Dr. Akbar Ali Khan: In memoriam

 

To many of us , Dr. Akbar Ali Khan (1944-2022) ,  was our guide , friend and philosopher,  a man with exceptional qualities of head and heart - being an author, historian, economist, bureaucrat, and professor in retirement. His passing leaves a deep defile in the intellectual azure of Bangladesh. He served our society and nation for some 40 years as a civil servant, with uncompromising adherence to the fundamental principles of advancing public interest. Throughout his career, he was committed to maintaining the highest sense of honesty and integrity in public service.

Born inNabinagar ,Brahammanbaria, he  passed I.Sc. from Dhaka College  in 1961. Dr. Khan completed his BA and MA in History from Dhaka University. He then went on to do Masters and PhD in Economics from Queens University in Canada.

He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967.  He actively participated in the liberation war and was sentenced to fourteen years rigorous imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. He joined the provisional Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defense. He served as assistant and associate Professor of Jahangirnagar University. He taught Development Economics and Development Administration for three years in Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center as Member Directing Staff.

Dr Akber Ali Khan has taught postgraduate courses in Governance and Development Studies Departments in BRAC University after his retirement. He served as an Adjunct Professor in several privare universities. He is now associated with Business School of BRAC University as a Professor specializing in corporate governance and business environment. He served with distinction in various Ministries including Cabinet, Finance Education, Irrigation and Environment Divisions. He worked in the Ministry of Finance for more than sixteen years at levels of Joint Secretary and above. He was Chairman NBR and Secretary Internal Resource Division for nearly three years. He served as Finance Secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary in 2001 and retired from that position in 2002. He was Advisor in charge of the Ministries of Finance, Planning, Commerce, Post, Telegraph and Telephones in the Caretaker Government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the Chief Advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election. He also served as the first Chairman of Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.

When the call came in 1971, he joined the freedom struggle as a young civil servant without batting an eyelid. Khan actively participated in the civil disobedience movement in March 1971 before the commencement of the war of liberation on 25 March 1971. When the war began, he decided to supply ammunition to the guerrilla fighters, yet in the capacity of the SDO of Habiganj. As the Mujibnagar Government was yet to be formed and war of liberation remained to be formally launched, many police officers disagreed to give arms and ammunition without a written order. Khan fearlessly gave written note ordering to provide the freedom fighters with food and money. Collecting from the sub-divisional treasury, he arranged to send nearly three Crore taka to Agartalaby a truck to help run the Bangladesh Government to be formed on 17 April 1971.

Later he left Bangladesh, the then East Pakistan, and moved to Agartala, India across the border to physically participate in the war of liberation. He said, "After reaching Agartala we focused on building up an 'eastern administration'. Our main aim was to support the freedom fighters and to help the refugees who had escaped Bangladesh and lived in camps. We established a connection with theMujibnagar Government after a few months of its formation on 17 April 1971. During the initial months, we had to struggle single-handedly". In July, he was asked to come to Kolkata to join the government. There he began working at the Cabinet division as a deputy secretary. Later, in August, he was transferred to the Defense Ministry.[4]He was sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment in absentia by a Pakistan military court for his active participation in the Liberation War of Bangladesh

To those acquainted with his published materials, it takes little imagination to realise he is an extremely skilful writer of non-fiction. Though his busy schedule during his working life left him little time, he never failed to stock up his inventory of unfinished writings that ultimately saw light of day many years later. As a result, many of his books were actually published several years after he had completed research (often with deep insights) on the subject matter. Readers must credit him for preserving the material with care so that his views on many vital aspects of life and society could be discerned. He authored 18 books , prominent were the following 

*    Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti

*    PararthaparatarArthaneeti, In this book, he expressed the complex aspects of economic phenomenon in the lucid, unorthodox style of  John Kenneth Galbraith

*    Ajab O Jabar-AjabArthaneeti

*    Gresham's Law Syndrome And Beyond

*    Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder, and Other Essays: Reflections on Economy and Governance in Bangladesh

*    Discovery of Bangladesh - Explorations into Dynamics of a Hidden Nation

*    BangladesherSattarAnwesha

*    Chabikathir Khonje: Natun Aloke Jibananander' Banalata Sen'

*    AndhakarerUtsa Hate: Sahitya, Samaj, Paribesh O ArthaneetiSamparkeAlorSandhan

*    History of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh published this book where he explored the historical and social emergencies of Bangladesh as well as the growth of Islam in the country.

About a decade and a half ago, towards the end of 2007, the then government established a Regulatory Reform Commission.It had the distinguished civil servant Akbar Ali Khan as its chairman with a small group of business leaders, economists, and civil servants as members. The Commission had a mandate to analyze regulatory issues faced by businesses and recommend regulatory reform actions to address these.The commission had a two-year mandate to begin with but there was an expectation that this would become a permanent feature.It was able to function for about a year and became dysfunctional after the current government came to power in 2009.It appears that the new government took the view that regulatory reforms will proceed in the traditional way, i.e., through the initiative of individual ministries and agencies, and that a central unit such as a commission is not required to push reforms. It is true that many reforms have indeed happened since then either because individual ministries took a reform initiative proactively or responded positively to suggestions or demands from the business community.

In some cases, the initiative may have come from central units such as the Prime Minister's Office or the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.Despite all these efforts, the regulatory regime remains underprovided.

It has been my good fortune to have benedictions from such an outstanding personality , as a colleague working under him , a disciple of his of wisdom and challenging thoughts for  decades and to have had the privilege of having his blessings as our mentor .


Dr Muhammad Abdul Mazid,
Former Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh and former Chairman, NBR.