical appreciation.

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10.4 The Consolidation Phase: Transformation and Commercialization of Two Bengals’ Cinemas (the 1970s–2000s) This phase of the two Bengali film industries, which began in the 1970s in a more politically demarcated South Asia, signified the process of consolidating both Bengali cinemas. The two cinemas attempted to create their own “communities” on their way to consolidation by communalizing and vernacularizing their filmic narratives and exhibition structures. By recreating existing genres and bringing in genre variations, the two Bengali cinemas wished to construct a particular recognizable character for themselves during the 1970s and later decades. In this section, let us unearth how the Bangladeshi and West Bengali film industries sometimes took similar but sometimes different turns during the 1970s–2000s. Eventually, these two cinemas became more solid and commercially viable film industries, moving away from the earlier “development” phase, which focused on the nationalist and artistic expressions on cinema screens. This more contemporary period also saw communication and vernacularization attempts through which the two industries fought against the processes of globalization and commercialization of cultural productions in South Asia that became more visible in the 1980s. By going through this itinerary of two Bengali cinemas during this consolidation phase, we investigate the popular film industry and art cinema cultures of both Bangladesh and West Bengal.

10.4.1 Transformation of Dhaka Industry into Stronger Bengali Cinema One may argue that the consolidation process meant different things for Kolkata and Dhaka’s film industries. After Bangladesh became independent in 1971 and middle-class Bengali Muslims seized the nation-state here, Dhaka cinema strengthened its position as Bengali-Muslim cinema both at the national and transnational levels. At the same time, the Kolkata film industry positioned itself as a Bengali cinema primarily

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aimed at Bengali Hindu audiences in West Bengal and Eastern India, as its reach into Bangladesh was limited by new political configurations of nation and religion beginning in the 1970s. Bangladesh’s 1971 war of liberation and independence boosted the local film culture. Like the establishment of FDC in 1957–1958, this boost also came from the state in the form of national protection. Quickly after Bangladesh became independent on December 16, 1971, the leaders of the new state banned theatrical screenings of Indian (Hindi) and Pakistani (Urdu) popular films, two of the most successful rivals of the local films in the 1950s and 1960s (Quader 1993). This ban on screening Indian and Pakistani films in local cinemas gave rise to a commercially viable film industry in 1970s Bangladesh. Since the mid-1970s, the annual film production in the Dhaka industry has increased at a rate of 25–30% every five years, while the Kolkata industry has seen a sharp decline in the number of film productions since the 1960s. Kabir noted that within the first three-year period of independent Bangladesh, during 1972–1975, the number of theatres almost doubled—from 120 to 220. Notably, the number of cinemas in Bangladesh again doubled during the next decade. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) recorded that in 1984 there were 444 theatres in Bangladesh (Kabir, 1979). The state-level commitment to keeping a well-protected domestic market only for Bengali-language films helped the Bangladesh film industry to expand in the 1970s–1990s. The inflow of trading capital in the form of “black money” (read untaxed, undeclared money) somewhat energized the Bangladesh film industry in the 1970s. The energy was palpable both in popular and realist-artistic filmmaking. On the popular cinema front, several “war films” were produced during the early to mid1970s. Since 1976, the Dhaka industry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of films produced annually. During 1976–83, it produced 42 films per year, including 50 films in 1979. From 1984 to 1992, this figure increased to 67 films per year (Quader 1993). In the next eight

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years, during 1996–2003, the Dhaka film industry produced, on average, 80 or more feature films annually.1 While the Calcutta film industry produced 46 films per year in the 1950s, this number decreased by 35% in the 1960s–1980s and went down to 30 films per year or less (Bhowmik, 1996). By the 1980s, Bangladesh’s popular film industry became the larger and stronger Bengali-language film industry, bypassing Kolkata. During the “Golden Period” of Bangladesh’s popular cinema, that is, the 1990s and 2000s, it even went on producing 90 or more Bengali feature films every year, which were shown in around 1200 theatres all over Bangladesh, and also disseminated in VCDs and DVDs among local and diasporic Bangladeshis.

10.4.2 Bengali Popular Film Industries: The Generic Transformation of Popular Films Through Bollywoodization and Beyond From the late 1970s on, the availability of cheap video cassette players (and later VCD/DVD players) in both Bengals made Bollywoodproduced Hindi films very popular in Bengali households. The generic transformations of the Bengali cinemas are, therefore, also related to the easy circulation of videotaped “Bollywood” blockbusters in West Bengal and Bangladesh during the 1980s and 1990s. Since these films reached pan-Indian and pan-South Asian audiences, they became the “standards” that Dhaka and Kolkata film producers aspired to follow, particularly in bringing audiences to the two Bengals’ stand-alone, mostly dilapidated cinemas in the 1970s and 1990s. During this consolidation phase, this process also made it important to change how Bengali film genres are made in Kolkata and Dhaka. The most popular genre of the Bengali cinema industry in the 1960s—“social” films, sentimental family dramas—was carried over to 1 Calculated from the data presented in the annual reviews on Bangladesh film industry published in various Bangladeshi magazines and newspapers of this period. See, Jai Jai Din 20.12 (30 December 2003): 27, 19.12 (31 December 2002): 35, 14.13 (30 December 1997): 29 and 13.13 (31 December 1996): 39, Weekly 2000 4.33 (4 January 2002): 78, Daily Banglabazar (30 December 1999): 16 and Anandabhuban 3.16 (1 January 1999): 17.

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the 1970s. Dhaka’s film industry borrowed from Kolkata-produced Bengali social films of the 1950s and started re-inventing this genre in post-1971 independent Bangladesh. These Bangladeshi socials, following their South Asian counterparts, especially the Kolkata “models”, portrayed the males and the females as simple and unproblematic iconic figures within a moral universe where the fight between good and evil was clear-cut and easily solvable. These Bengali’ social’ films create a simplified resistance to global modernity and popular culture through an innocent plot and a host of easily recognizable morally biassed characters. Interestingly, in the 1980s–2000s in West Bengal and Bangladesh, these social films refurbished their storytelling structure amid the complexities of gender and class relationships in a rapidly modernizing South Asian society. In these new family-drama films, the central characters were no more idealist rural-based male figures traumatized by the process of industrialization, coupled with one or two all-sacrificing and mostly silent female figures, as these were frequently propagated and prevalent in Bengali “social” films of the 1950s–1970s. Instead, the protagonists were revised figures facing the challenges of urbanization and modernization. Such social transformations, coupled with the new media scenario in the 1980s, gave rise to another popular sub-genre of social films: social action films with heightened bodily actions on screen. These films became the dominant genre in Kolkata and Dhaka film industries during the 1990s and 2000s. Social action films led to the action genre, which later became more aggressive in portraying violence and sex on screen. At the same time, the old school “folk” or mythological film genre started to disappear from both Bengali cinemas. On the other hand, new genres like teen romance began to develop in Dhaka and Kolkata during the 1990s and 2000s.

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10.4.3 Commercialization of Bengali Cinema for the New Audience The generic transformation of both Bengali film industries was also their way of consolidating Bengali cinema cultures amid and against the symptoms of commercialization and globalization during the 1980s–2000s. During this period, rapid urbanization and migration fueled by the pauperization of subsistence farmers in the rural areas transformed the urban landscape of West Bengal and Bangladesh. The under-employed villagers started to migrate to the cities and towns en masse, and the process gave rise to a large number of new audiences for Bengali films. Such shifts in the composition of film audiences in both Bengal— primarily a shift away from the educated middle class and towards the urban working class—required more new films and genres. Therefore, global and commercializing forces made the Dhaka and Kolkata film industries rethink their existing generic traditions. This refurbishing of popular film genres during the 1990s and 2000s almost eradicated the time-honoured traditions of “social” or “social action films”, which were the staple of Bengali cinemas in the 1970s and 1980s. Thus, the narrative line and generic bearings of popular Bengali films of the 2000s became increasingly thin. Instead of narrating a story on screen, these films mainly presented a high dose of sex and violence and became quite popular among working-class audiences on the city fringes and in small towns. These films, which can be termed an “extreme action genre,” are almost always centred on a “most” (read “gangster”) with a golden heart but erratic behaviour. The rise of such a gangstercentred extreme-action genre in Bengali cinemas in Dhaka and Kolkata can be directly linked with the prevalence of “Mostanocracy” in urbanising South Asia in recent decades. Dutch anthropologist Willem van Schendel shares the role of “mostan” in Bengali popular culture: The … mostan is especially attractive to young people who have been disappointed; he symbolizes rage, promises to avenge injustice, and gives voice to lower-class ambitions. (2009: 252)

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Display and sexualization of women’s bodies also got to a new height in these Bengali Action films of the 1990s and 2000s. This also happened as the local film exhibition structures determined the modus operandi of both Bengali cinemas during this phase. As film exhibitors (read cinema owners) used to dominate the box office in collaboration with intermediaries (e.g., “booking agents”) in the film distribution business, they also dictated the storyline (or lack thereof ) in Dhaka and Kolkata Bengali films in recent decades. This is reflective of the fragile arrangement of multi-source financing and directing of film production by such an exhibitor-financier-advertiser trio, which is common in both the West Bengali and Bangladeshi film industries.

10.4.4 Inter-Bengal Film Remakes in the 1990s and 2000s Even though both Bengali cinemas grew in a half-baked capitalist structure and a weak economic framework, the mass popularity of Dhaka films reached such a level that a counter-cultural flow began in the 1990s between the world’s two Bengali-language film industries. It may be called a “reverse-plagiarism” practice as popular films from Bangladesh were remade in Calcutta for audiences in West Bengal and Eastern India. This inter-Bengal film exchange displaced the long-lasting view that Calcutta is the media and cultural capital for Bengali-language visual culture. The opposite cultural flow started within a newly developed global/local interface in popular Bangladeshi cinema. Since the early 1990s, starting with Beder Meye Josna (Josna, the daughter of a snake charmer ), Dhaka-produced popular films were being remade in West Bengal’s film industry. During the 1990s and 2000s, around 50 popular films from Bangladesh cinema were remade in the Calcutta film industry for Indian-Bengali audiences (Raju 2012b). This bordercrossing tendency means that at least 10% of West Bengali films during this period directly copied films from Bangladesh for their narrative and aesthetic crafts. This process of cultural appropriation of East Bengali/Bangladeshi cultural ethos by the West Bengali population under the stresses of globalization and pan-Indian nationalism may also be

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read as symptoms of the crucial transformation of Bangladesh cinema that has long been nurtured within a nationalist film exhibition environment. The Dhaka film industry has always targeted a very distinct market sector, a “Bangladeshi” audience within its geographical borders. Since Dhaka movies were remade in Calcutta, they were seen by more people in Eastern India, though not directly.

10.4.5 Diverse Voices in Bengali Art Cinemas: Post-Ray Filmmakers in Two Bengals During the 1970s and 2000s, art cinema discourses in Kolkata and Dhaka took multiple directions and worked towards further consolidation of the film industries. In West Bengal, along with the successes of Satyajit Ray, a robust Bengali art film culture was developed by a host of talented filmmakers during the 1970s and 80 s. Mrinal Sen started working alongside Ray and Ghatak in the 1950s and made more successful, politically inclined art films during this period. His famous Calcutta trilogy of the early 1970s and later films such as Ekdin Protidin (And Quite Rolls the Dawn, 1979), Akaler Sondhane (In Search of Famine, 1981), and Khandahar (1984) made him a globally renowned Bengali filmmaker. Around the same time, in an independent Bangladesh, a group of filmmakers attempted a different Bengali art cinema. The late 1970s saw the emergence of a modernist-realist cinema depicting tensions between national and cultural identities in Bangladesh’s postcolonial nation-space. This first wave of art cinema created a new narration of postcolonial Bangladesh, separating it from the colonial modernist art films of 1960s East Pakistan. The important films of this trend are Baby Islam’s Charitraheen (Characterless, 1975), Subash Dutta’s Boshundhara (Mother Earth, 1977), and Doomoorer Phool (Unseen Flower, 1978); Kabir Anwar’s Suprovat (Good Morning, 1976), Moshiuddin Shaker and Shaikh Niamat Ali’s Surjodighal Bari (the Ominous House, 1979), Alamgir Kabir’s Surjokannya (Daughter of the Sun, 1976), Shimana Periye (Across the Fringe, 1977), and Rupali Shoikote (The Loner, 1979); or films by FTII-trained Pune filmmakers like Salah.

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Following the footprints of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen in West Bengal, some film authors arrived on the art cinema scene. Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghosh, and Budhdhadev Dasgupta are the most renowned of these new generations of filmmakers. Sen’s 36 Chowrangi Lane (1981), Ghosh’s Par (The Crossing, 1985), and Dasgupta’s Neem Annapurna (1979) established them as the critical cinematic narrators of West Bengal’s contemporary reality. In the mid-1980s, another new trend of homegrown art cinema developed in Dhaka, starting with two short films—Morshedul Islam’s Agami (Towards, 1984) and Tanvir Mokammel’s Huliya (The Wanted , 1985)—both depicting the ideals of Bangladesh’s liberation war at a time when these ideals were at stake. These two films ushered in a new film movement called the “Short Film Movement,” which brought together talented filmmakers like Tareque Masud and Manzare Hassin. Islam, Mokammel, and Masud—all went on to make influential feature films such as Chaka (The Wheel , 1993), Chitra Nadir Pare (On the Bank of River Chitra, 1998), and Matir Moina (The Clay Bird , 2002), all of which brought global accolades to Bangladeshi cinema.

10.5 Conclusion: Internationalization of Two Bengals’ Cinemas for the Global Audience (2010s–) This section of the chapter intends to locate the globalizing and transnationalizing drives of two Bengali cinemas in the post-2010 period. In the long journey of two Bengali cinemas that began in 1896–1898, the recent decade of the 2010s and thereafter signals a new phase of film culture. Marked by the mass migration of Bengalis coupled with the globalization of finance and economics and the digitalization of audiovisual media, including film and television, this era presents the fourth and latest phase of Bangladeshi and West Bengali film cultures that are increasingly becoming transnational—in terms of production and distribution, circulation, and reception of films.

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The long lives that both the Bengali-language film industries enjoyed during the last hundred years depended on their aiming at a distinct population—a Bengali-speaking audience within their national or regional boundaries and sometimes beyond that. Such a linguistically defined cultural context coupled with “captive” audiences for Bengali popular films ensured that two Bengali cinemas based in Dhaka and Kolkata continued as medium-sized, vernacular film industries amid the globalizing forces from the 1980s on. The fact that the two cinemas targeted a well-defined market sector—non-English-speaking national or subnational audiences, namely Bengali-speaking Bengali Muslims in postcolonial Bangladesh and Bengali Hindus in West Bengal and Eastern India—made them more viable. Therefore, these two Bengali film cultures were seldom in a head-on collision with the Hollywood film industry, considered a global threat to many national or regional film industries worldwide. Bengalis have become huge fans of movies worldwide thanks to the Internet, streaming platforms, YouTube, and other social media sites. In other words, the Dhaka and Kolkata film industries—during the 1970s–2000s—conveniently divided the Bengali population in terms of their national and religious orientations and thus were able to create two “national” cinemas in one language, that is, Bengali. However, during the last decade or so, this convenience has been questioned and jeopardized in several ways. The contemporary Bengali audiences in Bangladesh and West Bengal are not as “captive” as they were during the last decades of the twentieth century. To face these challenges, the Bengali cinemas adopted not only a globalizing mode of film narratives and film circulation, but the bonding between the two industries also multiplied—once unthinkable. Dhaka film producers such as Jazz Multimedia now regularly produce films for the West Bengal film industry. These Bangladeshi-produced West Bengali films and many of the jointly produced Bengali movies of the 2010s were made with Bangladeshi finances and Kolkata industry-based film crews. On the other hand, after she acted in some well-directed Kolkata art films in the 2010s, Bangladeshi film star Jaya Ahsan became a household name among West Bengali audiences in recent years. More recently, the

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visual contents shown on the Kolkata-based streaming platform “HoiChoi” clearly represent the merger between two Bengals in cinematic storytelling. Here, not only are Bangladeshi and West Bengali films showcased side by side, but many of the films are being produced by the cast and crew from both Bengals together. This last decade was also when the borders between “Commercial” (popular) and Art cinema started to be blurred, and the old film genres became obsolete. This has been true in both Bengali film industries in recent years. This is especially evident in the films directed by Rituparno Ghosh in the Kolkata film industry in the 2000s and 2010s. In this recent decade, the audience of Bengali cinemas expanded beyond the actual borders of Bangladesh and India because of the theatrical release of Bengali films in cities worldwide, ranging from Toronto, Sydney, and London to Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Singapore. This trend for popular films from Bangladesh began in the late 1990s. By the late 2010s, it had become a norm as the number of non-resident Bengalis from two Bengals increased geometrically in various locations in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania during the last two decades. Bengali cinemas from two Bengals are now working together as a transnational screen media industry addressing global audiences. These two industries have come a long way, starting with indigenization and moving through development, consolidation, and commercialization for a particular, distinct community. Now they are out there in a bid to entertain global audiences. The earlier sense of community is getting obsolete. Thus, this is the biggest challenge for the survival and further expansion of Bengali cinemas in this increasingly transcultural, digital world.

References Barnouw, Erik and Krishnaswamy, S. (1963), Indian Film. New York: Oxford University Press. Bhowmik, Someswar (1996), Indian Cinema: An Economic Report. Kolkata: Papyrus.

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Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin (1994), Film History: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill. Faruk, Omar (2001), ‘Half-a-century Film Postponed in FDC’, Daily Manavjamin, p. 12, November 22. Ganguly-Scrase, Ruchira and Scrase, Timothy (2006), ‘Constructing Middle Class Culture: Globalization, Modernity and Indian Media’, in TJM Holden and Timothy Scrase (eds) Medi@sia: Global Media/tion in and out of Context. London: Routledge. Ganti, Tejaswaini (2002), ‘“And Yet My Heart is Still Indian”: The Bombay Film Industry and the (H)Indianization of Hollywood’, in Faye Ginsberg, Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin (eds) Media Worlds: Anthropology on New Terrain. Berkeley: University of California Press. Guptu, Sharmistha (2011), Bengali Cinema: An Other Nation. London: Routledge. Hasan, Khalid (ed) (1999), National Media Survey 1998, p. 51. OMQ: Dhaka. Hayat, Anupam (1987), The History of Bangladesh Cinema. Dhaka: Film Development Corporation. Hayat, Anupam (1999), Few Film Activists of Bangladesh in Yesteryears. Dhaka: National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. Hayat, Anupam (2000), ‘The History of Bangladesh Cinema: The Trends,’ 6 th International Dhaka Film Festival Bulletin 1 (January 20): 4. Hoek, Lotte (2014), Cut-pieces: Celluloid Obscenity and Popular Cinema in Bangladesh. New York: Columbia University Press. Jha, Bagishwar (1990), B.N. Sircar: A Monograph. Pune: National Film Archive of India. Kabir, Alamgir (1975), ‘The Cinema in Bangladesh’, Sequence 2 (2) (Spring). Kabir, Alamgir (1979), Film in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. Kabir, Alamgir (1981), ‘Bangladesh Film Industry’, Celluloid 2 (2). Kudaisya, Gyanesh (2008), ‘Capitol Landscapes’: The Imprint of Partition on South Asian Capital Cities’, in Tai Yong Tan and Gyanesh Kudaisya (eds) Partition and Post-Colonial South Asia: A Reader (Vol. III). London: Routledge. Mostafa, Golam (1975), ‘Thoughts about Cinema’, Chalachchitra 1 (2). Mukherjee, Madhuja (2009), New Theatres: The Emblem of Art, the Picture of Success. Pune: National Film Archive of India. Quader, Mirza Tarequl (1993), Bangladesh Film Industry [in Bengali], Dhaka: Bangla Academy.

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Rahman, Momin (1994), ’Hundred Years of Bengali Culture: Cinema’, Hundred Years of Bengali Culture 1301–1400 [Bengali Year], ed., Karunamoy Goswami, Narayanganj: Sudhijon Pathagar. Rajadhyaksha, A. and Willemen, P. (1999), Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. London: BFI. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2000), ‘National Cinema and the Beginning of Film History in/of Bangladesh,’ Screening the Past 11 (2000), special issue on Film/Culture Adaptation in Asia, eds. Ina Bertrand and Zakir Hossain Raju. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2002), ‘A Defiant Survivor: Bangladesh Cinema,’ in Being and Becoming: Asian Cinema, ed. Aruna Vasudev et al.. Delhi: Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2006), ‘Native Resistance: Popular Cinema and Nationalist Discourse in Bangladesh,’ in Contemporary Asian Cinema: Popular Culture in a Global Frame, ed. Anne Ciecko. Oxford: Berg Publishers. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2011), ‘Bangladesh Cinema…Decaying, or Rebirthing?’, Forum, 5: 5 (May 2011), pp. 18–21. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2012a), ‘Indigenization of Cinema in (Post)Colonial South Asia: From Transnational to Vernacular Public Spheres’, Comparative Studies in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (CSSAAME ), 32: 3, 611-21, Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2012b), ‘Cinematic Border Crossings in Two Bengals: Cultural Translation as Communalization?’, in Travels of Bollywood Cinema: From Bombay to LA, ed. Roy, Anjali Gera and Chua Beng Huat. New Delhi: Oxford University Press Raju, Zakir Hossain (2015a), Bangladesh Cinema and National Identity: In Search of the Modern? London: Routledge. Raju, Zakir Hossain (2015b), Bangladesh Cinema and National Identity: In Search of the Modern? London: Routledge. Siddiqui, Kamal, et al. (1993), Social Formation in Dhaka City. Dhaka: University Press Ltd. van Schendel, Willem (2009), A History of Bangladesh. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Willemen, A. & Rajadhyaksha, P. (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute.

11 Defining Bengali Cuisine: The Culinary Difference Between West Bengal and Bangladesh Pinaki Dasgupta

11.1 Introduction: Food Remains the Only Point of Redemption “An interesting step in the history of the food film genre was Julie & Julia (2009) by Nora Ephron. The plot is based on a culinary project (later turned into a book) by one Julie Powell, who challenged herself to spend one year to cook all five hundred and twenty-four recipes included in the already mentioned famous book by Julia Child. Accounts of her progress and experience were regularly posted on her blog. Nora Ephron shows how cuisine may become a link between the stories of two very The author wishes to place on record his sincere gratitude to Sampada Kumar Dash, Research Fellow, IMI New Delhi for all the help and support during background research.

P. Dasgupta (B) Marketing Area, IMI, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_11

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different people living in very different times.” From Aleksandra DrzałSierocka, A Brief History of Food in Film, Lodz Ethnographic Studies, Vol. 54. 2015

11.1.1 The Origin The above piece beautifully sums up the context in which Food is a unifier. Food brings culture and people together. It helps to bond and bind, and it even helps to reduce hostilities. The story of Food in colonial India and Bengal is fascinating and all about being a unifier. Look at some of the Food we are consuming today has an intense hangover of how the colonial powers left their traces behind. It starts with the humble potato, which the Portuguese brought to India in the early seventeenth century. Since then, it has stayed back and remains a great unifier to many a dish pan India. The Mughals, the Aryans, the Parsis, the Syrians, the Jews, and everybody who came to settle here or visited left a trace of their visit through Food. In Kerala, during Christmas, a cake is made from Syrian Catholic origins in terms of the recipe. The way raisins and sultanas are used in the recipe and whole spices and rum leaves a substantial edifice of how settlers and travellers have left their footprints behind. Food, therefore, has a unique space in the history of time and space. First, let us start with when civilization started and how the first traces of that came to this part of the world. The earliest humans were more food gatherers and dependent mostly on fruits. The journey from being a food gatherer to becoming a food cultivator is of special interest. The long hominid phase of man fruits remained the primary Food, which they collected in the vicinity of their living. Many million years (200 approximately) ago, when the Pangaea had broken up to form Laurasia and Gondwana and eventually when 15,000 years (the last warm period) when the man came into his own, Food became his first necessity. And that is when he started collecting his Food in the form of fruits. As human and ape lines got divergent and in the phase of Homo stabilized, meat entered his meal, and finally, with Homo erectus, crude tools started coming in. With tools, man could prey for larger quantities of meat. During archaeological excavations, the accumulation of animal bones found at human abodes directly strongly affected how meat was

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collected and consumed. Alongside meat, fruits remained the alternate option, and after 10,000 BC, as agriculture was discovered, dependence on meat was further reduced. As humans started migrating across the globe, traces of them found through paintings or in archaeological excavations strongly pointed towards the adaptations they made in the Food they ate and of tools used for hunting. Paintings from the era reveal hunting as an important activity, and the use of spears, axe, fishing nets, and knives in hunting are evidence of how hunting was done. The search for Food and the constant quest are all firmly etched in those paintings and the collectibles from the archaeological excavations. Imagine, 15,000 years later, one can order Food at the click of his mobile one! Traces of civilization before the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300 BCE1300 BCE) are strewn all along the country from Ladakh to Baluchistan (now in Pakistan) and around Mehrgarh are about humans and their efforts to look for Food. This was also the Stone age it showed traces of the use of different tools to hunt and for processing Food. Tools like small flat blades and small grinding stones were used to process barley and wheat. There were traces of date foods and wild animals found to indicate the choices made. The period is approximately 6000 BCE. As the Indus Valley Civilisation spread over northwest India (undivided India), Food took a different shape and form in which it was cooked and consumed. Several kinds of barley, wheat, millet, different kinds of stems, pulses, oilseeds, and fruits like pomegranate & coconut were found in the excavations in the region. The civilization diversified around the river Indus and possibly played a critical role in the lives and livelihood of the people. The quantity of various animal bones found during the excavation also signals the consumption of various kinds of meat like beef, buffalo, mutton, turtles, tortoise, gharials, and river & sea fish. Domesticated fowl, known to be the originator of the chicken, was found in a limited among the civilization here. In summation, the Indus Valley Civilisation was about traces of Food, many of which have found their way through in contemporary times. Vessels, utensils, tools, and storage types were evidence of an advanced civilization ahead of the times. As the Vedic period set, foot traces of the civilization were found in the Food that was cooked and consumed.

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11.1.2 The Vedic Era After the Harappan era, the period of 1600 BC and onwards till 200 BCE is shrouded in uncertainty. The era is called as Vedic period, during which the settlers from the Ural region who came to settle in the northern part of the country and were called Aryans, the second were the Dhaityas who followed a particular form of Brahminism and the third were the Manva or Dravidians, who came much earlier to the above two. Another group came from Central Europe and Iran and eventually settled in the land of seven rivers (Saptasandhu). The Vedas and the Upanishads were written around this time. In the words of K. T. Achaya, in his seminal book, Indian Food- A Historical Companion, states that the Harappan civilization was essentially an urban one as compared to the Vedic era, which was agricultural, pastoral, and philosophical. This provides a glimpse into the kind of activities of the time. This was also when Buddhism and Jainism emerged, two significant streams of religion that changed the texture of the time and place. As religion was parallelly establishing its hold, the Vedic Puranas were being written, norms were being laid down for much of what contemporary India today is all about, and the societal definition of living in a predefined space, what we ate (Food) became a part of this process. Agriculture was thriving in the Aryan period, and several grains and pulses were being cultivated, harvested, and consumed. Tables 11.1 and 11.2 gives an indication of the kind of pulses and grains which were consumed around the region. The detailing is evidence of how agriculture was pronounced and was able to produce a range of pulses and grains. Activities like religious-related rituals, death, birth, marriage, and numerous daily chores started integrating Food as a part of the process. A concept like soaking overnight seeds or using cow dung, sesame, honey, ghee (clarified butter), oilseeds, and even elaborate dressing in Food was gradually becoming the norm. Cereals and Pulses, Milk Products, Fruits and Vegetables, Oilseeds and Oil, Sweeter foods, Water and Beverages slowly started permeating into the mainstream, and various iterations of the same also evolved. Much of the Vedic scriptures of the time elaborate on the type of Food consumed, the type that should be consumed for rituals, and even based on climate, the food type was described. Food

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Table 11.1 Origin

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The main pulses in pre-historic South Asia and their Region of

Latin name

English name

Hindi name

Cajanus cajan

Red gram

Arhar, Tuvar

Vigna mungo

Urad, black gram

Urad

Vigna radiata

Mung, green gram

Mung gram

Macrotyloma imiflorum Cicer arietinum

Horse gram

Kulthi Chana

Lathyrus sativus

Chickpea, Bengal Chana gram, Garbanzo beans, Chana Dal Grass pea

Lens culinaris

Lentil

Masur

Pisum sativum

Pea

Matter

Lablab purpureus Vigna unguiculata

Hyacinth bean Cow pea

Sem Chowli, lboia

Khesari

Probable region of origin India: Orissa, Northern Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh South India: forest-savanna margin South India: forest-savanna margin India: savannas, peninsula (?) Southwest Asia, Levant

Southwest Asia, Levant Southwest Asia, Levant Southwest Asia, Levant East Africa West Africa, Ghana

Source Sen, Colleen Taylor. (2015). Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. Reaktion Books.

and its importance in medicinal significance were also discovered around this time. The leaves, stems, berries, and seeds all find mention in various medicinal books of the time. Jainism and Buddhism also laid guidelines on Food and consumption. Jainism had very stringent guidelines in terms of the types of Food to consume and the time of consumption. The entire principle of religion was based on not hurting any living being. The five items which

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Table 11.2

Major grains in South Asia and their region sources

Latin name

English name

Hindi name

Probable region of origin

Triticum spp. Hordeum vulgare Oryza Sativa Paspalum scrobiculatum Sorghum bicolor Pennisetum glaucum Eleusine Coracana Panicum sumatrense Panicum miliaceum Setaria Italica Brachiaria Ramosa Echinochloa Frumentacea Fagopyrum esculentum

Wheat Barley Rice Kodo millet

Gehun Jau Dhaan (Paddy) Kodra

Euphrates Valley Euphrates Valley Yangtze Valley India

Sorghum Pearl millet

Jowar Bajra/ Bajri

Africa Africa

Finger millet

Ragi

Africa

Little millet

Kutki

Western India

Broom corn, Common millet Foxtail millet Brown top millet

Cheena

Manchurua

Kangni Pedda-sama

Probably China India

Barnyard Millet

Jahngora

Unknown

Buckwheat

Kuttu/ Kotto

Central Asia

Source ibid.

are absolutely forbidden according to Jainism are meat and meat products, fish, eggs, alcohol, and honey. On the other hand, Buddhism was not rigid in terms of Food and chose the middle path. While the monasteries served vegetarian Food, the monks (referred to as Bhikshus) had to survive on alms and therefore were open to meat (but it had to be blameless) too. But some meats like elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, and tigers were complete “No”. Buddhism was a proselytizing region, and emissaries from the monasteries travelled far and wide, especially in and around Asia. With them, they not only carried the essence of the religion but also their principles about Food. A lot of subcontinental fares travelled with the monks to the rest of the world.

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Box 11.1: A world of puzzle The piece, or rather a trivia, illustrates how possibly the context of Food and the effects and aftereffects of the same can be a challenge. Though the cause of death may remain shrouded in mystery, the incident provides a glimpse into how the discriminations in Food were still not in place and humans were still trying to understand the finer nuances of it. Source From: Achaya, K. T. 1994. Indian Food: Historical Companion. Oxford University Press.

11.1.3 The Rise of the Mahajanpadas and Tracing the South of India As the Vedic period gradually made way for the Mahajanpadas, the country was gradually divided into sixteen janpads each with its capital. Figure 11.1 indicates the states (the sixteen Mahajanpadas) and their capital. Among them, the Magadha janpada which came up in modernday Bihar was the most powerful of the states. It had some of the most ambitious kings like Bimbisara, Ajatshatru, and Mahapadma Nanda. Agriculture thrived in the region, this was also the Iron age, and because of proximity to modern Jharkhand, mining and rich deposits were not an issue. It was also located among some of the most influential riverbeds, providing cheap transport and communication. Unfortunately, there is no record of the Food served at the Mauryan court. According to Rachel Laudan the famed food historian, Mauryan emperors emulated the Achaemenid rulers of Persia (550–330 BCE); banquets featured hundreds of dishes, including bread made from wheat and barley flour of various grades; the meat of geese and other birds; fresh, fermented, and sweetened milk; garlic, onions; fruit juice; and the date and grape wine. Thousands of cooks toiling in vast kitchens at the Achaemenid court specialized in certain dishes: stews, roasts, boiled fish, a particular kind of bread, and so on.1 1

Source Sen, Colleen Taylor. (2015). Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. Reaktion Books.

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Fig. 11.1 Early states and their capital (Source Themes in Indian History—Part 1; 2007. Textbook in History for Class XII, NCERT, 30–31)

South India has a different narration than the discussions one had so far around the rest of India. Historically, the south had better proximity to Africa as a region and to northern Africa too. This resulted in a lot of Food that the south consumed connected with Africa and all the way to Europe. The Food consumed had much influence from Africa and Southeast Asia. Coconut, Areca Nuts, Betel Leaf, certain kinds of Palms, and Yam all came to the south from varied sources. In addition to what was grown in the south, the diverse Food also added to the range. Rice remained the predominant grain to be consumed, followed by Ragi, which again had several types. Figure 11.2 above gives a sense of the kind of network that the south of India was able to create. Evidence like the Roman wine amphora found in Pondicherry suggests the connection established through the various

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ports. Plenty of evidence found today strongly resonates with the presence of a strong regional export network. The dichotomy of the south and the north of Deccan in terms of Food is about the synergy (and fusion) of various regions of the world into the Food of the south as opposed to more organic food in the northern parts. In the entire gamut of the discussion, there are some beliefs with respect to Food, and that value system continues even today. The etiquette and hygiene factors related to kitchen and cooking in the kitchen, how one eats Food, how guests are served and treated, much of that has been laid in the Vedic period. As the Vedas and the Upanishads were being written, the code of conduct regarding Food was also being documented. For instance, water is always to be poured into the mouth and sipped from the tumbler as it can lead to saliva and bacteria infecting the same. Water used to rinse the mouth must be spit out instead of

Fig. 11.2 Ports of South India, when trade with Rome was at its highest (Source From: Achaya, K. T. (1994). Indian Food: Historical Companion. Oxford University Press)

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swallowing, and numerous other protocols were recorded. Food material was classified into various Vargas and much of it is still in use today. Sukhadhanya (cereals), samidhanya (pulses), shakna (vegetables), phala (fruits), supyam (spices), payovarga (milk products), mamsavarga (animal meats) and madhyavarga (alcoholic beverages).2 From a ritual perspective, though, classification was based on Food that was cultivated (rice, grain, lentils, etc.) and food that grew on its own, like wild grains, vegetables, and grain. There was also the classification of kaccha and pacca food, something that is loosely still followed by some sects. Food cooked in a water base is kaccha, and the properly cooked is pacca. During death in the family, it is still not a norm to cook at home, and neighbours have to send Food; Food that will be cooked is outside the house, and the base remains water, a practice still followed. Hygiene factors with respect to cooking are stringent, and most Indian homes follow that to a T. In the 1960s, when LPG cylinders came to replace kerosene stoves and wood-based cooking, the biggest taboo was the outside entering the kitchen to replace (refill) the cylinder, something Indian women were not comfortable or used to. The kitchen remained the holy grail of the house next to the temple (in the house), and Food being cooked was considered a gift of God (Anna). Much of the rituals and practices both in cooking and dealing with Food come from the norms laid down in this (Vedic) era. Washing hands before eating, sitting on the floor while eating, using hands while eating, thoroughly rinsing the mouth after eating, and cleaning the kitchen after eating, all of them have clearly laid nomenclatures.

11.1.4 Food and Beyond In addition to Food that we consume, the subcontinent has also looked at Food from medicinal value. For thousands of years, there has been documentation done on the kind of Food to be consumed during ailments and sickness; there are dossiers on the different kinds of medicines which are made from plant extracts and prescribed diet during 2

Source ibid., 61.

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the times when one is under the weather. The Vedic period remains the time when a lot of documentation was done with respect to the medicinal properties of various plants and their roots. Seeds, berries, and stems were also used for various kinds of treatments. Charaka, Shusrutha and Vagbhata are considered the pillars of Indian medicine, along with some lesser-known names. The basic codes they devised for staving ailment and illness were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Vatika and Gutika (pills and balls) Modaka (sweet uncooked pills) Thaila (oil-based decoction for external and internal use) Arishta and Asava (medicated fermented liquor) Kanjika (rice gruel sourced by fermentation).

Most of these listed above remained the base (or form) for any of the medicinal extract which was added. According to the Bhagvad Gita there are three kinds of Food; Tamasic foods like pork, beef, non-scaly fish, and strong brews, Sattvika foods (milk and milk products, jaggery, honey, fruits, goat and sheep meat, chicken, eggs, and wine and Rajasic foods which are bitter, sour, salty, pungent, dry, and burning. Out-of-season food (fruits, vegetables, etc.) was strictly unadvisable. Around these times, the Food of eastern India needs special mention owing to the topicality of the content, and Bengal has always remained a resource-heavy region. Blessed with moderate temperatures, conducive weather, and fertile soil, agriculture of the region was always good enough to produce abundance. Produce of various kinds, from grains, oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables, and later the European travellers brought with them various kinds of items, including tomatoes, pineapples, cashews, potatoes, and chilies. These travellers usually marvelled at the country’s indigenous produce like lentils (such as urad, mung, and masur dal), millet, aubergines, many tubers, pumpkins, melons and gourds, mangoes, jackfruit, citrus fruit, ginger, turmeric, tamarind, and black and long pepper. It was also the home of domesticated chickens. Many of them continue to occupy kitchen space and the Indian diet. Fish in Bengal was intrinsic to the place, and it remains the only other place (besides Kashmiri pandits) where the Brahmins consume fish.

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Though there were designated days for vegetarian affairs, predominantly the Brahmins from Bengal were fish eaters (non-vegetarian). The Vaishnavites from Bengal (Navadvip area), though, were vegetarian. They were followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Food was purely vegetarian with no onion and garlic. In fact, they abhorred potatoes and tomatoes for a long time owing to their origins. Despite the non-vegetarian affair, Bengal has always experimented with vegetables, and the cuisine is resplendent with vegetables. Later with time, Bengal cuisine got divided into West Bengal and East Bengal, which were diametrically different. While the East Bengalis preferred river fish, the West Bengalis preferred the sea fish (this was also because of the proximity of the river and sea, respectively). More on this will be discussed later. Sweets remained an integral part of the subculture. Figure 11.3 is a symbolic illustration of a classical sweetmeat seller. Though in the Vedic period, sweets remained ingrained mainly in the basic form through jaggery and honey, with time, particularly with the advent of the Mughals and the Christians, the landscape of sweetmeats changed too.

Fig. 11.3

Bengali sweetmeat seller

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11.1.5 The Post-Vedic Period and After The development of agriculture around this time led to two distinct outcomes: a rapid increase in population and migration into new areas. This phase of the time when the Mauryan dynasty and later Gupta dynasty thrived was called the “second urbanization”. (the first being the Indus Valley civilization). This was the time when towns and cities were built, many on rivers or the coast. The most important were Champa in West Bengal; Kashi (modern-day Varanasi); Mathur and Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh; Pataliputra (Patna), the capital of the Magadha kingdom in Bihar; Taxila in the Punjab; and the port of Bharuch on the west coast. Urban craftsmen and artisans made textiles, pottery, ceramics, glassware, and metal artefacts and tools for domestic use and export. Merchants traded local products for horses and woollen goods from Afghanistan, Persia, and Central Asia.3 As the waning glory of the Gupta dynasty made way for a new order and around 700CE Arab raiders started coming to the subcontinent (they already were well established in the Sindh province). Eventually, Muslim presence started getting pronounced since 1000CE after Mahmud of Ghazni started his raids, followed by Mughal Sultanate (two from the house of Balbans, six Khaljis, three Tughlaks, four Saiyyids and three Lodis) that lasted for three hundred years and later the Mughal dynasty formally made Delhi their seat of power to control the rest of India from 1526 onwards. Amir Khusarau and Ibn Batuta, the Moroccan traveller, documented the Sultanate era. Later, formal documentation was made of the time and place when the formal Mughal Dynasty made the subcontinent their seat of power. This documentation includes much of the information on food, food typology, eating food, the class divide in food, and new nomenclatures of food. Akbar, one of the greatest Mughal emperor’s chronicles, is all reflected through Ain-e-Akbari and AkbarNama (written by the court historian Abul Faizal). The Mughals brought differences in the food consumed here and changed their cuisines. Flavours of Uzbekistan, Persia, and Afghanistan were further infused 3

Source Sen, Colleen Taylor. (2015). Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. Reaktion Books.

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with local flavours of Kashmir, Deccan, and parts of Bengal. The ubiquitous Samosa, which remains a perennial favourite of the country today, was introduced by the Mughals. Initially laced with meat, but over time, it has now been Indianized with vegetarian filling. The use of pistachios, almonds, and other nuts in different Mughal dishes is now mainstream across the country. Dishes like the Pilaf (called Pulao), the proverbial Biryani, the concept of slow cooking (in Dum), cooking with whole foods (Mussaalam), etc., were also introduced by the Mughals. The era of Akbar and thereafter was the golden period of Mughal cuisine and how food evolved. Various kinds of spices, rice, fruits, nuts and seeds, meat, and poultry were resplendent in class and royalty. Of particular interest would be the era of Shah Jahan, who invested heavily in food and further developed and expanded the range of Mughlai food that is father and grandfather (Jahangir and Akbar) had curated. Mango became a popular fruit of the Mughals, and Akbar even ensured a private mango garden in Bihar. Surprisingly, Aurangzeb, the last of the notable rulers, preferred vegetarian dishes (dal paanchmel was his favourite) than non-vegetarian due to medical conditions. The Mughal Khansamas (chefs/cooks), though, took special attention to cooking as they always consulted the hakims (doctors) for the medicinal value of the food. They always took care of not only making food wholesome and delicious but also having medicinal value to help in digestion along with being an aphrodisiac. The famed Tunday Kababi of Lucknow known for their meltin-the-mouth Galauti Kababs keep their recipe still a closely guarded secret, which has been passed on through generations from the era of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. However, they always insist that the ingredient (in the Galauti) has medicinal properties known to help in digestion. The 700 years of Mughals in India have been definitive and contributed immensely to the food of the country today. What started with the food for the Nawabs and the royal family has now gone mainstream and is now found across gullies and mohallas of small cities. Haleem is a very Hyderabadi dish and remains a perennial favourite of the Ramzan months originated from the Mughal era and is now available across the city of Hyderabad (a legacy passed on through generations). Kebabs of numerous kinds that adorn restaurants and eateries originated in this (Mughal) era. Biryani which now claims a national dish (unofficially)

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status, was an idea of Mumtaz Mahal to feed her soldiers healthy (a perfect combination of rice and meat) to be better prepared for times of war, as on visits to the barracks. They looked weak and impoverished. Later, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Lucknow (known to have world-class Khansamas in their repertoire) further improvised on the rice and meat concoction to make what the present-day Biryani looks like.

11.1.6 The Colonial Conundrum The first traces of the West coming to this part of the world (India) was in 1292 when John of Monte Corvino came from Italy and spent thirteen months here. During his visit, diaries and writings reveal his exposure to the country’s food and agricultural produce. Large ginger plantations, spices like pepper trees, cinnamon barks, coconut, honey, and rice were something new to the traveller. Later, when Europeans started gradually started exploring the East and, more specifically Indian subcontinent, they discovered a whole new world of food and cuisine. Later, the steady advent of the travellers, preachers, pastors, traders, and explorers brought in their own home country culture, which blended with the local culture of the region they entered. The Portuguese, French, British, and Danish influence can still be seen in much of the food we eat and the architecture around us. Figure 11.4 gives an indication of what the Europeans had with respect to settlements and colonies in India. Notice carefully how the port cities have had an impact in terms of letting the settlers in. Once these cities became the seat of the settlers, they gradually created a hub around them. As the colonial forces started entering from the length and breadth of the country, the fabric of food started changing too. Table 11.3 gives an indication of the plants introduced by the Portuguese in Bengal and their use in Bengali cuisine. The Portuguese influence in Bengal, Goa and parts of Kerala was distinct. Use of meat, vegetables, and spices in preparing food using distinct Portuguese and Indian spices and vegetables made for a unique flavour. The famed Vindaloo, a popular Goan delicacy, has Portuguese origins in terms of the spices used. In India,

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Fig. 11.4 European settlements in India (1498–1739) (Source https://upload.wik imedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/European_settlements_in_India_from_14981739.PNG [accessed on 30th October 2022])

the Portuguese introduced potatoes, chilies, okra, papayas, pineapples, cashews, peanuts, maize, sapodilla, custard apples, guavas, and tobacco, though there are some controversies on the statement. The Portuguese are also known to have introduced the concept of Chana (cottage cheese) nu girdling the milk. It was considered taboo in Hindu dharma to girdle milk, but the Portuguese, having invented this, laid the foundation for making sweets. It is also important to note that during the time when the colonial people were settling down, or some of them were doing business, the process of amalgamation with the local culture was also parallelly happening. Even though they (Portuguese and other colonial powers) despised the local customs, the climate, and the spices and cuisine, they soon adapted to the local taste and food, further going into fusion food too (mixing the local with their own recipes). The biggest contribution of the Portuguese was the Colombian exchange,4 and it is believed

4 Colombian exchange: The far-flung trading posts of the Portuguese and Spanish empires (Portugal was united with Spain between 1580 and 1640) became the hubs of a global

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that much of what India gained in terms of agricultural produce came through the Colombian exchange. Eventually, after the British established their hegemony for two hundred years, they ruled the country. The Britishers initially carried the baggage of their home country and devoured the food they had back home. The cold, moist, and rain-drenched British weather may have suited the meat, wine, and heavy carbohydrate (bread) diet. But the hot and humid subcontinent weather would have none of it. The suffering, mainly in the form of diarrhoea, stomach infections, constipation, colonrelated problems, and general sickness due to vagrant weather, was always a dampener. The British physicians deputed here soon realized the cause of these ailments and problems and warned the officials about the diet. But the British hegemony and high-handedness would simply refuse to get cowed down. Much later, after the mutiny and as the rulers were preparing for the long haul, did the normalization and understanding of the local food and cuisine happen. Noticeably, the difference in the Mughals’ and Britishers’ approaches to dealing with the subcontinent and food are radically opposite. The Mughals not only carried their legacy but even integrated themselves into the subculture of food in the country. As the British gradually settled, they passed on their wisdom to several things to do with their lives and livelihoods. Particularly in food, their contribution has been introducing tea to Indians, beer, the kind of vegetables they ate like cabbage, cauliflower, orange, spinach, carrots, different kinds of puddings, meat-based dishes, and wine. While the British were introduced to the famed curry, which is in vogue in modern Britain. Though anything runny and could be poured onto rice was a curry to them, they realized how infusing the curry with spices and herbs, along with meats and vegetables, spruced up the thing over time. Across the country, there were regional experiences, and the royals and nobility helped the Britishers settle and acclimatize. Food, in most cases, was a redeemer. Though cultural differences were stark, a sense of common ground was worked upon. Eating food with hands versus knives and exchange of fruit, vegetables, nuts and other plants between the western hemisphere, Africa, the Philippines, Oceania, and the Indian subcontinent

Cashew (anacardium occidentale)

Pineapple (ananas sativa)

Peanut (arachis hypogaea)

2.

3.

Chinar Badam

Anaras

Kaju

Bengali name Hijli badam. Native of S.E. Brazil, introduced to the west coast of India to check soil erosion. Today India is the world leader in its production. ‘Kaju’ is Portuguese corruption of Brazilian ‘acajau.’ ‘Hijli’ is a coastal region in Bengal where the cashew is grown Introduced in Bengal in 1594 from Brazil Introduced from America, perhaps via Africa. The Bengali name means ‘Chinese nut’ which indicates that it could have arrived via Manila or China. However, ‘Chinese’ is also an adjective used by Bengalis to denote anything foreign

Comments

Some plants introduced by the Portuguese in Bengal and their use in Bengali Cuisine

English name (Botanical Name)

1.

Sl No

Table 11.3

Snack

Fresh in chutney

Snack

Use in Bengali cuisine

348 P. Dasgupta

Papaya (carica papaya)

Mangosteen (garcinia mangostana) Sweet Potato (impoaoea batatas) Potato (solanum tuberosum)

4.

5.

7.

6.

English name (Botanical Name)

Sl No

Ranga alu, chine alu Alu; bilayati alu

Mangustan

Papaya

Bengali name Comments

Mangustan was brought from Malacca Introduced from Africa or Brazil. Bengali name means ‘red potato’ (‘European potato’) The Spanish brought the first potatoes to Europe in 1570. On the west coast of India, it is called batata (sweet potato). In 1780, a basket of potatoes was presented to Sir Warren Hastings in Calcutta. It was grown in the foothills of the Himalayas in the 1830s. By 1860, potatoes had become popular in Calcutta, although orthodox people avoided them until [the twentieth] century

Originated in Central America. Came to India via Philippines (where the Spanish brought it) and Malaysia

Use in Bengali cuisine

(continued)

Vegetable dishes, shrimp dishes Vegetable dishes, dried and with gravy; in shukto, poshto. In curries with meat and seafood. Filling for samosas

Unripe as a vegetable. Paste used as meat tenderizer

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(continued)

Tomato (lycopersicony coperiscum)

Chilies (capsicum frutescens)

Custard Apple (anona squamosa)

Tobacco (nicotiana tabacum)

Guava (psidium guyava)

Corn or Maize (zea maya)

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

English name (Botanical Name)

8.

Sl No

Table 11.3

Bhutta

Peyara

Tamak

Ata

bilayati begoon (‘European eggplant’) Lanka

Bengali name Comments

The Bengali name indicates it may have come via Sri Lanka. Originated in Central America. Spread rapidly in India as substitute for long or black pepper. By the mid-sixteenth century, Europeans were calling it ‘Calcutta pepper.‘ Native to S. America, came to India from West Indies via the Cape of Good Hope or the Philippines. Naturalized in Bengal Introduced into South India by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century May have originated in Peru. Known in Eastern India as early as 1550. Widely grown in Bengal Originated in Central America. Achaya notes temple carvings from twelfth Century A.D. showing what he claims are corn cobs

Originated in Mexico or Peru. Came via England in the late eighteenth century

Use in Bengali cuisine

Roasted and eaten on the cob, usually purchased from street sellers

Eaten as fruit. Also, Guava cheese, jelly

Fresh, dried, and powdered. Used for flavouring and decoration

Chutney. Flavouring for dals

350 P. Dasgupta

Sapodilla (manilkara achras)

Litchi (niphelium litcvhi)

Okra, Lady’s Fingers (abnelmoschus esculentus)

14.

15.

16.

Bhindi

Lichu

Chiku

Bengali name Comments The bark of the tree yields chicle used by Aztecs for chewing; hence Bengali ‘chiku’. Brought from Mozambique to Goa or Philippines to Malaysia, and then to the east coast Native to southern China. The Portuguese brought it to Bengal at end of the nineteenth century Probably from Africa

Source https://www.sahapedia.org/our-food-their-food-historical-overview-of-the-bengali-platter October 2022)

English name (Botanical Name)

Sl No

(accessed

on

30th

Popular vegetable. Fried, cooked in stews

Eaten as fruit. Goan’s make litchi wine

Use in Bengali cuisine

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forks, washing hands and rinsing of mouth versus merely wiping the mouth with a cloth, eating in parts versus eating as a whole, use of oil to cook versus bland European food (for lack of spice) was all about adjusting to the local tastes and attitude.

11.1.7 Colonial Impact on Food in Bengal “Our chota haziri, or little breakfast, was at five-thirty to six, and consisted of tea, eggs boiled or poached, toast and fruit... Breakfast at eleven consisted of fried or broiled fish, a dish or two of meat—generally fowl cutlets, hashes and stews, or cold meat and salad followed by curry and rice and dessert. We drank either bottled beer—the universal Bass—or claret... Between four and five there was tea and cakes,... Dinner at half past seven or eight consisted of soup, and entr´ee, roast fowls or ducks, occasionally mutton, and in cold weather once or twice beef, an entremet of game or a savoury, and sweets.” From Jayanta Sengupta. (2010). Nation on a Platter: The Culture and Politics of Food and Cuisine in Colonial Bengal. Modern Asian Studies, 44, pp. 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X09990072

The small anecdote above from the writings of Jayanta Sengupta throws light on how the typical day in the life of a British official was. Opulence and splurging showed in what was consumed. The hierarchy was unmissable and, in a nation where there were many hungry mouths to feed and the burden of famine to bear, this was a signal of the class divide and how food from the west and east blended onto a classic British plate. They had a substantial impact on the food of the region. Table 11.3 indicates how the Portuguese impacted the region but let us now get into understanding the Britishers and their impact. There are two aspects to the same. One was where the Britishers carried their own legacy (bread, wine, beef, pork), and the second was how they integrated the local ingredients and spices. Before the colonial era, the classical Bengali dish consisted of Rice, Pulses, Vegetables, and Fish. Fish and Rice were integral to a standardized meal, and meat (not chicken but lamb and goat) was the other staple. However, the poor and underprivileged often

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did not have the luxury of meat and relied mostly on rice and pulses. The backdrop of all this was about Bengal quietly emerging from the dark period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when rituals and practices of child marriage, sati, and widows being oppressed under the social norms, caste systems, and draconian religious rituals had virtually put the region in darkness. The Bengal renaissance from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century brought major societal changes. It also brought out some of the strongest and most powerful social reformers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dayanand Saraswathi, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and Rabindra Nath Tagore, to name a few. There were changes in the religious standpoints, art, music, literature, and overall, a sense of realization of how education and social progress go hand in hand. The Britishers were a catalyst in the process, and their support helped the region to come out of the dark period. Along with many such reforms, food also came under the spotlight, and particularly the politics of bread5 is noteworthy. The bread was quintessentially a British import and was considered taboo. The use of flour to make bread, and in Bengali, bread is referred to as Paoruti (bread made with legs as the flour was mashed into a dough using the feet), was considered as a strict no from a religious and ethical standpoint. The puritan society strictly abhorred the use of bread. Now, as the renaissance threw in the social reformers, quietly, another set of the classical Bengali middle class saw an uprising. They were educated and worked under the colonial rulers as their deputies. Education and exposure to global work ethics opened the eyes of the Bengali middle class. The politics of bread perhaps was a bitter battle between the puritans (especially the religious leaders and the Brahminical lords), the social reformers, and the educated 5

The piece has been taken from an article titled Bread and resistance in colonial Bengal by Mohd. Amar Alvi in Hypothesis: The recipe project (2022)—The aversion exhibited by uppercaste Hindus was predicated on a set of strong Brahmanical religious beliefs. In Hinduism, food can carry a plethora of diktats. It dictates your job, social status, whether you are “pure” or “polluted”, and whether you are entitled to enter a temple. The food one eats becomes the defining factor of one’s caste. One such way that upper-caste Hindus distinguish themselves from the lower ones is by denying the food touched or cooked by, the lower castes. A high-caste Hindu can only accept food or drink from a person of a similar rank. It must be rejected if the food is prepared or touched by a lower caste person. Therefore, accepting bread from Dalits’ hands would be polluting and profaning to savarnas (caste Hindus).

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middle class. There are many tales of how a pitched battle (mostly political and through media) was fought between the two sides. Today, the harmless bread has virtually become a breakfast essential (modern dieticians, though, sneer at bread and urge millennials to go back to roti, rava, and rice). The debate on pork and beef was also on the back of the bread controversy. Fish and rice were considered a staple diet; the occasional meat was lamb. The chicken was considered a very Muslim household affair. The meat in Bengali households was also cooked without the use of onion and garlic and mostly spices like black pepper, cumin, and coriander powder. As the Britishers introduced pork and beef more formally, the upper-caste Hindus and the Brahmins resisted strongly. The free flow of wine and spirit was another cause of concern, which the religious norms strictly defined as taboo. In Muslim households, pork and wine were also considered strictly a pariah. In all of this, the reformist Bengalis looked down upon the guardians of religion and moral high ground, and to them, having bread or pork or beef or wine was announcing the privileges and equality with the aristocracy and Raj era. Many of these thoughts stayed put much after the British left India. In food, education, art, and music, the hint of the colonial era stayed back, and today both in West Bengal and Bangladesh, there are outlets that serve food and drinks with a strong hint from the days of the Raj. Park Street in Calcutta was known to be the melting pot for glamour, food, and wine during the British era. A place prohibited for the locals saw some of the finest in music coming down to perform in the city. The best food (which was blended in the local and British flavour), and wine of the best quality was served here. Much of the same is still intact in the restaurants there. Restaurants like Trincas, Mocambo, Peter Cat, and Moulin Rouge are still there, with the essence of them remaining very British, including the cuisine being served. The street is perhaps a witness and flag bearer for the modern educated Bengali who was more than happy to gesticulate to the past and the practices that stifled them. However, Calcutta remained the bustling hub while the rest of Bengal continued to reel in the darkness of time, and much of the tradition in terms of food remained. A lot of young scholars from East Bengal or

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North Bengal who came to study in Calcutta were warned about the glamour and glitz of the city and were told to stay away from it. A small anecdote on the famed Ledikeni (a sweetmeat made of split milk) which was conceptualized and introduced by a famous sweetmeat maker of Calcutta Bhim Chandra Nag in honour of Lady Charlotte Canning (wife of Lord Charles Canning, the first Viceroy of India and the last Governor General of India). It was her birthday or welcoming her to Calcutta (the origins remain still shrouded in the past) when the sweet meat Ledikeni was offered to her. Initially referred to as Lady Canning, and over time, it got muddled into being now called as Ledikeni. Its more famous cousin Gulab Jamun is often confused with Ledikeni, but Ledikeni is made with split milk, and Gulab Jamun with reduced milk. Small incidents such as this also illustrate that all were not British, and even the locals had their way of introducing new food with a veiled or guided reference such as the one here.

11.2 Bangladesh: The Uprising 11.2.1 The Colonial Era and the Impact As a part of the undivided Bengal, Bangladesh was also known for the rivers and rivulets; much of the food evolved from there. Fish remained the common and staple diet for the most time, along with rice and vegetables. The fertile nature of the land and the abundance of agricultural produce also meant that most homes, along with fish, had a variety of vegetables and rice. In undivided Bengal, rice remained the staple food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The combination of fish and vegetables could change accordingly. Close proximity to the mighty river Padma meant that fish of all kinds was found here, most notably the Hilsa fish. Hilsa is a soft fish with supple bones and is the best catch during monsoon when it comes to laying eggs from the sea to the river. As it has swum upstream to the river, the supple bones provide the strength to swim against the tide. It is a dense bony fish and needs expert hands to be devoured. Hilsa continues to be the pride of Bangladesh; today, the West Bengal population still craves for the Padma’s Hilsa (or, as Bengalis say

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Illish). After partition, a lot of original cuisine from Bangladesh got lost in the process, but today, many local food experts are trying to revive the spirit of East Bengal. The food of East Bengal was spicy and had less onion and garlic in it. Even the lamb cooked was without garlic and onion. In the post-partition period, beef became mainstream as the Muslim population started increasing. Much of the meat in Bangladesh today is beef based. If West Bengal is more chicken and mutton biryani, Bangladesh is beef biryani. Pulses (referred as Daal) in Bangladesh are consumed during breakfast as opposed to in West Bengal that consumed during lunch or dinner. The prevalence of dried fish, particularly in the southern part of the country, is more prevalent. The dried fish (often referred to as Shutki) is used in various region recipes. Recipes from the erstwhile East Bengal have got lost, and some people like Pritha Sen, a journalist, and food researcher, are trying to revive them. A small trivia on a dish from Bangladesh is in the footnote.6 Similarly, there are many lost recipes that the traditional homes in Bangladesh (particularly in Dhaka) are trying to revive. In summation, the food in Bangladesh today is roughly classified in terms of typology as follows7 : 1. The western parts of Bangladesh, including Khulna and Jessore, share food traditions with West Bengal of India, and traditional Bengali recipes dominate the local food scene. 2. The northern parts strongly influence Eastern India (mainly Assam and Manipur), and traditional food includes many sweets and fruits such as bananas, mango, and papaya. 3. Eastern parts of Bangladesh are famous for fish and rice, as well as the authentic cooking style of the Sylheti community. 6 During the late 1800s, passengers took the East Bengal Express connecting the Gateway to the East, Calcutta, now Kolkata, with Goalondo, from where people took the ferry service on the Padma River to cross into the erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh. From Goalondo Ghat people fanned out in different directions all over East Bengal and to the tea gardens of Assam or to Burma where there was a huge Bengali population. Sadly, the express train was discontinued in 1964 after the war, but one particular thing was not forgotten—the famous Goalondo fowl curry—this was served as the signature dish to the passengers travelling by the steamers that ferried from Goalondo Ghat. This is a light preparation of country chicken, cooked with basic spices by the boatmen who hailed from East Bengal and Chittagong. 7 Source https://www.thedailystar.net/lifestyle/spotlight/bangladesh-cuisine-part-i-delectable-anddiverse-1325551 (accessed on 31st October 2022).

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4. Southern Bangladesh is inhabited by many indigenous tribes, each of one of them with its own different cooking and culinary traditions. 5. The Arakan influence that originated in Burma has a strong influence in the southern parts of the country, and this is well exemplified by the abundance of bamboo shoots, fish, and coconut in many recipes. 6. Central Bangladesh, including the capital city of Dhaka, is famous for fresh fish but also the Nawab Awadhi cuisine. Kebabs, biriyani, and mutton are particularly distinctive in this part of the country.

11.2.2 Bangladesh Today As Bangladesh tries to come to terms with a new and independent nation, food is one of the prime movers in the city. The Hotel and Restaurant Survey 2020 showcase the first of its kind in 10 years, a 59% increase from a decade ago, from 11.7 lakhs to 43.6 lakhs in terms of the number of restaurants. The industry that contributed 0.75% to the gross domestic product in 2020 has witnessed a steady increase of over 70% of women workforces in 2020 over 1992 (Table 11.4). The history and legacy of Bangladesh today have placed the country with respect to food in a different position as compared to the past. The history of the Mughals, the colonial era, and the post-1971 era have all led to a new dimension and whole new world order. There remains a lot of influence in terms of how the Mughals and the colonial era have influenced food, but among the same, the country has been able to create a niche of its own. Modern Bangladesh has a young and thriving population. They are restless and always thriving for something new. The city of Dhaka, the country’s most important city, is a fast-paced centre where the hustle and bustle seem to have overtaken the laid-back attitude of the past. It is this hustle and bustle, perhaps, that has somewhere benefited the city of the soul in the food. According to Riaz Mahmud Hossain8 one of the influential food bloggers, writers, and experts believes that the traditional food of Bangladesh, which was the pre-Mughal era, the Mughal era, and the colonial era are now gradually fading, making way 8 Riaz is one of the top Bangladeshi food bloggers. He is active on several social media handles and can be found here on: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdnanFaruque.

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Table 11.4

Hotel and restaurant survey 2020: Key findings

SI. No

Characteristics

1.

Number of establishments Number of persons Male Female Total Employment cost (million taka) Gross output (million taka) Gross value added (million taka) Average employment cost per establishment (000 taka’) Employment cost per person per annum (Tk.)

2.

3. 4. 5.

6.

7.

Year 1992–1993

2002–2003

2009–2010

2019–2020

117,981

215,103

275,324

436,274

engaged by sex 336,616 471,825 6721 5878 343,337 477,703 2363 4012

856,321 47,463 903,784 35,751

1,803,753 479,779 2,283,532 157,674

30,975

66,472

351,592

886,431

8277

66,472

119,861

879,268

20.03

18.65

39.56

361.41

6882

8399

39,557

69,048

Source The Hotel and restaurant survey report 2020, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the National Statistical Organization (NSO), Government of Bangladesh

for new versions. He thinks like fast fashion food is also now about fast and instant. Take the quintessential Kachhi Biryani of Dhaka, where raw rice and meat are mixed in a blend of spices and slow-cooked to perfection. Modern biryani is about cooking the rice and meat separately and then having a gravy, eventually mixing the three at the time of delivery. The soul of the food (read biryani), in this case, is missing. Old Dhaka and some of the Basha Bari (home chefs) are still experimenting with traditional cuisines, but those are very limited. The traditional meals of the pre-Mughal era of rice, pulses, vegetables, fish, or meat do exist, but they are now being shortened in terms of time taken to cook and often, because of rising costs, people cut corners. Fish which was always known to Bangladesh as the home to some of the finest river fish products, are now all cultivated, and fish feeds

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are often compromised. The original river fish (which can cost anywhere from 1000 to 1200 BT9 ) is being replaced by cultivated fish (which costs anywhere between 450 and 600 BT). The quality and hygiene factors are heavily compromised. The taste of the fish also is not the same too. Consumerism and rapid commercialization are to be blamed for such compromises. Business ethics are compromised, and restaurant owners are more than happy to supply inferior products as the demand for food remains consistent and steady. Rising costs (input costs) have also been another deterrent. Post-COVID, this has become a major dampener, and the restaurant business is particularly affected and perhaps the reason why owners are cutting corners. Bangladesh is home to a very large labour force; these people often have to eat on the streets. Street food is a thriving business here in a big city like Dhaka, but again there is always the risk of sub-standard food being served, or perhaps contamination10 is rampant. The range of food available might be diverse, but the cost of the food and the quality remains a dampener. This may be a major sore point for a big city like Dhaka. On the other hand, the smaller town and the mofussil towns are still not affected by rapid urbanization. Bigger cities are also witnessing corporatization of the food business, particularly the sweetmeat business, where some of the big names like the Pran Group, Premium, Meena sweets are entering. They are experimenting more with sweets for the moment, but the food is also on the agenda to corporatize soon. When such groups enter the market, the common problem is templates that get created, and the soul (essence) gets lost. Today, in a country with a population of 162 million people with a per square mile population of 1251 the density of the population is quite high. Ordering food online is quite popular, and Mobile Food Ordering Apps (MFOAs) have been considered one of the most popular platforms for ordering. Some of the apps like Pathao Foods, with 7000 registered Bangladeshi restaurants, Sohoz Food, with 6000 restaurants,

9

BT- Bangladeshi Taka. Use of the textile color in the bakery business or replacing ghee with dalda or even procuring sub standard inputs to cook.

10

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and Foodpanda, with 6500 restaurants until 201911 remain the popular choice. Mobile commerce applications have been considered as new ways to capture the market, which is predominantly millennial-driven.12

11.3 West Bengal: Food Shall Remain a Redeemer Much of what was undivided by Bengal fell in the lap of West Bengal in the post-partition era. As the Bengali population’s love for food and all things food continues to surge, the Mughlai and Colonial influences and flavours still abound. In addition, the original Bengali recipes continue to hold forth. A staple dish consists of a bitter starter which can be a bitter gourd fry or neem & brinjal fry or Shukto (a combination of brinjal, drumsticks, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, raw papaya with a phoron of the classic Bengali paanch phoron and radhuni), followed by pulses (daal), fried vegetables like brinjal or potato or any seasonal vegetable, a curried mixed vegetable, followed by fish or meat and finally chutney with sweets. In this basic template, the point of departure can be the approach to cooking and the intermittent changes in the pulse, vegetable, and meat type. Rice remains the staple to all lunch and dinner. However, West Bengal prefers fried flatbread or simple flat bread too for breakfast. West Bengal cuisine, as compared to Bangladesh, is sweeter and less spicy. Fish remains a preferred option, but back in the day, the saying was that East Bengal consumed more river fish and West Bengal, sea fish (mostly Prawns and Lobsters). There has always remained a rivalry between the Ghoti (West Bengal) versus Bangal (East Bengal). They never saw each other eye to eye, and they looked down on each other. Marriages often were restricted to each other’s community. The rivalry even went into the football grounds, with the East Bengal versus Mohan Bagan clubs fighting it out. 11

Source https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/restaurants-iftar-seasonsalvaged-food-del ivery-platforms-1898902 (accessed 30th October 2022). 12 Source https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/bleak-baishakh-restaurants-1892812 (accessed 30th October 2022).

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Britishers’ love for cakes and biscuits has profoundly impacted the city and around. There are many outlets that still serve distinctive tea cakes and loaves. A famous Jew bakery, Nahoum in New Market, Calcutta still serves the age-old recipes since 1902. Though the Jewish community is now reduced to 4000–6000 Jews, this store retains the aura and appeal. Many bakers and commercial chains that bake cakes and biscuits are strewn around the city of Calcutta. Historically, the bakery culture has thrived in India wherever the Britishers have settled over time. Calcutta is a testimony of that. In Bangladesh, too, parts of Dhaka and Chittagong have a culture of bakery outlets. Contrast this to Northern India, where cake purchasing is occasion-based (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). In these parts, cakes are a daily affair with tea or coffee. The Mughlai and the colonial cuisines are now being redefined and retailed. The biryani, which came to the city with the troupe of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah upon his exile to the city, gradually formed a Calcutta version of it with potatoes and eggs (the Lucknow version does not have eggs and potatoes and just meat). With limited pension being doled out, the Mughal Khansamas tried to make the meal wholesome, so meat, potatoes, and eggs made it complete. Several other dishes like the Murg Mussalam, Mutton Rezala, and Kebabs from the Mughal era have stood the test of time. Many home chefs in Calcutta and around are trying to revive the old cuisines that are gradually losing touch too. The restaurants in Park Street continue to serve some of the colonial dishes like the Chicken Ala-Kiev or the Devilled Eggs etc., that help the cuisines of the past stay in public memory and stay noticed. The love for food among the Bengali also is a point that helps to keep the urge to keep discovering afloat. In India, the restaurant industry is worth Rs 4.23 lakh crore, and it is likely to expand to Rs 6 lakh crore by 2023, according to NRAI data.13 The total restaurant in Kolkata reaches 38,838 and directly employs 66,234 people. It stands fourth after Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. As per NRAI India Food Services Report, 2019, the Kolkata food service sector is pegged at Rs 5049 crore. Though the numbers as compared 13

Source https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/bengal-govt-to-extend-all-sup port-to-restaurant-sector-119070201470_1.html (accessed on 31st July 2022).

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to the other three metros are small yet, Calcutta and particularly West Bengal have diversity in food. The various kind of workforce that came to Calcutta also helped the city create a diversified gastronomic range. The migrant labour from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh looked for a low-cost high fibre diet to the Marwari sitting on the gaddi (his place of work), which was mostly stationary to the middle-class Bengali who was a 9-5er and the collegegoing youth and families. The city was always known to serve a range of food across different price ranges. From low-cost, high-quality food to fine dining, Calcutta had it all. Today, numerous outlets and street food shacks across the city sell everything from curd and flattened rice (for the labour force) to dal bati churma (a Rajasthani delicacy for the Marwari community). In central Calcutta, the famed Decker’s Lane houses Chittoda’s outlet, which is famous for chicken stew and toast. Both dishes are from the colonial era and still remain popular. Sweets of West Bengal are more popular for Sandesh and sweets made from split milk than in Bangladesh, where hard sweets are more popular (chamcham).

11.4 The Dichotomy of Two Bengals The two Bengals with a shared past are now trying to carve a niche for themselves to revive some of the lost recipes of the pre-Mughal era, Mughal era, and the British Raj. Though the two states are now trying to cater to the millennial audience and are finding new foods (momo, sushi, soups, and noodles) to sell, the foundation will remain unchanged. A look at the Table 11.5 gives a sense of the kind of restaurants which operate today in both regions, and there is hardly anything that separates the two. Though the approach to making food may remain different, the spices, ingredients, and the base of cooking remain the same for both West Bengal and Bangladesh. The major departure points that remain are:

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Table 11.5

363

Types of restaurants

Types of restaurants Ethnic (ethnic or national cuisines) Fast food (small-scale street vendors with food carts to multibillion-dollar corporations like McDonald’s and Burger King) Fast casual (Pub, Buffet, Café, Coffee House, Destination Restaurants, tabletop cooking) Casual dining (sit down restaurant) Premium casual (dining room section and a lounge section) Family style (casual dining restaurants where food is often served on platters and the diners serve themselves) Fine dining (full-service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses)

West Bengal

Bangladesh

Available Available

Available Available

Available

Available

Available Available

Available Available

Available

Available

Available

Available

Source http://www.millenniumpost.in/features/kolkatas-restaurant-count-rea ches-38838-361348

1. The West Bengal food is sweeter (adding jaggery or sugar is a norm here) as compared to Bangladesh, which is spicier. 2. Beef is more in consumption in Bangladesh as compared to West Bengal. 3. The types of fish being used in both places are almost the same, but dried fish is more in use in Bangladesh. 4. The approach to making Biryani in both places is different, and the prominence of Kacchi Biryani is more in Bangladesh. 5. The debate on Hilsa versus Prawns shall always remain, but both nations do thrive on the two varieties equally. 6. Pulses and consumption of pulses are more during breakfast in Bangladesh, whereas it is more of a lunch affair in West Bengal. 7. The demographic of West Bengal being different in terms of ethnic groups of more diversified kinds leads to food variety being more here as compared to Bangladesh. 8. The concept of Muslim cooking (owing to the large Muslim population in the country) is more pronounced (Halal food) in Bangladesh as compared to West Bengal.

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9. Dishes like the simple bhorta, vegetables, fish, and meats are served in Bangladesh as compared to West Bengal, where the bhorta can be replaced with fries and fritters. 10. The concept of chutney in Bangladesh is something that is served initially and is often not a separate dish, compared to West Bengal, where the chutney is served at the end as a dish preceding the dessert. 11. The kind of sweets in Bangladesh and West Bengal differ in terms of the type (the hard-boiled sugar-coated ones versus the softer Sandesh) being sold; sweets in West Bengal, though, has a wider range and is more looking at Fusion.

11.5 Conclusion The start of the chapter had opening lines on the journey that food has taken. Starting from the Harappan era to the Vedic era to the Mahajanpadas, the advent of the Mughals, and finally, the Europeans. Many food items came with the visitors and travelled back with them. Vasco De Gama came for spices and sold them back to his country. The Portuguese brought new kinds of vegetables to the country and new technologies to make food. In essence, the greater the distance food travels, the more likely it gets stronger and rooted in its origin. The famed curry, which is now a popular dish in Britain, originated here in the country. Once looked down upon as a poor man’s food, the curry now sells in different avatars. What has not changed the essence of the curry and how it is made? The food of the two Bengals for the longest time remained the same. The resource-endowed East Bengal had more of the resources (grains, vegetables, fish), and West Bengal was the seat of learning where the region colluded. It created a world of more liberal and opinionated norms for one to follow. The controversy over bread and the refusal to make it a part of the Bengali household was a step towards looking at food as a point of resistance. Today, when in a country (India) where the beef ban and consumption of beef has been tightened, one cannot but feel about the time when the ubiquitous bread met a similar fate. However, the bread did find a way to enter the mainstream culture. For a predominantly vegetarian nation accepting meat (mostly what the

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Britishers brought with them) was difficult, yet one can safely assume that in the large subcultural context, food remains the redeemer, and it was accepted in the form and shape as was given, but it evolved. The quote from Cesar Chavez is all about how food in the subcontinent context has been looked at. Numerous travellers, plunderers, explorers, rulers, emperors, and passers-by came and dined with us, and we made friends with all of them. If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him…the people who give you their food give you, their heart. Cesar Chavez

References Achaya, K. T. (1994). Indian Food: Historical Companion. Oxford University Press. Amin Al, M., Arefin, M. S., Sultana, N., Islam, M. R. (2021). Evaluating the Customers’ Dining Attitudes, E-satisfaction, and Continuance Intention Toward Mobile Food Ordering Apps (MFOAs): Evidence from Bangladesh. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 30 (2), 211–229. Appadurai, A. (2007). Introduction: Commodities and the Politics of Value. In A. Appadurai (Ed.), The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge University Press. Dey, S., & Maart, R. (2020). Decolonisation and Food: The Burden of Colonial Gastronomy—Stories from West Bengal. Alternation Special Edition, 33, 290–329. Print ISSN 1023-1757; Electronic ISSN: 2519-5476; https://doi. org/10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp33a12 Haldar, S. (2017). Bread, Biscuit and Fowl. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 78, 660–667. Published by: Indian History Congress. Ishani, C. (2017). A Palatable Journey through the Pages: Bengali Cookbooks and the “Ideal” Kitchen in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century, Global Food History, 3(1), 24–39, https://doi.org/10.1080/205 49547.2016.1256186 Mitra, R. (2019). Eating Well in Uncle’s House: Bengali Culinary Practices in a Bucolic Calcutta/Kolkata in Amit Chaudhuri’s A Strange and Sublime

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Address. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (ISSN 0975-2935). Naumov, N., & Hassan, A. (2022). Gastronomic Tourism in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges. In Hassan, A. (Ed.), Tourism in Bangladesh: Investment and Development Perspectives (pp. 165–176). Frankfurt: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1858-1_11 Ray, U. (2012, May). Eating ‘Modernity’: Changing Dietary Practices in Colonial Bengal. Modern Asian Studies, 46(3), 703–730. Cambridge University Press. Ray, U. (2015). Culinary Culture in Colonial India—A Cosmopolitan Platter and the Middle-Class. Cambridge University Press. Sen, C. T. (2015). Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. Reaktion Books. Sengupta, J. (2010). Nation on a Platter: the Culture and Politics of Food and Cuisine in Colonial Bengal. Modern Asian Studies, 44, 81–98. https://doi. org/10.1017/S0026749X09990072

12 Summary and Conclusion Arindam Banik

and Munim Kumar Barai

Before 1947, both Bengals were governed and geographically unified by a single sovereign power. However, a mental barrier between the identities of East Bengal and West Bengal was established due to the botched British attempt to divide Bengal in 1905. Nevertheless, at the end of British control of India in 1947, the province of Bengal was partitioned between India and Pakistan. In independent India, the Western and Northern districts created the state of West Bengal, with Kolkata, Bengal’s largest city and principal port, as its capital. With Dhaka as its capital, the lush and heavily populated eastern regions formed East Bengal (later called East Pakistan). In 1971, a nine-month struggle A. Banik International Management Institute, New Delhi, India M. K. Barai (B) College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Oita, Japan e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0_12

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for independence gave birth to the country of Bangladesh, sometimes known as “the land of Bengalees”. Although the Hindu–Muslim divides precipitated separation, Bangladesh and West Bengal continue to share many similarities, including the Bengali language as their native tongue and a substantial amount of shared culture. In 2021, its combined population was roughly 269 million, with Bangladesh’s population at 167 million and West Bengal’s population at 102 million. As deltas of three large rivers, the Ganges (in Bangladesh, it is the Padma), the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, both Bengals have some of the world’s most fertile terrain. Abundant precipitation and year-round warmth create an ideal environment for agriculture. The dense population of the area in 2021, namely 1,245 people per square kilometre in Bangladesh and 1,028 people per square kilometre in West Bengal, is evidence of the land’s fertility. Experts think such agricultural prosperity may have contributed to the dense population of the Bengal delta by encouraging early marriage. Some detractors required assurances about Bangladesh’s long-term viability as an independent country. Following the hard-won liberation battle against Pakistanis in 1971, the nation experienced a number of economic shocks, including starvation, natural disasters, military coups, and fanaticism. On its 50-year path to independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable economic and social progress and is now often referred to as a development “Surprise”. In February 2021, the UNDP changed Bangladesh’s rank from a least developed nation to a developing country. West Bengal, the wealthier portion of the two Bengals at the time of partition, has encountered migration issues from East Pakistan, a difficult relationship with the centre, outdated communist politics, natural disasters, and a directionless development programme since becoming an Indian province in 1947. Moreover, if the economic and social development of West Bengal is contrasted with that of Bangladesh, the disparity and gaps may seem extremely striking. In 2021, over 38 per cent of Bangladesh’s entire labour force was employed in agriculture. In West Bengal, the percentage was as high as 43 per cent. In 2021, the average yearly per capita income in Bangladesh based on purchasing power parity was $6,960, whereas in West Bengal, it was $5,601. In several other areas, comparative disparities are significantly worse.

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Considering the above, the book has explored several economic and non-economic areas, particularly “Two Bengals” that have emerged to make them different when their progress paths are plotted. This we have documented in twelve chapters to depict and analyze the progress based on their chosen paths. In doing so, chapters of the book examine various developmental initiatives and efforts undertaken by Bangladesh and West Bengal over time in various sectors in a comparative setting. We have focused on macroeconomics, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services, health services, social developments, education, literature, food habits, cinema and theatre, and entrepreneurship. Though there have been attempts in research papers and books to identify the factors driving Bangladesh’s and West Bengal’s economic progress, they have mostly been done piecemeal and in an individual setting. That creates the space for a book that includes the present development of the two chosen entities. We hope this will give a comparative view and explain the causes of the gap in sectoral progress. In short, it may identify the causes of differences in their levels of economic progress and lay down some policy measures to address the developmental lag on the way to making faster progress. In Chapter 2, we find that West Bengal and Bangladesh strive to reach a greater degree of development as rapidly as feasible, notwithstanding macroeconomic growth and issues. It is now perceived that the pace of change in Bangladesh is quicker, with a high rate of privatization and low opposition from labour unions. But rules of order and governance are the most significant obstacles to the peaceful transition Bangladesh is facing. Nonetheless, with a unitary system, Bangladesh is more effectively stimulating economic growth and reducing poverty, unemployment, and inequity. On the other hand, the strength of labour unions in West Bengal may have already delayed the industrialization of rural areas. Indeed, West Bengal might have been experiencing a process of de-industrialization due to various social and political policies followed by the political parties in power and/or opposition. Likewise, the issue arises as to whether West Bengal is doing itself a disservice by following highly populist and power-oriented socioeconomic policies

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while the parties that rule the centre are of different political orientations. This could lead to a crash, which has happened most of the time in West Bengal’s history since 1977. In Chapter 3, agricultural development in Bangladesh and West Bengal has helped to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed 269 million people. Several results are of particular interest in the areas of “tenancy” in Bangladesh and their contrast with those of West Bengal. First, the claim of “pure tenant” farms over total rented-in land has increased from 45 per cent in 2000 to 50 per cent in 2010, rising further to 65 per cent in 2016 in Bangladesh. The increase in the share of cultivated land under tenancy and the rise of landless tenants have been explained by several factors that underpin the rural structural transformation in Bangladesh, such as the spread of education, the expansion of regular jobs, and urbanization, which have encouraged the renting out of agricultural lands on the part of land-rich households. It is also true that the growth of microfinance and the rapid development of the market for mechanized services have made tenant farming an increasingly scaled and economically viable proposition. This applies to landless tenants as well. Thus, the agricultural route of upward mobility via landless tenancy may be considered equally potent as the non-farm route for uplifting landless households out of poverty. Second, West Bengal is one of two Indian states that have made significant efforts to implement land reform. Most of the activity is associated with a drive to register tenants and identify ceiling surplus land known as “Operation Barga”, which was initiated shortly after the ascent to power of the Left Front in 1977. The first element of the reform was the vesting of any “above-ceiling” land (i.e., land owned more than the ceiling of 12.5 acres) with the government and its subsequent distribution to landless or small landowners, commonly referred to as pattadars. A second element was the rapid registration of sharecroppers, village by village, to prevent them from eviction and provide them with permanent and heritable tenancy rights. The amount of (shared) rent to be paid to landlords was limited to 25 per cent (or 50 per cent if the landlord provides all non-labour inputs) and land leasing through mechanisms other than share tenancy. The law also prohibited the transfer of land received via land reform through sale, gift, exchange, or (sub)lease. To prevent elite

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capture, eligibility for reform benefits is tightly regulated. While there are significant gains, such as the choice of the right target group, namely, small-scale sharecropping tenants and landless agricultural labourers, and the quasi-property rights bestowed on the sharecroppers increase their incentives, the levels of beneficiary productivity and welfare remain far below average, something that could likely be avoided if land reform beneficiaries received full ownership rights instead of being recognized as permanent share tenants and if restrictions on transferability of land were abandoned. Our results show that rice production and productivity have increased significantly since the early 1970s, after the introduction of genetically improved high-yielding varieties (HYV) during the mid1960s. The widespread adoption of HYVs as well as crop and farm management practices; policy support to improve irrigation facilities, market infrastructure, and the supply of chemical fertilizers and agricultural credit; subsidies on farm inputs; and farmers’ enthusiasm to adopt HYV were the drivers of the impressive growth in production and productivity of rice in this region. However, studies show that despite significant achievements in crop production in the last 40 years, the above increase in production and yield rate in the two Bengals will not feed the increasing population. Fresh long-term forecasts of demand for food items, factoring in new uses and consumption patterns, would be needed to estimate if a supply–demand gap is emerging in the longer term. Investments in agriculture would have to be revived to increase production, including the investment needed for better water management. However, it needs a credible business model to implement such policies. Chapter 4 portrays a comparative picture of manufacturing picture in the two Bengals. The study reveals that Bangladesh has made significant progress in developing the RMG sector in the economy and is the single largest source of export earnings—more than 80 per cent of the total. Not only that, but the sector has also become one of the largest sectors of women’s employment. Some other manufacturing industries are showing signs of taking off. These include shipbuilding, the leather industry, pharmaceuticals, etc. The economy is also finding a structural shift in GDP composition as the manufacturing sector has contributed more to it. However, it is important to note that the growth workers’

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value added in Bangladesh has not been performing that well, its ex while master Pakistan is showing the worst of its kind. India is not doing that good either, although Sri Lanka seems to have been doing well in this regard. On its part, West Bengal has gradually lost its stronghold position once enjoyed during the early 1960s. The State’s shares in net value added (NVA) employment and the number of factories have decreased drastically over the years. As regards the two-digit level industry group, it is observed that only one industry (viz., manufacture of beverages, tobacco, and related products) has registered an annual compound growth rate of above 7 per cent in net value added. In contrast, five industry groups have recorded an annual compound growth rate of between 4 and 7 per cent. So far as employment is concerned, most industry groups have witnessed a negative growth rate. It is interesting to note that only five industry groups, which are highly capital intensive, contributed over 85 per cent of total profit in the manufacturing sector. It has also been found that growth of labour productivity in the manufacturing sector increased from 1.6 per cent in the 1970s to 2.6 per cent in the 1980s and further to 5.7 per cent in the 1990s. The share of net value added of six important industry groups in West Bengal to all-India NVA has declined over the past 30 years. Because of the deceleration in the growth rate of these industries, the overall industrial scenario of the State was adversely affected. Moreover, the total factor productivity of the manufacturing sector of the State declined during the period, whereas it has gone up at the all-India level. The six most important industries, which were the main contributor to the industrial growth of the State, have lost their position, and their TFP growth rates have gone down drastically, except Jute, which is a dying industry. The TFP growth contribution to output is negative for two of the six industry groups. However, as a whole, the industrial sector has not come out from the decelerating condition. The technological obsolescence of these six important industry groups may be one of the major reasons for industrial deceleration in the State. Furthermore, although some industries have lost their base, no new industry has come up to take over that position. Chapter 5 has looked at Bangladesh and West Bengal’s banking and financial institutions, focusing on the banking industry. Overall, the performance of microfinance institutions and Islamic banks in

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Bangladesh, together with microfinance institutions, self-help organizations, and rural and regional banks in West Bengal, has been assessed. NBFCs are gaining significance in Bangladesh, whereas mutual funds and the insurance industry in West Bengal have grown since the reforms of the 1990s. First, it is seen that West Bengal, an Indian state, has made significant strides in insurance, with an insurance penetration ratio of 3.76 per cent at all Indian levels in 2020, while Bangladesh continues to lag with a ratio of 0.5%. Second, the banking sector dominates the financial business in both Bengals, with Bangladeshi banks extending significantly more loans than banks in West Bengal (83% in 2020). (46.5% in 2021). Fourth, based on the most fundamental indices of financial inclusion, West Bengal has made more progress than Bangladesh in attaining access to financial services and moving towards universal digital financial services. In Chapter 6, a comparison of Bangladesh and West Bengal’s development is given in terms of their education systems. It focuses on the importance of skill-intensive sectors in the development process. Many private universities have been allowed to function in Bangladesh and West Bengal. The involvement of the corporate sector in educational institutions of higher learning is stimulated because of this. Both Bangladesh and West Bengal need help with several issues and difficulties connected to their higher education systems, even though both countries have many educational institutions at the postsecondary level. When it comes to accomplishing the objectives of higher education, the assurance of quality is the single most critical component. To create a single quality assurance process, the criteria currently used to evaluate the standards of higher education establishments in Bangladesh and West Bengal must be rethought. The relationship between businesses and educational institutions has to be improved so that more people will be able to find employment, as well as so that innovation and entrepreneurialism will be encouraged. Chapter 7 provides an overview of the health sector scenario, social sector development features, and a comparison of the two Bengals. At the pre-division stage, understandably, they had similar socioeconomic and health infrastructure. But after the division, which changed dramatically due to an unequal distribution of economic resources, migration,

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and varied strategic policy and planning primarily caused this change. Nevertheless, there is potential for harmony in medical tourism and cross-cultural collaboration in providing advanced healthcare services. However, in both locations, other obstacles surfaced and persisted, such as inequalities in access to and insufficiency of quality health services, unbalanced allocation of health infrastructure towards urban concentrations, and other similar issues. Other obstacles are exclusive to each Bengal’s policy environment. Regarding putting up a respectable framework for the health sector, Bangladesh had to do much planning and confront serious policy obstacles on numerous fronts. At the same time, WB was able to gain additional help from the centre because of its status as a state or subnational territory. The health problems and difficulties that surfaced during the early stages after they gained their freedom are directly related to these criteria to a significant extent. Another commonality is that the health insurance industry has a low market penetration in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Chapter 8 reveals that West Bengal and Bangladesh are examples of failed business endeavours due to a lack of opportunities. The most important industries in West Bengal are basic metals, coke, refined petroleum goods, chemicals and chemical products, food products, textiles, electrical equipment, non-metallic mineral products, etc. Bangladesh’s industries have a similar lineage. The growth of the SME sector in both areas is the first point of comparison from an entrepreneurial standpoint. In the case of West Bengal, population movement is facilitated by its connectivity to other regions of a big nation, but Bangladesh still needs to improve. The respective governments of the two Bengals must recognize that densely populated areas can generate demographic dividends. The social fabric of the two states is the third aspect of similarity between the two nations. In both states, self-help groups, microfinance institutions, women entrepreneurs, and disadvantaged communities play an important role. Several industries have withstood the test of time, including foundries and forges, lathes, textiles and apparel, and food processing. How foreign players like India, China, and Korea in Bangladesh and Marwaris in Bengal have been able to effect change is the fourth characteristic of the two areas. These alterations have been structural in nature and have been beneficial for them.

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Second, the states have a similar and shared division history; hence, a great deal of the entrepreneurial texture derives from this. Although religious and social factors have influenced each individual’s perspective, the region’s politics remain aggressive, if not vicious. Chapter 9 shows the changing development patterns of literature in the two Bengals. Since the known period of Charjyapad , Bengali literature has contained themes such as romanticism, complicated relationships, sexuality, caste disputes, poverty, anguish, exploitation, pathos, and the bathos of human beings; nevertheless, developmental concerns have received less emphasis. This is likely a phenomenon that is shared by people all around the world. Looking at the domain of literature, it is interesting but not surprising that the Bengali language serves as the connecting thread between West Bengal and Bangladesh. Both had the same geographical, political, and literary histories. During the time when Pakistan was still a separate nation, there was an effort made by a group of authors to Islamize Bengali literature and steer clear of the Hindu cultural influence that had been there before. Others were able to achieve a great deal of success despite the efforts of a group of Bengali elites to organize protests. On the other side, following the partition, the occurrence of an unceasing refugee flood continues to this day and plays a greater role in the literary works of West Bengal. This continues to be the case even now. In contrast to the other Bengal, the compulsions of West Bengal become both the thesis and the antithesis of a literary thesis and synthesis. Its directions, including the changes in the economy, have become quite different from one another, except for the version of literature written in Bengali. It is anticipated that these differences will result in the development of new forms of literary genres. Chapter 10 unfolds the development of Bengali films. Over the last century, both Bengali-language film industries have flourished by targeting Bengali-speaking audiences within national or regional boundaries and occasionally beyond. A linguistically defined cultural environment and “captive” audiences for popular Bengali films ensured that two Bengali cinemas in Dhaka and Kolkata persisted as medium-sized vernacular film enterprises in the 1980s, despite globalizing tendencies. The fact that the two theatres targeted non-English-speaking national and subnational audiences made them more practical. During the 1970s and

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2000s, the Dhaka and Kolkata cinema industries created two “national” theatres in one language, Bengali, based on national and religious orientations. Bangladeshi and West Bengali audiences are not as “captive” as they were in the twentieth century. Bengali cinemas developed a globalizing approach to film narrative and distribution to address these challenges. In doing so, bonding between the two sectors also increased. Several jointly produced Bengali films in the 2010s used Bangladeshi funds and Kolkata-based film crews. Numerous Bangladeshi and West Bengali films have actors and crew members from both Bengals. Also, in the past decade, the distinction between “Commercial” and “Art” filmmaking has eroded, and traditional film categories have become obsolete. At the same time, Bengali films have been distributed in Toronto, Sydney, London, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Singapore, extending the audience outside Bangladesh and India. That way, the 2010s marked a new era in Bengali cinema culture, which began in 1896–98. That is, the fourth and most recent phase of Bangladeshi and West Bengali film cultures, which are increasingly transnational in terms of production, circulation, and reception, is marked by mass migration of Bengalis, globalization of finance and economics, and digitalization of audiovisual media, including film and television. Interestingly, the two Bengals’ professionals cooperate to bring Bengali films to a global audience on platforms such as over the top (OTT). We will talk about Bengali cuisine in Chapter 11. It has remained an important part of the culture and tradition of Bengal from time immemorial. Beginning with the Harappan period, moving through the Vedic period, the Mahajanpadas, the arrival of the Mughals, and ultimately the Europeans, the guests brought a great deal of food with them, and they took much of it home with them as well. Spices were one of the things that drew Vasco de Gama to these lands, and he later brought them back to Portugal. The Portuguese introduced new varieties of vegetables to the nation and new food preparation techniques. In this part, the world-famous curry was born, becoming one of the most well-known dishes in Britain. Curry was formerly considered a dish for poor people, but nowadays, it’s available in a wide variety of guises and is rather popular. For most of their time together, both Bengals eat the

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same meals. East Bengal was where more resources like grains, vegetables, and fish were available. However, West Bengal was the epicentre of intellectual activity and collaboration. It gave rise to a society where one must adhere to more progressive and opinionated rules. The debate over bread in Bengali households and their unwillingness to incorporate it into their daily lives was an important first step towards seeing food as a source of resistance. Accepting meat (primarily what the British brought) was tough for a largely vegetarian society. Still, one can reasonably infer that in the big subcultural context, food remained the redeemer, and it was accepted in the form and shape in which it was provided, but it changed. Cesar Chavez’s observation may be gleaned to highlight how food has been seen in the context of the subcontinent. He observed that the Bengalis dined with many passing travellers, plunderers, explorers, monarchs, and emperors and became friendly with each and every one of them. In recent work, Lewis (2011)1 makes a compelling case that experts greatly underestimated the resilience and dynamism of Bangladeshi society because their early predictions of doom and gloom didn’t work. We, in contrast, have shown that by defying the odds and the cynics, the country’s farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and professionals have had modest success in their country.2 Interestingly, the country that was once written off as a basket case is now spoken of as a basket of innovation, with regard to, among other things, micro-credit. Bangladesh is doing significantly better than West Bengal in at least four respects. First, the atmosphere is more conducive to welfare-oriented civil society organizations. Non-government organizations (NGOs) such as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Grameen Bank, and Gonoshastya Kendra have provided credit, healthcare, and education to poor peasants and slum dwellers. These groups have no real counterparts in West Bengal, where civil society groups face considerable hostility from the state and political parties. Second, there is a more extensive and reliable network of roads and waterways. Roads and bridges 1 Lewis, David. 2011. Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society, Cambridge University Press, New York. 2 Barai, Munim, op. cit.

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allow peasants to get their produce to the market, get their children to school, and obtain medicines to treat the sick and elderly. But the roads in West Bengal continue to be in a pathetic condition. The third and fourth contrasts are interdependent. Many more women are working in the modern manufacturing sector in Bangladesh, which is linked to the government’s outward-looking and export-oriented economic policy. In West Bengal, on the other hand, the economic outlook has been insular and hostile to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.3 Bengalis in Bangladesh have outperformed Bengalis in West Bengal on most social indicators. Bengalis residing in the East can expect to live three years longer than their counterparts in the West. Bangladesh has achieved some of the largest reductions in the early death of infants; it has more females than males, and the status of women within the household has improved considerably. Eighty per cent of the workers in the readymade garment sector are women. They are now the decision-makers at the household level, having a say on such critical issues as family health, education, and nutrition. West Bengal’s problems are well-known: it has a bad health care system, too much politics, bad schools, and colleges, not enough roads, can’t get investment, and office workers and factory workers don’t have a work ethic. Bangladesh has cared a lot more about economic growth and social well-being than the elites of West Bengal, who are more interested in the past and in themselves. Bangladesh has followed the best development practices without lopsided ideas and political bias. This, then, brings us to the following question: Is economic growth necessary for social progress? The story of Bangladesh imparts some telling lessons. It may not be an overstatement to say that West Bengal has remained a crucible for experimental adventurism in its development model and suffered at the hands of errant policymakers and myopic politicians. Consequently, Bengalis in this part of Bengal are still struggling to find what would improve their lives. The development path it charted has led to its slide from a prosperous state to a much-downgraded position among the Indian states. 3 Guha, Ramchandra. 2012. “The Two Bengals—West Bengal can now learn a few things from Bangladesh,” The Daily Telegraph, June 30.

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Lastly, the adverse impacts of Covid-19 have affected the people of both Bangladesh and West Bengal. This pandemic is hurting the well-being of people by impacting the health systems, supply chains, professions, and movement of people. It is hurting their state coffers as well. Developments in the aftermath of the first two years of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, especially in the area of public finance, have been creating uneasiness. It remains to be seen how things will evolve in Bangladesh in the future. On the other hand, West Bengal is not better at managing the state bursar. But a sort of assurance exists in West Bengal whereby it does not have to look for external support to overcome any financial contingency, as may be the case for Bangladesh, to face such a development. Federal financial support may cover such a contingency, which remains a plus point.

Index

A

B

Administrative divisions 183 Adwitya Mallabarman 279 Agriculture 3, 4, 20, 24, 28, 34, 46, 47, 60, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 77, 81, 87, 89, 125, 182, 218, 253, 260, 293, 333, 334, 341, 368, 369, 371 Akhtaruzzaman Illyus 279 Aliya Madrasah 151 Aman 75, 76, 80 Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) 81 Ancient Bengal 140, 142 Areca Nuts 338 Aus 75, 76 Automated teller machines (ATMs) 133–136 Average Assets Under Management (AAUM) 132

Bagdis 296 Bandhan Financial Services 134, 264 Banerjee, Abhijit 31 Banerjee, Mamata 16, 18, 33 Bangabhumi 281 Bangladesh 3, 4, 9–11, 15–17, 19–24, 27–34, 36, 39, 42, 44, 53–55, 57, 60, 61, 68–70, 73–78, 84, 87, 88, 91–95, 97, 98, 104, 109, 111, 115, 120, 133–136, 148, 151, 169, 170, 173, 183, 186, 187, 192–195, 199, 202–206, 212, 232–236, 239–241, 252, 254, 275–279, 281–284, 286, 289, 290, 299, 305, 307, 310, 320–322, 324, 327, 328, 354–358, 361, 363, 368–374, 376, 378, 379

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 A. Banik and M. K. Barai (eds.), Two Bengals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2185-0

381

382

Index

Bangladesh Bank (BB) 110, 112, 113, 118, 120, 121, 136, 240 Bangladesh Film Society (BFS) 317 Bangladesh Open University (BOU) 150 Bangladesh Paradox 29 Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) 110, 114, 120 Banjaras 298 Baoul Sangeet 277 Basu, Jyoti 16, 33 Beder Meye Josna 324 Bengal delta 4, 28, 368 Bengali cinema 23, 24, 306, 309–311, 313–315, 317, 319, 321, 323, 324, 326–328, 376 Bengali gentleman 276 Bengali-language film industry 305, 314, 316, 321, 324, 327, 375 Bengal Renaissance 145, 164, 353 Betel Leafs 338 Bilwamangal 309 Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 132 Bond market 120, 122, 125, 132 Booking agents 324 Border Literature 23, 277, 301 Boro 75, 76 Bose, Shubash Chandra (Netaji) 31 Boundary Commission 8, 300 BRAC Education Model 171 Brahmaputra 3, 28, 368 British 5–8, 15, 27, 31, 98, 141, 144, 145, 149, 152, 163, 164, 198, 219–222, 225–227, 242, 244, 281, 307, 345, 347, 352, 354, 362, 367, 377 British rule 1, 2, 32

C

Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) 115, 120 Capital market 21, 110, 114, 120, 121, 271 Capital productivity 86, 103, 104 Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) 112, 115, 117 Catastrophic payment 193 Central government 45, 51, 60, 85, 102, 104, 132, 151, 158, 168, 206, 208, 211, 242, 284, 289 Central University 163, 164 Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) 171 Chakravarty, D. 102 Chandimangal 277 Charjyapad 302, 375 Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra 310, 353 Chatterjee, Sharatchandra 310 Chattopadhyay, Sadhan K. 102, 280 Chavez, Cesar 365, 377 Chicken 333, 341, 354, 356, 361, 362 Chowdhury, Niradchandra 276 Collective West 84 Colonial Bengal 306, 310, 353 Colony 345 Commercialization of Bengali cinema 323 Commonalities 184, 212, 213, 374 Comparative analysis 59, 212 Construction 9, 14, 74, 88, 89, 96, 97, 103, 204, 229, 257, 259, 261, 266, 276, 301 Co-operative banks 122

Index

COVID-19 30, 33, 37, 38, 44, 51, 54, 55, 83, 93, 124, 126, 134, 233, 379 Credit-deposit ratio 112, 126 Credit market 81, 122 CRISIL’s Inclusix 134 Crop diversity 81 Crop failure 40, 78 Crop insurance 70, 78 Cultural boundary 139 Curry 347, 356, 364, 376 Cyril Radcliffe 8, 300

D

Dairy 78, 81 Dakhil to Kamil levels 151 Das, Chittaranjan (Deshbandu) 288 Day Shall Dawn 318 Deemed University 164 de Gama, Vasco 219, 220, 364, 376 Deindustrialization 85, 369 Demographic dividends 252, 374 Demographic transition 182 Dersho Gage Jibon 285 Desh Garments 91 Devdas 310, 312, 313 Development Surprise 20, 29 District Elementary Education Report Card 160 District Information System for Education (DISE) 154, 155, 159–161, 173 Duty-Free 92

E

East Bengal 1, 2, 8, 16, 22, 33, 141, 147, 181–185, 279, 281, 286,

383

301, 307, 308, 310, 314–316, 318, 342, 354, 356, 360, 367, 377 East India Company (EIC) 5, 6, 140, 144, 145, 220 East Pakistan 2, 3, 8–10, 15–17, 19, 23, 27, 28, 182, 241, 242, 278, 281, 283, 286, 290, 307, 311, 314–317, 325, 367, 368 Efficient and inefficient supply chain 67, 80, 81 Employment generation 72, 84, 251 Employment in manufacturing 103 Enclave Literature 301 Enemy Property 290 Entrepreneurship 22, 173, 217, 219, 223, 226, 230, 237, 239, 246, 253, 254, 369, 378 Epidemiological transition level (ETL) 210 Ershad 289 Export/exports 20, 35–37, 41, 47, 48, 68, 78, 84, 91–96, 222, 224, 233, 234, 237, 254, 264, 268, 269, 283, 339, 343, 371 Extreme action genre 323

F

Fanon, Frantz 295 Farmers’ economic welfare 81 Farmers suicide 78, 79 Federal Government 19, 28 Financial development index 111 Financial Development Index database 133 Financial inclusion 21, 111, 126, 130, 133–136, 373

384

Index

Financial institutions (FIs) 21, 110–112, 118, 120, 122, 132, 133, 372 Financial liberalization 20, 21, 109, 111 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) 112 Fiscal deficit 39, 40, 52, 60 Fish 46, 333, 336, 337, 341, 342, 352, 354–360, 363, 364, 377 Flood 34, 38, 42, 375 Flower of Persia 308 Floyd Commission 298 Food 3, 21, 22, 24, 40, 67, 68, 77–79, 182, 183, 204, 228, 230, 233, 252, 265, 268, 269, 284, 285, 299, 300, 331–347, 352–357, 359–361, 363–365, 369, 374, 376, 377 Foreign banks 112 Formal sector 49, 110, 113, 186 Fowl cutlet, bread 352 Freight equalization 102, 284

G

Ganguly, Dhiren 309, 312 GDP growth rate 35, 53, 54, 60 Gender Parity Index (GPI) 169, 170 Genocide of Marichjhanpi 284 Ghatak, Ritwik Kumar 292, 294, 295, 318 Global supply chain (GSC) 83, 84 Glossary of Words 170 Golden period of Bangladesh cinema 321 Golden Period of Kolkata film industry 316 Gonoshastya Kendra 377

Government of West Bengal 86, 102, 154, 165, 168, 201, 283, 290 Grains 40, 80, 224, 334, 336, 338, 340, 341, 364, 377 Grameen Bank 109–111, 114, 117, 239, 254, 377 Gross enrollment rate 169 Gross non-performing asset (GNPA) 123, 126 Guha, Ramchandra 294, 378 Gujarat 18, 76, 85, 100, 104, 132, 161, 220, 242, 248, 249, 251, 282 Guruchand Thakur 296

H

H&M 93 Harappan period 376 Hartog Commission 147 Hasina, Sheikh 53, 300 Health infrastructure 22, 197, 206, 209, 213, 373, 374 Higher education 21, 144–147, 151, 163, 164, 167–169, 173, 373 Higher secondary education level 148, 151, 152, 154–156, 158–160, 163, 171 Hindu-Muslim difference 3 Hindus caste 1, 7, 17, 141, 143, 151, 289, 290, 295, 309, 327, 353, 354 Hiralal, Sen 308, 309 ‘HoiChoi’ streaming platform 328 Human resource 87, 186

Index

I

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) 135 Immigration 182 Immunization 186, 198, 207 Imports 35, 36, 41, 84, 199, 219–221, 234, 262, 263, 283, 353 India 1, 3, 5, 6, 16, 20, 27, 31, 32, 44, 46, 52–55, 57, 71, 75, 77, 81, 85, 98, 102, 104, 109, 112, 122–126, 128, 129, 132, 140, 142, 144, 145, 147, 153, 155, 163, 167, 170, 194, 201, 202, 206, 217, 219, 221, 222, 224, 226, 236, 264, 265, 267, 269, 270, 276, 281, 284, 294, 301, 307, 316, 328, 332, 338, 341, 344, 347, 348, 350, 356, 367, 372 Indian National Congress (INC) 7, 15, 32, 244 Indian subcontinent 2, 140, 142, 287, 289, 307, 309, 311, 313, 345, 347 Indigenization 306, 328 Indigenous school 141, 144 Industrial decline 98, 102, 103 Industrialization 91, 104, 199, 220, 222, 226, 293, 322, 369 Indus Valley civilization 343 Inequality 33, 43, 44, 57, 59, 60, 199, 203, 204, 209, 211, 296, 374 Inflation 33, 35, 36, 40, 44, 55, 232, 234 Informal sector 21, 110, 114, 186, 210

385

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) 133 Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) 110, 114 Insurance market 114, 120, 207 Inter-Bengal film remakes 324 Inter-linked credit market 78 Internationalization of Two Bengals’ cinemas 326 Investment 12, 14, 33, 36, 38, 78, 85, 98, 100, 102, 104, 117, 193, 233, 235, 236, 250, 254, 255, 268, 371, 378 Islamic banking 116 Islamic insurance 121 Islamize Bengali literature 375 Islam, Kazi Nazrul 31, 280, 313

J

Jazz Multimedia 327 JC Penney 93 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) 129, 132

K

Kharif 80 Khasnobis, R. 32 Khudiram 31

L

Labor productivity 88, 102–104, 260, 372 Leftists 15, 18, 19, 28, 46, 51, 293, 298 Lentils 335, 340, 341

386

Index

Lewis, David 377 Liberation war 17, 28, 42, 183, 278, 279, 284, 289, 302, 307, 315, 326 Linguistic nation 276 Lumiere films 307

M

Macroeconomic development 19, 30, 31, 44, 52 Madan Theatres 309, 310, 312 Madrasah 143, 151 Mahabharat 269, 277 Mahajanpadas 337, 364, 376 Maharashtra 76, 85, 100, 102, 104, 132, 242, 246, 248, 249, 251 Maktab 143 Mallos 296 Mamsavarga madhyavarga 340 Manasamangal 277 Manufacturing sector 20, 42, 47, 83, 84, 86–88, 97, 100, 101, 103, 104, 242, 371, 372, 378 Maondal, Jogendranath 296 Marwaris 219, 224–226, 228, 241–243, 246, 253, 374 Masal 282 Matua literature 296 Meat 332, 333, 336, 340, 344, 345, 347, 349, 352, 354, 356, 358, 360, 361, 364, 377 Medical tourism 198, 202, 209, 212, 213, 374 Medieval Bengal 140, 142 Meghna 3, 28, 318, 368 Microcredit 109, 110, 112, 114, 117, 120, 205, 206, 377

Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) 110, 114, 120 Microfinance 71, 74, 112, 118, 126, 128–130, 281, 283, 370 Microfinance institutions (MFIs) 110, 111, 114, 117, 118, 129, 134, 135, 236, 237, 372, 374 Migration problem 368 Milk 81, 334, 337, 341, 346 Millets 333, 336, 341 Misery is Their Lot 313, 314 Mitra, Shambhu 285, 292 Money market 113, 120, 122 Mongalkabya 277 Monthly Pay Order (MPO) 148, 149 Mostanocracy 323 Mughals 5, 6, 24, 143, 218–220, 223, 332, 342–344, 347, 357, 361, 364, 376 Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) 92 Mutual funds 110, 122, 132, 136, 373

N

Nabanna 291, 292 Nalanda 140, 142 Namashudras 296, 298 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) 125, 129, 130, 132 National cinema 310, 316 National Education Policy of India 2020 (NEP 2020) 153 Naxal 18, 280, 284 Net Interest Margin (NIM) 126 Net value added 372

Index

New Theatres 309, 312, 313 Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) 110, 122, 128, 129, 135, 373 Non-communicable diseases (NCD) 187, 194, 210 Non-farm 69–71, 210, 370 Non-formal primary education (NFPE) 172 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) 12, 14, 37, 110, 172, 186, 200, 205, 240, 299, 377 Non-performing assets (NPAs) 125, 130

O

Occupational health 199 Oilseeds 333, 334, 341 Operation Barga 17, 71, 298, 370 Organized sector 103, 210, 246 Out of pocket expenditure 208 Owner 75, 232, 290, 324, 359 Owner cum tenant 75

P

Padma 3, 28, 355, 356, 368 Pakistan 1–3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 27, 28, 32, 88, 115, 142, 181, 183, 202, 232, 237, 241, 281, 282, 291, 307, 311, 315–317, 367, 375 Pakistan Film Society (PFS) 317 Palm, Jaggery 338 Partition 7–9, 15, 16, 28, 31, 85, 104, 142, 163, 181, 182, 230, 241, 252, 277–279, 281, 283,

387

285, 286, 290, 302, 307, 314, 318, 356, 368, 375 Pathsala 143 Paundras 296 Payment Banks 122 Payovarga 340 Pea 335 Per hectare 69, 75, 76 Phala 340 Pharmaceutical 94, 104, 229, 240, 251, 253, 254, 264, 371 Picture Palace/Shabistan 310 Planning Commission 58, 101–103, 182, 209–211 Poorly run schools 378 Portuguese 5, 219, 220, 332, 345, 346, 348, 351, 352, 376 Post-colonialism 295 Post-Vedic age 140, 142 Potato 79, 299, 332, 341, 342, 346, 349, 360, 361 Poultry 78, 344 Poverty 10, 12, 15, 20, 29, 33, 42, 43, 48, 57–61, 68, 80, 117, 126, 183, 203, 204, 209, 289, 369, 370, 375 Primark 93 Private commercial banks (PCBs) 112, 113, 115, 116 Privatization 11, 61, 240, 369 Production 14, 30, 40, 45, 46, 77, 78, 80, 85, 92–94, 99, 100, 102, 104, 297, 307–313, 315, 316, 318, 320, 324, 348, 371, 376 Productivity 18, 72, 77, 81, 102, 104, 195, 371 Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) 161

388

Index

Purchasing power parity-based income 368

R

Ragi 336, 338 Rahman, Sheikh Mujibur (Bangabandhu) 9, 10, 31, 32, 289, 315 Raihan, Zahir 315, 318 Raisins 332 Raiyat 141, 298 Rajbangshis 296 Ramayan 277 Ray, Satyajit 317, 318, 325, 326 Ray, Subhash C. 85, 99 Readymade garments (RMG) 41, 81, 91–94, 104, 237, 371 Reduced milk 355 Regional cinema 23, 305 Regional Rural Banks (RRB) 122, 125, 126, 129, 130, 135 Religious rituals 353 Remittance 12, 33, 37, 41, 48, 204, 234, 283 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 123–126, 128, 132 Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 160, 161 Rituals 293, 334, 340, 353 Roopban 315, 316 Royal Bengal Tigers 288

S

Sachar Committee 296 Samidhanya 340

Scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) 112, 122, 123, 125, 135, 136 Secondary education level 146, 148, 150–152, 155, 156, 159, 160, 169 Self-Help Group-Bank Linkage program (SHG-BLP) 129, 130 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) 129, 130, 135, 252, 374 Semi-formal sector 110, 114 Sen, Amartya 31 Sen, Mrinal 325, 326 Short Film Movement 326 Sen, Surja 31 Service sector 44, 47, 48, 51, 87, 88, 250, 361 Shakna 340 Shatru Sampatti 290 Shipbuilding 97, 98, 104, 371 Shuwardy, Hossain Shaheed 31 Sircar, B.N. 312 Sloan, Pat 297 Small Finance Banks (SFBs) 122, 128, 129 SME financing 120, 134 Social action films 322, 323 Social and Mythological film genre 311 Specialized banks (SBs) 112, 113, 134 Specialized financial institutions 110, 120 Split milk 355, 362 State Eligibility Test (SET) 169 State Government 19, 20, 51, 70, 80, 85, 104, 164, 165, 167, 168, 207, 250, 285 State-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) 112, 113, 115, 116

Index

Stock markets 110, 120–122, 132, 136 Sugarcane 79 Sukhadhanya 340 Sultanas 332 Sundarbans 287, 288 Supply chain 70, 84, 221, 236, 379 Supyam 340 Sweet meat 355 Syrian Catholic 332

T

Tagore, Rabindranath 31, 163, 275, 309, 353 Tamil Nadu 85, 100, 102, 104, 251 Tebhaga Andolon 298 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) 149 Tenancy 17, 18, 70, 71, 370 Tenant 17, 18, 70–72, 75, 79, 129, 141, 370, 371 TFP growth 372 The Ganges 3, 6, 28, 368 The land of Bengalees 10, 368 Tin Bigha 300 Titas Ekti Nodir Nam 279, 295 Tomatoes 341, 342, 350 Total Factor Productivity (TFP) 103, 104, 372 Total fertility rate (TFR) 187 Transparency International 289 Trinamul Congress 16, 33 Two Bengal 3–5, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30–32, 60, 61, 67–69, 77, 78, 81, 103, 111, 142, 147, 173, 184, 212, 213, 223, 277, 287, 300, 306, 307, 317, 321, 328, 362, 368, 371, 373, 374, 376

389

U

Udbastu 283 Ukraine War 84 Undivided Bengal 22, 140, 141, 163, 223, 230, 241, 252, 254, 299, 308, 355 Unemployment 48–50, 55, 56, 60, 369 Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) 155, 159–161 Unified Payment Interface (UPI) 135 Uniqlo 93 Unitary government 32 Universal health coverage (UHC) 22, 186, 187, 193, 194, 197 University Grant Commission (UGC) 150–152, 155, 167 Unorganized sector 49, 102, 103 Untouchable 280

V

Value added 86, 88, 91, 358, 372 Vedic era 334, 364 Vedic period 24, 333, 334, 337, 339, 341, 342, 376 Vikramsila 140, 142

W

West Bengal 1–4, 8, 15–24, 27, 28, 30–32, 43–57, 59–61, 67, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75–77, 79, 80, 84–86, 98–100, 102–104, 110, 111, 122–126, 129, 130, 132, 134–136, 152–155, 159–161, 163–169, 172, 173,

390

Index

181–183, 195, 202, 203, 209, 211, 218, 241, 242, 244, 246, 247, 250–252, 254, 264, 276, 277, 279, 281, 284, 285, 288, 290, 293, 296, 301, 302, 305, 307, 311, 317, 319, 321, 323–327, 342, 343, 355, 356, 360, 363, 364, 367–370, 372–375, 377–379

West Bengal College Service Commission (WBCSC) 169 Wood’s Education Dispatch 145

Y

Yield rate 69, 77, 371

Z

Zia 289