Socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
( bn, সমাজতন্ত্র) is one of the fundamental principles of the
Constitution of Bangladesh
The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...
, along with
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
,
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
and
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
.
The constitution names
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
as a
people's republic
People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
,
and declares all powers to be vested to the people. However, in Bangladesh, as a
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
, the reference of "socialism" is generally used to describe the state's goal to construct an exploitation-free society,
rather than its original meaning and implementation, which is characterised by
social ownership
Social ownership is the appropriation of the surplus product, produced by the means of production, or the wealth that comes from it, to society as a whole. It is the defining characteristic of a socialist economic system. It can take the form of ...
of the
means of production
The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as an ...
, as opposed to
private ownership. The constitution allows
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
and private ownership along with state ownership.
Socialist and
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
political parties played a key role the independence movement of both
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
and Bangladesh. Upon the
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in 1971, country's founding leaders shaped the
economy of Bangladesh
The economy of Bangladesh is a major economy of South Asia and a developing market economy.
—
—
—Siddiqi, Dina M. “Miracle Worker or Womanmachine? Tracking (Trans)National Realities in Bangladeshi Factories.” Economic and Politica ...
as a
socialist economy
Socialist economics comprises the economic theories, practices and norms of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems. A socialist economic system is characterized by social ownership and operation of the means of production that may ...
as described in the constitution, however, liberal democracy wasn't scrapped. But due to economic mismanagement and political turmoil, the economic system resulted in a stagnation, with
the deadly famine of 1974 further created a humanitarian crisis. In 1975, the country's political structure was reorganised in a
one-party
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
socialist republic
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ec ...
with
BAKSAL
Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কৃষক শ্রমিক আওয়ামী লীগ "Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League"; বাকশাল) was a political front comprising B ...
being the sole legitimate political party. After the
15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
* Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
and
1982 Bangladesh coup d'état
__NOTOC__
Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab ...
, reformist military leaders would redefine socialism with
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...
in 1979 and eventually introduce market and property reforms to push to a
capitalist system
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
. In 2011, the term "socialism" and "socialist" were again redefined to make the constitution more in line with the original document,
but the country remained a liberal
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economie ...
.
Constitution
Words "socialism" and "socialist" appear several times in the Bangladeshi constitution. In the constitution, the concept of socialism is seems to be more fiscal and social then political. Preamble briefly mentions the socialist principle and aim of the state:
Article 7 declares the people's relationship with the state:
Article 8 of the re-describes the preamble's reference to socialism as the fundamental principle:
Article 10 defines the characteristics of the socialist economy and freedom from exploitation:
Further, Article 14 of the constitution pledges to ensure the emancipation of the peasants and workers:
Likewise to the
socialist states
Several past and present states have declared themselves socialist states or in the process of building socialism. The majority of self-declared socialist countries have been Marxist–Leninist or inspired by it, following the model of the Sovi ...
, Article 17 calls for free and compulsory education system:
Article 20 of the constitution best describes the socialist features of economy with the famous
Marxist phrase "
from each according to his abilities, to each according to his work", inspiring from the
Soviet constitution
During its existence, the Soviet Union had three different constitutions in force individually at different times between 31 January 1924 to 26 December 1991.
Chronology of Soviet constitutions
These three constitutions were:
* 1924 Constitut ...
:
History
Early history
![22 Feb 1952 DURoad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/22_Feb_1952_DURoad.png)
Before the
partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
,
region of Bengal was one of the important centers of revolutionary activities in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Bengali leaders played a vital role to introduce and assemble socialism as well as
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
in India, such as
Muzaffar Ahmad
Muzaffar Ahmad (known as Kakababu; 5 August 1889 – 18 December 1973) was an Indian-Bengali politician, journalist and a co-founder of Communist Party of India.
Background
Ahmed was born at Musapur village in Sandwip Island in Chittagong Dis ...
, co-founder of
Communist Party of India.
After partition, communist activities were re-organized in newly established Pakistan. In 1949, Awami Muslim League, the predecessor of modern Awami League, was established aiming to establish exploitation-free society and abolishment of ''
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...
'' system. During the
1954 provincial elections in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
, Awami League-led
United Front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
gained the exclusive mandate in East Pakistan. Earlier in 1950,
Communist Party of Pakistan
The Communist Party of Pakistan ( abbr. CPP; ur, کمیونسٹ پارٹی آف پاکستان) is a communist party in Pakistan.
History Founding
The CPP was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March 1948 ...
played a major role in labour strikes for the support of the
language movement.
The Communist Party, with support from the United front, formed a democratic government in East Pakistan.
In 1958, the government in East Pakistan was dismissed by the
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
.
Socialist era (1972–1975)
After the
liberation of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...
in 1971, some socialistic approaches were taken by the
Government of Bangladesh
The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...
, increasing state participation in the productive activities to improve the
economic status of the war ridden country. With a view to establishing a socialist nation under a
Soviet economic model
Soviet-type economic planning (STP) is the specific model of centralized planning employed by Marxist–Leninist socialist states modeled on the economy of the Soviet Union (USSR).
The post-''perestroika'' analysis of the system of the Soviet ...
, many large and medium-sized enterprises and public utility enterprises were nationalized.
On 26 March 1972, all banks, and all insurance companies excluding the branches of foreign banks were nationalized.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...
, the first president and the "
founding father
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
" of the country, advocated socialism and
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
in the country. According to him, the country's wealth belongs to all the people of Bangladesh. Everybody will have share in whatever would be produced. Exploitation would be stopped. The constitution was highly dominated by socialist ideas and his party
Awami League became the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' vanguard party.
However, these initiatives resulted a rise of
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
insurgance in the country, and many anti-AL organizations broke out, like
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party of Bangladesh', JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul ...
(JaSaD) and
Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party
Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party ( bn, পূর্ব বাংলার সর্বহারা পার্টি, Proletarian Party of East Bengal) is a communist party in Bangladesh. The party played a role in the independence struggle of the c ...
. A people's militia named
Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini
The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini ( bn, জাতীয় রক্ষী বাহিনী, lit=National Defense Force) was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.
Initially formed to curb the insur ...
(JRB) was formed to handle the insurgance, which eventually involved with
extrajudicial killings
An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...
,
enforced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...
s and atrocities.
The economy also saw a backslide. Reformation process left only the small and cottage industries for the private sector.
Public sector expanded very rapidly, but the share of public sector in GDP and in total productive efforts was insignificant. This was because the
agricultural sector was left to the private sector, which comprised about 80% of the national economy. In 1974,
a great famine broke out in the country, which emerges the mismanagement and failure of the system.
On 24 February 1975, due to increasing insurgency and political and economic mismanagements, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a socialist revolution in the country, named
Second Revolution. Using the powers granted to him by the fourth
amendment of the constitution, he formed a new political party,
Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL). It would be the only party allowed in Parliament. Bangladesh became a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
. The party advocated
state socialism
State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...
as a part of the group of reforms under the theory of Second Revolution. BaKSAL was the decision making council to achieve the objectives of the Second Revolution. Government also restricted civil liberties and most of the newspapers were banned.
Growing insurgency, political and economic mismanagements and JRB atrocities formed an anti-Mujibist and anti socialist sentiment in the military. On 15 August 1975, Mujib along with his most of the family members was assassinated. Four of his closest allies and leading figures of the Revolution
were killed on 3 November in that year. With the
assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, BaKSAL was dissolved and Second Revolution failed.
Post-socialist era
After the assassination of Mujib in 1975, new military leaders launched a de-Mujibization and liberalization programme develop a capitalist society. During the years of military rule that followed under
Ziaur Rahman
Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...
(1975-1981) and
Hussain Muhammad Ershad
Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...
(1982-1990), socialist policies and rhetoric were abandoned. Zia withdrawn most of the policies of the Second revolution and reintroduced
multi-party
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coa ...
representative system. Liberal and progressivist political parties were revivaled, as well as JaSad and other revolutionary
Marxist–Leninist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
political parties were crushed during the post-coup purges.
Relationships with United States and other
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...
countries also improved by that time.
Economy of Bangladesh
The economy of Bangladesh is a major economy of South Asia and a developing market economy.
—
—
—Siddiqi, Dina M. “Miracle Worker or Womanmachine? Tracking (Trans)National Realities in Bangladeshi Factories.” Economic and Politica ...
saw a de-socialization as well as de-centralization by this time. Many state-owned enterprises were privatised, like banking, telecommunication, aviation, media, and jute. Trade liberalization and exports promoted. Economic policies aimed at encouraging private enterprise and investment, privatising public industries, reinstating budgetary discipline, and liberalising the import regime were accelerated.
[ ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the ]public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.''
Contemporary Bangladesh
Today, contemporary Bangladesh has among the most liberalized economies of South Asia. It is characterised as a
developing market economy. Awami League, the party which one time promoted socialism in the country, is currently encouraging free market economy and foreign investment. In 1991, AL president and
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা ...
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
noted that socialism was a failed system.
Bangladesh ranked 128th out of 178 countries in the 2017
Index of Economic Freedom.
Parties
Registereds
*
Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
*
Communist Party of Bangladesh
The Communist Party of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি) is a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist party in Bangladesh.
History
After the Partition of India, partitioni ...
*
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party of Bangladesh', JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul ...
*
Workers Party of Bangladesh
The Workers Party of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি) is a communist party in Bangladesh. Rashed Khan Menon is the president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh and Anisur Rahm ...
*
Socialist Party of Bangladesh
The Socialist Party of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, abbreviated 'বাসদ', 'BASAD', or 'SPB') is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in Bangladesh. The party ...
*
Krishak Sramik Janata League
The Krishak Sramik Janata League () is a political party in Bangladesh. Bangabir Kader Siddique is the president of the party, and Habibur Rahman Talukdar the general secretary. In the 2001 parliamentary election, the party won 1 out of 300 elect ...
*
Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh
The Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh (RWPB; bn, বাংলাদেশের বিপ্লবী ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি) is a political party in Bangladesh, founded on 14 June 2004 after splitting from t ...
*
Bangladesh National Awami Party
*
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rab)
*
Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist)
Unregistereds
*
Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party
Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party ( bn, পূর্ব বাংলার সর্বহারা পার্টি, Proletarian Party of East Bengal) is a communist party in Bangladesh. The party played a role in the independence struggle of the c ...
*
See also
*
Secularism in Bangladesh
*
Democracy in Bangladesh
Democracy in Bangladesh was first introduced when the British Raj, British ruled South Asia from 1700 to 1947, where Bangladesh was among the first British Colonial Empire, British colonies in the Indian Subcontinent, subcontinent. It was then w ...
*
Politics of Bangladesh
Politics of Bangladesh takes place in a framework of a parliamentary system, parliamentary representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the head of government, and of a multi-party sy ...
*
Mujibism
Mujibism ( bn, মুজিববাদ, translit=Mujibbad) refers to the political view held and propagated by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of the liberation movement of Bangladesh. Mujibism consists of four fundamental policies: nationali ...
References
{{Asia in topic, Socialism in
Politics of Bangladesh
Constitution of Bangladesh
Economy of Bangladesh
Fundamental principles of the constitution of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...