I am a teacher and researcher of anthropology at Green University of Bangladesh. My area of interest is anthrozoology, livelihoods, power structure and religion.
Local government units emerged and evolved during the British colonial period with the main purpo... more Local government units emerged and evolved during the British colonial period with the main purposes of dispute resolution and maintaining law and order situation at the local level. Later the local government system developed for mitigating various social, political and economic issues. After the independence of Bangla-desh, local government system has been changed several times in terms of nomenclature , electoral process and service providing procedure. The Acts and Ordinances relating to local government are constituted and amended by parliament. Reviewing literature, various documents and galvanizing the empirically rich experiences, the paper focuses different forms of local government since the British Colonial rule in this region; frameworks of local government systems; socioeconomic and political milieu in decentralisation in Bangladesh; and status of political and administrative decentralisation.Absence of coalition efforts, irregular elections and no elections in the established local government tiers, ambiguity in regards to devolution of power, dominance of the bureaucrats as well as the national level politicians and increasing importance of party politics hinder effective functioning of the local government tiers. This paper also gives thought provoking insights to the researchers and policy makers in the fields of local government and governance.
The Munda people have unique ethnic identity as one of the largest tribes in Indian subcontinent.... more The Munda people have unique ethnic identity as one of the largest tribes in Indian subcontinent. They have long history and distinctive language as well as religious and cultural identity. In Bangladesh, they are currently living in different geographical location over the country. Historically, hunting and gathering was the ancestral and inherited practice for everyday subsistence in Mundas. Although the ancestral way of living has been destroyed in most parts of the region through different political changes and technological advancements, there are still some Mundas who are found practicing their lives attached with nature. This study is attempted to construct a data source on hunting-gathering practices of Munda tribe as well as to focus on techniques and methods in which they fulfill their basic subsistence maintaining a very close connection with Mother Nature. Aiming this, ethnographic field works have been performed on Munda tribe of Palkichara village in north-eastern Bangladesh. Exploratory case studies, both participatory and non-participatory observations; individual, household and group interviews have been carried out for the primary data sources on subsistence pattern as well as socio-cultural structures. With the support of rich ethnographic and empirical data, this study shows that the Munda people of Palkichara village are still unique with their ancestral way of living despite of being socio-economically effected by various facts. It also illustrates that hunting and gathering are in the centre of their every aspect of life. Moreover, this research suggests that, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, Mundas in Palkichara may demonstrate the subsistence strategies of prehistoric hunter gatherers.
This paper entitled " Social Networks and Social Ties: Changing Trends among Urban Dwellers in Ba... more This paper entitled " Social Networks and Social Ties: Changing Trends among Urban Dwellers in Bangladesh " discussed the impact of using social network sites on social ties. The main aim of the article is to reveal how inter-net and social networking sites reshapes our social relations especially in urban settings. The study followed qualitative way of analyzing social relations and its dynamics. Using empirical data, the article reveals how technological development is changing the contemporary world very rapidly. Changes are taking place in all spheres of life and ultimately these situations change our own society, conventional social thinking patterns and cultural beliefs. The internet is offering new forms of social relations and ties in both private and public sphere through social networking sites like—Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp and Imo etc.—that affect the pattern of our day-today interaction and relationships within families, communities and society at large. For these changes, human behavior is also changing and therefore , the study is becoming more important in the preset interpersonal relationship. Our contemporary way of living is demanding too much time away from natural social relationships because of technological advancement which is playing a major role for these changes and has a definite consequence on the social and cultural area of Bangladesh.
The principle aim of this paper is to investigate the current trend of rural power structure in B... more The principle aim of this paper is to investigate the current trend of rural power structure in Bangladesh. Existing literature explains the rural power structure in two major theoretical tropes: Marxian and Weberian. In Marxist notion, they try to interpret the rural power structure on the basis of mode of production reflecting upon economic based land ownership and class position. On the other hand, the Weberian approach examines the elements of power in terms of class, status and political power and they are independent. We argue that both approaches are problematic, largely because they tend to assume that power is quantitative. It is something that power to be measured or concentrated in one place or two places and one or two more people. Following Michel Foucault, we argue that power is not concentrated in one or two places. Methodologically, this study was the combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based upon empirical findings in Madaripur district, I depicted how rural power structure is transformed and how it is being practiced. I will also show that many formal and informal organizations in rural Bangladesh act as a local centre of power/knowledge channeling nodal of power from micro to macro. It is also the carrier of state discourse. Because of state cannot solely exercise power. This understanding enables us to see the qualitative nature of multifaceted power, which is not confined to in one particular organizations or institutions. Rather it is dynamic and is thus issue of social relations.
İnsanlar, dünya gezegenindeki yolculuğunun başlangıcından beri uzun bir süredir insan dışı hayvan... more İnsanlar, dünya gezegenindeki yolculuğunun başlangıcından beri uzun bir süredir insan dışı hayvanlarla bağ kurmaktadır. Çok boyutlu ilişkiler oluşturarak hem insanlar hem de insan dışı türler birlikte var olmakta ve dünyayı paylaşmaktadırlar. İnsan dışı hayvanlar insanlar tarafından avlanır, manipüle edilir, evcilleştirilir, tüketilir ve bazen kendi türün yok olunmasına rağmen insan toplumlarında saygı görür, ibadet edilir, sembolize edilir, korunur ve kutlanılmaktadır. İnsanlık için bir nesne olarak gördükleri ile uzun zamandır farklı akademik disiplinler, insan dışı hayvanları kullanıcı bir yaklaşım olarak görmekteydi. Bu nedenle, insanlar ve insan dışı hayvanlar arasındaki maddi olmayan duygusal (sevgi ve güven) ve ilişkisel bağların yönleri genel olarak bilinmemektedir. Fakat antropoloji biliminin bir alt dalı olarak ortaya çıkan antrozooloji'nin çeşitli yaklaşımlarıyla, çağdaş akademik söylemlerde insan ve insan dışı hayvanlar arasındaki ilişkileri üzerinde hızlı bir şekilde artan ilgiler görülmektedir. Bu inceleme kökenini, gelişimini, çalışma alanlarını, karmaşıklıklarını ve gelecekteki perspektiflerini göstererek Türkiye ile birlikte diğer Asya ve Afrika ülkelerindeki antrozoolojik çalışmaların önemini sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.
The Bengal Delta is a place of many migrations, cultural transformations, invasions and religious... more The Bengal Delta is a place of many migrations, cultural transformations, invasions and religious revolutions since prehistoric time. With the help of archaeological and historical records, this essay present the hypothesis that, albeit there were multiple waves of large and small scale socio-cultural assimilations, every socio-political change did not brought equal formidable outcome in the Delta. The study further illustrates that, the majority of cultural components were formulated by IndigenousAryan-Buddhist assimilations in early phase, whereas the Buddhist-Aryan-Islamic admixtures in relatively forbearing and gracious socio-political background of medieval period contributed the final part in the formation of Bengal Civilization.
Humans have long been engaged with nonhuman animals since the beginning of their journey on the E... more Humans have long been engaged with nonhuman animals since the beginning of their journey on the Earth. Both human and nonhuman species have been co-existing and sharing the world forming multi-dimensional relationships. Although the non-humans are hunted, manipulated, domesticated, consumed or sometimes extincted by humans, they are also respected, worshiped, symbolized, conserved as well as adored in human societies. For a long time, different academic disciplines have considered the nonhuman animals in a utilitarian approach, considering them as objects for humanity. Therefore, the intangible aspects of emotional and relational bonds between humans and nonhumans have been commonly unrecognized. However, rapid growing interests are seen on the study of human and nonhuman animal relationships in contemporary academic discourses, resulted through various approaches of anthrozoology, an emerging field of anthropological science. Showing its origin, development, study fields, complexities and future perspectives, this paper is aimed to present the essence of anthrozoological studies in Bangladesh and other developing countries.
The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on t... more The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on this planet. Until 12,000 years ago, before the starting of cultivation system in the Fertile Crescent, virtually all humanity lived as hunters and gatherers. Therefore, investigations on present day hunter-gatherer societies may hold the key to some of the central questions about humans’life in nature before urbanization. Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.
The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on t... more The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on this planet. Until 12,000 years ago, before the starting of cultivation system in the Fertile Crescent, virtually all humanity lived as hunters and gatherers. Therefore, investigations on present day hunter-gatherer societies may hold the key to some of the central questions about humans’life in nature before urbanization. Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.
The paper of urban livelihood strategy and role of social capital identifies the rules, principle... more The paper of urban livelihood strategy and role of social capital identifies the rules, principles and techniques that govern the poorer people secure life and ensure to involve work activities among the mobile wage labor in Dhaka city in Bangladesh. An effort is made in this paper to assess how laborers are efficient to use social capital and in what extent they found this short of capital. The center of attention of the study, not so much from the economic and quantitative point of view but on the ways in which using social relations, kinship, networks shape poorer peoples life as a day worker where he or she can made a hope for living. The study has been conducted in different geographical corner in Dhaka city. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted in the study where observation, case study, in-depth interview and mini survey are mostly used tools. The paper particularly deals with survival strategy of poorer people using their relations and surrounding in urban area and it suggests that analysis of socio-cultural relations and networks are important and crucial to understanding urban livelihood.
This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the... more This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the use of groundwater in Noakhali char area in Bangladesh. It focuses, not so much on the impact of technical aspects of irrigation but on the ways in which the social relations of land ownership / access directly affect farmers’ access to water and their ability to innovate. Drawing upon ethnographic work on livelihoods, we suggest a renewed understanding of the notion of 'poverty'. The main argument of this paper is that ‘poverty’ is a state of being that can be re-read through analysis of local social relations and specific socio-political contexts. It also argues that farmers develop varied and complex livelihood strategies which are strongly influenced by networks and social relations. These are very significant in access to political and social resources, especially access to and use of water to innovate particular irrigation, though small-scale.
This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the... more This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the use of groundwater in Noakhali char area in Bangladesh. It focuses, not so much on the impact of technical aspects of irrigation but on the ways in which the social relations of land ownership / access directly affect farmers’ access to water and their ability to innovate. Drawing upon ethnographic work on livelihoods, we suggest a renewed understanding of the notion of 'poverty'. The main argument of this paper is that ‘poverty’ is a state of being that can be re-read through analysis of local social relations and specific socio-political contexts. It also argues that farmers develop varied and complex livelihood strategies which are strongly influenced by networks and social relations. These are very significant in access to political and social resources, especially access to and use of water to innovate particular irrigation, though small-scale.
ক্ষমতার ধারণা কোনো নির্দিষ্ট বৈশিষ্ট্য দিয়ে বোঝা সমস্যাজনক। কেননা ‘শক্তি প্রয়োগ’, ‘প্রভাব’, ‘মর্য... more ক্ষমতার ধারণা কোনো নির্দিষ্ট বৈশিষ্ট্য দিয়ে বোঝা সমস্যাজনক। কেননা ‘শক্তি প্রয়োগ’, ‘প্রভাব’, ‘মর্যাদা’, ‘শ্রেণী’, ‘কর্তৃত্ব’ প্রভৃতির মাধ্যমে ক্ষমতাকে বিভিন্নজন ব্যাখ্যা করেছেন। একটা দীর্ঘ সময় বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতা কাঠামোর ভিত্তি হিসাবে ভূমি, শ্রেণী, সামাজিক মর্যাদা, গোষ্ঠী বা বংশ প্রভৃতিকে বিবেচনা করা হত । কিন্তু বর্তমানে ক্ষমতার ভিত্তি এবং গ্রামীণ জনগণের মাঝে ক্ষমতা সম্পর্কিত বোঝাপড়া উভয়ক্ষেত্রেই পরিবর্তন এসেছে। এই প্রবন্ধের মাধ্যমে বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতা কাঠামোর সাম্প্রতিক প্রবনতাসমূহ বিশ্লেষন করা হয়েছে। এই বিশ্লেষনের মধ্য দিয়ে মার্ক্সীয় ও ওয়েবারীয় দৃষ্টিভঙ্গীর সীমাবদ্ধতা প্রস্ফুট হয়েছে। আমি দেখাতে চেষ্টা করেছি কিভাবে পরিবর্তিত সামাজিক, রাজনৈতিক, অর্থনৈতিক এবং সাংস্কৃতিক প্রেক্ষাপটে বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতার পরিবর্তন হয়েছে। ক্ষমতার মার্কসীয় ও ওয়েবারীয় বিশ্লেষনের বিপরীতে ফুকোলডিয়ান মডেল ব্যবহারের মধ্য দিয়ে ক্ষমতা অনুশীলনের পরিবর্তিত রূপ এ প্রবন্ধে তুলে ধরা হয়েছে।
Local government units emerged and evolved during the British colonial period with the main purpo... more Local government units emerged and evolved during the British colonial period with the main purposes of dispute resolution and maintaining law and order situation at the local level. Later the local government system developed for mitigating various social, political and economic issues. After the independence of Bangla-desh, local government system has been changed several times in terms of nomenclature , electoral process and service providing procedure. The Acts and Ordinances relating to local government are constituted and amended by parliament. Reviewing literature, various documents and galvanizing the empirically rich experiences, the paper focuses different forms of local government since the British Colonial rule in this region; frameworks of local government systems; socioeconomic and political milieu in decentralisation in Bangladesh; and status of political and administrative decentralisation.Absence of coalition efforts, irregular elections and no elections in the established local government tiers, ambiguity in regards to devolution of power, dominance of the bureaucrats as well as the national level politicians and increasing importance of party politics hinder effective functioning of the local government tiers. This paper also gives thought provoking insights to the researchers and policy makers in the fields of local government and governance.
The Munda people have unique ethnic identity as one of the largest tribes in Indian subcontinent.... more The Munda people have unique ethnic identity as one of the largest tribes in Indian subcontinent. They have long history and distinctive language as well as religious and cultural identity. In Bangladesh, they are currently living in different geographical location over the country. Historically, hunting and gathering was the ancestral and inherited practice for everyday subsistence in Mundas. Although the ancestral way of living has been destroyed in most parts of the region through different political changes and technological advancements, there are still some Mundas who are found practicing their lives attached with nature. This study is attempted to construct a data source on hunting-gathering practices of Munda tribe as well as to focus on techniques and methods in which they fulfill their basic subsistence maintaining a very close connection with Mother Nature. Aiming this, ethnographic field works have been performed on Munda tribe of Palkichara village in north-eastern Bangladesh. Exploratory case studies, both participatory and non-participatory observations; individual, household and group interviews have been carried out for the primary data sources on subsistence pattern as well as socio-cultural structures. With the support of rich ethnographic and empirical data, this study shows that the Munda people of Palkichara village are still unique with their ancestral way of living despite of being socio-economically effected by various facts. It also illustrates that hunting and gathering are in the centre of their every aspect of life. Moreover, this research suggests that, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, Mundas in Palkichara may demonstrate the subsistence strategies of prehistoric hunter gatherers.
This paper entitled " Social Networks and Social Ties: Changing Trends among Urban Dwellers in Ba... more This paper entitled " Social Networks and Social Ties: Changing Trends among Urban Dwellers in Bangladesh " discussed the impact of using social network sites on social ties. The main aim of the article is to reveal how inter-net and social networking sites reshapes our social relations especially in urban settings. The study followed qualitative way of analyzing social relations and its dynamics. Using empirical data, the article reveals how technological development is changing the contemporary world very rapidly. Changes are taking place in all spheres of life and ultimately these situations change our own society, conventional social thinking patterns and cultural beliefs. The internet is offering new forms of social relations and ties in both private and public sphere through social networking sites like—Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp and Imo etc.—that affect the pattern of our day-today interaction and relationships within families, communities and society at large. For these changes, human behavior is also changing and therefore , the study is becoming more important in the preset interpersonal relationship. Our contemporary way of living is demanding too much time away from natural social relationships because of technological advancement which is playing a major role for these changes and has a definite consequence on the social and cultural area of Bangladesh.
The principle aim of this paper is to investigate the current trend of rural power structure in B... more The principle aim of this paper is to investigate the current trend of rural power structure in Bangladesh. Existing literature explains the rural power structure in two major theoretical tropes: Marxian and Weberian. In Marxist notion, they try to interpret the rural power structure on the basis of mode of production reflecting upon economic based land ownership and class position. On the other hand, the Weberian approach examines the elements of power in terms of class, status and political power and they are independent. We argue that both approaches are problematic, largely because they tend to assume that power is quantitative. It is something that power to be measured or concentrated in one place or two places and one or two more people. Following Michel Foucault, we argue that power is not concentrated in one or two places. Methodologically, this study was the combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based upon empirical findings in Madaripur district, I depicted how rural power structure is transformed and how it is being practiced. I will also show that many formal and informal organizations in rural Bangladesh act as a local centre of power/knowledge channeling nodal of power from micro to macro. It is also the carrier of state discourse. Because of state cannot solely exercise power. This understanding enables us to see the qualitative nature of multifaceted power, which is not confined to in one particular organizations or institutions. Rather it is dynamic and is thus issue of social relations.
İnsanlar, dünya gezegenindeki yolculuğunun başlangıcından beri uzun bir süredir insan dışı hayvan... more İnsanlar, dünya gezegenindeki yolculuğunun başlangıcından beri uzun bir süredir insan dışı hayvanlarla bağ kurmaktadır. Çok boyutlu ilişkiler oluşturarak hem insanlar hem de insan dışı türler birlikte var olmakta ve dünyayı paylaşmaktadırlar. İnsan dışı hayvanlar insanlar tarafından avlanır, manipüle edilir, evcilleştirilir, tüketilir ve bazen kendi türün yok olunmasına rağmen insan toplumlarında saygı görür, ibadet edilir, sembolize edilir, korunur ve kutlanılmaktadır. İnsanlık için bir nesne olarak gördükleri ile uzun zamandır farklı akademik disiplinler, insan dışı hayvanları kullanıcı bir yaklaşım olarak görmekteydi. Bu nedenle, insanlar ve insan dışı hayvanlar arasındaki maddi olmayan duygusal (sevgi ve güven) ve ilişkisel bağların yönleri genel olarak bilinmemektedir. Fakat antropoloji biliminin bir alt dalı olarak ortaya çıkan antrozooloji'nin çeşitli yaklaşımlarıyla, çağdaş akademik söylemlerde insan ve insan dışı hayvanlar arasındaki ilişkileri üzerinde hızlı bir şekilde artan ilgiler görülmektedir. Bu inceleme kökenini, gelişimini, çalışma alanlarını, karmaşıklıklarını ve gelecekteki perspektiflerini göstererek Türkiye ile birlikte diğer Asya ve Afrika ülkelerindeki antrozoolojik çalışmaların önemini sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.
The Bengal Delta is a place of many migrations, cultural transformations, invasions and religious... more The Bengal Delta is a place of many migrations, cultural transformations, invasions and religious revolutions since prehistoric time. With the help of archaeological and historical records, this essay present the hypothesis that, albeit there were multiple waves of large and small scale socio-cultural assimilations, every socio-political change did not brought equal formidable outcome in the Delta. The study further illustrates that, the majority of cultural components were formulated by IndigenousAryan-Buddhist assimilations in early phase, whereas the Buddhist-Aryan-Islamic admixtures in relatively forbearing and gracious socio-political background of medieval period contributed the final part in the formation of Bengal Civilization.
Humans have long been engaged with nonhuman animals since the beginning of their journey on the E... more Humans have long been engaged with nonhuman animals since the beginning of their journey on the Earth. Both human and nonhuman species have been co-existing and sharing the world forming multi-dimensional relationships. Although the non-humans are hunted, manipulated, domesticated, consumed or sometimes extincted by humans, they are also respected, worshiped, symbolized, conserved as well as adored in human societies. For a long time, different academic disciplines have considered the nonhuman animals in a utilitarian approach, considering them as objects for humanity. Therefore, the intangible aspects of emotional and relational bonds between humans and nonhumans have been commonly unrecognized. However, rapid growing interests are seen on the study of human and nonhuman animal relationships in contemporary academic discourses, resulted through various approaches of anthrozoology, an emerging field of anthropological science. Showing its origin, development, study fields, complexities and future perspectives, this paper is aimed to present the essence of anthrozoological studies in Bangladesh and other developing countries.
The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on t... more The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on this planet. Until 12,000 years ago, before the starting of cultivation system in the Fertile Crescent, virtually all humanity lived as hunters and gatherers. Therefore, investigations on present day hunter-gatherer societies may hold the key to some of the central questions about humans’life in nature before urbanization. Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.
The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on t... more The hunter-gatherer groups represent the oldest and perhaps most successful human adaptation on this planet. Until 12,000 years ago, before the starting of cultivation system in the Fertile Crescent, virtually all humanity lived as hunters and gatherers. Therefore, investigations on present day hunter-gatherer societies may hold the key to some of the central questions about humans’life in nature before urbanization. Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.
The paper of urban livelihood strategy and role of social capital identifies the rules, principle... more The paper of urban livelihood strategy and role of social capital identifies the rules, principles and techniques that govern the poorer people secure life and ensure to involve work activities among the mobile wage labor in Dhaka city in Bangladesh. An effort is made in this paper to assess how laborers are efficient to use social capital and in what extent they found this short of capital. The center of attention of the study, not so much from the economic and quantitative point of view but on the ways in which using social relations, kinship, networks shape poorer peoples life as a day worker where he or she can made a hope for living. The study has been conducted in different geographical corner in Dhaka city. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted in the study where observation, case study, in-depth interview and mini survey are mostly used tools. The paper particularly deals with survival strategy of poorer people using their relations and surrounding in urban area and it suggests that analysis of socio-cultural relations and networks are important and crucial to understanding urban livelihood.
This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the... more This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the use of groundwater in Noakhali char area in Bangladesh. It focuses, not so much on the impact of technical aspects of irrigation but on the ways in which the social relations of land ownership / access directly affect farmers’ access to water and their ability to innovate. Drawing upon ethnographic work on livelihoods, we suggest a renewed understanding of the notion of 'poverty'. The main argument of this paper is that ‘poverty’ is a state of being that can be re-read through analysis of local social relations and specific socio-political contexts. It also argues that farmers develop varied and complex livelihood strategies which are strongly influenced by networks and social relations. These are very significant in access to political and social resources, especially access to and use of water to innovate particular irrigation, though small-scale.
This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the... more This paper identifies the rules and principles that govern small –scale irrigation, including the use of groundwater in Noakhali char area in Bangladesh. It focuses, not so much on the impact of technical aspects of irrigation but on the ways in which the social relations of land ownership / access directly affect farmers’ access to water and their ability to innovate. Drawing upon ethnographic work on livelihoods, we suggest a renewed understanding of the notion of 'poverty'. The main argument of this paper is that ‘poverty’ is a state of being that can be re-read through analysis of local social relations and specific socio-political contexts. It also argues that farmers develop varied and complex livelihood strategies which are strongly influenced by networks and social relations. These are very significant in access to political and social resources, especially access to and use of water to innovate particular irrigation, though small-scale.
ক্ষমতার ধারণা কোনো নির্দিষ্ট বৈশিষ্ট্য দিয়ে বোঝা সমস্যাজনক। কেননা ‘শক্তি প্রয়োগ’, ‘প্রভাব’, ‘মর্য... more ক্ষমতার ধারণা কোনো নির্দিষ্ট বৈশিষ্ট্য দিয়ে বোঝা সমস্যাজনক। কেননা ‘শক্তি প্রয়োগ’, ‘প্রভাব’, ‘মর্যাদা’, ‘শ্রেণী’, ‘কর্তৃত্ব’ প্রভৃতির মাধ্যমে ক্ষমতাকে বিভিন্নজন ব্যাখ্যা করেছেন। একটা দীর্ঘ সময় বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতা কাঠামোর ভিত্তি হিসাবে ভূমি, শ্রেণী, সামাজিক মর্যাদা, গোষ্ঠী বা বংশ প্রভৃতিকে বিবেচনা করা হত । কিন্তু বর্তমানে ক্ষমতার ভিত্তি এবং গ্রামীণ জনগণের মাঝে ক্ষমতা সম্পর্কিত বোঝাপড়া উভয়ক্ষেত্রেই পরিবর্তন এসেছে। এই প্রবন্ধের মাধ্যমে বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতা কাঠামোর সাম্প্রতিক প্রবনতাসমূহ বিশ্লেষন করা হয়েছে। এই বিশ্লেষনের মধ্য দিয়ে মার্ক্সীয় ও ওয়েবারীয় দৃষ্টিভঙ্গীর সীমাবদ্ধতা প্রস্ফুট হয়েছে। আমি দেখাতে চেষ্টা করেছি কিভাবে পরিবর্তিত সামাজিক, রাজনৈতিক, অর্থনৈতিক এবং সাংস্কৃতিক প্রেক্ষাপটে বাংলাদেশের গ্রামীণ ক্ষমতার পরিবর্তন হয়েছে। ক্ষমতার মার্কসীয় ও ওয়েবারীয় বিশ্লেষনের বিপরীতে ফুকোলডিয়ান মডেল ব্যবহারের মধ্য দিয়ে ক্ষমতা অনুশীলনের পরিবর্তিত রূপ এ প্রবন্ধে তুলে ধরা হয়েছে।
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Papers by Ahsan Habib
well as adored in human societies. For a long time, different academic disciplines have considered the nonhuman animals in a utilitarian approach, considering them as objects for humanity. Therefore, the intangible aspects of emotional and relational bonds between humans and nonhumans have been commonly unrecognized. However, rapid growing interests are seen on the study of human and nonhuman animal
relationships in contemporary academic discourses, resulted through various approaches of anthrozoology, an emerging field of anthropological science. Showing its origin, development, study fields, complexities and future perspectives, this paper is aimed to present the essence of anthrozoological studies in Bangladesh and other developing countries.
Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.
well as adored in human societies. For a long time, different academic disciplines have considered the nonhuman animals in a utilitarian approach, considering them as objects for humanity. Therefore, the intangible aspects of emotional and relational bonds between humans and nonhumans have been commonly unrecognized. However, rapid growing interests are seen on the study of human and nonhuman animal
relationships in contemporary academic discourses, resulted through various approaches of anthrozoology, an emerging field of anthropological science. Showing its origin, development, study fields, complexities and future perspectives, this paper is aimed to present the essence of anthrozoological studies in Bangladesh and other developing countries.
Moreover, they may hold information about the processes which shifted people from their natural habitat. The Munda people of Palkichara village are still observed to be unique with their ancestral way of life despite of being socio-economically controlled by the local tea estate. Hunting and gathering are the two main ways of subsistence which reflect in their every aspects of family, social and cultural practices. Therefore, being completely attached with nature and almost untouched by rest of the world, the Munda people of Palkichara village may provide some pictures of prehistoric hunter gatherer societies. This study is aimed to focus on some significant aspects of the traditional hunting-gathering methods and techniques as well as the questions on how and why the primitive way of life is still active in Munda tribal people of Palkichara village.