SouthAsiaResearch NotesThe Subir & Malini Chowdhury

Center for Bangladesh Studiesat the Institute for South Asia Studies

University of California at Berkeley

S U M M A R Y

Fall 2014

THE SUBIR & MALINI CHOWDHURY CENTER FOR BANGL ADESH STUDIES

Subir Chowdhury, chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group, LLC

The Subir & Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies, established in 2013 with a generous gift from the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation, champions the study of Bangladesh’s cultures, peoples and history. The first of its kind in the US, the Center’s mission is to create an innovative model combining research, scholarships, the promotion of art and culture, and the building of ties between institutions in Bangladesh and the University of California.

The pioneering force behind the Center is Subir Chowdhury. Mr. Chowdhury, originally from Chittagong and trained as an engineer, is a renowned business consultant, author of many books, and is one of the world’s leading management gurus particularly known for his emphasis on quality.

In addition to promoting and integrating interdisciplinary scholarship, the Chowdhury Center will sponsor lectures and conferences and provide three scholarships (see box on right)

CHOWDHURY CENTER FELLOWSHIPS• THE SUBIR CHOWDHURY

FELLOWSHIP ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN BANGLADESH IS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND WILL BE MATCHED BY THE UNIVERSITY’S GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP MATCHING PROGRAM.

• THE MALINI CHOWDHURY FELLOWSHIP ON BANGLADESH STUDIES IS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS IN ANY FIELD CONCENTRATING ON BANGLADESH STUDIES AND WILL ALSO BE MATCHED BY THE UNIVERSITY’S GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP MATCHING PROGRAM.

• THE SUBIR CHOWDHURY UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP WILL BE AWARDED TO STUDENTS CONCENTRATING IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES AT BERKELEY AND WILL BE MATCHED BY THE FORD CHALLENGE, A FUND PROVIDED BY A BERKELEY DONOR TO MATCH UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP GIFTS.

The Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Subir Chowdhury is a leading quality management thinker and chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group, LLC. The Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation has provided $1 million in

seed funding to help the center move well beyond the headlines to support research that will improve lives in Bangladesh and showcase the country’s culture, history, talent and resilience in the face of intense trials.

“It’s my dream come true,” said Chowdhury.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, an internationally renowned anthropologist and scholar of Indian ethno-history, said the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies is a perfect fit with UC Berkeley’s aspirations.

“The Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies underscores UC Berkeley’s commitment to provide our faculty and students with expanded options for engagement with global issues,” Dirks said. “We have a great deal of expertise to share, and much to learn from others as we confront challenges that know no national border.”

HIGHLIGHTING PROGRESSIt has been over 40 years since the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden raised awareness about Bangladesh and relief funds for those hurt by the war for independence and the 500,000 killed by the strongest cyclone ever recorded. Chowdhury wants to raise the country’s profile again, but this time, around its successes. For example, the World Bank just recognized Bangladesh for its economic progress and the country will co-host a global meeting on migration April 28-29.

The center, the first of its kind in the United States, will heighten awareness about globally important work being done by Bangladeshis in the United States, and by Americans in Bangladesh.

As an example, Chowdhury noted UC Berkeley professor and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Ashok Gadgil, whose work on a treatment system to remove deadly arsenic from drinking water can save millions of lives in Bangladesh and

THE CHOWDHURY CENTER WILL EMPHASIZE: • EXCHANGE AND

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS TO TAKE UC BERKELEY STUDENT AND FACULTY RESEARCHERS TO BANGLADESH TO STUDY, WORK AND EXCHANGE IDEAS.

• ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS LIKE ONE IN THE WORKS WITH BANGLADESH-BASED BRAC UNIVERSITY, WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE LARGEST INTERNATIONAL, NON-GOVERNMENTAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.

• THE STUDY OF BANGLA CULTURE, HISTORY AND LANGUAGE.

• SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH TWO ANNUAL GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS FOCUSED ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN BANGLADESH AND PURSUING BANGLADESH STUDIES, AND FOR UNDERGRADUATES THROUGH ONE ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP STUDYING SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES.

• DEVELOPMENT OF A BANGLADESH COMPONENT THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED IN OTHER COURSES IN AREAS RANGING FROM PUBLIC HEALTH TO ENGINEERING OR METROPOLITAN STUDIES.

BANGLADESH TAKES CENTER STAGE WITH SUBIR & MALINI CHOWDHURY CENTERBy Kathleen MaclayMedia Relations, UC Berkeley

BANGLADESH MAY BE KNOWN MOSTLY FOR ITS POVERTY, ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY AND DEADLY FACTORY FIRES, BUT THE NEW SUBIR AND MALINI CHOWDHURY CENTER FOR BANGLADESH STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, IS READY TO PROVE THAT THIS SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRY OF OVER 160 MILLION PEOPLE HAS A LOT MORE TO TEACH THE REST OF THE WORLD.

worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH HUBAhmed Badruzzaman, an energy scientist and a visiting scholar at the center, said his home country of Bangladesh in the low-lying Ganges Delta is in a unique position to share lessons from its experience dealing with critical issues such as climate change, economic sustainability, natural resource stewardship and maintaining a democracy.

He said the country has made great strides and has even surpassed its better endowed neighbors in many measures of development. But whether Bangladesh will overcome its challenges, sustain its growth, and “remain a beacon for underdeveloped countries” are questions scholars will debate for years, said Badruzzman. “The Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies will be a major hub of such deliberations.”

Lawrence Cohen, ISAS director and a social anthropologist with extensive experience in India, said the new center will highlight and enhance the significant research contributions and partnerships already underway in this developing region, while likely spurring new efforts.

CAPITALIZING ON CAMPUS EXPERTISEChowdhury said UC Berkeley is well suited to the task. He said that its Institute for South Asia Studies (ISAS) is a leading South Asia research institute and since 2005 has boasted a thriving beginning and intermediate Bangla language program, with support from both West Bengal and Bangladesh expatriates. The program will now become permanently endowed due to the recently concluded fundraiser by the Bangladeshi community. It also has about 50

SUBIR CHOWDHURY has been a thought leader in quality management strategy and methodology for more than 20 years. Currently Chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group, LLC, he leads Six Sigma and Quality Leadership implementation, and consulting and training efforts.

Subir’s work has earned him numerous awards and recognition. The New York Times cited him as a ”leading quality expert”; BusinessWeek hailed him as the “Quality Prophet.” Thinkers50, sponsored by Harvard Business Review, named Subir as one of the “50 Most Influential Management Thinkers in the World”. He is an honorary member of the World Innovation Foundation (WIF) and has been inducted into the Engineering, Science and Technology Hall of Fame and the Automotive Hall of Fame. Subir is a recipient of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Gold Medal, the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) Henry Ford II Distinguished Award for excellence in Automotive Engineering and the American Society of Quality’s first Philip Crosby Medal for authoring the most influential book on Quality. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security presented the ‘Outstanding American by Choice Award’ to Subir for his contributions to the field of quality and management.

Subir is the author of 13 books, including the international bestseller THE POWER OF SIX SIGMA (Dearborn Trade, 2001), which has sold more than a million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 20 languages, and the critically acclaimed THE ICE CREAM MAKER (Doubleday, 2005), which was formally recognized and distributed to every member of the 109th Congress.

The SUBIR & MALINI CHOWDHURY FOUNDATION focuses on the education of those less fortunate in the world. The foundation helped found the Global Quality Awareness (GQA) campaign, a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of quality in all areas of life. The Foundation also provided a lifetime endowment for the Frances Hesselbein Medal for Excellence in Leadership and Service, awarded annually to a United States Military Academy West Point cadet who demonstrates “excellence in mentorship and leadership by example.”

In addition to establishing the Subir & Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at UC Berkeley, the foundation also awards the annual SUBIR CHOWDHURY FELLOWSHIP ON QUALITY AND ECONOMICS via Harvard University and London School of Economics and Political Science to a doctoral student to research and study the impact of quality in the economic advancement of a nation.

Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 1967, Subir received his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India and his graduate degree in Industrial Management from Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He has received Distinguished Alumnus Awards from both universities, as well as an honorary doctorate of engineering from the Michigan Technological University.

The Chowdhury gift signing. (from left) ISAS Chair Lawrence Cohen, ISAS Executive Director Sanchita Saxena, Subir Chowdhury, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks

affiliated faculty and more than 200 courses on issues concerning South Asia and Bangladesh. In addition, ISAS co-hosted a 2013 international conference on Bangladesh development. The Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies will host the event in 2015.

Many Institute-affiliated faculty are experts in topics important to Bangladesh. Chowdhury singled out sociologist Raka Ray, who he met 15 years ago when first introduced to Berkeley; Ananya Roy, an authority on global poverty and microfinance; Isha Ray, who studies sustainable rural development and access to safe drinking water; development economist Pranab Bardhan; and Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies Director Sanchita Saxena, an expert on the textile and garment industry.

Chowdhury said the UC Berkeley faculty’s quality and passion are impressive. “When you have that kind of energy, there’s no doubt that we will have more Bangladesh success stories,” he said.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIESStudents are enthusiastic too.

Caitlin Cook, a public health master’s degree candidate, just received the Subir Chowdhury Quality of Life Fellowship to further her research with Bangladeshi mothers and infants to learn more about antibiotic resistance in a pandemic. Nafisa Akbar, a Ph.D. candidate in political science and the new Malini Chowdhury Fellow, is investigating why political parties in Bangladesh use violence as a campaign strategy.

Akbar said election violence by political parties happens in Bangladesh and other countries, such as Kenya, India and Nigeria.

“If we can identify the motivations behind why political parties use violence as a pre-election repertoire, perhaps we can determine solutions to deterring parties from doing so,” said Akbar. “Such solutions may be the key to changing what we consider ‘weak’ democracies into ‘strong’ democracies that function more along the lines of what we see in the U.S. Perhaps then voters in these countries can vote freely and without fear of repercussions, which is one of the basic requirements of a democracy.”

“Bangladesh is ripe with research questions waiting to be addressed,” said Saxena. “Our hope is that through the wide range of activities of the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies, students and scholars will recognize that the study of Bangladesh’s economy, society and culture is a critical part of their education and future career paths.”

THE SUBIR AND MALINI CHOWDHURY CENTER FOR BANGLADESH STUDIES AT UC BERKELEY WILL FORMALLY LAUNCH IN SPRING 2015

Subir Chowdhury with the 2014 fellowship awardees Caitlin Cook and Nafisa Akbar (right)

UC Berkeley Fundraising Initiative BANGLADESH @ BERKELEY

THE PHILOSOPHY AT BERKELEY IS TO MAKE THE STUDENTS AWARE OF THE INCREDIBLE DEPTH AND RANGE OF BANGLA CULTURE FROM THE 19TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT

COURSE OFFERINGS

BANGLA TEACHING HIGHLIGHTS THE LANGUAGE AND CULTURES FROM PRE-INDEPENDENCE BENGAL IN INDIA, MODERN WEST BENGAL AND BANGLADESH, AS WELL AS OF THE DIASPORIC BANGLA POPULATION IN NORTH AMERICA

• BANGLA LANGUAGE IS TAUGHT AT BOTH THE INTRODUCTORY AND INTERMEDIATE LEVELS

• CONTENT COURSES INCLUDE: 19TH-CENTURY BENGALI SOCIAL & CULTURAL ENLIGHTENMENT; NATIONALIST & COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN BENGAL AND INDIA; PARTITION OF INDIA AND BENGAL IN 1947; AND THE BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR IN 1971

PROGRAMMING

SOME OF THE MORE RECENT BANGLA-RELATED EVENTS ARE

• TALKS BY REHMAN SOBHAN , ASHOK GADGIL, AND DAVID LEWIS

• TWO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR BANGLADESH

• METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS FROM ICDDR,B

WE ARE STRONGLY COMMITTED TO BOTH ADDING AS WELL AS ENHANCING THE OFFERINGS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CHOWDHURY CENTER.

UC BERKELEY FACULTY & SCHOLARS WITH A SPECIAL INTEREST IN BANGLADESH

Pranab Bardhan,Professor Emeritus of the Graduate School, is an economist who works on rural institutions in poor countries, on political economy of development policies, and on international trade

Amit Basu is the Bangla Language Lecturer at UC Berkeley. He has taught Bangla for more than two decades in the US and is the author of, “Lyrics to Love,” a translation of Tagore songs and poems

Ashok Gadgil, a Civil & Environ-mental Engineer, is Director of the Environmental Energy Tech. Div. at LBNL. He works on arsenic remedi-ation of ground water and treat-ment methods for making water safe.

Isha Ray, Associate Professor, Energy & Resources Group and Co-Director, Berkeley Water Center, works on safe water & sanita-tion in low-income communities, with emphasis on access, affordability, and acceptance.

Raka Ray, Professor of Sociology and South & South-east Asia Studies, specializes in gender & feminist theory, domination and inequality, the emerging middle classes, and social movements

Ananya Roy, Professor of City and Regional Planning and Distinguished Chair in Global Poverty and Practice, is a scholar of international development and global urbanism

Sanchita Saxena, Executive Director, Institute for South Asia Studies & Di-rector, Chowdhury Center for Ban-gladesh Studies, is a public policy scholar who works on Bangladesh's textile industry

Allan Smith, Professor of Epid-emiology and Director of Cal's Arsenic Research Program, studies the contamination of ground water by arsenic and its subsequent health impacts

UC Berkeley Fundraising Initiative BANGLA @ BERKELEY

THE BANGLA STUDIES ENDOWMENT AT UC BERKELEY SUPPORTS THE INSTRUCTION IN BANGLA LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE AT BERKELEY. THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND, SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED FOR THE STUDY OF BANGLA LANGUAGE AND CULTURE AT AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, IT ALLOWS ISAS TO:

• TEACH THE BANGLA LANGUAGE AT THE INTRODUCTORY, INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED LEVELS

• HELP PREPARE RESEARCHERS WHO WISH TO CONDUCT FIELD WORK IN BANGLADESH OR INDIA

• TRAIN DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS, ENTREPRENEURS AND NGO ACTIVISTS TO WORK IN THE FIELD

• FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BERKELEY STUDENTS FOCUSING ON WEST BENGAL OR BANGLADESH OR FOR BANGLA OR BANGLADESHI GRADUATE STUDENTS PURSUING GRADUATE STUDIES AT UC BERKELEY

• CREATE NEW AND INNOVATIVE MATERIALS TO ENHANCE THE STUDY OF BANGLA

• INCREASE BERKELEY’S LIBRARY HOLDINGS IN BANGLA LITERATURE

• CREATE LECTURE SERIES TO BRING BANGLA SCHOLARS, ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS TO THE BAY AREA.

WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS OF BANGLA @ BERKELEY

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT

M A D E I N B A N G L A D E S H , C A M B O D I A , A N D S R I L A N K AT H E L A B O R B E H I N D T H E G L O B A L G A R M E N T S A N D T E X T I L E S I N D U S T R I E S

B YS A N C H I T A B A N E R J E E S A X E N A

C A M B R I A P R E S S , J U N E 2 0 1 4

B O O K A N N O U N C E M E N T

268 pages Level: College & FacultyJune 2014

University Corporate Centre, 100 Corporate Parkway, Suite 128, Amherst, New York 14226www.cambriapress.comT (716)568-7828 F (716)608-1489 E info@cambriapress.com

An innovative, independent publisher of peer-reviewed academic research

Made in Bangladesh,Cambodia,

and Sri LankaThe Labor Behind the Global

Garments and Textiles Industries

Sanchita Banerjee Saxena

http://www.cambriapress.com/books/9781604978780.cfm

Format Price ISBN6 x 9 in Hardcover $109.99 / £69.99 / €81.99 978-1-60497-878-0EBSCHost WebPDF $109.99 / £NaN / €NaN 978-1-62499-836-2EBSCHost ePub $109.99 / £NaN / €NaN 978-1-62499-837-9

Description

The garments and textiles sector is one of the oldest export industries and hasoften served as the “starter” industry for many countries, especially in Asia.To quell the fear of job losses to countries in the Global South, northern coun-tries established the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) in 1974. This arrangementrestricted garment and textile imports to the United States, Canada, and the Euro-pean Union (EU) by allocating quotas to countries throughout the developingworld. The MFA, in place after more than thirty years, was finally phased outin 2005.

Most studies conducted prior to the 2005 quota phase out predicted that once thequotas were lifted, many of the “smaller” countries would drastically lose mar-ket share. The prime reason for this pessimism was the notion that the variousstakeholders would never be able to work together to make the necessary changesneeded for the sector. The subtext was that these groups would be too focused ontheir own interests and would not want to compromise their intimate relationshipwith powerful players in the industry. In contrast to the conventional wisdom ofthat time, many of the “unexpected” countries like Cambodia, Bangladesh, andSri Lanka not only survived the end of the MFA, but they have made significantimprovements which have allowed them to maintain their foothold in the inter-national trading regime.

The general perception of the garment and textile industry in the Global Southis fueled only by images of dismal labor conditions and unsuitable factories,

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High rates of antimicrobial resistance have been reported from developing countries including from South and Southeast Asia. The Indian subcontinent including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh has recently been proven to be a major source for the worldwide transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Of particular concern is the rising resistance against third generation cephalosporins (3GC) and carbapenems in Gram-negative bacteria as these resistance mechanisms are often linked with resistance against a wide range of antibiotics. Gram-negative bacteria are extremely medically relevant as they are the etiologic agent for many respiratory tract, urinary tract, and gastrointestinal tract infections. As they become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, clinicians are forced to rely on older and more toxic treatments. For some infections, there are no clinical options.

While much of the attention has been focused on India and Pakistan, much less is known about the situation in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a densely populated country of approximately 160 million inhabitants living on land about the size of Wisconsin. The situation of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria in Bangladesh is alarming. A recent study showed that 3.5% of all Gram-negative organisms are positive for New Delhi metallo-b-lactamase-1 gene (NDM-1), and are resistant to almost all available antibiotics (Islam, et al., 2012). NDM-1 is carried by plasmids, which co-transfer other antibiotic resistance genes including the major ESBL genes. The majority of these organisms are E.coli, which cause extra-intestinal infection, particularly urinary tract infections. The dissemination of these resistance genes in the environment is a particularly intriguing aspect of this issue. Previous studies have found NDM-1 and other ESBL genes in standing water around Dhaka, and I chose to look at the prevalence in the food supply, particularly in the bacteria living on fresh produce samples. This had the potential to be a large but previously overlooked reservoir for these dangerous bugs.

The Subir Chowdhury Fellowship on Quality of Life in Bangladesh gave me the opportunity to work for three months at the world-renowned International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), to collect fresh produce samples from all corners of Dhaka. With the help of the researchers in the laboratory of Dr. Aminul Islam, we found really intriguing preliminary results. Even more exciting is that this project is able to carry on through a productive collaboration with the lab of Dr. Lee Riley here at UC Berkeley, now that I am back on campus for the fall semester.

Dhaka is a city unlike any other, and I was fortunate to develop close friendships with my colleagues at the ICDDR,B as well as with other researchers from all over the world, and I'm excited to carry this project forward.

PROJECT: INCREASING KNOWLEDGE OF CURRENT STATE OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN PANDEMIC, MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PATHOGENIC BACTERIA IN BANGLADESH, WITH A FOCUS ON MATERNAL & INFANT RELATED URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS

CAITLIN E. COOKMPH Candidate

School of Public Health

Winner of the 2014 Subir Chowdhury Fellowship on

Quality of Life in Bangladesh

CAITLIN ELIZABETH COOK IS IN HER SECOND YEAR OF THE MASTERS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

PROGRAM AT UC BERKELEY, WITH A CONCENTRATION IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES. SHE IS ORIGINALLY FROM

ST. CHARLES, ILLINOIS AND EARNED A BACHELOR’S

DEGREE IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES FROM COLORADO

STATE UNIVERSITY. SHE HAS A STRONG INTEREST IN GLOBAL

HEALTH AND HAS HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING

IN BOTH PANAMA AND BANGLADESH. SHE IS LOOKING

FORWARD TO AN EXCITING CAREER HELPING TO FIGHT

INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT HOME AND ABROAD. CAITLIN WAS

IN DHAKA IN THE SUMMER OF 2014 WHERE SHE RESEARCHED

METHODS OF SLOWING THE SPREAD OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PATHOGENIC

BACTERIA. READ MORE ABOUT HER PROJECT AND HER

EXPERIENCE IN BANGLADESH IN THE BOX ON THE RIGHT.

Caitlin Cook (4th from left) pictured with her colleagues from Dr. Aminul Islam's ICCDR,B lab

Election violence affects daily life, education, the economy and growth, as well as the overall democratic environment in the country. Various events – such as the very public killing of Biswajit Das by Chhatra League cadres or the burning of vehicles and their occupants during the BNP-led hartals in late 2013 – have marred the most recent national elections in January 2014 as one of the most violent and undemocratic since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. In sum, over the past year, Bangladesh has been a hotbed of acts of violence perpetrated by political parties against voters, which makes it an ideal case to study the use of pre-election violence.

Why do political parties in Bangladesh initiate acts of violence against voters as a campaign repertoire? The literature in political science outlines a relationship of “give and take” between voters and political parties. Parties need votes from voters and voters need various services, goods, or other benefits from their representatives. Thus, parties work towards pleasing voters to gain the public’s favor; if parties are successful, voters reward them with their support at subsequent elections (Lipset and Rokkan 1976, Kitschelt 1995, Kitschelt 2000, Chandra 2004, Scheiner 2006). And yet, despite the established theory on this relationship, parties in Bangladesh have consistently used acts of violence to control, intimidate, or terrorize voters for election purposes. Understanding the motivation behind parties’ counterintuitive use of violence against voters is the primary focus of my dissertation.

From November 2012 to July 2013, I conducted fieldwork in Bangladesh to study the motivations behind why political parties use pre-electoral violence as a tool to win elections. I interviewed party workers, top government officials, academics, and journalists, learning not only about the motivations, but also the intricate ways in

which such violence is produced. During the pre-election period of the most recent national elections, I also ran an experimental survey to understand how the general public internalizes the use of various campaign repertoires. Currently, I am studying actual episodes of pre-election violence that occurred from September 2013 to January 2014 using data collected from six Bangladeshi daily newspapers. By identifying

the reasons why political parties use violence as a pre-election strategy, I

hope that my research will help in developing possible solutions that will minimize election-related violence in weak democracies like Bangladesh’s.

Providing an answer to why parties use violence during pre-election periods may serve as a first step towards fixing some of the problems that mar elections and disrupt daily life in Bangladesh.

NAFISA AKBARPh.D. Candidate,Dept. of Political Science

Winner of the 2014 Malini Chowdhury Fellowship on Bangladesh Studies

NAFISA AKBAR IS A PH.D. CANDIDATE IN THE POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY. HER RESEARCH INTERESTS INCLUDE POLITICAL PARTIES, PARTY SYSTEMS, ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE, AND CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES, WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON SOUTH ASIA. HER DISSERTATION EXAMINES WHY POLITICAL PARTIES IN BANGLADESH USE PRE-ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AS A CAMPAIGN STRATEGY WHEN OTHER NON-VIOLENT STRATEGIES ARE AVAILABLE. SHE CONDUCTED FIELDWORK PRIMARILY IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH, FROM NOVEMBER 2012 TO JULY 2013 AND HAS COLLECTED DATA ON EPISODES OF PRE-ELECTORAL VIOLENCE PRECEDING THE MOST RECENT NATIONAL ELECTIONS WHICH TOOK PLACE ON JANUARY 5, 2014 IN BANGLADESH.

PROJECT: A STUDY OF WHY POLITICAL PARTIES USE VIOLENCE AS A

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY IN BANGLADESH WHEN PREVAILING THEORIES STIPULATE THAT PARTIES WILL USE POSITIVE INCENTIVES TO MOTIVATE VOTERS BEFORE ELECTIONS

Nafisa Akbar stands with arms folded at a peaceful rally held in Dhaka’s Shahbagh Square

SouthAsiaResearch Notes

The Subir & Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studiesat the Institute for South Asia StudiesUniversity of California at Berkeley

The Institute for South Asia Studies (ISAS) at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the world’s foremost institutes for research and programs on South Asia, works with faculty members, graduate students, community members, private institutions, and non-profit organizations to both deepen understanding of the region and create new generations of scholars of South Asia. South Asia Research Notes (SARN) is published by ISAS to promote dialogue and exchange between scholars who work in inter-disciplinary fields related to South Asia, as well as to convey to the wider public the variety of exciting projects going on at Berkeley. It is published annually every Spring. Its e-version is available at southasia.berkeley.edu/publications.

— MEDIA COVERAGE

M A K I N G I T H A P P E N MD SHAHNAWAZ KHAN CHANDAN, THE DAILY STAR, MAY 9, 2014

S U B I R C H O W D H U R Y P U T S B A N G L A D E S H S T U D I E S O N U C ’ S M A P

RICHARD SPRINGER, STAFF REPORTER, INDIA WEST, APR 23, 2014

U C B E R K E L E Y ' S N E W C E N T E R F O R B A N G L A D E S H S T U D I E S

KPFA'S APEX EXPRESS INTERVIEW OF SANCHITA SAXENA , DIRECTOR , CHOWDHURY CENTER, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

A B A N G L A D E S H I ’ S M I L L I O N D O L L A R G I F T T O B E R K E L E Y

SOHARA MEHROZE SHACHI FOR DHAKA TRIBUNE. FEBRUARY 23, 2014

AVAILABLE AT HTTP://SOUTHASIA.BERKELEY.EDU/CHOWDHURY-CENTER-MEDIA

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