Faces of Terrorism in Bangladesh A M M Shawkat Ali ISBN 984 05 1768 6 2006 144pp 215x136mm HB Tk.300.00 US$23.00
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. Notwithstanding this substantive contribution, the debate is still on even after the arrests of two top leaders of JMB. The collection of columns seeks to provide an analytical and evaluative account of the facts and circumstances that led to the public debate during the last two years or so. Selected columns arranged in a chronological and coherent form provide important information and data that are likely to help the readers in forming their own judgement on the subject. The dispassionate analyses present not only the ‘how’ and ‘why’ but also what should be the future direction from the perspective of governance. A M M Shawkat Ali joined the former Civil Service of Pakistan in 1966 and served in many important positions in the government of Pakistan and Bangladesh. He retired from service as Secretary in 2001. He is now engaged in private sector research and consultancy and is contributing columns to major national dailies in Dhaka. His areas of interest are agriculture, food, poverty, governance and human rights issues, among others. He is also an Adjunct Professor of East West University, Dhaka. His earlier books include: Field Administration and Rural Development in Bangladesh (Dhaka: CSS, 1982); Politics and Land System in Bangladesh (Dhaka: NILG, 1985); Politics, Upazila and Development (Dhaka: NILG, 1986); Agricultural Credit in Bangladesh (Dhaka: Centre for Development Research, Bangladesh, 1990); Aspects of Public Administration in Bangladesh (Dhaka: Nikhil Prakashan, 1993); Comprehensive Bibliography on Agriculture and Rural Development (co-author Dr. M.R. Khan, Dhaka: UPL, 1994); Bangladesher Bhumi Babosttaya ebong Rajniti (Politics and Land System in Bangladesh, Dhaka: Globe Library Private Limited, 2002); The Lore of the Mandarins: Towards a Non-Partisan Public Service in Bangladesh (Dhaka: UPL, 2002); Bangladesh Civil Service A Political-Administrative Perspective (Dhaka: UPL, 2004) and Bangladesher Samokalin Ghatonaprobaho (Contemporary Events in Bangladesh, Dhaka: Sucheepatra, 2005).
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