Bangladesh Studies

The First World War had wrought a revolution in people's ideas of equality and liberty everywhere. In India, the Home Rule agitation had heightened political awareness and ambition across the length and breadth of the country under the British Raj. The Rowlatt Bill (1919), based on the controversial recommendation of the Rowlatt Committee, was enacted to deal with acts of sedition on the lifting of the Defense of India Act after the war. This was the backdrop when Philip Finney joined the Bengal Police in 1924.

Literacy is a necessary though not sufficient for economic development. As Bangladesh strives to raise the living standards of its population, the present accepted high level of literacy restricts the country’s potential for development in the areas of economic growth, education and the quality of life of its citizens. It is well nigh impossible to state with any degree of confidence what the illiteracy rate is as definitions of illiteracy have changed over recent decades and the existing measures lack validity. The present study expands on traditional concepts of literacy.

This comprehensive Education Sector Review has been published in three separate volumes. Volume II contains chapters on Primary and Pre-Primary Education, Non-Formal Education, and Secondary and Higher Secondary Education in Bangladesh. These Background reports of the education sector review present a detailed analysis of the relevant parts of the system. The major issues in the primary and secondary levels are examined, as well as the important role of non-formal education in providing basic education. Each sub-sector paper concludes with a possible strategy of objectives and means.

This is an outstanding account of Pakistan's political intrigues. In 1954 the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Maulvl Tamizuddin Khan filed a petition in the Chief Court of Pakistan challenging the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Governor-General. Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari discloses in the book how Pakistan's Chief Justice Muhammad Munir 'manipulated' the composition of the Bench to suit the Governor-General in upholding the dismissal of the Constituent Assembly. This decision 'devastated the political structure of Pakistan.