Changing Patterns of Rural Leadership and Power Structure: An Anthropological Study

Abstract

This study investigates the changing patterns of rural power structures and leadership. The present study tries to find out the changing pattern of rural leadership in Gazaria upazila, Munshiganj district based on comprehensive investigation of Bhaber Char, Bausia and Imampur union parishad. A full household survey of Nayakandi, Chhota Alipur, Pakshiarpar, Faragikandi, Monairkandi, Bhkterkandi, Imampur, Char Sahebani and Soloani village in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj district was performed to identify rural respondents. Positional, reputational, and issue participation approaches led to the identification of 149 participants in total. Focus group discussions, participant observation, and participant storytelling were used to gather data on the changing structure of rural power structures and leadership consideration. A pattern of important characteristics have been used to historically analyze the changes in rural leadership including caste, class, gender, education, political affiliation, occupation and income. For the time period between 1971-2021 evaluates of rural power structures since independence, the cultural ties that bind political leadership to the countryside, as well as how these changes have affected in study area. The results of the study are non-political rural leaders who dominated the people of Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj district before union parishad was implemented in Bangladesh, which were landowners, moneylenders and traders. Rural leadership has changed a generational changed since 1991. In this consequence, about 91.28% general people have no interest in local elections and 63.09% people appear that national politics changed the rural leadership. Moreover, 48.99% elected people in the local election by their personal popularity. Furthermore, local people 53.69% believed that national politics influence in changing the rural leadership and power structure. Regression outcome on rural leadership impact by group of ancestors are ruled (𝑝 ≅ 92%). Key findings show the power structure in rural Bangladesh underwent a significant change in the decade that spanned 1971 to 2021. Through gram shalishi, the unity parishad in Gazaria upazila is accepted as a way of life. It is essential that communities become ruling party shelters in order for union parishads to take root in their areas. Effective rural leadership is crucial to the long-term success of gram shalish and the achievement of people's ambitions to participate in and contribute to village development activities. Among the elites such as the younger ones were controlling the villages, whereas, the older ones were losing the elite status, because of their lack of positional prestige and power. Rural leaders changed their approach in order to create and keep power, such as housing business, dredging mining, forming party networks including various government and nongovernment groups and maintaining a good contact with upazila chairman and member of parliament. There appears to be a specific significance to rural leadership at the local level, given that it is tasked with running the union parishad apparatus and bringing politics to the grassroots. The new socio-economic dynamics generated by massive scale the conventional values and attitudes as well. iv Lastly, it should be noted that the ruling party had been actively promoting the youth leader in hopes that he or she would be loyal to the party's interests. They hoped that the youth leader, in his role as parishad election chairman would vote for their candidate for union chairman. Defections and new alliances among members of the union parishad are encouraged by political leaders in order to bolster their own party. The member also has some ties to national authorities, which support him in indirectly maintaining control over rural leaders and power structure.