The Role of Jatiya Sangsad in the Democratization Process of Bangladesh (1991-2013) A Thesis Submitted to the University of Dhaka through the Department of Political Science in Fulfillment with the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mohammad Mahabubur Rahaman Under the Supervision of Dr. Sabbir Ahmed Associate Professor Department of Political Science University of Dhaka & Dr. Nasima Khatun (Co-Supervisor) Professor Department of Political Science University of Dhaka Department of Political Science University of Dhaka Dhaka, Bangladesh September, 2017 Dhaka University Institutional Repository The Role of Jatiya Sangsad in the Democratization Process of Bangladesh (1991-2013) Ph.D. Thesis by Mohammad Mahabubur Rahaman Registration No. 138/2012-2013 Department of Political Science University of Dhaka Dhaka, Bangladesh September, 2017 Dhaka University Institutional Repository Declaration I hereby declare that the thesis entitled, The Role of Jatiya Sangsad in the Democratization Process of Bangladesh (1991-2013) is prepared by me. It is the outcome of an empirical research carried out on the role of Jatiya Sangsad in the democratization process of Bangladesh. I have submitted this thesis to the University of Dhaka through the Department of Political Science, for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The thesis or part of its contents had not been submitted to any other institution for any academic degree. Mohammad Mahabubur Rahaman Date: Dhaka University Institutional Repository Certificate of Supervisors We have the pleasure to certify that the thesis entitled, The Role of Jatiya Sangsad in the Democratization Process of Bangladesh (1991-2013) has been prepared by Mohammad Mahabubur Rahaman, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Shaikh Burhanuddin Postgraduate College, Dhaka, Bangladesh through an empirical research. It is an original work in the field of democratization. To the best of our knowledge, no other person has covered the area of this research. We have supervised this research from the beginning to the end and also have gone through the draft and the final version of the thesis thoroughly and found it up to the mark for the submission to the Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka, for the fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Before submission, the thesis was put through special software for checking plagiarism, thus revised. Dr. Sabbir Ahmed Dr. Nasima Khatun Supervisor Co-Supervisor and and Associate Professor Professor Department of Political Science Department of Political Science University of Dhaka University of Dhaka Dhaka University Institutional Repository Acknowledgements At first all praise and gratefulness be to Almighty Allah, the creator of the worlds, Who gives me life, energy, patience, ability, power to realize and analyze my research in order to complete my thesis. The idea of this study came from one of my supervisors, Dr. Sabbir Ahmed who had been of Indonesia for his post-doctoral research and there he noticed a work on Democratization in the Indonesian Parliament. After coming back to Bangladesh he suggested that I may do the research on the role of Jatiya Sangsad (JS) of Bangladesh in the democratization process of the country. This research could not have been possible without sincere support from some individuals and institutions. To start with, I should thank my two supervisors, Dr. Sabbir Ahmed and Professor Dr. Nasima Khatun for their scholarly contributions along with mental support that encouraged me to bring this research at the final stage. I am very thankful and indebted to Professor Dr. Md. Nurul Amin Bepari, Ex-Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka, who first encouraged me for pursuing higher degree. My gratitude goes also to Professor Dr. Jamal Khan, Department of Management, University of the West Indies, Professor Dr. Hasanuzzaman Choudhury, Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka, Professor Dr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong. They all helped me in many ways to do this research. They enriched my knowledge regarding this subject-matter. They always encouraged, corrected, helped, and advised me in their own affectionate ways. My thanks are also due to Prof. Abu Ahmed, Department of Economics, Prof. Ferdous Hossain, Department of Political Science, Prof. Dil Rowshan Zinnat Ara Nazneen, Department of Political Science, Prof. Tofail Ahmad Chowdhury, Department of Chemistry, Prof. Sharifullah Bhuiyan, Department of History, Prof. Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Prof. Md. Harunur Rashid Khan, Department of Soil, Water and Environment, Prof. Anisuzzaman, Department of Philosophy, Prof. Farid Uddin Ahmed, Department of Political Science, Prof. Nelofar Parvin, Department of Political Science, Prof. Gobinda Chakraborty, Associate Prof. Shantanu Majumdar, Associate Prof. Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, Assistant Prof. Kazi Mohammad Mahbobor Rahman, Assistant Prof. Mamun Al Mostofa, Assistant Prof. Rashed Alam Bhuiyan, Department of Political Science, Associate Prof. Tanzimuddin Khan, Department of International Relations, Prof. Taibur Rahman, Department of Development Studies, Prof. S. M. Zabed Ahmed, Department of Information Science and Library Management, all of University of Dhaka and Principal Md. Abdur Rahman, Shaikh Burhanuddin Postgraduate College, Dhaka. All of them made useful comments, and constructive criticisms and suggestions when I discussed the topic with them and thus immensely contributed to understanding the topic. i Dhaka University Institutional Repository I got the insights and inspirations for this study from those with whom I have interacted over the years in Dhaka and other areas of Bangladesh. For the assistances during my study and sharing ideas with me, my heart-felt thanks go to Abdur Rashid Sarcar, Muhammad Mohi Uddin Chowdhury, Mohammad Toufiqul Islam Khan, Didar-E-Alom Mohammad Maksud Chowdhury, Md. Ala Uddin Al - Mamun, Mohammad Zashim Uddin, Asif Hasan, Md. Arif, Abdur Rahman, Mahbub Alam, Sharif Ahmed Chowdhury; and a lot of others, I failed to mention by names. In the secretariat of the government of Bangladesh many officials extended their assistances to advance the research. They shared their knowledges, and provided me with much useful information and documents. Barrister Md. Abdul Halim of Bangladesh Supreme Court also spent his valuable time with me in discussing the relevant issues. I have received also support from a number of persons working at different research centres like the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Bangla Academy (BA), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (ASB), Public Library, Secretariat Library, and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Susashoner Jonnoy Nagorik (SUJON), etc. The organizations and the researchers, officials and other staff had also helped me by providing useful and up-to date information on current and previous parliamentary affairs. I would like to put on record my appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Md. Ali Akbar, Research Officer, Md. Iqbal, Assistant Liberian, with from Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat for permitting and facilitating the use of the parliament library. At the parliament, I am indebted to a number of staff also. Without naming specific individuals, I recognize the manifold support in several departments of the parliament. In addition, I would like to thank politicians, MPs, civil society leaders, academicians, journalists and researchers for their valuable feedback through interviews. My sincere thanks go also to the staff at the Department of Political Science and Central Library of Dhaka University. Last but not least, I am also very thankful to my father-in-law, Prof. Md. Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Dhaka and mother-in-law for helping me by encouragement. I owe a great deal to my wife and daughter for the hardship they undergone due to my absence from home for involvement in research. I appreciate the support and encouragement I received all the time in my life from my most respectable and beloved mother and my late father, Prof. Mohammad Shahabuddin. I also recognize the contributions of encouragement of all other relatives and family members of mine in short. I thank Bosir Ahmed and Mujahidul Islam for their technical assistance. Finally, I take full responsibility for any factual inaccuracies, errors and omissions of judgment or interpretation made in the thesis. Mohammad Mahabubur Rahaman ii Dhaka University Institutional Repository Abstract The thesis is a summary of a research work that has investigated, scrutinized and inquired into the role of Jatiya Sangsad in the democratization process of Bangladesh of the period spanning from 1991 to 2013. The focus of this thesis is on the law-making process of the Jatiya Sangsad and how participation of people’s representatives contributes to the democratization process of Bangladesh. Reviewing the process of law-making from 1991 to 2013, I have observed that the JS has exercised only marginal participation of MPs in making laws. In addition, the thesis further attempted to establish the three specific hypotheses. First, although the parliament (or JS) is supposed to play a central role for law-making through participation of the people’s representatives, it has hardly done so. Second,