Tribute to Professor: Nurul’s unique quality as a professional economist originated in the common sense and pragmatism which influenced his great faith in empirical work. Unlike some of us who tend to be influenced by our own particular ideological baggage when we advocate policy, Nurul put greater faith in letting the evidence influence the ideology and even shape theory. He
His is an inspiring tale of a little boy with big dreams rising from the backwaters of Bengal to become a fabled student who went on to be a professor of Dhaka University, and to hold some of the highest offices in public service.
Economists and December 16, 1971
The economic and social consequences of the Ayubian growth model fed a mass movement that led to another coup
The writer is a senior political economist based in Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]
For those who were old enough in 1971 to understand and feel what was going around them, despite the thick smog of censorship imposed by the military dictator, December is a month of sadness. It was on the 16
th day of this month when the powers that be surrendered to a foreign power rather than their own people. Such catastrophes do not happen in a single day. These are long in the making. Soon after independence, the political class, the establishment and sections of intelligentsia had started to contribute towards disintegration. This column looks at the role of my own profession.