Political economy of poverty in the haor region of Bangladesh

Abstract

This research critically analyses the relationship between political economy and the incidence of poverty in the haor region of Bangladesh. Attempts are made to analyze the forces responsible within the framework of wider agrarian socioeconomic structure and political context using structural functionalist framework. The findings revel from the analysis of 1500 extreme poor households, case studies, key informant interviews and observation that, poverty in the haor region is caused by uneven social structure, low resource endowment (agricultural, forest and wetland land), low productivity, climate change induced threats- early flash floods, illiteracy, unemployment, exclusion from common pull resources, natural calamities- flood and flash floods, political issues of impoverishment, unfavorable state polices- wetland and khas land policies, poor governance affecting access to natural resources as well as lack of efficient and effective delivery of basic services to the poor and vulnerable population. The study concludes, a complex and dominant power relation is present both at the vertical and horizontal relations which create an identity, a new class equipped with musclemen and backed by state power causing absolute exclusion of poor mass from common pull resources and local economic activities and thereby, contributing sustaining abject poverty in the haor basin. Weak presence of the state, coupled with bad governance facilitated a structural domination resulted in economic deprivation of masses. As a result, far from concept of common pull resources providing widespread opportunities for the poor in the short to medium term, the level of haor poverty is increasing in absolute terms, both in relations to incidence and depth. In this situation, for any socio-economic changes, a shifting in the existing economic and power relationship is inevitable.