SOCIAL JUSTICE AND BANGABANDHU’S VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT THOUGHTS: A RETROSPECTIVE INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS

Abstract After the independence of Bangladesh, the Planning Commission, headed by Bangabandhu, allocated highest percentage of the total resources for the village-centric sectors. Thus, question arises why Bangabandhu brought such changes in attitude while in power, what were the contexts of Bangabandhu’s concept of village development, what was his purpose and, how did he plan to execute his notion of development. These questions still remain mostly unanswered. This article aims to explore the context of Bangabandhu’s thoughts on village development. On the basis of John Rawls’ social justice theory, it also aims to find out how he evaluated the actions and inactions of Pakistan central government regarding these issues, and examine his thoughts on village development. This paper presents an analytical narrative about Bangabandhu’s ideas about village development. To do so, this research utilizes both primary and secondary sources. Government documents, autobiographies, memoirs, newspapers, transcripts of Bangabandhu’s speeches, research books and articles are the basis of this paper. This research is qualitative in nature. Following historical methods, it concludes with the finding that the village development thoughts of Bangabandhu have their origin in Bangabandhu’s personal experience and world outlook. Development of village became his first priority. ‘Prosperous villages for a prosperous nation’ was the key principle to his village development philosophy and the village cooperative systems was the core component to achieve his goal. Keywords: Social Justice, Bangabandhu, Village Development, Farmer, Manifesto, Village Cooperative