
The study is a pioneering attempt on civil service management in Bangladesh. The study is a unique blend of practitioner's knowledge and academic insight of the operation of the administrative machinery of Bangladesh. As many as ten key aspects of management have been identified, analysed and evaluated in depth with suggested actions for the future. These areas are both conventional and new. The conventional areas include recruitment, training, pay, pension, promotion etc.
This volume consists of 26 columns published earlier in various leading dailies between the years 2004 and 2006. The need for publication of the columns was felt because of the almost unending debate on religion-based militancy. The major political parties did not fail to have polarised views on the issue based on politics of denial and politics of confrontation. The media and the civil society, on the other hand, contributed to a more informed understanding of the much-debated subject of terrorism.
The challenge of establishing a functional democracy essential for national development has eluded many less developed countries. Bangladesh has been struggling to meet the challenge since its inception. Bangladesh in the Mirror compares the hopes of Bangladesh at independence in 1971 with the reality that exists today. While this book acknowledges the country's accomplishments, it also shows that the aspirations and potential of the Bangladeshi people have been thwarted by a fragile political and administrative system.