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Prime University

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PUJMQ

Prime University Journal of Multidisciplinary Quest

Editor

Profulla C. Sarker

Prime University,

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Associate Editor

M. Abul Hossain Sikder

Atish Dipankar University

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Book Review Editor

P. Dash Sharma

Ranchi University

Ranchi, India

Managing Editor

Mohammad Arshad Ali

Prime University

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Published by

Centre for Research, Human Resource Development and Publications

Prime University

2A/1 North East of Darus Salam Road

Section-1, Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Cover Design

Amal Das

Printed by

Color Line, 01715812345

Price : Tk. 250.00 / US $ 5.00

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Editorial Board

Bong Joo Lee

Seoul National University

South Korea

Sarah Safdar

Peshwar University

Pakistan

Ajit Kumar Singh

Ranchi University

India

Antonio Fiori

University of Bolonga

Italy

Manohar Pawar

Charles Sturt University

New South Wales, Australia

Santi Kinduka, Washington University

United States of America

Cecillia Chan

Hongkong University

China

M.A. Sobhan

Independent University

Bangladesh

M. Shahidullah

Rajshahi University

Bangladesh

Nazir M. Hossain

York University

Canada

Gareth Davey

University of Chester

United Kingdom

Durga Das Bhattacharjee

Dhaka University

Bangladesh

A. Renaweera

Colombo University

Sri Lanka

Tiong Tan

Singapore National University

Singapore

Margarita Frederico

Latrobe University

Australia

Desa Shankwan

Thamasat University

Thailand

Paul Olson

Toronto University

Canada

Sarker Ali Akkas

Jagannath University

Bangladesh

Ramesh Chandra Devnath

Rajshahi University

Bangladesh

Heinz Theisen

Catholic University of Köln

Germany

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Editorial Note

Prime University Journal of Multidisciplinary Quest (PUJMQ) is an

international journal published twice a year (January and July). It is a

refereed journal designed to promote multidisciplinary inquiry on

research, education and development. PUJMQ encompasses all scientific

academic fields dealing with life, society, culture, business, law, science

and technology. The main mission and vision of PUJMQ is to make

multidisciplinary linkages that promote to inter-lock the different

disciplines in a single platform.

Prime University Journal of Multidisciplinary Quest (PUJMQ) has an

international editorial board involving the scholars of different disciplines

across the East and the West and as a result it helps to mitigate cross-

cultural issues across the globe. It is a multidisciplinary and international

forum which acts as a catalyst to promote and exchange ideas, views, and

knowledge of different disciplines that encourage scholars to enhance their

creative and innovative ideas and knowledge in global perspective. It

helps to contribute to the knowledge of the academics, researchers, policy

makers, planners, practitioners and development workers to take

appropriate policy in order to chalk out effective planning for formulating

pragmatic policies.

Eight research papers have been selected in the current volume on

different issues viz. aging and mental health in Chinese society due to

declination of filial relationship, legislative reform for the protection of the

rights of the Hindu Community in Bangladesh, health policy of India

through five year plans emphasizing the maternal and child health issues,

viscosity affects velocity and as a result it helps to determine the

parameters of temperature profiles, sensitivity study of the cumulus

parameterization scheme with planetary boundary layer options for

estimating the rainfall in Bangladesh, the health scenario of rural Bhutan

which examined the infant morbidity and mortality through SWOT

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analysis, trend and development of advertisement through television in order

to enhance the scope of market for industrial production in Bangladesh,

and seasonal food insecurity and coping mechanisms applied by the poor

to overcome the crisis in the north western part of Bangladesh.

Profulla C. Sarker

Editor

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Contents Changing Attitudes toward Filial Piety and Its Impact on Mental Health of Elderly People in Chinese Society 9

Kam Ping Kathy Leung Yui Huen Alex Kwan

Kai Wai Kennis Leung

The Hindu Community in need of Legislative Protection 27

Sadia Afroz Binte Siraj Tanvhir Ahmad

The five year plans in India: Overview of Public Health Policies 41

Sethuramalingam V. Selwyn Stanley Sathia S.

MHD Natural Convection Flow of Fluid with Variable Viscosity from a Porous Vertical Plate 55

Amena Ferdousi

Mohammad Salek Parvez

M. A. Alim

Sensitivity Study of the Cumulus Parameterization Schemes with Planetary Boundary Layer Options in Estimating Rainfall in Bangladesh using MM5 74

Md. A. E. Akhter Md. M. Alam

M. A. Hossain

Rural Health Scenario in Bhutan: The Social and Institutional Experiences 85

Komol Singha Lingchen

Trends and Development of Television Advertisement in Bangladesh 103

Md. Towhidul Islam

‘Monga’- A Seasonal Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Poverty in Bangladesh: A Local Issue in National Perspective 124

Profulla C. Sarker M. Abul Hossain Sikder

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10

CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARD FILIAL PIETY

AND ITS IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH OF

ELDERLY PEOPLE IN CHINESE SOCIETY

Kam Ping Kathy Leung1, Yui Huen Alex Kwan

2 &

Kai Wai Kennis Leung 3

Keywords: Attitude. Filial. Mental Health. Elderly.

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to discuss the changing attitude of the

young people of China towards elderly people and its impact on their

mental health. Filial Piety is rooted from the instinct of the Confucianism

that implies loyalty, respect and obligation among the family members to

make harmonious relationship. With the advancement of science and

technology in the age of globalization and modernization, the attitude

towards filial piety is indicative of wider cultural change in Chinese society

and thus affects the family support to the elderly and as a result the elderly

people become the victims of mental health. This paper suggests to chalk out

awareness program to make the young people to take care of the elderly.

Introduction

Filial piety is a distinctive concept in Confucianism that implies deep

loyalty, respect, and devotion of children toward their parents (Ng, Philips

& Lee, 2002, Tao, 2010). As a social norm, filial piety values family

honor and harmony more than individual interests (Yang, 1995). However,

among the Chinese in countries in the Southeast and East Asia, including

Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, and Singapore, attitudes

toward filial piety, particularly with respect to elderly parents, have

changed in recent decades (Ikels, 2010). Rapid sociodemographic

1 Instructor, Department of Applied Social Studies, College of Humanities and Social

Sciences, City University of Hong Kong 2 Professor, Department of Applied Social Studies, College of Humanities and Social

Sciences, City University of Hong Kong 3 Professor, Department of Applied Social Studies, College of Humanities and Social

Sciences, City University of Hong Kong

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changes, a rapidly aging elderly population, and changes in economic

status and intergenerational expectations have all influenced filial

commitments (Caregivershome, 2007, Sung, 2008, Quah, 2010, Yi, 2010).

However, many elderly parents now understand their adult children in

terms of their individuality, rather than their obligations (Ng, Philips &

Lee, 2002, Ng, 2010), and in Hong Kong filial orientation is viewed only

as a frame of reference (Wong & Chau, 2006, Ting, 2010). In urban

China, both young and old people rank respect as the most important

aspect of filial piety and obedience as the least important (Yue & Ng,

2002, Yang, 2010). Some Koreans have modified the practice of filial

piety with respect to the constraints associated with the family context,

work situations, and social environment (Sung, 2008, Koreatimes, 2008).

In Singapore, families, welfare organizations, and governments share the

responsibility for establishing effective practices of elderly care within

families (Verbrugge & Chan, 2008).

The contemporary version of filial piety is characterized by gratitude,

respect, and reciprocal support, rather than obligation, obedience, and one-

way responsibility (Ting, 2009). Filial piety is significant to Chinese

people, but its significance is in transition, not necessarily in decline. As

stated by Ng, Philips, and Lee (2002), adult children in Hong Kong, for

example, have created acceptable substitutes for co-residency, such as

living near or maintaining close contact with elderly relatives out of

respect for filial piety. Yue and Ng (2002) showed that both younger and

older generations in Beijing and Guangzhou continue to endorse strong

filial commitment (Kwan, Cheung & Ng, 2010). Mehta and Ko (2004)

revealed that the majority (88%) of elderly people over 65 years old in

Singapore live with adult children, showing that filial obligation is still

treasured by family members. In modern Chinese families, filial piety may

serve as a buffer from the stress of being a caregiver (Lai, 2010), and may

also provide benefits by encouraging intimate relationships of equal

exchange (Kim & Kim, 2003).

To better understand these sociodemographic changes and the significance

of filial commitment in the Chinese population, this study examines the

perspective of adult children to illustrate the strain encountered by

caregivers and adult children with respect to filial piety in Southeast Asia.

Some adult children face the dilemma of fulfilling traditional values (i.e.,

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filial piety) and actualizing their individuality (i.e., high demands at work

and at home). As such, they are not quick to accept the role of caregiver,

especially for elderly relatives who suffer from dementia or other chronic

illnesses (Knight et al., 2002, Lam, 2006). The opinions of these adults

reveal that the strain of familial obligations arises from the anticipative,

immediate, residual, and chronic stages of long-term caregiving

commitment (Kwan, Chan & Leung, 2004). Stress reactions by adult

children may include physical and psychological fatigue, self-blame, or

the disturbance of normal life patterns, and some family tragedies, such as

abuse, murder, or suicide, have occurred in recent decades (Hong Kong

Council of Social Services, 2010). In light of this trend, this study presents

a new conceptualization of filial piety that emphasizes the balancing of

societal and individual challenges to mitigate the strain on adult children.

This conceptualization should be useful in crafting government policy.

This article is organized into four parts. The first part reviews previous

studies on the meaning of filial piety in East and Southeast Asian

countries. Two perspectives on the decline of and changes in filial piety

are offered to suggest how policy-makers might assist adult children and

caregivers with respect to filial piety. The third part explains the

qualitative case study method used to conduct the study, in which two

Chinese adult children shared their experiences of interacting with their

parents. The final part presents three implications of the new reality of

elderly care outside of traditional family networks for the concept of filial

piety.

Literature review

Roots and Meanings of Filial Piety

Filial piety is a central and distinctive concept of Confucianism that

emphasizes authoritarian, family-centered care practices and the

maintenance of family harmony and cohesiveness (Hwang, 1999).

According to the doctrine of filial piety, children are expected to be loyal

to their families, mutually assist family members, sacrifice themselves for

the group, and maintain harmony with the family (Yang, 1995). The

cultural meanings of filial piety include the deep loyalty, respect, and

devotion of children toward their parents (Ng, Philips & Lee, 2002). Chow

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(2001) classified filial piety into three levels, namely, caring for the

material needs of parents, paying attention to the wishes and preferences

of parents, and honoring parents by one‘s behavior.

From a social psychological perspective, the two essential components of

value and behavior constitute filial piety. Sung (2008) indicated that

young adult children focus on ―repayment, responsibility and sacrifice‖ as

behavioral practices and ―love/affection, harmony and respect‖ as

emotional needs. Hwang (1999) stated there are two different kinds of

filial piety: passive (e.g., obedience to authority) and active (e.g., concern

for elderly parents). Some scholars have advised that people avoid mixing

the concept of filial behavior with filial attitude because the two factors

only show a moderate correlation (Ho, 1996 & Yu, 1983). Thus,

classification schemes for filial piety often include behavior-emotional,

passive-active, and authoritarian-reciprocal binaries. Modern filial piety is

both an ideology and a practice of societal behavior that takes the form of

an individual lifestyle, an affective relationship, and reciprocal support

(Thomas, 1990).

Implications of Changes in Filial Piety for Policy-Makers

Policy-makers throughout East and Southeast Asian countries are aware of

the changing significance of filial piety, and that it must evolve to address

care that ensures the well-being of elderly parents. Implied in this

approach is a balance among private and public responsibility for elder

care and the commitment from the government (Chow, 2007, Sung, 2008),

in addition to the provision of moral education that will benefit

individuals, families, and the community (Thomas, 1990).

In this regard, there are two dimensions in which policy-makers should

focus their efforts. First, community support networks for elderly care are

in great demand but are underdeveloped in East and Southeast Asian

societies (Ng, Philips & Lee, 2002, Lam, 2006). Suggestions for

remedying this situation include a voucher system as a long-term policy

for elderly care (Chou, Chow, & Chi, 2005, Lam, 2006), the provision of

elderly care services at the community level, and public education, such as

a ―Respect for Elders Day‖ (Sung, 2008). Second, policy-makers must be

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aware that the pressures on adult children who adopt a caregiving role

cause physical exhaustion, psychological difficulties, and conflicts within

families. Addressing the mental health of adult children and the social

support assistance available to them would be the first step to resolving the

dilemma of individuality versus cultural pressure to display filial piety

(Chan & Leong, 1994). Our societies are measured not only by the level of

affluence, but also by core values such as civic-mindedness, mental

fitness, and human rights (Policy Address, 2009).

Two Perspectives: The Decline of Filial Piety and Changes in Filial Piety

The Decline of Filial Piety

The decline of filial piety is usually evaluated by comparing current

practices with the cultural norms of filial piety and examining the

immigrant experience, particularly with respect to the dilemma between

traditional and modern values (Ting, 2009). Modernization has caused

many sociodemographic changes in East and Southeast Asia, such as an

increase in nuclear families, a decrease in extended families, better

employment opportunities for women, and better education for the

younger generations (Mehta & Ko, 2004; Census & Statistics Department,

2006; Sung, 2008). These changes are suggested to have resulted in a

decline in filial piety, as demonstrated by fewer elderly people living with

their adult children or receiving informal support from them (Lee &

Kwok, 2005, Cheung & Kwan, 2009). In Hong Kong, there has been an

increase in the number of cases of abuse of the elderly (Kwan, 1995).

The level of filial piety has decreased in the educated population in China

(Cheung & Kwan, 2009), the social position of elderly people has been

undermined in Korea (Choi, 1996), and the increasingly large aging

population is putting strain on adult children who have adopted a

caregiving role in Singapore (Mehta & Ko, 2004), all of which may have

contributed to a decline in filial piety. Filial piety is also challenged by the

cultural values and practices of Western countries (Chan & Leong, 1994).

Western scholars studying Chinese, such as those in the United States,

find that the belief and practices surrounding filial piety are not consistent,

and that belief in filial piety does not increase as children reached

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adulthood. It has also been noted that at present there is a higher

percentage of adult daughters taking care of their elderly parents than

adult sons (Yu, 1983, Yan, 2001).

Changes in Filial Piety

Due to modernization and Westernization, people in East and Southeast

Asia express filial piety in a distinct way in response to their societal

environment and the challenges to caregiving. Hence, it can be argued that

traditional filial piety coexists with modern practice (Thomas, 1990, Ng,

Philips & Lee, 2002, Yue & Ng, 2002, Sung, 2008). As such, filial piety is

becoming about ―gratitude rather than obligation, respect rather than

obedience and reciprocal support rather than one-way responsibility in

contemporary practice‖ (Ting, 2009, pp. 8).

In Hong Kong, elderly parents and adult children express affection and

responsibility for filial piety by living near or maintaining close contact

with their parents (Ng, Philips & Lee, 2002). Some Chinese immigrants in

the United States prefer to provide material objects to parents to enhance

their happiness and regulate their development (Lin, 1985). Filial piety

may also act as a buffer against the stress encountered by caregivers (Lai,

2010). In China, both young and old people rank respect as the most

important aspect of filial piety, and obedience as the least important aspect

(Yue & Ng, 2002, Cheung & Kwan, 2009a). In South Korea, the social

meaning of filial piety is in transition (Sung, 2007 & 2008), with elderly

parents experiencing reciprocal exchange in families that have achieved a

higher quality of life (Kim & Kim, 2003). In Singapore, elderly people

who depend on adult children often provide household and childcare assistance

in exchange (Verbrugge & Chan, 2008). These examples of mutual support

describe the changing expression of filial piety today (Thomas, 1990).

A review of the relevant literature uncovers three main themes. First, the

cultural ecology of filial piety is still valued by ethnic Chinese people.

However, certain pressures, including a lack of decision-making power in

patriarchal cultures, for example, where subordinates are expected to defer

to superiors or males, make it difficult for adult children or caregivers to

fulfill the demands of the family. Second, filial piety has evolved to mean

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gratitude, respect, and reciprocal support. These new characteristics

emphasize mutual understanding and acceptance between adult children

and elderly parents, thus allowing for reciprocity in the context of filial

piety. Third, rapid sociodemographic changes require the state or

government to provide sufficient and adequate social support for elderly

care in families under stress. Inevitably, a paid-care system must be

developed in East and Southeast Asia as a form of need-based and person-

focused support to encourage and support adult children to adopt the role

of caregiver. Here two case studies are presented to illustrate these themes.

Case Study Method and Cases

A qualitative case study method was chosen for this exploratory study.

Case studies are best suited to studying complex phenomena within real-

life contexts (Yin, 2009). Case studies are also particularly valuable for

studies on topics that are sensitive, complicated, immeasurable, and

concerned with interaction and processes in everyday life (Walker, 1995).

Further, intensive case studies can be a means of acquiring practical

knowledge (Millstein, 1993). As a social worker in Hong Kong, the author

conducted a qualitative case study to investigate the influence of filial

piety on mental stress and to understand the experiences of adult children

who are caregivers for their parents. Using a confidentiality agreement, the

author obtained consent from two respondents who voluntarily

participated in the study. Their names and details have been changed to

protect their identities. For counseling practice, the two respondents, who

were also clinical subjects, reviewed the interview transcripts and

provided valuable feedback on the final write-up. These case studies thus

provide a glimpse into the complicated process of honoring traditional values

while following one‘s individuality in a drastically changing society.

Case Study One

Wendy, a 32-year-old, unmarried, Catholic, primary school teacher,

sought assistance from a social worker in November 2008 because she felt

emotionally unstable after suddenly bursting into tears at work. She was

aware that she was losing emotional control, and thus took the initiative to

seek assistance. In April 2000, Wendy was preparing for final

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examinations, and was frustrated because her boyfriend seemed to be on

very close terms with another girl. These factors almost pushed her to

breaking point. Frustrated by these occurrences, Wendy had a serious

quarrel with her father for the first time in her life, which brought her

long-suppressed discontentment to the surface. In addition, Wendy‘s

father had just purchased a new flat that was a long way from Wendy‘s

workplace but close to where her father‘s friends with whom he played

mah-jong lived. Wendy was extremely unhappy about her lack of

decision-making power in her father‘s choice of home. Adopting the

cultural stance that opposes unmarried daughters living alone, Wendy‘s

parents did not allow her to rent a flat near her work. Faced with these

multiple blows, Wendy began to consider suicide. Afraid that Wendy

might kill herself, her parents finally allowed her to move out, but her

mother never told her relatives and worked hard to keep it a secret.

Looking back, Wendy felt that these experiences encapsulated the phrase

―nice to see each other, but hard to live together.‖

Nevertheless, the family negotiated a new way to fulfill the demands of

filial piety. After moving out, Wendy spent less time with her parents but

continued to visit them every Sunday. Wendy began to play the role of

helper, rather than dependent child needing her parents‘ care. Her parents

in turn showed their care for her in simple ways such as ―preparing more

dishes‖ and ―worrying if I [she] had enough money to spend.‖ Here,

physical distance produced positive results by easing Wendy‘s tense

relationship with her parents. When Wendy was separated from her

parents temporarily, it allowed both parties time to calm their violent

emotions and their anger to dissipate. Eventually, Wendy was able to

treasure the intimate relationship she enjoyed with her family, and planned

to move back home after graduation.

The conflict that Wendy experienced between meeting the demands of

filial piety (e.g., maintaining a harmonious relationship) and pursuing her

individual ambitions (e.g., advancing her career) was resolved. In this

case, Wendy found that the limited space she had in the family home

interfered with her attempts to gain independence from her parents, but

she felt guilty for not fulfilling her filial responsibility. To balance the

filial daughter‘s role with the attainment of her own goals, Wendy chose

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to live apart from her parents. Physical distance eased Wendy‘s

psychological stress and also resulted in positive changes in her parents.

Wendy enjoyed greater freedom in living alone, but still missed her

family. Wendy‘s parents learned to cherish their relationship with her, and

showed their concern for her in small ways after Wendy moved out. When

they saw one another again, they were affectionate toward each other.

Clearly, in practicing filial piety, adult children and their parents can

negotiate the meanings of that value and construct mutually acceptable

behavior, which creates a positive and supportive attitude between adult

children and their parents.

Case Study Two

Ah Ming, a 49-year-old, unmarried hairdresser, suffered from a mild

depressive disorder that included symptoms of insomnia and the loss of

25% of her body weight within three months. Once, Ming screamed

loudly at work for no particular reason. Ming‘s colleagues encouraged her

to seek psychological counseling to stabilize her mood, and she thus

sought counseling in September 2007. As a single child, Ming had taken

sole responsibility for the care of her mother following the death of her

father in 2005, and lacked support from relatives. Ming‘s mother had

suffered from diabetes and hypertension, and was hospitalized three times

due to accidents, including falling and breaking her ribs. Ming‘s mother

insisted on living at home and refused to be sent to a nursing home. Ming

went through three domestic helpers in 13 months, because her mother

found it difficult to get along with them. Ming responded to these

problems with feelings of stress, helplessness, and guilt.

After the fourth hospitalization, Ming decided to seek community support

for her elderly mother. She arranged for her mother to live in a nursing

home as she felt that she was no longer able to take care of her and be

effective at work at the same time. However, Ming still had to balance

meeting the demands of filial piety and the pursuit of personal freedom.

She lied to her mother, telling her that she was going to have surgery and

would thus be admitted to hospital for a while. Ming‘s mother moved into

a nursing home after accepting this explanation. The rent and service

charges for the nursing home accounted for 70% of Ming‘s monthly

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income, and Ming was obliged to seek financial assistance from a medical

social worker. However, she was rejected as being ineligible for

government subsidy. Ming then took on another part-time job to ease the

financial burden, which caused her further physical strain and

psychological stress. This also resulted in her having less time to visit her

mother, and she was often obliged to ignore her mother‘s requests for

visits.

Summary: The Expected Caregiving Role

These two case studies show that the caregiver role can result in strain and

struggle for adult children and caregivers. According to traditional

Chinese family values, children are expected to be loyal to their families,

mutually assist family members, sacrifice themselves for the group, and

maintain harmony within the family (Yang, 1996). These values impose

certain rights and obligations. For example, when a family member is in

trouble, other family members are expected to assist. Some academics

have claimed that the traditional Chinese family suppresses individuality

(Pau, 2000, pp. 196).

Both Ming and Wendy contributed to their family in terms of money,

time, and energy. They gave a portion of their monthly salary to their

family although they had never been explicitly asked to do so. Ming also

took on a caregiver role due to her mother‘s chronic illness. The

dedication of Wendy and Ming reveals the culturally embedded value of

filial piety. The majority of Chinese adult children never question that they

should give care, even if they complain that the caregiver role induces

stress that affects their mental health. For instance, some feel overloaded

after weighing the costs and rewards of the role of caregiver, while others

become stressed due to the tension between fulfilling their responsibilities

to parents and achieving self-development. The caregivers in both case

studies felt suffocated and internalized their reaction to the assigned role.

The long-term commitment of the expected caregiver role undermines

adult children‘s individual development because it makes demands on

their time, emotional energy, and money. However, when parents and

children negotiate the practice of filial piety and parents come to

understand and accept the constraints faced by their adult children, the

20

situation can be improved. Caregivers with inadequate social support

could also have some of the strain alleviated by financial assistance from

the government. Providing more high-quality nursing homes and a more

flexible financial means test for subsidies, for example, would help relieve

the financial burden of caregivers, and would balance the provision of

elderly care in East and Southeast Asia between the individual and

community levels.

Discussion and Implications

1. Filial Piety in Transition: A Socially Constructed Discourse

Filial piety remains significant to Chinese families today. At the same

time, however, it is recognized that filial piety is changing into a socially

constructed discourse due to the increasing influence of the West and the

aging population in Southeast Asia (Ng, Philips & Lee, 2002, Yue & Ng,

2002). Adult children and caregivers face many challenges from urban

living and their quest to assert their individuality, which tends to

undermine the fulfillment of traditional filial commitments. This tension

results in physical and psychological strain on adult children and caregivers that

is forcing change in the meaning and practice of cultural filial piety.

Changes in the practice of filial piety emerge through the social

construction of reality, which is ―the process in which people creatively

shape reality through social interaction‖ (Macionis, 2004, pp. 89). For

instance, in Hong Kong, filial piety motivates adult children and elders to

practice gratitude, reciprocal support, and respect (Ting, 2009). Zhan and

Montgomery (2003) re-examined the caregiving behavior of adult children

within the context of economic reform and the one-child policy in urban

China. Sung (2008) noted that filial piety has become a public issue in

South Korea, which has benefited both the individual and the family

(Thomas, 1990). In this analysis, the transition of filial piety is placed

within a broad social context. Social institutions, such as the government

and communities, play an important role in socializing individuals to

adopt acceptable patterns of behavior. For instance, elderly parents may

seek social independence in old age based on mutual support from their

family, and caregivers may balance conflicting demands by making a

21

socially acceptable arrangement based on a style of filial piety that is

specific to their own family (Gigliotti & Huff, 1995).

2. Recognizing Stress in Adult Children: Changing Expectations

The culture of filial piety in East and Southeast Asia pressures adult

children to adopt a caregiver role. In 2006, around 74% of elderly people

in Hong Kong lived with their families, and over 70% of them suffered

from one or more chronic illnesses (Hong Kong Council of Social

Services, 2010). However, adult children encounter difficulties in meeting

filial demands, which often conflict with their personal goals (Wong,

2007, Kwok, Ho & Li, 2009). In the case studies presented here, Ming

found it difficult to cope with caring for a mother with chronic illness and

encountered financial difficulties as a result. Wendy was frustrated by the

demands implied by both filial piety and the pursuit of individuality. Due

to the one-child policy, in China there are now too few adult children to

care for a rapidly aging population with chronic diseases (China Concern

Over Population Aging & Health, 2006). Thus, adult children who care for

their elderly parents experience many constraints associated with family,

work, and their social environment (Sung, 2008, Liu & Kendig, 2000).

The culture of filial commitment is still valued by the Chinese (Lai, 2010),

but the culture must evolve, especially with respect to parents‘

understanding and acceptance of the constraints on their adult children.

Such acceptance will facilitate positive and supportive change for both

adult children and their elderly parents. In Hong Kong, for example,

elderly parents now accept their adult children living near them or

maintaining close contact with them as a substitute for co-residence (Ng,

Phillips & Lee, 2002). In the case study, Wendy‘s relationship with her

family improved with physical distance. As stated, both young and elderly

people rank respect as the most important aspect of filial piety and

obedience as the least important (Yue and Ng, 2002). Clearly, the

adjustment and regulation of expectations of filial piety is becoming a new

cultural focus in urban China. In Singapore, some elderly people like to

provide childcare and household assistance to alleviate the strain on adult

children arising from the norms of filial piety (Verbrugge & Chan, 2008).

Changing expectations of filial piety can thus facilitate reciprocal

22

exchange within the family to encourage a better quality of life and more

intimate relationships between adult children and their elderly parents

(Kim & Kim, 2003).

3. Accessibility and Availability of Social Support: The Role of Policy-

Makers

Having explained the strain experienced by adult children and caregivers

due to the norms of filial piety, the author suggests that policy-makers try

to strike a balanced approach between private and public responsibility for

elderly care in East and Southeast Asia (Chow, 2007; Sung, 2008).

Governments need to provide adequate support for families under stress,

while still valuing the filial orientation of the individual, family, and

society (Thomas, 1990).

A paid-care system, such as the provision of cash grants or vouchers for

elderly care, is just such a means of fulfilling filial commitments. Chou,

Chow, and Chi (2005) and Meagher (2006) suggest that a voucher system

encourages family care, integrated services, mixed-mode financing, and a

large-market approach by the government. A paid-care system also

empowers the elderly to utilize community resources to enhance their self-

esteem and self-reliance, while providing essential financial assistance. In

the case studies, Ming shouldered a large financial burden due to being

ineligible for government subsidies, which shows that caregivers are often

given inadequate social support. Financial assistance from the government

must thus include a more flexible means test to alleviate the stress on

caregivers. However, a paid-care system must also be regularly reviewed

to monitor resource allocation and the effectiveness of the system for the

elderly and their adult children.

At the community level, changes in the meaning of filial piety mean that

co-residency is not the only option for adult children. Even when children

and parents live apart, as in Wendy‘s situation, or are assisted by

community services, such as in Ming‘s case, adult children can still fulfill

their filial commitments by maintaining mutual affection within the family

(Lan, 2002, Sung, 2008). It is suggested that improved accessibility and

availability of high-quality elderly daycare centers or residential care

23

services would further help in this regard. Public education on the changes

in filial piety practice should also be provided to raise awareness of the

mental health risks for adult children and caregivers. This will help to

ensure family prosperity and engender better civic-mindedness in East and

Southeast Asia countries.

Conclusion

This study reviews previous research into current practices of filial piety

and presents two case studies of adult children trying to balance the

traditional values of filial piety with the pursuit of individuality. The key

objective of the study is to explore the changing attitudes toward filial

piety and to present the perspective of adult children of their experiences

as caregivers of elderly parents in East and Southeast Asia. This study

situates filial piety as a socially constructed discourse, and reveals that

Chinese people have evolved new meanings and practices of filial piety

that are defined by gratitude, reciprocal support, and respect. It also

highlights the strain faced by adult children in adopting a caregiving role,

as manifested by physical and emotional fatigue, self-blaming,

helplessness, guilt, and disturbance to the normal patterns of life. These

difficulties prompt new attitudes and practices based on negotiation

between adult children and their parents. For instance, parents can be more

understanding of the constraints faced by their adult children, and adult

children can be more understanding of the expectations of their parents.

Such compromises can help maintain a harmonious relationship within the

family. Government policy must also take serious account of the problem

of elderly care in East and Southeast Asia. Policy initiatives should

particularly aim to provide sufficient and adequate community support to

disadvantaged families, such as by instituting a paid-care system,

providing allowances to alleviate financial burdens, or helping individuals

to identify appropriate community services.

Given the changes in filial piety in East and Southeast Asia, the author (as

a social worker) appreciates the unique way in which Chinese

communities are finding ways of caring for the well-being of their elderly

parents while at the same time pursuing their individuality so that the

24

Chinese social orientation toward the continuation of the family and

family harmony is still valued (Yang, 1995, Cheung, Kwan & Ng, 2006). It

may not be necessary to put much effort into developing the desired attitude

toward filial piety. Instead, it will be more effective to raise awareness

about or sensitivity to parents‘ need for care (Kwan & Cheung, 2010).

Inevitably, the states and governments of East and Southeast Asia must

seriously consider providing adequate community resources for elderly

care and public education on filial commitments. The changing attitudes

toward filial piety are indicative of wider cultural changes in Chinese

societies from the humanistic and sociological perspectives. These new

attitudes emphasize the uniqueness of individuals, the interactions and

relationships among the various dimensions within each individual, and

the socio-cultural aspects of filial piety. Timely changes in family support

aimed at enhancing the quality of life of adult children and caregivers and

their elderly parents should be developed as part of the modernization of

Asian societies.

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28

THE HINDU COMMUNITY IN NEED OF

LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION

Sadia Afroz Binte Siraj1 & Tanvhir Ahmad

2

Keywords: Community. Reform. Inheritance. Custom. Maintenance. Adoption.

Abstract: Hindu community is the second largest community of Bangladesh.

They are guided by the age old traditional law in their personal matters.

Theses laws are very old and have not contemplated the socio-economic

changes of the society. That is why it is very difficult to implement the

laws, and because of this very fact the Hindu communities are reluctant to

have recourse to law. This large portion is deprived of their basic right of

―protection of law‖. This article has tried to suggest several reforms

mentioning the existing practice to show the huge gap. So that it gives an

idea how old and almost impossible to implement this traditional law is.

Objectives

The objective of the study is (a) to find out problems in the personal laws

for the Hindu community and (b) to examine loopholes in the implementation

of personal laws for Hindu community. Thus the community will get a law

to establish their personal rights.

Methodology: The method of the study is content analysis method .The

article is prepared by studying many previous works of different authors

published in many books and journals through the method of text analysis.

The literature on this subject matter emphasized the shortcomings of

Hindu Law because of its lacking regarding the legislative intervention,

without which a law can not ensure its complete enforcement.

Limitations: Hindu law is a vast area so this article has failed to cover

each and every area of the subject matter. It is not an exhaustive work

which left many areas untouched.

1 Lecturer, Department of Law and Justice, Southeast University

2 Lecturer, Department of Law, Prime University

29

Introduction

According to Article 27 of the Constitution of People‘s Republic of

Bangladesh all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal

protection of law. According to 1991 census 15 per cent of the population

of our country belong to the Hindu Community (World Directory of

Minority and Indigenous Peoples Bangladesh: Hindus). The Hindu

community is the second largest community of the State, yet they do not

have a statutory law to protect their interest in the personal matters. They

are governed by the age old traditional law in the significant subject

matters like marriage and inheritance. The protection to a greater extent

is dependant upon the accessibility to law and to get access, existence of

law is must.

Law is everywhere culture specific and that in tandem of globalization and

uniformisation of laws there are everywhere local and national

manifestation of law which are specific to particular jurisdictions

(Menski). Here lies the lacking. The Hindu community of Bangladesh are

completely guided rather by their culture than the law, taking recourse

from the aged old sruti and smriti which can work as a guiding principle

of law but not as the law itself. The society has changed, the lifestyle of

the believer of the religion has changed and the law must change also.

Now-a-days it is utterly impossible to believe that a male Hindu needs to

pay his debt full fledged and that will only happen when his son will do

the Shraddha Pravana. It is not demanded that they will not perform their

own religious performances, but it is unfortunate when the right of

inheritance (which is a legal right) is decided solely by that. Positive

changes must be brought keeping the religious belief. This is the high time

for a codified Hindu law.

Law is manifest everywhere, it is in operation all over the world, but is

certainly not the only, it is not some dead thing or a mater of past. Law is

everywhere a living reality (The funeral ceremony according to the Hindu

religion). In Bangladesh for the Hindu community Hindu Law have

become such a dead thing and failed to become a living reality which is

extremely a bare necessity.

30

Custom is considered as a very valuable source of law from the birth of

the concept of law. The reason for taking custom as a source may be that

when a rule comes from such ancestry that must have brought some

positive effect in the life of a particular community that has been attached

in the lifestyle and is not supposed to be severed. But sometimes modified

severance is required, that is why it is often said that law must be changed

keeping pace with the time. The Hindu community in Bangladesh is facing

this truth from quite a long time as no legislative action has been taken so

far. Most of the laws by which the Hindu community is guided by are the

laws of the British era. They are the largest minority community of

Bangladesh but yet there are very few reported cases regarding Hindu

personal Law. Is it because they do not face any legal problem, or they do

not have the opportunity to take assistance from the existing Hindu

personal Law of Bangladesh?

The second proposition is more appropriate. Even the Hindu community

does not find it quite logical that just because a son is offering a bigger

Pinda he is entitled to more right over the property of his father. It is

almost impossible to believe that the woman of Hindu community does

not have even the right of custody of her own son or daughter, she does

not have any right over the property of her husband or her father.

Different Stages of Development of Hindu law

1 The Basic Concept of Hindu Law

Hindu Law is considered as of divine origin. In earlier stage Hindu

Jurisprudence did not make any distinction between legal, moral and

religious rules. Moral rules have been so blended with legal rules that it

becomes very difficult to separate them. Since the Hindu law is based on

this religious belief, law is working as a branch of dharma not as a law

(Gandhi, 2003).

2 Ancient Age of Hindu Law

The Hindu law based on the religion started its application at the time of

the Veda. Hindu dharma teaches that guidance to mankind came from God

in the form of divine revelation. Divine revelation came to the people

31

through rishis, sages and saints during vedic period (3000 B.C.-1000B.C.)

(Menski, 1979). These revelations are the foundation of Hindu law. As

days passed by, these revelation were used in the form of usage and

custom and in the later part written texts were formed depending upon

these custom and usages (Jhavalah). Jhavalah has rightly pointed out that

―Hindu law was not static or staid but was empiric and progressive‖ (ibid).

Hindu law in vedic period was reasonably progressive as there was no

proved indication of caste system in this period. On the contrary, many

jurists opined that the caste system practices in last two thousand years

were non-existent in the vedic period (Alam).

3 Hindu Law at the Time of Sruti and Smriti

The Hindu law practiced in Bangladesh is primarily dependant on Sruti

and Smriti as there is no specific statutory law. Sruti and Smriti along with

custom are considered as the most authoritative source. Sruti means what

were heared. Sruti is the most authentic source of modern Hindu law

because it is believed that sruti is the reflection of divine commands.

Smriti is the second source of Hindu law, though this source contains

more legal rules than sruti. They are also divine instructions which are

remembered from ancient time. They are a combination of morals, ethics

and body of rules. Later on commentaries on these Smriti form major part

of Hindu law. Smriti was summed up for over 1500 years (ibid) Manu,

Yajnavalka and Narada are the main smritikar who developed this source,

which is still considered as a major guideline.

Commentaries on smriti are the third source though many jurists do not

agree it as an individual source as it has interpreted smriti, following the

rule of equity, justice and good conscience. Though commentaries are

explanation of smriti it has performed a great role in the reforming of

Hindu law (Firoze and Rahman). Because commentaries are the

interpretation which modified and supplemented the rules of Smriti by

reasoning and keeping pace with the changing circumstances.

Custom is the next important source, though Hindu law is not a customary

law like common law, but it is a traditional law. So custom got due

importance as they are the proof of a particular rule. Custom is defined by

32

the judicial committee in the case of Hurpurshad Vs Sheo Dayal as

―Custom is a rule, which in a particular family or in a particular district

has from long usage obtained the force of law. It must be ancient, certain

and reasonable, and being in derogation of the general rules of law, must

be construed strictly‖ (Routh). So some commentaries viewed that if a

Smriti is contradictory with custom, the Smriti should prevail, but some

commentator holds exactly opposite view. But this problem was sorted out

by the Privy Council in the case of The Collector of Madura Vs Mootoo

(12 M.I.A 397 436) (ibid). It was held that ―Under the Hindu system of

law clear proof of usage will out-weigh the written text of law.‖

4 The Legislative Development of Hindu Law

There are very few legislative intervention over the customary Hindu law

as it is emanated from the verses of Sruti and Smriti (Two basic sources of

Hindu law) and later on practices by the customs. Whatever changes have

been brought those are by the British rulers. There were a set of rules

which were enacted to eradicate some social crisis, they are the ―Racial

Inability Remission Act,1850‖, the ―Hindu Widow‘s Remarriage

Act,1856", the ―Sati Regulation,1829‖, the ―Child Marriage Restraint

Act,1929‖, the ―Earned Property Affairs Act,1930‖, the ―Inheritance

Act,1925‖, (Aktar and Syead, 2007). The question of codification of

Hindu law was first debated by the Central Law Implementation

Committee of British Government in 1937. In the same year a non-

government member proposed a bill to allot daughters right to her father‘s

property. In 1937 The Hindu Women‘s Right to Property Act was passed

(An Action Study on Proposed Reform of Hindu Law op.cit.). After that a

committee was formed in 1941 to examine various aspects of Hindu law.

The Committee recommended wide range of reforms and prepared a

single uniform code. Accordingly a draft Bill was first placed before the

Federal Legislative Assembly on April 11, 1947 and again placed in the

Indian Parliament but not as a single Code (Parashar, 1992). Unfortunately

very little effort was given after the partition. Even there is no trace of

significant initiative after the independence of Bangladesh. The Hindu

Law Hindu communities are applying is absolutely based on the shashtrik

Hindu law.

33

The Existing Practice of Hindu Law in Personal Matters

and Proposed Reforms

Many jurists find it peculiar that in the Indian Subcontinent there are

division in legal system as personal matters are guided by the respective

personal law. If a citizen is Muslim his personal matters like marriage,

dissolution of marriage, custody of child, maintenance etc are governed by

the Muslim personal law, this is the reality for the significant subject

matters like inheritance. Same is the case in Hindu Law. These personal

laws govern the institution of marriage, adoption, inheritance,

guardianship, maintenance, joint family, will, gift, partition, religious

usages and institutions, etc. subject to alteration as done by British

Legislation. (Statutes) (Mridulkanti, 2005). In this portion we will focus

on the traditional Hindu law and will propose some reforms to make it

compatible and more problem specific which can be easily enforced.

1. Marriage

Hindu Marriage law is a Samskara or religious rights or sacrament.

According to Vedas a marriage is ‗The union of flesh with flesh and bone

with bone-to be continued even in the next world.‖ It is union which is

indissoluble. One of the characteristics of a Hindu Marriage has been that

it is more connected with the performance of religious duties and

begetting of a son who enables a man to get deliverance from the

sufferings of Hell. That‘s why concept of Divorce was not recognized by

the ancient Hindu Law (Gandhi).

The ancient Hindu law specified the following requirements of a valid

marriage

Firstly, it has provided that if both parties do not belong to the same caste

then the marriage is invalid. But after the Hindu Marriage Validity Act

validity of marriage does not solely dependant on this issue. If all the other

requirements are fulfilled the marriage will not be invalid only because of

the fact that the parties belong to different religious castes and sects

(Routh).

34

Secondly, parties should be beyond the prohibited degrees. A man could

not marry a girl of the same Gotra 1 and the parties should not be

shapindas 2 of each other.

Thirdly, as Hindu marriage is defined as religious sacrament, certain

ceremonies are essential to perform for a valid marriage. Since this is a

prerequisite for marriage validity was dependant upon the performance of

these ceremonies but as there was no specific ceremony it was tough to

prove.

This particular problem was solved by judicial interpretation in the case of

AMULYA CHANDRA VS THE STATE (1983) 35 DLR, P 160. It was held

that two ceremonies are essential for a valid marriage under Hindu Law,

they are

(1) Vivah Homa Invocation before a sacred fire and

(2) The taking of seven steps before the sacred fire by the bride and

bridegroom, i.e. Saptapadi. The marriage becomes complete when the

seventh step is taken. Until then the marriage is incomplete and not

binding (Huda,1998).

Fourthly, to have legal validity marriage should be performed by any of

the approved manners.

Fifthly, consent of the guardian is a must. There is no explicit prohibition

regarding child marriage. Under Dayabhaga School a male who has

attained the age of fifteen is considered as attained his age of marriage.

The female‘s consent is not that important; guardian takes decision on her

behalf.

Certain persons are considered as the guardian of Hindu female. They are

the father, the paternal grandfather, the brother, a sakulya or a member of

the same family, the maternal grandfather, the maternal uncle, the mother.

It was held in KC Chakraborty vs Emperor (1937) that if the marriage is

otherwise valid it will not be considered as invalid only because it was

brought about by misrepresentation to the guardians or without the consent

of the guardians or in contravention of the express order of the court

(Routh).

35

Sixthly, as the guardians play the main role in Hindu marriage, child

marriage is permitted. Gurudas Banerji has described that children are not

only eligible for marriage but are the fittest to be taken in marriage.

Though the Child Marriage Restrained Act 1929 (amended in 1961 and

1984) however tried to stop child marriage this Act applies to all citizens

of Bangladesh. So it applies to the Hindus also (ibid). In the case of a

Hindu woman the consent of the bride is unnecessary.

1.1. Proposed Reforms in the Sector of Marriage

Dissolution of Marriage

The need for reform in marriage has become inevitable. Since other

personal laws have made dissolution proper same should be incorporated

in the Hindu marriage. No right of dissolution is itself a human rights

violation where equal rights of men and women are guaranteed. Not

giving the right of dissolution is making the position of the women more

vulnerable.

We can cite the example of changes brought in India by Marriages Act of

1955 applicable to Hindus permits divorce. Marriage Laws Act of 1976

brought a remarkable change. Section 13-B provides for divorce by

mutual consent of the parties. This has been added because of growing

influence of break down theory, which explains that when a marital bond

is completely broken down parties should not be compelled to live

together.

1.2. Registration of Marriage

The second area where the law can be changed in a very simple way but

has a grave effect is to make the registration of marriage mandatory. If

registration is made mandatory it will work as the proof, which can ensure

the rights of the husband and wife.

1.3. Other Reforms

Polygamy should be restricted. Hindu male should not be

permitted to keep more than one wife which is allowed by the

traditional Hindu law.

36

The mother should also be considered as the legal guardian of the

son and should be given equal rights in the matter of consent in

marriage and adoption.

Provision of consent must be incorporated as a necessary condition

both for male and female.

2 Maintenance

According to the ancient Hindu law it is the duty of a Hindu to male to

maintain his wife, minor children and aged parents. The wife can not

demand for maintenance if she leaves her husband‘s residence without a

lawful reason or if the husband is suffering from contagious diseases or if

he is guilty of cruelty according to the Hindu Women‘s Right to Separate

Residence and Maintenance Act 1946. Under this Act a Hindu wife can

institute a suit in the Family Court for maintenance against the husband; it

was decided in the case of Nirmal Kanti Das vs Sreemati Beeva Rani (47

DLR HCD pp.514) (Aktar and Syead, 2007) As there is no provision for

dissolution of marriage the question of post divorce maintenance is absent

here.

2.1 Proposed Reforms

Firstly, since divorce is suggested the women should get maintenance

until she remarries.

Secondly, the children both male and female should get maintenance upto

18 years of age.

3 Inheritance

In the matter of Hindu law the major lacuna lies in the share of women in

her father‘s or husband‘s property, since the Hindu females do not have

any absolute right. According to the Shashtric Hindu law, five female

heirs have the right of inheritance : they are wife, daughter, mother,

father‘s mother and father‘s father‘s mother. The right is restricted strictly

to enjoy the property and the female heirs are not entitled to alienate the

property. The female get only a right to enjoy the property during their

lifetime.

37

3.1 Right of Widow

The right of widow in their husband‘s property is limited. After the

marriage the wife is considered as the family member of their husband‘s

family. So after the death of the husband the father-in-law is responsible to

give maintenance from the property of her husband. The widow does not

have any specific absolute right. So she can not alienate or transfer any

portion of the property unless there is a legal necessity. Legal necessity

involves debt of the husband and religious purpose. So the widow can not

alienate the property in her extreme sickness.

3.2. Right of Daughter

Like widow, daughter gets a limited interest in her father‘s property.

Maiden daughter has a right to enjoy the property until her marriage. A

married daughter generally does not have any right but if she has a son and

does not have a brother (son of a deceased) can only enjoy the right. A

married daughter without a son or a barren widowed daughter does not get

any right.

3.3. Proposed Reforms

Firstly, it is strongly recommended that the female heir must be given an

absolute share in the property of their father and husband, which should

not be limited to enjoyment only. There should be specific share which

will be considered to be their own property and which will pass to their

heir after their death. There should not be any difference regarding

married daughter and unmarried daughter.

Secondly, both male and female must have equal share in the property of

their father. It is proposed to give equal share of mother with the son and

son should not exclude mother in the property of her husband, as it is

practiced in traditional Hindu law.

Thirdly, the doctrine of spiritual benefit should not be considered as the

only mode of deciding the right of inheritance.

4 Adoption

Adoption plays a significant role in Hindu law as by adoption a Hindu

male can secure the spiritual benefit of his own and his ancestor in

38

absence of a natural son. It was decided in Anath Bandhu vs Shudhangsu

Shekhar Dey (31 DLR 1979, pp.312) that an adopted son is considered as

a natural born son for all practical purposes. The existing practice of

adoption suggests that only the father can give a son into an adoption and

same principle is followed in case of taking a son into adoption. Another

requisite is that an adoption is only permitted in the absence of a son

grandson and great grand son. The adopted son must belong to the same

caste of his adoptive father and his mother must not be within the

prohibited degrees to his adoptive father. Generally a wife can not take an

adoption but she is permitted only if there is an expressed consent. A

widow similarly is allowed to take an adoption with the expressed or

implied permission given before the husband is dead.

4.1 Proposed Reforms

Firstly, mother should be given the status of a legal guardian and she

should have the right to give her opinion regarding the adoption. She must

be given the power to take or give a son into an adoption.

Secondly, both girls and boys should be permitted to taken in adoption.

Thirdly, the shashtric rules regarding caste disability should be abolished.

An Obligation for Bangladesh under CEDAW Convention

Bangladesh has been one of the state party to the Convention of the

Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

and has also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention. Under the

Convention and Protocol Bangladesh has undertaken the responsibility to

ensure the implementation of necessary mechanism to eradicate

discrimination. Thus to ensure equality between men and women, but

existing law itself is discriminating. Article 2 of CEDAW provides that

―State Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms,

agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of

eliminating discrimination against women and to this end undertake:

(a) To embody the principle of equality of men and women in their

national constitution and other appropriate legislation.

39

(b) To adopt progressive legislative and other measure including sanctions

where appropriate, prohibiting discrimination against women.

(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis

with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and

other public institutions……..

(d) To take all appropriate measures including legislation, to modify or

abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which

constitute discrimination against women.

Here the Convention has mentioned thrice to protect the rights of the

women through legislative enactment and implementation of them.

Because in absence of any legal protection vulnerable groups are always

deprived of their rights.

Article 3 has even broadened the scope to social, political, economic and

cultural fields to take appropriate measures including legislation to ensure

full development.

So if we consider all these provisions it leads to only one path – that is to

reform the traditional age old Hindu law.

Conclusion

The article is a very little initiative with some major and specific

suggestions. The Hindu community is in bare need of a codified law, in

absence of which they are not getting the enforcement of their rights

accorded by different existing Hindu law. That is a gross violation of our

constitutional as well as human rights.

The study on Hindu personal law conducted by BNWLA shows that 84%

of female and76% of male respondents are not satisfied with the existing

law. On the other hand, 15.33% of female respondents are satisfied

because either they are ignorant of the legal norms or their will is

dominated by the patriarchic view. Clear dissatisfaction had reflected in

this study (Hindu Family Law: An Action Study on Proposed Reform of

Hindu Law op.cit.).

40

This is the high time to modify the traditional Hindu law reflecting the

human right thus equal rights of men and women in every aspect. It is not

suggested to follow the modification brought by India where different

Acts has dealt with different subject matters. We are suggesting a

complete codified Act which will have sufficient provision to deal with

every personal matter. If all the provisions exist in a single document it

will be easy to implement.

The community is suffering with this woe for a long time. There are not

many reported cases decided in this particular area of law. Does that

suggest that the Hindu community is reluctant to get legal assistance? On

the contrary, the legislation has failed to safeguard their interest. So the

age old traditional Hindu Law should be replaced by a self sufficient

single codified Act.

References

Agarwala R.K. (1996) Hindu Law. R.K. Sinha, (Ed) Central Law Agency, Allahabad.

Aktar, S. and Syead, M. A. A. (2007) in a Comparative study on Hindu Law between

Bangladesh and India, Asian Affairs, 29( 4): 61-95, October-December

Alam, S. M (2004); Review of Hindu Personal Law in Bangladesh Search for Reforms

Bangladesh Journal of Law (2004) , Bangladesh Institute of Law and International

Affairs: 6 (1 & 2).

Chandra, D. D. (2009) Hindu Ain: Srimati Benu Debnath, Rajshshi

Constitution of the Peoples‘ Republic of Bangladesh

Dhar, N. (1996) Hindu Ain Resisi Publishers , Basur Bazar Lane, Dhaka – 1100

Diwan, Parash, (1996) Modern Hindu Law, Allahabad Law Agency, Allahabad

Firoze, F. K. and Rahman, Z. (eds.) An Action Study on Proposed Reform of Hindu Law,

conducted by Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association.

Gandhi, B.M (2003). Hindu Law, second edition, Lucknow, Eastern Book Company. pp.3

Gandhi B.M. op cit. pp. 207

Huda, S. (1998) Double Trouble – Hindu Women in Bangladesh A Comparative Study,

Huda, S. Dhaka University Studies F, 9 (1): 111-138.

Jhavalah, N.H. (1979) Principles of Hindu Law, C Jamnadas & Co. op. cit. p-2

Menski ,W. (2003) Public Interest Litigation Deliverance from all Evils Bangladesh

Journal of Law, Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs 6 (1 & 2):03

Menski, Warner. F. (2003) Hindu Law – Beyond Tradition and Modernity, Oxford

41

University Press, op.cit., p 88-89 Jahabvlla N.H(1979). Principle of Hindu Law C.

Jamnadas & Co., pp 1-3 in Alam, S. M; Review of Hindu Personal Law in

Bangladesh Search for Reforms Bangladesh Journal of Law , Bangladesh Institute of

Law and International Affairs: 6 (1 & 2):16

Mridulkanti, R. (2005) The principle of Hindu Law ,5th

Ed.: Chittagong, Kamrul Book

House, pp.27

Mulla. (1986) The principles of Hindu Law, 15th

Edition with supplements.

Parashar, A. (1992) Women and Family Law Reform in India New Delhi: Sages

Publication pp.80

Routh S. K. (1974) Elements of Hindu Law Ideal Library, Dhaka pp-3 I.A.253-285

Routh S.K. op.cit.. pp.23-24

Routh S.K. op. cit. pp.24

42

THE FIVE YEAR PLANS IN INDIA: OVERVIEW OF

PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES

Sethuramalingam V1, Selwyn Stanley

2 & Sathia S

3

Keywords: Plans. Public Health. Policies.

Abstract: Health policy of India is associated with the provision of safe

water and sanitation, malaria control, rural health care services through

health units and mobile units, maternal and child health care services, skill

development training for health educators, drug and equipment sufficiency

along with family planning to control the population. The main objective of

this paper is to examine how the health policy was implemented

emphasising the different issues of health through the five year plans period

of India.

Introduction

Social sector development has been the raison-d’etre of planning in India.

The Directive Principles of the State Policy, enshrined in the Constitution

form the social premises of planning in India (Gupta, 2002) The basic

objective of planning in India is ‗to initiate a process of development

which will raise living standards and open out to the people to provide

new opportunities to lead a good life‘. Keeping this objective, the public

health policies in India were formulated through various five year plans.

The public health policies in India have come a long way since 1950s. In

1946, the Health Survey and Development Committee, headed by Sir

Joseph Bhore recommended the establishment of a well-structured and

comprehensive health service with a sound primary health care

infrastructure. This report not only provided a historical landmark in the

development of the public health system but also laid down the blueprint

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Bharathidasan University

2 Lecturer in Social Work, Faculty of Health & Social Work, School of Psychosocial

Studies, University of Plymouth 3 PhD Scholar, Department of Social Work, Bharathidasan University

43

of subsequent health planning and development in independent India

(Government of India, 1960).

First Plan (1951-1961)

The core of the public health policy enunciated in the first five year plan

was (i) provision of water-supply and sanitation; (ii) control of malaria;

(iii) preventive health care of the rural population through health units and

mobile units; (iv) health services for mothers and children; (v) education

and training, and health education; (vi) self-sufficiency in drugs and

equipment; and (vii) family planning and population control. The

emphasis was also given to construction of hospitals and dispensaries,

besides provision for medical education and training, prevention and

treatment of venereal diseases, filariasis, tuberculosis, leprosy, cancer and

up-gradation of mental hospitals (Government of India, 1952). At the

beginning of the first Five Year Plan, the B.C.G. vaccination programme

was launched in the country. A nation-wide family planning programme

was started in the year 1953. The National Malaria Control Programme

was also launched in the same year. National Water Supply and Sanitation

Programme was started in 1954 and the National Filaria Control

Programme was commenced in 1955 (Goodhealthnyou.com, 2000). The

total investment on public health during this plan period was Rs.65.30

crores which is 3.32 per cent of the total budget expenditure. Priority was

given to water supply, sanitation and health care institutions. A sum of

Rs.65.20 crore (3.33%) was invested on public health, bedsides Rs.

0.1crore (0.01%) was invested towards family planning. For the first time

in the world, family planning was adopted as a government programme in

India.

Second Plan (1956-1961)

The second plan laid more emphasis on expanding existing health

services, to bring them increasingly within the reach of all the people and

to promote a progressive improvement in the level of national health. The

specific objectives of the health policies during this plan were (i)

establishment of institutional facilities to serve as a base from which

44

services can be rendered to the people both locally and in surrounding

territories; (ii) development of technical manpower through appropriate

training programmes and employment of persons trained; (iii)

improvement of public health and institutional measures to control

communicable diseases; (iv) an active campaign for environmental

hygiene; and (v) family planning and other supporting programmes for

raising the standard of health of the people. International agencies like the

W.H.O. and the U.N.I.C.E.F. also took part in the development of medical

and public health schemes in various parts of the country (Government of

India, 1956). The Central Health Education Bureau and the Indian

Medical Council were established in the year 1956. The Demographic

Research Centres were established in 1957. The Tuberculosis Institute was

established in 1959 (Goodhealthnyou.com, 2000). A sum of Rs.146 crore

was invested during this plan period which was 3.1 per cent of the total

budget expenditure towards the health sector and was less than 0.19% of

the previous plan period. During this plan, high priority was given to

water supply, sanitation and control of communicable diseases (Rs.141

crores / 3.01%). A sum of Rs.5 crore (0.11%) was also invested on family

planning

Third Plan (1961-1966)

The Third Plan aimed at controlling and eradication of communicable

diseases, providing curative and preventive health services in rural areas

and to augment the training programmes of medical and paramedical

personnel. Emphasis was also given to family planning. Nation-wide

control campaigns were initiated against small pox and tuberculosis

(Government of India, 1960). The Central Bureau of Health Intelligence

was established in 1961. The Central Family Planning Institute was

established in the year 1962. The National Smallpox eradication and the

School Health and the District Tuberculosis Programmes were also

launched in the same year. The Applied Nutrition Programme was

launched in 1963 and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases

was also inaugurated in the same year (Goodhealthnyou.com, 2000). The

expenditure towards health sector during the third plan was Rs. 251 crores

which is 2.9 per cent of the total budget. As in the second plan, priority

45

was given to water supply, sanitation, and control of communicable

diseases (226 crores / 2.63%). A sum of Rs. 25 crore (0.29%) was invested

towards family planning.

Annual Plan (1966-1969)

The public health schemes, which had been introduced in the third plan

and earlier, were continued during the annual plan period also. In 1966-67,

the family planning programme was made target-oriented and time bound.

In 1966 a new Family Planning department was created in the Ministry of

Health. A sum of Rs 211 crore (3.2%) was invested in the health sector of

which Rs. 140 crore (2.12%) was spent for health and 71 crore (1.06%) for

family planning.

Fourth Plan (1969-1974)

During this plan period, efforts were made to provide an effective base for

health services in rural areas by strengthening the primary health centres.

These centres rendered preventive and curative health services, took over

the maintenance phase of communicable diseases control programmes.

Sub divisional and district hospitals were strengthened to serve as referral

centres for Primary Health Centres. Medical and nursing education and

training of paramedical personnel were expanded to meet the minimum

technical man power requirements. The programme of nutrition of

growing children was extended and integrated in the Fourth Plan. Family

Planning found its place in this Plan as a programme of the highest

priority (Government of India, 1970). The Nutrition Research Laboratories

were converted into the National Institute of Nutrition in 1969 and the

Central Births and Deaths Registration Act was promulgated in the same

year. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (Ayurveda, Unani and

Siddha) was formed in 1971. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill

was also passed by the Parliament in the same year. The Central Council

of Homeopathy was set up in 1973. A sum of Rs. 613.5 crore was

invested in the health sector during this plan period which was 3.89

percentage of the total budget expenditure of which Rs 335.50 crore

(2.13%) was allotted for health and Rs. 278 crore (1.76%) for family

planning.

46

Fifth Plan (1974-1979)

In this plan period, the focus had been placed on research into new

methods of family planning, integrated system for delivery of health care

services to infants, and control & prevention of communicable diseases

including malaria, tuberculosis and cholera, besides provision of safe

drinking water supply. The concept of family planning was changed into

family welfare during this plan period. The country was declared free from

smallpox in April, 1977 (Government of India, 1975). The Water

(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and The Cigarettes Regulation

(Production, Supply and Distribution) Act were enacted in 1974 and 1975

respectively. The Integrated Child Development scheme was launched in

1975. The Central Council for Yoga and Naturopathy was established in

1976. The National Institute of Health and Family Planning was formed

and the Rural Health Scheme was launched in 1977. The Parliament

approved the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill fixing the

minimum age of marriage of 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls in

1978. (Goodhealthnyou.com, 2000). The total budget expenditure on the

health sector during this plan was Rs. 1252.6 crores which was 3.18 per

cent of the total budget. As in the previous plan, a sum of Rs. 760.80 crore

(1.93%) was invested on public health and Rs.491.80 crore (1.25%) on

family welfare planning.

Annual Plan (1979-1980)

The Janatha Government, which came to power in 1977, terminated the

fifth plan at the end of the fourth year and formulated a draft five-year

plan for 1978-83. The country adopted the policy of ―Health for All by

2000 AD‖ enunciated in the Alma Ata Declaration of 1977. The health

care system in the country was restructured and reoriented towards these

policy objectives. Next to rural health, control of communicable diseases

was given priority. During this annual plan the total expenditure towards

the Health sector was Rs.342 crores (2.91%). A sum of Rs. 223.10 crore

(1.83%) was invested on public health and Rs. 118.50 crore (0.97%) on

family welfare.

47

Sixth Plan (1980-1985)

Sixth Five Year Plan is also referred to as the Janata Government Plan and

it was revolutionary since it marked a change from the Nehruvian model

of Five Year Plans. The government of India adopted the National Health

Policy in 1983 which reiterated India's commitment to attain "Health for

All by 2000 A.D", through the provision of comprehensive primary

healthcare services. It stressed the creation of an infrastructure for primary

healthcare; close co-ordination with health-related services and activities (like

nutrition, drinking water supply and sanitation); active involvement and

participation of voluntary organisations; provision of essential drugs and

vaccines; qualitative improvement in health and family planning services;

provision of adequate training; and medical research aimed at the common

health problems of the people (W.H.O. 2006) Health Care Programmes

were restructured and reoriented towards this policy. Priority was given to

extension and expansion of the rural health infrastructure through a

network of community health centres, primary health centres and sub-

centres, on a liberalized population norm. Efforts were made to develop

promotive and preventive services, along with curative facilities. High

priority was given to the development of primary health care located as

close to the people as possible. Improvements in living conditions of the

rural poor through the provision of protected and assured water supply

was also given priority. The family welfare programme was integrated

with the Health programme, especially Maternal and Child Health

(Government of India, 1981). The total investment in the health sector

during the sixth plan was Rs. 3412.2 crores (which was 3.12% of the total

budget expenditure) of which a sum of Rs. 2025 crores (1.9%) for health

and Rs. 1387 crores (1.3%) for family planning was invested during the

sixth plan period.

Seventh Plan (1985-1990)

The Seventh Plan which covered a time span of another five years started

in 1985 and went on till 1989. This Five Year Plan was the come back

vehicle of the Indian National Congress Party into power. The core

objective of health policy in the seventh plan was laid on preventive and

48

promotive aspects and on organising effective and efficient health services

which were comprehensive in nature, easily and widely available, freely

accessible, and generally affordable by the people. The following thrust

areas were identified: (i) Promotion of primary health measures and

improvement in quality health services; (ii) Effective coordination and

coupling of health and health- related services and activities for achieving

the goal of : ―Health for All by 2000 AD‖; (iii) Priority in community

participation and massive health education movement; (iv) Qualitative

improvements as required in Health and Family Planning services; (v)

Efforts to ensure comprehensive coverage in urban and school health

services and mental and dental health services; (vi) Control and

eradication of communicable diseases; (vii) Control and containment of

cancer, coronary heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and traffic and

other accidents in the area of non-communicable diseases; (viii) Training

and education of medical and paramedical personnel (ix) Medical research

of special relevance and (x) Integration and wider application of the Indian

systems of medicine particularly in the national health programme

(Government of India, 1985). A worldwide "safe motherhood" campaign,

National Diabetes Control, and the National AIDS Control Programmes

were initiated in 1987 and the Mental Health Act was also passed in the

same year. The total expenditure on Health Sector was Rs. 6809 (3.11%)

crores. A sum of Rs.3689 crores (1.69%) on public health and Rs. 3120 crores

(1.43 %) on family welfare was invested during the seventh plan period.

Annual Plan (1990-1992)

This period was of political instability and hence no five year plan was

implemented during the period; only annual plans were made for the

period between 1990 and 1992 (Indiaonline,2010) The health schemes

which had been introduced earlier were continued during this period also.

In 1990, Control of Acute Respiratory Infection Programme was initiated

as a pilot project. In 1991, the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (regulation

and prevention of misuse) Act was also enacted. During this annual plan,

the total expenditure in the health sector was Rs.3644.5 crores (2.86%). A

sum of Rs. 2003.10 crores (1.57%) and Rs. 1641.5 crores (1.29%) were

invested on public health and family welfare respectively.

49

Eighth Plan (1992-1997)

Health and population control were listed as two of the six priority

objectives during the eighth plan period. Emphases were laid on provision

of safe drinking water and primary health care facilities, including

immunisation, accessibility to all the villages and the entire population,

and complete elimination of scavenging (Government of India, 1992).The

Transplantation of Human Organs Bill was passed in the year 1994 and

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights

and Full Participation) Act passed was in 1995. The total outlay for the

health sector during this plan period was Rs. 14082.2 crores (3.24%). A

sum of Rs. 7582.20 crore (1.75%) was allotted towards public health and

Rs. 6500.00 crores (1.5%) towards family welfare.

Ninth Plan (1997-2002)

The Ninth Five Year Plan was launched in the 50th year of India‘s

Independence. During this plan, greater emphasis was provided on

primary health care, and provision of safe drinking water. Emphasis was

also given to provide integrated preventive, promotive, curative and

rehabilitative services for communicable, non-communicable and nutrition

related health problems, through appropriate strengthening of the existing

health care institutions and ensuring that they are optimally utilised.

Efforts were made to achieve substantial reduction in morbidity and

mortality rates (Government of India, 1997). In 2002, Government of India

introduced the National Health Policy (NHP). The main objective of the

NHP-2002 was to achieve an acceptable standard of good health among

the general population of the country and set goals to be achieved by the

year 2015. The major policy prescriptions were as follows: (i) Increase of

health sector expenditure to 6 percent of GDP by 2010. (ii) Increase of

allocation of public health investment in the order of 55 percent for the

primary health sector; 35 percent and 10 percent to secondary and tertiary

sectors respectively; (iii) Gradual convergence of all health programmes

under a single field administration, except the ones (such as TB, Malaria,

HIV/AIDS and universal immunisation programmes), which need to be

50

continued till moderate levels of prevalence are reached; (iv) Need to levy

user charges for certain secondary and tertiary public health services, for

those who can afford to pay; (v) Mandatory two year rural posting before

awarding the graduate medical degree; (vi) Decentralising the

implementation of health programmes to local self governing bodies by

2005; (vii) Setting up of Medical Grants Commission for funding new

Government Medical and Dental colleges; (viii) Promoting public health

discipline; (ix) Establishing two-tier urban healthcare system - Primary

Health Centre for a population of one lakh and Government General Hospital;

(x) Increase in Government funded health research to a level of 2 percent

of the total health spending by 2010; (xi) Appreciation of the role of

private sector in health, and enactment of legislation by 2003 for

regulating private clinical establishments; (xii) Formulation of procedures

for accreditation of public and private health facilities; (xiii) Co-option of

NGOs in national disease control programmes; (xiv) Promotion

of tele medicine in tertiary healthcare sector; (xv) Full operationalisation of

National Disease Surveillance Network by 2005; (xvi) Notification of

contemporary code of medical ethics by Medical Council of India; (xvii)

Encouraging setting up of private insurance instruments to bring

secondary and tertiary sectors into its purview; (xviiii) Promotion of

medical services for overseas users and (xix) Encouragement and

promotion of Indian System of Medicine (W.H.O.,2006 & Government of

India 2002). During this plan a total sum of Rs. 5314 crore (1%) was

allotted towards public health and Rs. 15088 crore (2.8%) to family

welfare. Thus, a sum of Rs. 20402 crore was allotted for the health sector

which was 3.72 per cent of the total budget of ninth plan.

Tenth Plan (2002-2007)

The major focus in the tenth plan was to improve the efficiency of the

existing health care system, quality of care, logistics of supplies of drugs

and diagnostics and promotion of the rational use of drugs. The focus was

also on evolving, implementing and evaluating systems of health care

financing so that essential health care based on need is available to all at

51

affordable cost. The reductions in fertility, mortality and population

growth rate were also the major objectives during this period (Government

of India, 2002a). The tenth plan also proposed three major initiatives in

the health sector. They are: (i) redesigning the Universal Health Insurance

scheme introduced in 2003 to make it exclusive for below poverty level

people with a reduced premium, (ii) introduction of Group Health

Insurance scheme for members of Self Help Groups and Credit Link

Groups at a premium of Rs 120 per person for an insurance cover of

Rs 10000, and (iii) exemption of income tax for hospitals working in rural

areas (W.H.O., 2006). The total outlay of Rs. 10753 crores (1.2%) for

public health and Rs. 27125 crores (3.0%) to family welfare and thus a

total sum of Rs. 37878 crore (2.4%) was allotted towards the Health

Sector during this plan period.

Eleventh Plan (2007-2012)

The Eleventh Five Year Plan provides an opportunity to restructure

policies to achieve a New Vision based on faster, broad-based, and

inclusive growth. The objectives for health sector aims (i) to achieve good

health for people, especially the poor and the underprivileged by focusing

on individual health care, public health, sanitation, clean drinking water,

access to food, and knowledge of hygiene, and feeding practices; (ii) to

facilitate convergence and development of public health systems and

services that are responsive to health needs and aspirations of people and

(iii) to give special attention to the health of marginalized groups like

adolescent girls, women of all ages, children below the age of three, older

persons, disabled, and primitive tribal groups. This Plan also facilitates

convergence and development of public health systems and services that

are responsive to health needs and aspirations of people. During this plan

major focus was given to reduce disparities in health across regions and

communities by ensuring access to affordable health care. A Sum of Rs.

Rs 136147.00 crore (3.74%) was earmarked for the health sector of which

Rs. 45589 crores for public health and Rs. 90558 crores for family welfare

were allotted during this plan (Government of India, 2007).

52

Chart 1 showing the proportion of investment on health sector to the total

budget investment/outlay through various five-year plans in India

Chart 2 showing the Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate

and Life Expectancy in India during 1951-2009

33.9

12.5 7.6

146

110

50.85440.8

21.725

64.6

36.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1951 1981 2009

Period

Birth Rate

Death Rate

IMR

Life Expct.

53

Chart 3 Comparative analysis of Life Expectancy, Birth and Death

Rates and IMR with neighbouring countries

64.673.5

21.725.9 24.7

147.6 7.2 9.2 7.1

50.8

60.365.3

20.3

5967.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

India Pakistan Bangladesh China

Countries

Life Expet.

Birth Rate

Death Rate

IMR

Conclusion

The review of the five year plans reveals that the average investment

towards health sector in all the plans was 3.28 per cent of the total budget

investment. The highest proportion (3.9%) of the public health investment

was during the fourth plan and the lowest (2.4%) was in the tenth plan

period (Chart 1). With regard to achievements (Chart 2), the crude birth

rate was reduced from 40.8 in 1951 to 33.9 in 1981 and 21.7 in 2009 which

was 25.29 in Pakistan, 24.68 in Bangladesh and 14 in China (Chart 3). The

death rate declined from 25 in 1951 to 12.5 and 7.6 in 1981 and 2009

respectively. In 2009 the death rate in Pakistan was 7.21, in Bangladesh

9.23, and 7.06 in China. The infant mortality rate also decreased from

146 in 1951 to 110 in 1981 and 50.8 in 2009. In 2009 the IMR in Pakistan

was 67.36, in Bangladesh it was 59.02, and 20.25 in China. The life

expectancy increased from 36.7 years in 1951 to 54 years and 66.09 years

in 1981 and 2009 respectively. In 2009, the life expectancy in Pakistan

was 65.26, in Bangladesh it was 60.25 years and in China it was 73.47

years (Indexmuni.com, 2010). It was also found that the number of

malaria cases was reduced from 75 million in 1951 to 2.7 million and 2.2

million in 1981 and 2000 respectively. Leprosy cases increased from 38.1

per 1000 population in 1951 to 57.3 in 1981 and fell to 3.7 in 2000. The

number of polio cases was reduced to 265 in 2000 from 29709 in 1981.

Small Pox was totally eradicated in 1977. The Government of India was

able to increase the number of medical institutions from 0.09 lakh in 1951

54

to 0.62 lakh in 1981 and 2.06 lakhs in 2000 (Government of India, 2002b).

Though there has been a marked improvement in the health status of the

people in the country, India has to go a long way towards achieving its

goal of ‗‗Health for All‖.

References

Goodhealthnyou.com., (2000) Public health milestones in independent India in in

http://good healthnyou.com/library/reading/vhai/mar_apr/mileston.asp.

Government of India (1952) The First Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New

Delhi.

Government of India (1956) The Second Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New

Delhi.

Government of India (1960) Third Five-Year Plan: A draft outline, Planning

Commission, New Delhi in http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/

fiveyr/welcome.html

Government of India (1970) The Fourth Five-Year Plan, Planning commission, New

Delhi.

Government of India (1975) Draft Fifth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New

Delhi.

Government of India (1981) The Sixth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New

Delhi.

Government of India, (1985) The Seventh Five Year Plan (Vol-2), Planning

Commission, New Delhi, in http://www.planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/

fiveyr/welcome.html

Government of India, (1992) The Eighth Five Year Plan (Vol-2) in http://www.planning

commission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/welcome.html

Government of India, (1997) Ninth Five Year Plan 1997-2002, Vol.1&2, Planning

Commission, New Delhi in http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/

welcome.html

Government of India, (2002) National Health Policy – 2002, Ministry of Health and

family Welfare, New Delhi in http://mohfw.nic.in/np2002. htm

Government of India, (2002a) Tenth Five Years Plan 2002-2007 (Vol.2), Planning

Commission New Delhi, 89 & 95

Government of India (2002b) Annual Report 2001-2002, Ministry of health and family

welfare, New Delhi in http://mohfw.nic.in/reports/Annual%20Report%202001-

02%20.pdf/Part%20I-2.pdf

Government of India, (2007) Eleventh Five Year Plan, - 2007-2012 (Vol.2), Planning

Commission, New Delhi, 58,107, 163 & 170

55

Gupta, V.S., (2002) Social Sector Development and the Tenth five year plan,

Employment News, Vol. XXVII, No. 1, Publication Division, Government of India,

New Delhi, 12 April.

IndexMundi, (2010) India Demography in http://www.indexmundi.com/india/

infant_mortality_ rate.html

Indiaonline, (2010) Five years plan in India in http://indiaonline.in/Profile/ Economy/

Planning Commission/five year Plans-Plans.aspx

W.H.O., (2006) Country Health System Profiles World Health Organisation in http://

www.searo.who.int/en/Section313/Section1519_10855.htm

56

MHD NATURAL CONVECTION FLOW OF FLUID

WITH VARIABLE VISCOSITY FROM A POROUS

VERTICAL PLATE

Amena Ferdousi1, Mohammad Salek Parvez

2 & M. A. Alim

3

Keywords: Porous Plate. Magnetohydrodynamic. Natural Convection.

Variable Viscosity.

Abstract: This paper presents an extension for MHD natural convection

flow with variable viscosity from a porous vertical plate. The governing

boundary layer equations are solved numerically using finite difference

method together with Keller-Box scheme. The numerical results show that

as the variable viscosity increases the surface shear stress increases and the

rate of heat transfer decreases, which are here in terms of skin friction

coefficient and local Nusselt number. It has been observed that the

inclusion of variable viscosity affects velocity as well as temperature

profiles. A comparison shows that the present result agrees well with the

published results.

Introduction The study of the flow of electrically conducting fluid in presence of

magnetic field is important from the technical point of view and such

types of problems have received much attention by many researchers. The

specific problem selected for research is the flow and heat transfer in an

electrically conducting fluid adjacent to the surface over which the fluid

flows. The interaction of the magnetic field and the moving electric charge

carried by the flowing fluid induces a force, which tends to oppose the

fluid motion. And near the leading edge of the surface the velocity is very

small so that the magnetic force, which is proportional to the magnitude of

1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Eastern University

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Daffodil

International University 3 Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of

Engineering and Technology

57

the longitudinal velocity of fluid acts in the opposite direction is also very

small. Consequently the influence of the magnetic field on the boundary

layer is exerted only through induced forces within the boundary layer

itself. MHD was originally applied to astrophysical and geophysical

problems but more recently to the problem of fusion power, where the

application is the creation and containment of hot plasmas by

electromagnetic forces, since material wall be destroyed. Astrophysical

problems include solar structure, especially in the outer layers, the solar

wind bathing the earth and other planets and interstellar magnetic fields.

MHD free convection flow with variable viscosity from porous vertical

plate has been drawn forth not only for its fundamental aspects but also for

its significance in the contexts of space technology and processes

involving high temperature. In the presence of variable viscosity on MHD

free convection boundary layer flow from a porous vertical plate of a

steady two dimensional viscous incompressible fluid has been considered.

The physical property, variable viscosity may change significantly with

temperature.

Merkin (1972) concluded free convection with blowing and suction. Lin

and Yu (1988) studied free convection on a horizontal plate with blowing

and suction. Hossain et al. (2001) studied the effect of radiation on free

convection flow with variable viscosity from a porous vertical plate.

Hossain et al (2000) performed flow of viscous incompressible fluid with

temperature dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity past a

permeable wedge with variable heat flux. Hossain and Takhar (2001)

studied radiation effect on mixed convection along a vertical plate with

uniform surface temperature. Molla et al. (2004)studied natural convection

flow along a vertical wavy surface with uniform surface temperature in

presence of heat generation/absorption. Akhter (2007) studied the effect of

radiations on free convection flow on sphere with isothermal surface and

uniform heat flux. Ali (2007) studied the effect of radiation on free

convection flow on sphere with heat generation. Hossain et al.

(1999)studied the effect of radiation on free convection flow from a

porous vertical plate. They (1999) analyzed a full numerical solution and

found an increase in Radiation parameter Rd causes to thin the boundary

layer and an increase in surface temperature parameter causes to thicken

58

the boundary layer. The presence of suction ensures that its ultimate fate if

vertically increased is a layer of constant thickness. Molla et al. (August

2006) studied the Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection flow on a

sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat generation. Gary et al.

(1982) and Mehta and Sood (1992) have concluded that when this effect is

included, the flow characteristics substantially change compared to the

constant viscosity case. Recently, Kafoussius and Williams (1995) and

Kafoussias and Rees (1998) have investigated the effect of the

temperature-dependent viscosity on the mixed convection flow past a

vertical flat plate in the region near the leading edge using the local non-

similarity method. In these studies, they concluded that when the viscosity

of a fluid is sensitive to temperature variations, the effect of temperature-

dependent viscosity has to be taken into consideration, otherwise

considerable errors may occur in the characteristics of the heat transfer

process. Hossain et al. (2002) have investigated the natural convection of

fluid with variable viscosity from a heated vertical wavy surface. Hossain

and Munir (2000) investigated the mixed convection flow from a vertical

flat plate for a temperature dependent viscosity. In above studies (Hossain

et al., 2002, Hossain & Munir, 2000) the viscosity of the fluid has been

considered to be inversely proportional to a linear function of temperature.

None of the aforementioned studies, considered variable viscosity and

MHD effects on laminar boundary layer flow of the fluids along porous

plate. In the present study, we have investigated the variable viscosity on

MHD natural convection flow from a porous vertical plate numerically.

The results will be obtained for different values of relevant physical

parameters and will be shown in graphs as well as in tables.

The governing partial differential equations are reduced to locally non-

similar partial differential forms by adopting some appropriate

transformations. The transformed boundary layer equations are solved

numerically using implicit finite difference scheme together with the

Keller Box technique (Carey & Mollendorf, 1978). Here, we have

focused our attention on the evolution of the surface shear stress in terms

of local skin friction and the rate of heat transfer in terms of local Nusselt

number, velocity profiles as well as temperature profiles for selected

values of parameters consisting of MHD M, variable viscosity , Prandtl

number Pr.

59

Nomenclatures

Cfx Local skin friction coefficient in

the direction of x-axis

Cp Specific heat at constant pressure

f Dimensionless stream function

g Acceleration due to gravity

k Thermal conductivity

Nux Local Nusselt number in

the direction of x-axis

Pr Prandtl number

M Magnetohydrodynamic parameter

qw Heat flux at the surface

cq Conduction heat flux

T Temperature of the fluid in the

boundary layer

T Temperature of the ambient fluid

Tw Temperature at the surface

( , )u v Dimensionless velocity

components along the

yx , axes

V Wall suction velocity

(x, y) Axis in the direction along and

normal to the surface

respectively

Coefficient of thermal expansion

Similarity variable

Dimensionless temperature

function

w Surface temperature parameter

Viscosity of the fluid

Kinematic viscosity

Similarity variable

Density of the fluid

Stefan-Boltzmann constant

s Scattering co-efficient

0 Electric conduction

f absolute Viscosity at the film

temperature

Coefficient of skin friction

w Shearing stress

Non-dimensional stream function

0 Strength of magnetic field

γ Viscosity parameter

Subscripts

w wall conditions

∞ Ambient temperature

Problem Description and Mathematical Model

We have investigated MHD free convection flow from a porous plate with

variable viscosity. The fluid is assumed to be a grey, emitting and

absorbing but non scattering medium. Over the work it is assumed that the

surface temperature of the porous vertical plate, Tw, is constant,

where

TTw

. The physical configuration considered is as shown in

Figure 1(a):

60

Figure 1.a: The coordinate system and the physical model

The conservation equations for the flow characterized with steady, laminar

and two dimensional boundary layer, under the usual Boussinesq

approximation, the continuity, momentum and energy equations can be

written as:

0u v

x y

(1)

2

0 0( ) ( )

u u uu v g T T u

x y y y

(2)

2

2( )

p

T T Tc u v k

x y y

(3)

With the boundary conditions

0 , 0 , 0 , .

0 , 0 , 0 , ,

, 0 , 0 ,

w

x y u T T

y x u v V T T

y x u T T

(4)

V

x

u u

Thermal

boundary

layer

Momentum

boundary

layer

T

v

0

0

Tw

g

y

61

where is the density, 0 is the strength of magnetic field, 0 is the

electrical conduction, k is the thermal conductivity, is the coefficient of

thermal expansion, is the reference kinematic viscosity = / , is

the viscosity of the fluid, Cp is the specific heat at constant pressure. The

absolute viscosity μ is assumed to be vary with temperature according to a

general functional form μ = μf s(T), where μf is the absolute viscosity at the

film temperature Tf and s(Tf) = 1. This form is chosen to allow definition

of the stream function based on the absolute viscosity at the film

temperature. For liquids, all transport properties vary with temperature.

However, for many liquids, petroleum oils, glycerin, glycol, silicon fluids

and some molten salt, the percent variation of absolute viscosity with

temperature is much more than that of the other properties. Under the

above conditions an analysis incorporating the above assumptions and

describing the momentum and thermal transport within the flow field are

more accurate than the usual assumption of constant properties evaluated

at some reference temperature. It should be mentioned here that there are

some fluids for which properties other than μ vary strongly with

temperature. In particular, water and methyl alcohol exhibit strong

variation of both μ and β. The analysis presented here is not applicable to

these liquids since we are considering only the variation of the absolute

viscosity as a function of temperature. However, for the case of an

isothermal surface (in an unstratified ambient fluid), the variation of the

absolute viscosity with temperature takes the form μ = μfS(θ), where θ is

the dimensionless temperature in the boundary layer defined in equation

(4), such that S(1/2) = 1. A wide variety of functional forms of S(θ)

satisfying this requirement was investigated in the literature such as

algebraic expressions, power series, exponential forms, etc. Carey and

Mollendorf (1978), the simplest form of the absolute viscosity is used in

this investigation as follows:

μ = μf[1+1/μf (dμ/dT)f (T − T∞)] (5a)

This simple form amounts to a linear variation of the absolute viscosity

with temperature, with the slope dμ/dT , evaluated at film temperature.

The assumed linear variation of viscosity with temperature gives rise to a

new parameter γ defined by

γ = 1/μf (dμ/dT) f (Tw − T∞) (5b)

62

Now introduce the following non-dimensional variables:

V y

,

1

4

2

4 xV

g T

,3 2 3

4V g T f

(6)

w

T T

T T

,

w

w

T

T

Where, is the non-dimensional temperature function, w is the surface

temperature parameter.

Substituting (6) into Equations (1), (2) and (3) leads to the following non-

dimensional equations 2

2 2 20 01

1 2 32

f ff f ff f f f v f

(7)

1

3 f

f fP r

(8)

Where Pr = μCp/k is the Prandtl number and M=020/ is the

hydromagnetic parameter .The boundary conditions (4) become

0 , 1 a t 0

0 , 0 as

f

f

0 , f (9)

The solution of equations (6), (8) enable us to calculate the

nondimensional velocity components u,v from the following

expressions 2

2

1

( , )( )

(3 )

w

u u fV g T T

fv f f

V

(10)

In practical applications, the physical quantities of principle interest are

the shearing stress w and the rate of heat transfer in terms of the skin-

friction coefficients Cfx and Nusselt number Nux respectively, which can

be written as

0 0( ) ,

x c fx

VN u q C

V T g T

(11)

00

and where

y

Tkq

y

u

cw (12)

63

qc is the conduction heat flux.

Using the Equations (6) and the boundary condition (9) into (11) and (12),

we get

1

1 , 02

, 0

f x

x

C f x

N u x

(13)

The values of the velocity and temperature distribution are calculated

respectively from the following relations:

2

( , ), ,u f x y (14)

Numerical Procedure

Solution of the local non similar partial differential equation (7) to (8)

subjected to the boundary condition (9) are obtained by using implicit

finite difference method with Keller-Box Scheme, which has been

described in details by Cebeci and Bradshaw (1984) .

The solution methodology of equations (7) and (8) with the boundary

condition given in eqn. (9) for the entire ξ values based on Keller – box

scheme is proposed here . The scheme specifically incorporated a nodal

distribution favoring the vicinity of the plate, enabling accuracy to be

maintained in this region of steep gradient. In detail equations (7) and (8)

are solved as a set of five simultaneous equations.

2 211 3 2 ( )

2

f ff f f f f M f f f

(15)

and

13

P r

ff f

(16)

To apply the aforementioned method, we first convert Equations (15)-(16)

into the following system of first order equations with dependent

variables ),( u , ),( v , ),( p and ),( g as

f = u, u

= v, g =, and

= p (17)

2 2

5 1 2 4

11

2

u fp g v p fv p u g v p u u v

(18)

64

1

1

P r

g fp p p fp u p

(19)

where

p1 =3, p2 = 2, p4 = M and p5 = γ (20)

The corresponding boundary conditions are ( , 0 ) 0 , ( , 0 ) 0 a n d ( , 0 ) 0

( , ) 0 , ( , ) 0

f u g

u g

(21)

We now consider the net rectangle on the (,) plane and denote the net

point by

0 10 1, 2 ,, ,

j j jh j J

0 10 1, 2 ,, ,

n n

nk n N

Figure 1. b: Net rectangle for difference approximations for the Box scheme

Here ‘n’ and ‘j’ are just sequence of numbers on the ),( plane, kn and hj

are the variable mesh widths.

We approximate the quantities (f, u, v, p) at the points ),(j

n of the net

by ),,,(n

j

n

j

n

j

n

jpvuf which we call net function.

1 / 2 1

1

2( )

j j j

(22)

1 / 2 11

2( )

n n n

hj

kn

ηj-1/2

ηj

ηj-1

ξn-1

ξn-1/2 ξ

n

B A

D C

65

1 / 2 11

2( )

n n n

j j jg g g

1 / 2 1

1

2( )

nn n

j j jg g g

Now we write the difference equations that are to approximate Equations

(17) - (19) by considering one mesh rectangle for the mid point

),(2

1j

nn to obtain

1

1 / 2

n n

j j n

j

j

f fu

h

(23)

n

j

j

n

j

n

j

vh

uu

2/1

1

(24)

n

j

j

n

j

n

j

ph

gg

2/1

1

(25)

Similarly Equations (18) – (19) are approximate by centering about the

midpoint ),(2

1

21

j

n

n . Centering the Equations (22) about the point

),( 21

nn

without specifying η to obtain the algebraic equations. The

difference approximation to Equations (18)-(19) become

1

1 1

5 5 5 51 1

1

2 2 2

1 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 12 2 2 2 2

2

1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2 2

1 0 .5 1 0 .5 1 0 .5 1 0 .52

{ ( ) } ( ) { ( ) } ( ) ( )

( ) { }

n n n nj

j j j j

nn n n n n

n nj j j j jj

n n n n n n

nj j j j j j

hp g v p g v p g v p g v

p f v p u g p u

v f v v f R

11 1 1 11 1 2 11 1 1 11 5 5 1 2 1

12 2 2 22 2

1 1 1 1 2 11

1 4 112

11 1 2 11

1 1 1

22 2 2

1 0 .5 1 0 .5

( )

( )

nn n n n nn n

j j j jj j jj j

n n n n

j j j jj

nn n n

n jj j j

w h e r e

L h p g p g p fv p u g

p h v v p u

A n d

R L u fv

66

1 1 3 3

1 3 3 1 1 12 2

1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2

1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1[ ( ) { { (1 ) } { (1 ) } } ]

P r

( ) ( ) [ ( ) ( ) ]

[ ( ) ( ) }

n n n n n n

j j j j j j j j

n n n n n

j j j j j

n n n n n n n n

n j j j j j j j j

h p p h p p g p p g p

p f p M n u g f p

u g f p u g u g p f

1

1 12 2

]n n

j jp f

1 2

1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1

12

1[ ( ) ] ( ) { ( ) } ( )

P r

[{ ( ) ( ) } } ]

n n n n n n n n

j j j nj j j j j j

n n n n n n n n n n

n j j j j j j j j j j

n

j

h p p p p g p f p

u g u g u g u g p f p f

T

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 12 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

1 1 1 12 2 2 2

1[ ( ) ] [ ( ) ( ) ]

P r

[ ( ) ( ) ]

n n n n n n n

j j jj j j j j

n n n n

nj j j j

w h e r e

M h p p p p f p

T M f p u g

The corresponding boundary conditions (21) become

0 0 00 0 1, ,

n n nf u g

0 0,n n

J Ju g

which just express the requirement for the boundary conditions to remain

during the iteration process. Now we will convert the momentum and

energy equations into system of linear Equations and together with the

boundary conditions can be written in matrix or vector form, where the

coefficient matrix has a block tri-diagonal structure. The whole procedure,

namely reduction to first order followed by central difference

approximations, Newton‘s quasi-linearization method and the block

Thomas algorithm, is well known as the Keller- box method.

Results and Discussion

In this exertion MHD natural convection flow from a porous vertical plate

with variable viscosity is investigated. Numerical values of local rate of

heat transfer are calculated in terms of Nusselt number Nux for the surface

of the porous vertical plate from lower stagnation point to upper

stagnation point, for different values of the aforementioned parameters and

these are shown in tabular form in Table 1 and Graphically in Figure 5-7.

The effect for different values viscosity on local skin friction coefficient

67

Cfx and the local Nusselt number Nux, as well as velocity and temperature

profiles are displayed in Figure 2 to 7. The aim of these figures are to

display how the profiles vary in , the selected streetwise co-ordinate.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. (a) Velocity and (b) temperature profiles for different values

of viscosity parameter γ with others fixed parameters.

Figures 2(a)-2(b) display results for the velocity and temperature profiles,

for different values of viscosity parameter = -1.0, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.9

while Prandtl number Pr = 1.0, surface temperature parameter w = 1.1

and magnetohydrodynamic parameter M = 1.0. It has been seen from

Figures 2(a)-2(b) that as the viscosity parameter increases, the velocity

profiles decreases and the temperature profiles increase. This is due to the

fact that the effect of the viscosity is totake away the warm fluid and

thereby decreasing the maximum velocity with a decreasing in the

intensity of the natural convection rate as depicted be figure 2 (a). The

velocity is zero at the boundary wall then the velocity increases to the peak

value as increases and from 1 to 1.8 it is reverse and after = 1.8 it is

decreasing, finally the velocity approaches to zero (the asymptotic value).

However, in figures 3(a)-3(b) it has been shown that when the Prandtl

number Pr = 0.7, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 increases with w = 1.0, M = 1.0 and

= 0.5 both the velocity and temperature profiles decrease. As Pr

increases, viscosity increases so the velocity decreases.

0 1 2 3

0 .0

0 .3

0 .5

0 .8

1 .0

Te

mp

era

ture

pro

file

s

P r = 1 .0 , M = 1 .0

0 1 2 3

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

M = 1 .0 , P r = 1 .0

1 2

0 .1

0 .2

0 .3

0 .4

68

(a) (b)

Figure 3. (a) Velocity and (b) temperature profiles for different values

of prandtl number Pr with others fixed parameters.

Figure 4(a) displays results for the velocity profiles for different values of

MHD parameter M with Prandtl number Pr = 1.0, viscosity parameter =

1.0 and surface temperature parameter w = 1.1. It has been seen from

figure 4(a) that as the MHD parameter increases the velocity profiles

decrease. Electrically conducting fluid affects the flow so the velocity

decreases. It is also observed from figure 4(a) that the changes of velocity

profiles in the direction reveals the typical velocity profile for natural

convection boundary layer flow, i.e., the velocity is zero at the boundary

wall then the velocity increases to the peak value as increases and

finally the velocity approaches to zero (the asymptotic value). The

maximum values of velocity are recorded to be 0.11934 and 0.14053 =

0.88811 , 0.16893, 0.18645, 0.20630 at = 0.94233 for M =.30.0,

20.0,10.0, 5.0 and 0.0. The velocity is 0.20630 at = 0.94233 for M =

0.0. Here, it is observed that at = 0.88811, the velocity decreases by

73.40% as the MHD parameter M changes from 0 to 30.0. Figure 4(b)

displays results for the temperature profiles, for different values of MHD

parameter M while Prandtl number Pr = 1.0, viscosity parameter = 1.0

and surface temperature parameter w = 1.1. From figure 4(b), as the

MHD parameter M increases, the temperature profiles increase. We

observed that the temperature profile is 1.0 (one) at the boundary wall then

the temperature profile decreases gradually along direction to the

asymptotic value. But for M = 30.0, 20.0, 10.0, 5.0, 0.0 the temperature

0 1 2 3

0 .0

0 .3

0 .5

0 .8

1 .0

Te

mp

era

ture

pro

file

s

P r = 4 .0

P r = 3 .0

P r = 2 .0

P r = 1 .0

P r = 0 .7

M = 1 .0

0 1 2 3

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

Ve

loc

ity

pro

file

sP r = 4 .0

P r = 3 .0

P r = 2 .0

P r = 1 .0

P r = 0 .7

M = 1 .0 ,

69

profile increases, at = 0.88811 it is 0.52579, 0.50164, 0.47181, 0.45488

and 0.43689 then it decrease. And for other values it is gradually increasing.

(a) (b)

Figure 4. (a) Velocity and (b) temperature profiles for different values

of MHD parameter M with others fixed parameters.

(a) (b)

Figure 5.(a) Skin friction and (b) rate of heat transfer for different

values of viscosity parameter γ with others fixed parameters.

Figure 5(a) shows that skin friction coefficient Cfx increases for increasing

values of viscosity parameter with Prandtl number Pr = 1.0, surface

temperature parameter w = 1.1 and MHD parameter M = 1.0. It is

observed from Figure 5(a) that the skin friction increases gradually from

zero value at lower stagnation point along the direction and from Figure

5(b); it reveals that the rate of heat transfer decreases along the direction

for = -1.0, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.9 Nux are along axis. A hot fluid layer is

created adjacent to the interface of the wall due to the viscosity

0 1 2 3 4

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

Ve

loc

ity

pro

file

s

M = 3 0 .0

M = 2 0 .0

M = 1 0 .0

M = 0 5 .0

M = 0 0 .0

P r = 1 .0 ,

0 1 2 3 4

0 .0

0 .3

0 .5

0 .8

1 .0

Te

mp

era

ture

pro

file

s

M = 3 0 .0

M = 2 0 .0

M = 1 0 .0

M = 0 5 .0

M = 0 0 .0

P r = 1 .0

0 .0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4

0

2

4

6

8

Ra

teo

fh

ea

ttr

an

sfe

r

P r = 1 .0 , M = 1 .0

0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

0 .3

Sk

infr

icti

on

P r = 1 .0 , M = 1 .0

70

mechanism and ultimately the resultant temperature of the fluid exceeds

the surface temperature. Accordingly, the heat transfer rate from the

surface decreases as shown in Figure 5(b).

The variation of the local skin friction coefficient Cfx and local rate of heat

transfer Nux for different values of Prandtl number Pr whilew

= 1.0, M =

1.0 and = 1.0 are shown in Figures 6(a)-6(b). We can observe from these

figures that as the Prandtl number Pr increases, the skin friction

coefficient decreases and rate of heat transfer increases.

(a) (b)

Figure 6. (a) Skin friction and (b) rate of heat transfer for different

values of prandtl number Pr with others fixed parameters .

(a) (b)

Figure 7.(a) Skin friction and (b) rate of heat transfer for different

values of MHD parameter Q with others fixed parameters.

0 .0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

Ra

teo

fh

ea

ttr

an

sfe

r

P r = 4 .0

P r = 3 .0

P r = 2 .0

P r = 1 .0

P r = 0 .7

M = 1 .0

0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

0 .3

Sk

infr

icti

on

P r = 4 .0

P r = 3 .0

P r = 2 .0

P r = 1 .0

P r = 0 .7

M = 1 .0

0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8

0

1

2

3

4

Ra

teo

fh

ea

ttr

an

sfe

r

M = 3 0 .0

M = 2 0 .0

M = 1 0 .0

M = 0 5 .0

M = 0 0 .0

P r = 1 .0

0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4

0 .0

0 .1

0 .2

Sk

infr

icti

on

M = 3 0 .0

M = 2 0 .0

M = 1 0 .0

M = 0 5 .0

M = 0 0 .0

P r = 1 .0

71

Figures 7(a)-7(b) show that skin friction coefficient Cfx and heat transfer

coefficient Nux decrease for increasing values of MHD parameter M while

viscosity parameter = 1.0,.Prandtl number Pr = 1.0, and surface

temperature parameter w = 1.1. The values of skin friction coefficient Cfx

and Nusselt number Nux are recorded to be 0.25646, 0.30238, 0.39508,

0.50394. 0.87147and 1.00382, 1.00463, 1.00414, 1.00463 and 1.04285

for M = 30.0, 20.0, 10.0.5.0, 0.0 and respectively which occur at the same

point = 1.5. Here, it observed that at = 1.5, the skin friction decreases

by 70.57% and Nusselt number Nux decreases by 3.74% as the MHD

parameter M changes from 0.0 to 30.0. It is observed from figure 7(a) that

the skin friction increases gradually from zero value at lower stagnation

point along the direction and from Figure 7(b); it reveals that the rate of

heat transfer decreases along the direction.

Numerical values of rate of heat transfer Nux and skin friction coefficient

Cfx are calculated from Equations (13) from the surface of the vertical

porous plate. Numerical values of Cfx and Nux are shown in Table 1.

Table-1: Skin friction coefficient and rate of heat transfer against for

different values of MHD parameter M with other controlling parameters

Pr = 1.0, w =1.1.and = 1.0.

M = 30.0 M = 20.0 M = 10.0 M = 0.0

Cfx Nux Cfx Nux Cfx Nux Cfx Nux

0.01

0.05

0.10

0.50

1.00

1.50

0.00720

0.03579

0.07033

0.23492

0.25731

0.25646

55.24526

11.37380

5.86455

1.34271

1.01311

1.00382

0.00720

0.03586

0.07081

0.26201

0.30335

0.30238

55.25031

11.38889

5.89219

1.41711

1.01638

1.00463

0.00720

0.03593

0.07130

0.29917

0.39248

0.39508

55.25537

11.40399

5.92000

1.51681

1.03533

1.00414

0.00720

0.03600

0.07180

0.35101

0.65607

0.87147

55.26042

11.41913

5.94800

1.64306

1.16318

1.04285

In the above table the values of skin friction coefficient Cfx and Nusselt

number Nux are recorded to be 0.25646, 0.30238, 0.39508, 0.87147and

1.00382, 1.00463, 1.00414, and 1.04285 for M = 30.0, 20.0, 10.0, 5.0,

0.0 and respectively which occur at the same point = 1.5. Here, it is

observed that at = 1.5, the skin friction decreases by 70.57% and Nusselt

number Nux decreases by 3.74% as the MHD parameter M changes from

0.0 to 30.

72

Comparison of the Results

In order to verify the accuracy of the present work, the values of Nusselt

number and skin friction for Rd = 0.05. Pr = 1.0, = 0, M = 0 and various

surface temperature parameter w

= 1.1, w

= 2.5 at different position

of are compared with Hossain et al. (1999) as presented in Table 2. The

results are found to be in excellent agreement.

Comparison of present numerical results of Cfx and Nux for the values of

prandtl number Pr = 1.0, radiation parameter Rd = 0.05, for surface

temperature w= 1.1 and w = 2.5 without the effect of

magnetohydridynamic and heat generation parameter with Hossain et al.

(1999).

Table-2: Comparison of the present table with Hossain et al. (1999)

w= 1.1 w = 2.5

Hossain Present Hossain Present

Cfx Nux Cfx Nux Cfx Nux Cfx Nux

0.1

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.5

0.0655

0.1316

0.2647

0.3963

0.5235

0.6429

0.8874

6.4627

3.4928

2.0229

1.5439

1.3247

1.1995

1.0574

0.06535

0.13138

0.26408

0.39519

0.52166

0.64024

0.88192

6.48306

3.50282

2.03018

1.55522

1.32959

1.20347

1.06109

0.0709

0.1433

0.2917

0.4423

0.5922

0.7379

1.0613

8.0844

4.2858

2.4003

1.7863

1.4860

1.1098

1.1098

0.07078

0.14313

0.29120

0.44145

0.59080

0.73590

1.05693

8.10360

4.29682

2.40669

1.78912

1.48991

1.31822

1.11262

Conclusion

For different values of relevant physical parameters including the viscosity

parameter , MHD natural convection with variable viscosity flow from a

porous vertical plate has been investigated. The governing boundary layer

equations of motion are transformed into a non-dimensional form and the

resulting non-linear systems of partial differential equations are reduced to

local non-similarity boundary layer equations, which are solved

73

numerically by using implicit finite difference method together with the

Keller-box scheme. From the present investigation the following

conclusions may be drawn:

Significant effects of MHD parameter M and viscosity parameter on

velocity and temperature profiles as well as on skin friction

coefficient Cfx and the rate of heat transfer Nux have been found in this

investigation but the effect of MHD parameter M and viscosity

parameter on rate of heat transfer is more significant. An increase in

the values of viscosity parameter leads to the velocity decrease and

the temperature profiles increase, the local skin friction coefficient Cfx

increase and the local rate of heat transfer Nux decreases at different

position of for Pr =1.0.

For increasing values of Prandtl number Pr leads to decrease the

velocity profile, the temperature profile and the local skin friction

coefficient Cfx but the local rate of heat transfer Nux increases.

An increase in the values of M leads to increase the temperature

profiles and the velocity profiles, the local skin friction coefficient Cfx

and the local rate of heat transfer Nux decreases.

References

Akhter, T. (2007) Effect of Radiation on Natural Convection Flow on a Sphere with

Isothermal surface and uniform Heat Flux, M.Phil Thesis, Department of

Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET),

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Ali, M. M. (2007) Numerical Study of Radiation on Natural Convection Flow on a

Sphere with Heat Generation, M.Phil Thesis, Department of Mathematics,

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Carey, V.P., Mollendorf, J.C. (1978) Natural convection in liquid with temperature dependent

viscosity, in: Proc. 6th Int. Heat Transfer Conference, Toronto, 2: 211–217.

Cebeci, T., Bradshaw (1984) Physical and Computational Aspects of Convective Heat

Transfer, Springer, New York.

Gary, J., Kassory, D.R., Tadjeran, H., Zebib, A., (1982) The effect of significant viscosity

variation on convective heat transport in water-saturated porous media, J. Fluid

Mech.117: 233–249.

74

Hossain, M. A., Khanafer, K. and Khafai, K. (2001) The effect of radiation on free

convection flow with variable viscosity from a porous vertical plate, International

Journal of Thermal science 40(2): 115-124.

Hossain, M. A., Munir, M. S. and Rees, D. A. S. (2000) Flow of viscous incompressible

fluid with temperature dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity past a

permeable wedge with variable heat flux. International Journal of Thermal science

39(6): 635-644.

Hossain, M. A., Takhar, H.S.(2001) Radiation effect on mixed convection along a

vertical plate with uniform surface temperature. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

31(4): 243-248.

Hossain, M. A., Alim, M. A. and Rees, D. A. S. (1999) The effect of radiation on free

convection flow from a porous vertical plate, International Journal of Heat and Mass

Transfer 42(1):181-191.

Hossain, M.A., Kabir, S. and Rees, D.A.S. (2002) Natural convection flow from vertical

wavy surface with variable viscosity, Angew, Z. Math. Phys. 53: 48-52.

Hossain, M.A., Munir, M.S. (2000) Mixed convection flow from a vertical flat plate with

temperature dependent viscosity, Int. J. Thermal Sci. 39 (2): 173-183.

Kafoussius, N.G., Williams, E.W. (1995) The effect of temperature-dependent viscosity

on the free convective laminar boundary layer flow past a vertical isothermal flat

plate, Acta Mech. 110: 123–137.

Kafoussius, N.G., Rees, D.A.S. (1998) Numerical study of the combined free and forced

convective laminar boundary layer flow past a vertical isothermal flat plate with

temperature dependent viscosity, Acta Mech. 127: 39–50.

Keller, H.B. (1978) Numerical methods in boundary layer theory, Annual Review of

Fluid Mechanics 417-433.

Lin,H. T., Yu,W. S. (1988) Free convection on horizontal plate with blowing and suction.

Transactions on ASME journal of Heat Transfer 110(3): 793-796.

Merkin, J. H. (1972) Free convection with blowing and suction, International journal of

heat and mass transfer 15(1): 989-999.

Molla, M. M., Hossain, M. A. and Yao, L .S. (2004)Natural convection flow along a

vertical wavy surface with uniform surface temperature in presence of heat

generation/ absorption, International Journal of Thermal Science 43(2):157–163.

Molla, M. M., Hossain, M. A. and Taher, M. A. (August 2006) Magnetohydrodynamic

natural convection flow on a sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat

generation. Acta Mechanica 186: 75-86.

Mehta, K.N., Sood, S. (1992) Transient free convection flow with temperature dependent

viscosity in a fluid saturated porous medium, Int. J. Engrg. Sci. 30: 1083–1087.

75

SENSITIVITY STUDY OF THE CUMULUS

PARAMETERIZATION SCHEMES WITH PLANETARY

BOUNDARY LAYER OPTIONS IN ESTIMATING

RAINFALL IN BANGLADESH USING MM5

Md. A. E. Akhter1, Md. M. Alam

2 & M. A. Hossain

3

Keywords: Sensitivity. Planetary. Cumulus. Rainfall.

Abstract: The sensitivity of the cumulus parameterization schemes with

PBL options in estimating rainfall in Bangladesh has been studied using

MM5v3. Two step domains, mother domain (49 x 49) taken between

11.890-29.59

0N, 80.49

0- 99.51

0E and nested one (79 x 79) between 18.01

0-

27.570N, 85.21-95.60

0E, along with 23 sigma levels for vertical layers are

taken. The grid distances for coarse and nested domain became 45 km and

15 km respectively. We have run the model from 00 UTC of May 01 to 00

UTC of May 04, 2009 using 5 cumulus parameterization scheme Grell,

Anthe-Kuo, Kain-Fritisch, Betts-Miller and Kain-Fritisch-2 with MRF and

Blackadar PBL for both the domains and observed their effect on the

predicted rain. The predicted accumulated rainfalls are compared with the

observed rain gauge data of BMD at five different meteorological stations

over Bangladesh. It is observed that some schemes have overestimated the

rainfall and someone has underestimated that.

Introduction

Rain has always been valued by mankind, because good corps and

abundant water supplies are possible only by timely and plentiful rainfall.

Rainfall amounts generally vary from place to place and from time to

time. Predictability of weather phenomena like rainfalls, cyclones etc.

through numerical weather prediction (NWP) are very much dependent on

their physical processes. A good number of NWP models are in operation

world wide, like The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather

1 Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

2 Professor, Department of Physics, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

3 Professor, Department of Mathematics, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

76

Forecast (ECMWF), Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Goddard Institute for

Space Studies (GISS), Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL),

Florida State University (FSU), United Kingdom Meteorological Office

(UKMO), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National

Meteorological Centre (NMC), Mesoscale Model (MM5), Weather

Research and Forecasting (WRF) etc. Of them the 5th generation meso-

scale model (MM5) developed by Pennsylvania State University and

National Centre for Atmospheric Research is an open source model and

we have used its version three release seven (MM5V3R7) in this study.

A number of cumulus parameterization (CP) schemes have been

developed over the years but all of them have certain limitations (Frank,

1983, Malinari et al., 1992, Emanuel & Raymond 1993, Zhang et al.,

1994, Kuo et al., 1997). Convection has long been recognized as a process

of central importance in the development of many weather events. The

scale of convective clouds is too small to be resolved by numerical models

and hence needs to be parameterized in terms of variables defined at the

grid points. With increasing computer resources, in the last half decade,

many of these NWP centers started using higher resolution models for

prediction of cyclone and cold front to reduce errors associated with finite

differencing (Dudhia, 1993) and for better representation of topographical

features and sub-grid scale physical processes.

Convective activities in the tropic play an important role. The Asian

monsoon, in particular, is composed of diurnal cycle (Nita & Sekine,

1994) and intraseasonal variation (Madden & Julian, 1972, Yasunar,

1979). During summer, the Bay of Bengal is characterized as cloudiest

oceanic area (Kodama, 2005). The monsoon wind carries water vapor

from the Bay of Bengal to the inland and produces convective systems in

and around Bangladesh and about 6000 mm rainfall occurred during

summer monsoon (Matsumoto, 1996). There are variation of rainfall with

respect to place and time (Islam, 2005). So it will be useful if we can

estimate the amount of rainfall at different places of Bangladesh. Kataoka

(2005) has used MM5 to study the diurnal variation of precipitation.

Akhter et al. (2007) has tried to select a suitable combination of PBL and

CP scheme to simulate rainfalls over Bangladesh.

77

MM5 uses many physical processes like radiation, surface layer processes,

PBL processes and precipitation (this includes CP and resolvable–scale

microphysics). In this study, Blackadar (BKD) and Medium Range

Forecast (MRF) PBL processes are combined with Anthes-Kuo (AK),

Grell, Kain-Fritsch (KF), Kain-Fritsch-2 (KF-2) and Betts-Miller (BM) CP

schemes to make ten different combinations of PBL and CP schemes and

those are used to test the sensitivity in estimating rainfall over Bangladesh

using MM5 for the rainfall during May 01 to May 04, 2009.The purpose

of this study is to select the best combination of CP scheme and PBL

process to estimate rainfall of different regions of Bangladesh. AK CP

scheme with MRF PBL is found to perform better than other

combinations.

Methodology and Description of MM5 Model

To test how well CP schemes with PBL could predict precipitation during

a rainfall event, the MM5 model was selected for several reasons.

MM5V3R7 is the most recent version of a model first developed in the

1970s by Anthes and Warner (1978). MM5 is probably one of the most

studied mesoscale atmospheric models in recent years. It features multi-

nest capability, non-hydrostatic dynamics, four-dimensional data

assimilation (FDDA), several physics options, and the ability to be run on

most UNIX platforms. A detailed description of MM5 can be found in

Grell et al. (1995) and Dudhia et al. (2004). MM5 includes several CP

schemes, five of which were used in this study: AK, Grell, KF, KF-2, and

BM and those are documented in Anthes (1977), Grell (1993), Kain and

Fritsch (1990), Kain (2002) and Betts and Miller (1986). Among the PBL

options, two PBL schemes, MRF and BKD, are taken with five CP

schemes, AK, Grell, KF, KF-2 and BM, for ten independent runs. The

common physics options which are used, other than CP and PBL,

includes: i) Dudhia Simple Ice microphysical Scheme for moisture

anticipation, ii) Cloud Radiation Schemes for radiation calculation and iii)

5- Layer Soil model to predict soil temperature.

MM5 includes the option of using nested sub-grids that can use different

parameterizations to take advantage of resolution differences. The sub-

grids can be either one way (from the coarser parent grid to the finer

78

nested grid) or two ways (feedback from the nested grid to the parent

grid). The parent and nested grids must have a 3: 1 resolution ratio. This

ensures that every point in the parent grid has a corresponding point in the

nested grid. In the model i) the governing equations are in the terrain

following sigma co-ordinate and are written in flux form and solved in

Arakawa B grid ii) Leapfrog time integration scheme with time splitting

technique is used in model integration. In time splitting technique, the

slowly varying terms are integrated with longer time step and the terms

giving rise to fast moving waves are integrated with shorter time step.

For our present study, we have used two step domains. All the options

stated earlier have been applied for both the domains. The mother domain

is taken between 11.89 – 29.590 N, 80.49-99.51

0 E and the nested one

between 18.01 -27.570 N, 85.21-95.60

0 E. The dimension of the coarse

domain, which is the mother domain, is taken as 49 x 49 and that for the

nested one as 79 x 79, thus the grid distances for coarse and nested domain

became as 45 km and 15 km respectively. 23 vertical sigma levels with

model top at 100 hPa have been used.

6 hourly and 1x1 degree resolutions data from the national Centre for

Environmental Prediction (NCEP) are used as atmospheric initial and

lateral boundary conditions data. The model is run for 72 hours from 00

UTC of 01 May to 00 UTC of 04 May 2009. Model predicted rain is taken

as output to observe the effect of physical parameterization schemes on it.

Outputs of all ten options have been produced at three hours interval and

processed through Grid Analysis and Display system (GrADS) and

Microsoft Excel. The accumulated rainfalls at five selected meteorological

stations viz Dinajpur, Sylhet, Satkhira, Teknaf and Dhaka are taken for the

plotting purpose. Using GrADS and Microsoft Excel, the model predicted

rainfall is compared with the observed rainfall as reported by Bangladesh

Meteorological Department (BMD).

Results

The rainfalls predicted by different combinations of schemes at different

stations are different. Also it is seen that maximum accumulated rainfalls

predicted at different stations are not made by the same scheme. Some

combination has overestimated and some has underestimated the rain in

79

terms of the observed and details of these are discussed in the following

section.

Discussion

The model is run for 72 hours from 00 UTC of 01 May to 00 UTC of 04

May 2009. The accumulated rainfalls, up to different times, predicted by

different parameterization schemes, are shown in Figure 1.a to Figure 1.j.

The rainfalls predicted by different schemes are different. Also it is seen

that maximum accumulated rainfalls predicted at different positions are

not done by the same scheme. For Dinajpur it is done by AK with BKD,

for Sylhet it is done by KF-2 with MRF, for Dhaka it is done by KF with

MRF, for Satkhira it is done by KF with BKD and for Teknaf it is done by

KF2 with MRF. It may be due to the non-coincidence of grid center with

the station center. This problem may be solved using higher resolution

grid size.

Figure 1 continue

1(a) 1(b)

80

Figure 1. continue

1(c) 1(d)

1(f) 1(e)

81

Figure 1.a: Accumulated rainfalls at different stations with different

parameterization schemes (cross, open circle, closed circle, open

square and closed square are for Grell, AK, KF, BM and KF-2

convection scheme respectively).

1(h) 1(g)

1(j) 1(i)

82

Comparisons between the predicted accumulated rainfalls with the

observed rain gauge data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department

(BMD) at five different meteorological stations over Bangladesh are

shown in Figure 2.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Dinajpur Sylhet Dhaka Satkhira Teknaf

Rain

fall (

mm

) Grell+MRF

Kuo+MRF

KF+MRF

BM+MRF

KF2+MRF

RAINGAUGE

Grell+BKD

Kuo+BKD

KF+BKD

BM+BKD

KF2+BKD

Figure 2: Comparisons between the predicted accumulated rainfalls

with observed rain gauge data (figure identified with different color

for different parameterization schemes)

It is clear that some schemes have overestimated the rainfall and someone

has underestimated that. Also the ratio of the predicted to the observed is

not same at different stations. AK cumulus scheme with MRF PBL

performs better in Dinajpur and Sylhet, BM cumulus scheme with BKD

PBL performs better in Dhaka and Teknaf, and KF cumulus scheme with

MRF PBL performs better in Satkhira station. So AK, BM and KF

cumulus scheme performs better in 2, 2 and 1 station respectively out of 5

stations. Again, MRF and BKD PBL scheme performs better in 3 and 2

stations respectively out of 5 stations. Considering the above, AK cumulus

scheme with MRF PBL or BM cumulus scheme with BKD PBL may be

better than other combinations.

83

Comparison between the five station average of observed and the ten

predicted rainfalls are shown in Figure 3. It is clear that except two

situations the predicted average is comparable to the observed. The

exceptions are observed due to Gell+MRF and Grell+ BKD combinations.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Parameterization Schemes

Different parameterization Schemes

Avera

ge R

ain

fall

(m

m)

Grell+MRF

Kuo+MRF

KF+MRF

BM+MRF

KF2+MRF

RAINGAUGE

Grell+BKD

Kuo+BKD

KF+BKD

BM+BKD

KF2+BKD

Figure 3: Comparisons between the average of all five stations

rainfalls with that of observed rain gauge data (figure identified with

different color for different parameterization schemes).

Conclusion

In this study we have investigated the sensitivity of the cumulus

parameterization schemes with planetary boundary layer options in

estimating rainfall over Bangladesh using the non-hydrostatic fifth

generation Pennsylvania State University – National Center for

Atmospheric Research (Penn State - NCAR) Mesoscale Model version 3

(MM5v3). We have used two step domains for this purpose. The grid

distances for coarse and nested domain became 45 km and 15 km

respectively. We have used 5 cumulus parameterization scheme Grell,

AK, KF, BM and KF-2 with 2 planetary boundary layers (PBL) MRF and

BKD for both the domains.

84

It is observed that some schemes have overestimated the rainfall and

someone has underestimated that. The ratios of the estimated to the

observed rain are not equal for a particular physical parameterization

schemes at all stations. Simulated pattern of rainfall for individual option

agrees with observable evidences. Point to be noted that the options for

simulation rainfall with MM5 has been found dependable on resolution

and location of the area. According to our study, no single option may be

considered as the most suitable among the 10 options for the assessment of

rainfall over Bangladesh but AK CP with MRF PBL may be considered as

a better one. However, further study is required to draw the final

conclusion in choosing the best option of MM5.

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in MM5 for the Estimation of Rainfall in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Physics

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Dudhia, J., Gill D, Manning K,Wang W, Bruyere C. (2004) PSU/NCAR mesoscale

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Emanuel, K. A. and Raymond, D. J. (1993) The representation of cumulus convection in

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Frank, W. M. (1983) The cumulus parameterization problem. Mon, Wea. Rev. 111:

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Grell, G.A, Dudhia J., Stauffer, D. R. (1995) A description of the fifth-generation Penn

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86

RURAL HEALTH SCENARIO IN BHUTAN: THE

SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL EXPERIENCE

Komol Singha1 & Lingchen

2

Keywords: Health. Scenario. Institutional. Bhutan.

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to discuss the health scenario of rural

Bhutan in relation to reproductive health emphasizing the infant morbidity

and mortality along with the access to safe drinking water and sanitation

coverage. SWOT analysis method has been applied in order to find out the

strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of health scenario of rural

Bhutan. The findings of this research reveal the honesty and sincerity in the

health care services, poor infrastructure, and social dogma among the

people of Bhutan. Despite the problems of physical infrastructure and

limited resources, the health sector has made progress in Bhutan.

Introduction

Despite Bhutan being one of the least developed nations (HDR 2006) in

the world with difficult terrains and scattered population, health sector has

made remarkable development and spread to every nook and corner of the

country, covering approximately 90% of the total population since its

establishment in 1962 (MoH 2008, NSB 2008). Development of health

sector is accorded the government‘s top priority in Bhutan and the growth

of this sector is one of the indicators of economic development. The

quality of health sector is basically population of a country; the main

indicators being morbidity and mortality (NSB 2008). However, more

factors and determinants of the country‘s health status are being discussed

in section.

The World Health Organisation (2009) places a strong emphasis on health

sector in its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the achievement of

1 Sr. Lecturer, Department of Economics, Royal University of Bhutan, Gaeddu College

of Business Studies, Gedu 2 Chief Librarian, Royal University of Bhutan, Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Gedu

87

which will not be possible without progress on food security, gender

equality, the empowerment of women, wider access to education and

better stewardship of the environment. With this view, the present paper is

the modest attempt to portray the health status of Bhutan, particularly in

the rural areas. It tries to identify the social and institutional role in fostering

the developing of health sector in the country. And finally, the researchers

provide some possible recommendations to strengthen the sector.

The researchers collected primary data from two adjacent villages called

Pakshikha and Alikha under Chukha Dzongkhag (district), which are

approximately 160-170 km away from the capital city Thimphu and

approximately 12 km from the Gedu town which is on the National

Highway (Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway) of Bhutan. The researchers

used SWOT analysis to determine the health status and scenario of the

country. To substantiate the study and to assess the patient‘s satisfaction

and the quality of service delivery of the country‘s health sector, 100

patients (bed-ridden) from the Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral

Hospital (JDWNRH) in Thimphu were interviewed and the information

collected were analysed accordingly.

Determinants of Health Status

According to the findings of Lantz et al (1998), income or wealth is the

strongest and most robust predictor of health sector. Tshering and Sithey

(2009) claimed that ―adverse climate change is the major threat to health

sector in Bhutan‖. As South Asian Conference on Sanitation (2008)

recommended that the safe, adequate and accessible supplies of water with

proper sanitation are the foundation and essential component of primary

healthcare. Insufficient provision the communicable diseases, poor health

and environmental pollution.

Others (like, Mahapatra 1997, Nagda 2004, Dhargupta et al. 2009) opined

that education is the main factor which influences health condition of a

country. Some other scholars like Carloyn and Harphan (1992) observed

that health status of a nation is influenced by environmental conditions,

socio-economic conditions, and characteristics of the people. Similarly,

Kumar et al. (2009) also found that the health problems of any community

88

were influenced by the interplay of various factors including social,

economic and political which include people‘s beliefs, customs and

practices. Findings by Selvaraj and Lalitha (2007) reveal that better health

status is determined by many factors like: a) Literacy or education‘ b)

Economic Status; c) Environement; d) Lifestyle; e) Food habits and diet

system; and f) Size of the family etc. By and large, the development of

health sector basically depends on its infrastructure, policy and effective

delivery system in the country.

SWOT Analysis

Development of any sector needs a thorough understanding of the sector.

Therefore, to initiate development policy of health sector in rural Bhutan,

it is imperative that a clear picture and scenario of the Bhutanese health

sector is assessed first. Bhutan‘s health sector, as often portrayed in the

print and visual media, is far from the truth of the actual health scenario

prevalent in the country. A clear picture of health sector in Bhutan can be

seen with the help of SWOT analysis given below, supported by the

primary and secondary data.

SWOT Analysis of Health Sector in Bhutan

Strengths

Strength Law of the Country;

Sincerity and Honesty of the People

and the functionaries; Health as Top

Priority Policy including high budget

on Health

Weaknesses

Weak Physical Health

Infrastructure;

Less Health Expertise;

Social system and Food habits

Opportunities

Sound Environment and Eco-

systems;

Less Population;

External Aid for Health

Threats

Social Dogma;

Emergence of Dreaded

Diseases;

Rural-urban Migration

89

a. Strengths Bhutan is known for its stringent law and obedient citizens. Even if there

is limited manpower, the functionaries of health sector are obedient and

honest to the rule and policy of the country. For instance, 96 patients were

attended timely or medicated on time by the doctors out of 100 patients

interviewed in JDWNRH in the month of March 2010 and the overall

satisfaction level of the patients were also very significant. The effective

health delivery and the patients‘ satisfaction are the result of dutiful

functionaries. On the other hand, people of the country are also found to

be obedient and have great reverence to the rule of the country. Citizens of

the country especially the villagers hardly ignore the policy instructions

given by the government. It is observed from the primary survey by the

researchers. For instance, the RGoB ordered the villagers to keep their

villages/surrounding clean through proper drainage, separate livestock

place (in the traditional rural Bhutan, livestock are kept under the dwelling

house, refer to Figure 1), maintaining sanitary latrine etc. The dictate is

obeyed by the people positively. As per the survey result of the two

villages, due to the government‘s notification recently, 73% of the

households have maintained sanitary latrine (irrespective of income level);

36% maintained drainage and 89% have done away with the keeping of

livestock under the house. This obedient attitude of the villagers helps the

state functionaries to deliver effective health services to the rural areas

(even if the nation faces limited health resources).

Figure 1: A typical Bhutanese rural dwelling house with livestock

place under the house

(Livestock are kept in the gap between the terrace and surface of the earth)

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As a result of this, despite difficult hilly terrain, around 90% of the

population have access to proper health facilities in the country with

52.3% of women are attended by trained personnel during child birth.

Maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rate have decreased from 560

and 90 in 1990 to 2.55 (in 2005) and 53.9 in 2009 respectively. Life

expectancy at birth has increased from 45.8 for males and 49.1 for females

in 1985 to 65.9 and 66.1 respectively in 2003 (Bhutan 2007-13). The

access to safe drinking water for the rural population has increased from

about 70% to 84% and the latrine coverage has increased to 91%.

Diarrhoea and dysentery used to be the most common cause of morbidity;

it now ranks third. Improvements in the quality of drinking water in rural

areas have led to a significant decrease in the caseload of water borne

diseases in the rural community. Morbidity associated with childbirth has

significantly diminished, as a testament to the success of the reproductive

health initiatives (Nirola et al. 2006).The following tables provide clear

picture about the health indicator along with health facilities, knowledge

and use of contraceptives and infrastructure facilities related physical

health in rural Bhutan.

Table-1: Health Indicators in Bhutan

Indicators 1994 2000 2008

Infant Mortality Rate per 1000 live births 70.7 60.5 53.9

Under five Mortality Rate per 1000 live births 96.9 84.0 81

Maternal Mortality Rate per 100 live births 3.8 2.55 2.55 *

Crude Birth Rate per 1000 population 39.9 34.09 20.56

Crude Death Rate per 1000 population 9.0 8.64 7.12

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate % 18.8 30.7 35.4

Access to Safe Drinking Water % NA 77.8 83

Sanitation Coverage % NA 88.0 91

Average Life Expectancy at Birth 66 NA 65.53

Population Growth Rate % 3.1 2.5 1.3

Source: IMF (2004); UNICEF (2009); World Bank (2009)

* Population and Housing Census of Bhutan 2005

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Table-2: Summary of the Health Facilities in Bhutan (2003-07)

Facilities 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

No. of Hospitals 29 29 29 29 29

No. of BHUs 172 176 176 176 178

No. of dispensaries/outreach clinic 440 476 485 514 519

No. of indigenous hospitals 1 1 1 1 1

No. of indigenous dispensaries 19 21 21 21 26

No. of doctors 140 144 145 150 157

Persons per doctor 5,245 5,227 4,379 4,312 4,197

No. of hospital beds 1,093 1,113 1,078 1,133 1,159

Persons per hospitals bed 672 676 589 571 568

Doctors per 10,000 persons 1.9 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.4

Hospital bed per 10,000 persons 15 15 17 18 18

Population covered by health care (%) 90 90 90 90 90

Population access to safe drinking water (%) 71.0 - 84.0 81.4 82.3

Women attended by trained personal during 46.7 53. 52.3 57.1 53.6

delivery (%)

Source: NSB (2008) page 19

Table-3: Knowledge and Use of Contraceptives in the Urban and

Rural Areas, by Poverty Status

Contraceptive Urban Rural Bhutan

Non-

poor

Poor Non-

Poor

Poor Non-

poor

Poor

Knowledge 75.56 80.89 62.51 59.51 66.27 60.05

Use 43.83 44.78 45.51 43.11 44.96 43.16

Source: NSB (2004)

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Table-4: Physical Health Related Infrastructure in Two Villages

(Pakshikha and Alikha)

Indicator Number

Households 78

Access to Latrine 57

(73)

Water Supply 42

(92)

Drainage 29

(36)

No separate Kitchen 66

(85)

No separate place for Livestock 69

(89)

Source: Tsewang Sithar, Asstt. Clinical Officer (Gedu Hospital) and

Note: Figures in the parenthesis are the percentages of the total households

of the two villages

b. Opportunities

The status of human sector in Bhutan is also enhanced by the country‘s

small population (658,888 people in 2007 as per the NSB 2008) and its

clean environment. Small population helps in implementing and effective

delivery of health services in the country.

Bhutan is known for its clean and pristine environment. In Bhutanese

society, the co-existence between environment and development is

manifested in people‘s beliefs that high mountains and deep ravines,

ancient trees and rocks are the abode of spirits, gods and demons.

Disturbing these elements would enrage these spirits and bring ill luck,

sickness and health to families. This supports the health status and

longevity of the people in the country.

Besides, the development partners who financed about 45% of the health

sector budget have all played a part in the progress. The Government of

India (GoI) has been the largest partner closely followed by Denmark and

UN systems. GoI has been providing both programme wide and project-

tied grants and loans of which the health sector has been a major

beneficiary. As of June 2007, GoI contributed more than 20% of the health

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sector expenditures, mainly focusing on construction of the 350 beds JDW

National Referral Hospital, the 150 bed Eastern Regional Referral

Hospital, malaria control programme and the construction of a public

health laboratory. Denmark as of June 2007 contributed about 14% of the

health sector budget and has since 2008 switched over to providing sector

budget grant support to social sector with DKK 107 million up to 2013 in

support of the 10th

FYP policies and objectives. The UN systems, mainly

comprising UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO, have provided earmarked

support of 14% to various activities with focus on their respective UN

mandates. Together it has agreed to provide Bhutan US$9.6 million during

2008–2012 with the aim to improve the accessibility, quality and

sustainability of the health care delivery system. Since 2005m GFATM

has been providing substantial support ($3.5) to addressing malaria,

tuberculoss and HIV/AIDS. The World Bank is supporting to halt and

reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS with a total of US$ 5.77 from 2004 to

2009. Also, the bank is providing US$ 2.5 for avian flue. Furthermore, it

has provided US$ 27 million (DPG 1 for US$ 15 and DPG 2 for US$ 12)

as Development Policy Grant in support of government wide policy and

institutional reform.

c. Weaknesses

As far as the weaknesses of health sector in Bhutan are concerned,

manpower in this sector is very limited (only 157 doctors as of 2007

including hired doctors form India) (refer to Table 1 and 2). Most of the

health expertise are hired from India. Presently, most cancer cases are

referred outside the country which currently drains a large proportion of

the health budget (WHO 2003). Topographical condition (mountainous

region) and sparsely settlement of the country, made the health sector

function with a big hurdle. While the battle will continue against

HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, etc., the problem of emerging non-communicable

diseases will require the strengthening of surveillance systems, developing

and following strategies for prevention and control of non-communicable

diseases and expanding the capacity of tertiary care facilities. Bhutan

imports 100% of its health supplies such as medical equipment, essential

drugs and vaccines. Although the quality of drugs and vaccines can be

94

assured by purchasing them from WHO authenticated suppliers in the

region, hospital equipments and other supplies are other problems (WHO

2003).

Besides, there is no training facility for medical doctors (medical college)

in Bhutan, and basically the poor health status of this country is due to the

factors given below (Jha et al 2008):

1. Food habit of the people, especially eating more chilli

2. More consumption of alcohol by male and female

3. Drugs and other substances are used by the youths

4. A kind of pan/tobacco item, fermented beetle-nut (doma) is used

by majority of the people.

5. Some weaknesses in the culture of the society like living together

without legal marriage.

Social system and food habit are also important factors for weakening the

status of this sector. Bhutanese are very much fond of chilli (emma dashi),

alcohol and tobacco products. More consumption of alcohol and tobacco

both by male and female (as it is permitted by the society) leads to a

number of dreaded diseases. More importantly, the physical infrastructure

of health sector in this country is very weak (refer to Table-2).

d. Threats

Besides the limited expertise and weak physical infrastructures of the

health sector, the Royal Government of Bhutan is struggling to prevent a

number of dreaded and communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, bird flue

and hepatitis which are basically brought about by globalisation. Sex

related disease is also one of the serious diseases in the country now. As

the country embraces modernization and globalization, people‘s needs and

wants are becoming increasingly diversified. As a fall out of this, peoples

economic activities and behaviour have also diversified and deviated from

the traditional culturist values to a modern materialistic one, bringing drug

and sexual transmitted diseases in the country.

95

Nonetheless, it has to be acknowledged that the Bhutanese society is in the

transitional stage and hence it can neither totally ignore the traditional

system nor marry to western culture completely. Social dogma has led to

further exacerbation of dreaded diseases like HIV/AIDS and other sexual

transmitted diseases. The number of HIV cases is expected to be much

higher than the current ascertained figure in the country. Despite the

government‘s concerted effort, people are found to be less cooperative in

this context. Number of drug abuse among the young generation is

increasing rapidly (even if government cannot ascertain exact number). It

is also clear that using Marijuana1 plant as a drug is very common among

the Bhutanese youths.

Even though the country has small population, rural-urban migration is

another factor that poses a great threat to the health sector in Bhutan.

UNDP‘s HDR (2009) report states that the rural-urban migration in

Bhutan is the highest in South Asia. This is because many people move

from rural to urban areas in search of better lives. This again leads to

various unwanted diseases. Major challenges are faced mostly by young

male and female migrants who encounter difficulties of findings

employment, housing and educational opportunities as well meeting the

higher cost of living in urban areas. Those who fail to overcome these

urban challenges often resort to drugs and alcohol, and become

unproductive members of the society. The most vulnerable are the young

women who are at higher risk of exploitation and domestic violence

because of the lack of social safety (in urban areas) which otherwise is

present in their villages in the form of extended family. Of late, the

country has seen an alarming rise in the number of commercial sex

workers in towns and cities. This is one of the major factors of HIV/AIDS

problem in Bhutan.

Organism of Health Services and Delivery System

The Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) Act has been passed by

the National Assembly in 2002. The BMHC secretariat was established in

2003 with council members appointed. Health care is a public good and

completely free in Bhutan (Selvaraj and Lalitha 2007, SACOSAN 2008,

GNHC 2009). There is no private hospital or private medical practitioner

96

in the country (Nirola et al. 2006). While in neighbouring nations like

India and Pakistan, the healthcare costs, especially that of the private

healthcare services, are believed to be one of the main causes of

impoverishment (Berman et al 2010) , health care service in Bhutan,

delivered by two composite integrated systems-Modern and Traditional

medicines is free and comparatively cheaper.

The history of health services delivery in Bhutan is the introduction of

modern Allopathic system in early part of the twentieth century with the

arrival of the first batch of Indian-trained physicians and paramedics, but

its traditional Medicare was introduced in the system from Tibet in the

seventeenth century (Nirola et al. 2006). Traditional practitioners received

formal training in Tibet and apprenticed in Bhutan, despite the

introduction of western allopathic provision of health services in Bhutan.

As the traditional medicine practiced in Bhutan, Sowa Rigpa2, is a

systematic field of knowledge, traditional medical care is provided side by

side with modern allopathic health care (Nirola et al. 2006.) It was

recognised as the official medical tradition and included in the national

health system in 1967. The indigenous medical facility established in the

country is run under the Institute of Traditional Medical Services, and it

has basically three functions-medical services for out-patients; collection

and manufacturing of indigenous medicines; and research and training of

the Physicians (Drungtso) and Compounders (Menpas) (NSB 2008). Till

date, the country has one indigenous hospital (National Institute of

Traditional Medicine) and 21 indigenous dispensaries (Bhutan 2007-13).

Modern health services in Bhutan are delivered through a four-tiered

network consisting of the national Referral Hospital, the Regional Referral

Hospitals, District Hospitals and Basic Health Units to outreach clinics at

the community level. Health care is delivered in an integrated system, with

community-level basic health units (BHU) representing the initial point of

encounter for most patients. BHUs serve basically remote areas of the

country, and extended health centres- Out Reach Clinics (ORCs) and

Mobile Health Units (MHUs) support BHUs. Increasingly complicated

cases are referred to the Dzongkhag (District), Regional and National

hospitals, sequentially (Nirola et al. 2006‘ NSB 2008). The patients at the

BHU level are referred to their respective district hospitals for secondary

97

or tertiary health care. The district hospitals likewise refer to their

respective Referral Hospitals (RRHs). As it is not yet possible to have

very requiring such health care in the country, a good number of cases

requiring such health care are referred outside the country, especially in

India. As of 2007, there were 29 hospitals, 178 BHUs and over 519 ORCs

spread over 205 Gewogs (blocks) providing primary health care services

in Bhutan (NSB 2008).

In order to bridge the gap between the organised health service and the

community, the Government trains village health workers who are chosen

by the communities themselves. The Village Health Workers (VHW)

Programme was thus initiated in 1978. The VHWs are considered to be

the important link between the community and the Government in

improving basic hygiene and sanitation, prevention of vaccine preventable

diseases, family planning, nutrition, control of diarrhoeal diseases and

prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS,

especially for communities that do not have easy access to health facilities.

As of 2009, there are 1500 village health workers, who advocate health to

the people and help in bringing the health problem of the people in the

communities to the government health workers. They are also taught and

allowed to dispense a few basic allopathic medicines. There are also the

traditional faith healers, astrologers and religious leaders in the

community.

The Ministry also takes the support of these respected people in imparting

specific health messages-ranging from the need to take iodized salt to

family planning to the people in the communities along with their routine

work. The communities also look after the development schemes like

those for drinking water supplies in their own areas. The programme

assists the communities by providing them necessary training.

Health Policy of Bhutan

In keeping with the principles of primary health care, it was seen

necessary to extend universal coverage of health services to the rural

population and encourage community participation in health activities and

awareness. To meet the need of ever increasing health care services, the

98

Royal Governments of Bhutan has announced a five year tax holiday for

the newly established pharmaceutical shops in the rural areas form 1st

January 2010 to 31st December 2015. Newly established high-end private

health services shall be eligible for 10 years tax holiday (EDP 2010).

Public health problems in rural areas have traditionally been associated

with poor hygienic conditions and a shortage of accessible health services.

Both of these root causes are currently being effectively addressed in

Bhutan with the establishment of well distributed health facilities in rural

areas, along with increasing numbers of health workers. Most of the

leading causes of death in Bhutan in the past were infectious diseases such

as diarrhoea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis and malaria (HDR 2005).

Realising the grave dangers and damaging effects of tobacco use on

health, longevity and quality of life, Bhutan has actively promoted anti-

tobacco campaigns at both national and international levels. The country

has won numerous commendations and awards for its efforts and was

among the first to sign the global Framework Convention on Tobacco

Control. On 17 December 2004, Bhutan became the world‘s first nation to

introduce a complete ban on tobacco also is now restricted to private areas

in many other countries of the world (HDR 2005).

The Royal Decree issued by His Majesty the 4th

King of Bhutan in 1992

declares water and sanitation as a basic right of all people of the country.

The Decree points out that every household in the rural areas should

construct sanitary latrine or at least a basic pit latrine, which does not have

major cost implication for the rural households (SACOSAN 2008).

In total government expenditure, health sector was carrying 12.2% in

2000. The Bhutan‘s health system as described by the WHO is ―one of the

best programs in South-East Asia,‖ and the country has won WHO 50th

anniversary awards for primary health care in 1998. Bhutan has limited

financial resources as per capita gross national product is about $ 875. The

main financial supporters to Bhutan are Denmark, India, UNICEF, the

UNPF, the World Bank and WHO. In 2004, the country spent 4.6% of its

GDP on health care with the government providing for 64.2% of that

amount according to the WHO. By comparison, India spent 5.0% of its

GDP on health while the government provided a far smaller share of that

99

amount (17.3%). The recent UNDP‘s Human Development Report (2006)

shows a life expectancy of 63.4 years, in India at 63.6 years, and

fractionally above compared to Bangladesh and Nepal. The percentage of

underweight children under 5 years of age is 19%; India‘s is 47%, with

Bangladesh and Nepal at 48%. According to UNICEF, the mortality under

5 years in Bhutan has been reduced by 55% from 166 deaths per 1000 in

1990 to 75 deaths per 1000 in 2005, and the numbers continue to drop.

Maternal mortality also dropped down to 400 per 1,00,000 live births in

1994 from 77 per 1,00,000 in 1984. India‘s maternal mortality ratio is still

floating around 400. According to UNCIF‘s State of the World‘s Children

2007, 95% of the households use iodized salt, compared with 57% in

India. Bhutan has the rate of immunization/vaccination of 93% for

tuberculosis, DPT, polio, hepatitis, and this rate is slightly better than

Bangladesh and well above the rate of India. In South Asia, only Sri

Lanka tops Bhutanese figures with near 100% immunization. According to

WHO figures, malnutrition in Bhutan is proportionately much lower than

in India and approaching the levels of Thailand. The household incomes of

Bhutan still remain the world lowest, but life expectancy rose to 63.6 years

from 46 years in 1984 to 20063.

Globally in 2006, expenditure on health was about 8.7% of gross domestic

product, with the highest level in the Americas at 12.8% and the lowest in

the South-East Asia Region at 3.4% (WHO 2009). In the finding of

Wagstaff (2005), Japan spends highest share of its GDP on health in East

Asia from 1998 to 2001, and Korea emerges as having a higher incidence

of catastrophic out-of-payments in the region.

While Bhutan allocated 8% of its 2008-09 budget for health services

(SACOSAN 2008). The Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-13) of country‘s

indicative total capital outlay for the health sector is Nu. 4394.336 million,

excluding Dzongkhag outlay for health programmes (GNHC 2009).

The main thrust of the health programs over the Ninth Plan period (2002-

07) was on the provision of primary health care services. Due attention

was also given to the relevant integration of traditional medicine services

with modern health services. Within the context of the Tenth Plan‘s (2008-

13) strategic framework, in addition to contributing to GNH and the well-

being of Bhutanese society, health is also viewed as an important

100

dimension of human capital. Health expenditures therefore are deemed to

be long term investments that are expected to provide both tangible and

intangible socio-economic returns. Additionally, continued reinvestments

into the health sector will also help protect other long term human capital

investments from erosion and enhance their impact considerably.

Reflecting this high priority, extending free basic health care has been

enshrined as a constitutional obligation. The Constitution mandates that

the Royal Government ―provide free access to basic public health services

in both modern and traditional medicines‖ and ―endeavour to provide

security in the event of sickness...‖ This constitutional commitment to

provide free basic health care for all Bhutanese has considerable positive

ramifications for the prospects of reducing both income and human

poverty in Bhutan. There is growing evidence in many countries that

health factors are closely linked to labour productivity and that

productivity gains are most prominent for those population groups with

the weakest health and nutritional status, which invariably constitute the

poorer sections of society. As such, health investments have the greatest

productivity benefits for and impact on the poor and low income groups.

Under the Tenth Plan, the Royal Government will continue to attach high

priority to maintain universal access to basic health services and ensure

that basic health services are distributed more widely throughout the

country, including the more vulnerable and isolated communities. In the

TFYP, efforts will be made to accelerate institutional as well as human

resource capacity to improve quality of service delivery, manage some of

the illness for which services are availed outside the country so far and

work in close collaboration with the Royal University of Bhutan and other

relevant agencies to increase the pool of trained health workers.4

The Policy Objectives of TFYP (2008-13)

The Constitution Mandates :

Ensure all Bhutanese have access to free basic health services for both

allopathic and traditional medicine;

Ensure efficient and effective management of the national health system

based on the tenets of quality , professionalism and equity;

Develop adequate and competent human resources to manage health

programs in line with global and national health targets and strategies;

101

Provide each Dzongkhag with at least three doctors;

Promote evidence based health planning and cost-effective interventions;

Prevent and control prevailing health problems through promotive,

preventive and rehabilitative public health services while ensuring access,

equity and quality;

Promote and enhance institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality;

Provide each Dzongkhag with at least three doctors;

Advocate healthy lifestyle among the population;

Ensure quality delivery of primary, secondary and tertiary health care

services.

Conclusion

Despite the nation‘s weak physical infrastructure and limited manpower,

the health sector has made remarkable progress in all areas of health

developments over the last few decades since the modern health service

was introduced in the country. The Infant Mortality Rate has reduced from

102.8 in 1984 to 53.9 in 2008, and Maternal Mortality Rate has reduced

from 7.7 in 1984 to 2.55 in 2005. Population Growth Rate also has seen a

marked decrease from 3.1 in 1994 to 1.3 in 2008. The life expectancy at

birth has increased remarkably from 47.5 in 1985 to 65.53 in 2008. These

vital indicators speak well of the rapid development of health sector in the

country.

How is delivery of health care organised in rural Bhutan? With the limited

resources, a total of 90% of the population covered by effective health

services in the country is not an easy task. The secret of this achievement

in the health sector despite its limited resources in Bhutan is basically due

to the government‘s policy and the honest state functionaries on the one

hand and the people‘s support and reverence to the country‘s law on the

other. These two factors help in effective delivery of health services in the

country, while the achievement of this sector is comparatively lower in the

neighbouring nations like India.

Keeping health sector in the government‘s top priority agenda, the total

expenditures on health per capita was around 30 USD in 2004-05 rising to

around 50 USD in 2007-08 and as high as 70 USD per capita in the

2008/09 budget. This number, however, is inflated by the capital budget

102

that most likely will not be fully utilized. The corresponding numbers for

the recurrent expenditures are from roughly 20 USD to 35 USD.

Comparing the above figures to other developing countries of similar

income level, the level of health expenditure in Bhutan is definitely above

average, clearly showing the RGoB‘s willingness to invest in health.

Looking into the allocations to health in the 10th

FYP this trend continues

(RGoB 2009).

Nevertheless, the nation has to go a long way ahead in this sector. As on

the priority basis, Bhutan has to strengthen physical infrastructure and

manpower of this sector at the earliest possible time. Setting up of a

training institute, medical college is also an urgent need of this country.

References

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external_relations/bhutan/csp/07_13_en.pdf (March 24, 2010)

Berman, P. et al. (2010) The Impoverishing Effect of Healthcare Payments in India- New

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Carolyn, S. and Harphan, T. (1992) The Measurement of Health in Household

Environmental Studies in Urban Areas of Developing Countries: Factors to be

Considered in the Design of Surveys. Urban Health Proramme. London: London

School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Dhargupta, A. et. al. (2009) Study on the Effect of Socio-economic Parameters on Health

Status of the Toto, Santal, Sabar and Lodha Tribes of West Bengal, India. Studies of

Tribes and Tribals 7 (1): 31-38

Economic Developing Policy (2010) Economic Development Policy of the Kingdm of

Bhutan. Royal Government of Bhutan. http://www.mti.gov.bt/Tender/edp-2010.pdf

(April 12, 2010)

HDR (2005) Bhutan National Human Development report, Royal Government of Bhutan.

IMF (2004) Bhutan- Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. IMF Country Report No. 04/246/

(August)

Jha, N. K. et al (2008) Analysis o fIndo-Bhutan Socio-Political, Health and Economic

Situations. Sherub Doenme 8 (1 & 2): 78-91

Kumar, T. S. et al (2009) Oral Health Status and Practices of Dentate Bhil Adult Tribes

of Southern Rajasthan-India. International Dental Journal 59(30): 133-140.

Lantz, P. M. (1988) Socio-economic factors, Health Behaviours, and Mortality. Journal

of the American Medical Association (279): 1703-1708.

Mahapatra, L. K. (1997) Social change in Tribal Society in Eastern India- Supplement of

Professor Tarak Chandra Das‘ Analysis 1961. Journal o fIndian Anthropological

Society 32 (4): 201.

103

Ministry of Health (2008) Bhutan Health Information System- Review and Assessment.

Health Information and Research Unit- Policy and Planning Division, Royal

Government of Bhutan.

NSB (2004) Poverty and Inequality in Bhutan. Department of Planning (Ministry of

Finance), Royal Government of Bhutan.

NSB (2008) Statistical handbook of Bhutan. National Statistical Bureau, Royal

Government of Bhutan.

Nagda, B.L. (2004) Tribal Population and Health in Rajasthan. Studies of Tribes and

Tribals 2(1): 1-8.

Nirola, D. K. et al. (2006) The Impact of Community-oriented Primary Care in Trongsa

Dzongkhag, Kingdom of Bhutan. Indian Journal of Community Medicine (31): 18-

23. and Available from: http://www.ijcm.org.in/text.asp?2006/31/1/18/54925 (April

7,2010)

Royal Government of Bhutan (2009) Bhutan Joint Health Sector Review 2009. Ministry

of Health (Thimphu). http://www.health.gov.bt/reports/BhtJointSerctrReview

2009Rept. pdf. (April 08, 2010)

Selvaraj, M. and Lalitha, R. (2007) Environment, Demand for Health and Economic

Situation of Bhutan. Environment Informatics Archives, Vol 5, No. P002, page 700-

708 http://www.iseis.org/eia/pdfstart.asp?no=07074 (April 08, 2010)

SACOSAN (2008) Country Paper for South Asian Conference on Sanitation (Bhutan III),

18-21 November. New Delhi.

Tshering, D. and Sithey, G. (2009) Climate and Health in Bhutan. Tiempo, Issue 71

(April): 24-26.

Wagstaff, A. (2005) Health Systems in East Asia-What Can Developing Countries Learn

form Japan and the Asian Tigers?, World Bank Policy Research working Paper 3790

(December). The World Bank, Washington DC.

World Health Organisation (2003) WHO Country Cooperation Strategy-Bhutan

(January), WHO Country Office, Thimphu

World Health Organisation (2009) World Health Statistics. WHO, http://www.who.int/

whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html (April 10, 2010)

Notes 1. The nature and usage of Marijuana plant can be studies more form the story of pop

star Bob Marley

2. The system of medicine referred to as Sowa Rigpa is practiced in many countries

today, but owing origins and development to ancient Tibet. Sowa Rigpa is known

nowadays as Tibetan medicine.

3. This section is excerpted from ―GNH, Health and Economic Status of Bhutan‖

[accessed on 08/04/10 and available at http: //www.gnhmovement.org/

papers/selvaraj.pdf]

4. See GNGC (2009) Tenth Five Year Plan (2008-13) Tenth Plan Document-Volume

1, GNHC, RGoB.

104

TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION

ADVERTISEMENT IN BANGLADESH

Md Towhidul Islam1

Keywords: Advertisement. Abstraction. Subliminality. Pseudo-News. Attractiveness.

Abstract: The advertising industry has already passed four decades of

institutionalization in Bangladesh. At the advent of information and

telecommunications technology, the industry has experienced drastic

heave in all its vicinities such as the number of advertising agencies,

client firms, research organizations, models, production houses and

boutiques. By the way, the industry has influenced its surrounding

situations as well as adjusted to cope with the changed situation. Now it

is time to reconcile the progress and find out what it has achieved and

what yet to achieve. So far researches have concentrated on the

quantitative aspects of the industry but the qualitative appreciation yet

needs to be made. The academic and more esoteric developments have

remained less cared. This paper concentrates on the qualitative aspects of

the industry and marks the trends underway the advertising industry

while focusing on the future possibilities. Finally, it provides some

guidelines leading to an environment auguring well for the advertising

industry of Bangladesh.

Introduction

With continuous development of the size of the national economy of

Bangladesh, revolutionary ease of information and communication

systems, immense growth in the number and types of media and the

passage of time, the advertising industry here is also flourishing and

gathering multi thronged experiences. More and more ad firms of different

scopes and capabilities are joining the industry adding to the level of

competition. Genii from diverse areas of creativity are approaching the

industry with fresh talents befitting this informative and clever age.

1 Lecturer, School of Business Studies, Southeast University

105

Deeper penetration into the field along with greater mastery in the

technical fringes of the subject is adding to the proficiency of the industry.

In this small country, advertising has gone too far to create an example of

a folk singer-cum-model becoming a woman member of the parliament

(Bangladesh National Parliament Secretariat, 2009). All these facts

congeal to accentuate novel trends posing immense influence on the

culture of the nation. Some trends obviously pledge positive outcomes

while some others indicate a seizure of decadence. The growth and

potential of the industry places it in the interest list of scholars from

business studies and other fields. Business or monetary consideration of

the industry is already widespread while sparing a scope to view it from

the perspective of the art of advertising. Advertising is a kind of collage

art that makes scope for everything possible. So, it must not be considered

from monetary or structural perspectives only; rather it should be

evaluated from the perspectives of its internal aesthetics and apropism, its

adorable and abhorable effects on various segments of the population, its

ingenuity and ingeniousness, its distinctive nuances and detested

nuisances, its amity and enmity with societal forces. Above all, a holistic

evaluation should be made which is the motto of this paper. The paper

starts with a glimpse on the present state of the industry and concentrates

on the television advertisements as they create vicarious appeals to the

most of the sensory receptors of the audience and is putatively the most

effective advertising media since its inception (UTalkMarketing, 2010). It

takes into consideration advertisements from other media as well to

buttress the claims on trends underway.

Literature Review

Structure of the Industry

In Bangladesh, the size of the advertising industry is assumed to be

Tk.1200 crore (Rahman, 2010). Print media leads the industry with 43%

market share while TV stands second at 36% of the advertising market of

the country. The industry is growing at a rate of 10% per annum mainly

due to the heightened competition among the major mobile operators

(Rahman, 2010).

Before the independence, there were only a few advertisement firms in

Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Pakistan, due to inadequate industrialization

106

and limited demand for ads. The pioneers were the firm like Bitopi,

Asiatic, and Interspan who served the multinational firms like the Lever

Brothers (Anwar, 2009).

The advertisement sector is so vast in terms of nature of the firms, scope

of operation, registration status and other dimensions that it is so tough to

formally bring them into a database. Bangladesh Television shows a total

of 150 agencies in the country registered with them but the number

exceeds 500 when both the formal and informal sectors are considered

(Anwar, 2009). On the other hand, Bangladesh Yellow Pages registers a

total of 293 advertising and counseling agencies and firms today

(Bangladesh Yellow Pages, 2010).

Top nine advertising firms in descending order of market share- Adcomm,

Asiatic, Bitopi, Unitrend, Grey, Interspeed, Popular, Madona, and Matra

hold more than 70% of the formal market share while another 13% share

is held by other firms and the rest remains the domain of in-house

advertisements of business firms (Anwar, 2009).

Farhat Anwar classifies the advertisement media into two categories

namely- Above the Line and Below the Line. He includes in Above the

Line category the newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and satellite

and cable television while the Below the Line category includes event

management, in-house advertisement (company performing own advertisement)

at point of purchase, outdoor advertisement (billboards, hoarding, neon

signs, and bell signs), innovative activities (jatra, street drama) and

advertisement on vehicle bodies or fliers. The market size of the formal

advertising agencies accounted for about Tk.2 billion in 1999, while, in-

house and outdoor advertisements by manufacturing or service providing

companies and the informal agencies (non-registered agencies and

individuals) accounted for about another Tk1 billion.

The advertising agencies primarily serve the private national companies

(PNC), multinational companies (MNC) and non-government organizations

(NGO). The MNCs constitute more than 60% of the media share followed

by the PNCs constitute 25%. The major client of the print media is the

government (Anwar, 2009).

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Monetary Performance

Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF) studies and publishes quantitative data on

advertising spending by the companies or industries. It shows how the

industry is enlarging, how the spending shifts from one media to another,

one company to the other etc. In 2007, BBF showed the percentage of

advertisement placed in different types of media (The Daily Star, 02

March, 2008). It showed that the highest portion (43%) of advertising

went to the print media; TV covered only 36%, radio 4% and the rest by

outdoor, cinema and the Internet. They calculated a 7% increase of ad-

spending by major brands in 2007. They found out highest spending

companies in ten categories namely- telecom, bank, real-estate, education,

soft-drink, mobile-handset, personal-wash, electronics, shampoo and

snacks. It estimated that the top ten categories of industries comprised

almost 80% of total media spending that year.

Frequency of Exposure

In Bangladesh, institutions like ‗Dhaka News‘ and ‗Ryan‘s Archive‘ and

many others are doing some important work on capturing and analyzing

the advertisements and news on both news-papers and TV channels.

Dhaka News disseminates news on advertising expenditures of different

mobile phone companies of Bangladesh in 2010. It claims TV commercials

to be the most expensive form of advertising in the country (Rahman,

2010). It finds out that ‗Robi‘ surpasses Grameen Phone in July, 2010. It

also analyses the plausible reason behind the substantial increase in the

company‘s ad expense.

Ryan‘s Archive provides information on rate, time, and composition of

advertisements in different print and digital media in Bangladesh. This

archive makes available information on program rating, audience rating,

data on TV commercial monitoring and other services.

Rationale for the Research

Prior to this paper, others have ventured to analyze the background and

structure of the industry and to spot the monetary matters like expenditure,

income, market share, growth rate and the like. Yet others have been

108

trying to interpret the frequency of exposure, program rating, number of

audience etc. All these efforts serve to reveal the overt factors of

advertisements. But some of the softer, non-monetary and more esoteric

affairs of advertisements have gone unrevealed. Certainly, there is a

research gap in that the academic areas such as the factors related to

source attractiveness and credibility, abstraction of message, subliminality,

advertising influence on culture etc still remain unrevealed and unevaluated.

However, the evaluation cannot reach fulfillment until a total appraisal is

made. This paper attempts to bridge the gap.

Objectives of the Study

This paper aims to mark the recent trends in the advertisement in

Bangladesh. More specifically, it wants to spot the academic distinctions

made in the advertising arena of Bangladesh. Depending on the recent

trends and distinctions, the paper intends to project future possibilities with

caution. It intends to discern out a career path taken by the advertising

personalities. Finally, the paper undertakes to suggest some guidelines to

further upgrade the level of advertising of the country and to promote the

entire marketing environment by ensuring that all the stakeholders of the

industry can be benefited.

Methodology

At first, the ad clips from various TV channels are recorded with the help

of an internal TV card installed onto a personal computer. Then only those

clips with some considerable distinctions are spotted for analyzing. The

distinctions, either drastic or not, are enumerated under the headings such

as nuances, subliminality, shortcomings etc. Alongside, the whole range of

advertisements on the billboards and newspapers throughout the year 2008

and 2009 are observed and analyzed for distinctions. Important trends are

spotted and afterwards more ad-clips are recorded and analyzed to

highlight and accentuate the trends. No hard and fast calculations are

carried out. All is considered from a holistic, all encompassing view.

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Findings and Discussions

Attractiveness Prevails over Credibility of Sources

Majority of the advertisements cast beautiful and attractive models rather

than the knowledgeable and experts. In fact, there are shortages of

celebrity experts in the fields of sports, culinary or engineering. Famous

culinary experts like Siddika Kabir, Keka Ferdousi, royal cook Tomy

Miah, hair expert Jawed Habib, cricketer Sakib Al Hasan, Masrafee, are

but a few. There is dearth of celebrity experts in most other fields. The

areas of health, sports other than cricket, news anchors, professionals in

teaching, dentistry or cardiology, organizational heads and others have

remained uncared and unexplored. Consequently, the ad-agencies are to

resort to the attractive models. These models in turn enjoy some sort of

transcendence and secularity with respect to the variety of product they

endorse for.

Abstraction of the Content from the Intended Message

Among the nuances in the Bangladeshi advertisements is the abstraction of

the content from the intended message. There come some advertisements

where logical claims or claims on products‘ superiority that the ads intend

to communicate never get voiced. Rather, there is an effort to create an

impression only. These ad-clips are relatively longer and relates to the

deep-set human feelings like patriotism, fraternal longing and affection,

freedom etc. For example, an ad-clip shows some children stealing flowers

from a garden early in the morning. The owner of the garden chases them

out of the garden. Later, to his utter astonishment the garden owner

discovers that they are making a replica of the Shahid Minar, the

monument resembling the martyrs of the great language movement, on

which they yearned to put the garlands of flowers as a mark of tribute to

the martyrs. Then he felt sympathetic and he himself brought garlands to

them. The scene with its serene morning panorama creates patriotic

feelings in the audience. At this very last moment the name of Grameen

Phone is just pronounced once; nothing is said about the product nor is

anything claimed. Many other clips fall in the category as in a piece where

a middle aged woman laments over the faded memory of her younger

110

brother, with his photograph in her hand, whom she left beyond a river

bank, in a dark night, in the rush days of the Independence War in 1971. A

message of condolence goes for all such aggrieved souls losing their dear

ones in the liberation war. At the very end of the scene, the company name

is quietly but clearly pronounced. Again, nothing is said about the product

nor anything claimed.

There is a notable effort from the ad-maker to apply classical learning by

casting before the audience a series of such abstract advertisements so that

they can learn to relate the advertisements to the sponsor company. All

companies cannot afford to air this type of long advertisements. Grameen

Phone, Bangla Link and other large revenue companies only step into such

ventures.

Subliminality Introduced to Advertisements

The concept of subliminal effect was first introduced in marketing by

market researcher James Vicary back in 1957. It is a proof of advancement

in advertising in Bangladesh that advertisers successfully use the concept

to create deeper imprints on audience psychology. Take for example the

advertisement claiming ―Alo ashbey‖, that is, ―light will come‖. The

advertisement re-iterates the only claim-―light will come‖ with an elusive

and deep tone redolent of something vital, more than ordinary. In

coherence to the profound tone, blurred and sublime arabesques of female

figures go on eloquently dancing and whirling with the indicative mode of

liberty of women power. Other subliminal effects like subdued voice,

songs for arousal, hypnotic poses are also in practice today.

Over-practice of Colloquialism

The advertising industry is not beyond the ambit of linguistic decadence

observed in Bangladesh. Almost all the media are using aberrant forms of

Bangla language. Vernaculars from the districts of Barisal, Noakhali,

Magura, Pabna and those from the older part of Dhaka city are endemic in

advertisements for different products. Almost invariably, these colloquies

assume some sense of humor that amuses people but the practice veritably

111

mars the linguistic knowledge base of some sects of people. Specially, the

youngsters are the most vulnerable to this malpractice. Even the students

are speaking the nonstandard forms of Bangla.

Use of Direct vs. Indirect Source/Spokesperson

Many of the advertisements exhibit the use of models who do not convey

any verbal message; rather they just appear to embellish the ad ie as

indirect sources. Female models are more frequent as indirect sources.

Appearances of pairs are also common as indirect source. The castings of

indirect sources in couple to adventurous or romantic settings are often

irrelevant to the products of interest.

Career Path of Modeling Interwoven With other Industries

The artistes have been seen to beat an apparent path consisting of some

sequential footsteps in their career. A close observation of the creative

thinkers, copy-writers, illustrators, models, producers, media planners and

others of the like may reveal a clear course of expected positions

motivating and leading these professionals at different stages of their

career. However, the path is woven into other industries in Bangladesh.

The career track has become conspicuous starting with a model and

continuing up to a film producer and beyond, to some self-actualizing

position in the state mechanism. Lately, it has become a frequently

observed phenomenon that novices start career as models in an

advertisement clips. Then they are promoted to play a role of minor

characters in some TV plays and upon rendition of several successful

episodes, get established as professional/affiliated models in

advertisements as well as characters in TV plays. Then they wait for the

auspicious moment to do something legendary in advertisements or in

short films. Afterwards, they aspire to produce ad-clips on their own and

yet later, to become a film producer or director.

Obviously, the younger performers are meticulously pursuing the course,

though not all. They seriously strive to take modeling as sole profession

but small and irregular pay makes it necessary to take it as part-time

112

(Shehreen and Karim, 2010). The following table summarizes the present

status of the media personalities in their career.

Table: Career Paths of Ad Personalities

Afjal Hossen: Character in TV play → Ad Producer → Character in move

Afsana Mimi: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play

Api Karim: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play

Apurbo: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play

Asaduzzaman Noor: Cultural worker → Character in TV play → Producer → an MP

Bipasha Hayat: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play → Co-producer of TV play

Dighi: Child model in ad clip → Character in cinema

Ferdous: Ramp model → Hero in movies → Intends to produce films in future

Mahfuj: Character in TV play → Intending to produce films

Masud Hassan: BBC reporter → Actor in short film and TV play → Ad modeling

Mim: Child model in ad clip → Character in TV play

Momotaj: Folk singer → Model in ad clips → Member of Parliament

Mou: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play

Romana: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play

Tania Ahmed: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play → Producer

Tinni: Model in ad clips → Character in TV play → Affiliated model

Source: Websites, TV channels and newspapers of Bangladesh in 2008, 2009

Directing or producing films earns them much renown and almost all the

times it becomes their life passion. At the same time, they make ad-clips

on commercial basis now and again. Models in advertisements promoting

their career to TV play to short films to cinema; then directing a piece of

ad then play then film industry and so on.

A simple diagram as follows may depict the trend-

Child

model in

radio or

TV ads

etc

→

Model in ad-

clips, or

actress in

short film or

TV plays

→

Model

affiliated

with a

commercial

→

Ad-clip or

short film

producer

→

Film

producer

or

director

→

Positions

in the State

mechanism

Figure: Career trend of ad models

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A Sense of National and Individual Freedom

Very recently, it has become vividly conspicuous that the advertisements

are rich with a sense of independence. The most noticeable is that,

‗Jagoroner Gann‘ (reviving songs) is a buzz in the entire environment of

advertising. The telecommunications companies of Bangladesh are doing

a good thing to promote an environment auguring well for the sense of

independence. Individual freedom and self-establishment is also expressed

through recent advertisements. As already said, personal achievement,

self-consciousness and other individualistic attributes in advertisements

express a sense of personal freedom.

Exchange Relationship of Advertising with the TV, Cinema and

Choreography

There have been noticeable exchange relationships of the advertisement

industry with TV, short film and cinema in Bangladesh. As the artistes in

TV, cinema and short films are to play vital roles in creative works,

expressiveness, production, and presentation along with linguistic and

literary levels a bit similar to those necessary for advertising, they

naturally acquire the essential qualities required in the advertising

industry. The exchange relationship among these industries is easily

observed in the practices like use of common models in advertisements,

TV plays, short films and cinemas; the evolution of models to ad-

producers to film developers, and so on.

Most of the famous people in the arena are common assets to all these

industries. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is not only a successful ad-producer

but also a producer of TV plays and the trendsetter in the present day

Bangla telefilm. Tinni is not only a super model of Bangladeshi

advertisement but also a star of TV plays. Mou was not merely an

affiliated model with Keya beauty soap; she is a master dancer indeed.

Affiliation with the Journalism Industry

The advertising industry in Bangladesh gets sincere cooperation from

journalism as an industry. All the daily newspapers along with many other

periodicals have daily or weekly pages dedicated to anchor the news and

114

pictures of advertising industry. They employ reporters and

photojournalists to that end, who are experts in reporting on such an

industry. They feel the pulse of the audience and tailor the stories to the

audiences‘ psyche. Many of the budding models get introduced to the

audience and readers through these pages.

Innovativeness

The audience has already noticed that advertisers have gone far to search

for space for ads not only physical but also digital. However, some

innovative efforts attract amazement like the TV or radio news headings

named after a commercial; the advertisers even buy TV news intervals for

promotion. It was quite novel in Bangladesh that a newspaper can use a

cover page for advertisement. The daily Prothom Alo introduced special

cover page advertisement for the City Bank when it fetched American

Express back to Bangladesh again.

Advertising in the coming days may easily enter in line with and fitted

within the daily soap or mega serials. The artistes of the daily soap or

serials will suddenly start acting ads without any type of notice to the

audience. The customers will cope themselves to the new situation and

take it for granted as they did with the intervention of the ads previously.

Not only Communicative but also Recreational

Now the advertisements not only communicate a piece of product

information but also provide the audience with much amusement and fun.

Mahfuz Ahmed, a famed actor turned director of TV play and producer of

TV ads evaluates the works of his predecessors in this way- ―Amitav Reza

and Mostofa Sarwar Farooki have heralded a distinctive dimension to the

ad-clips; now the audience even enjoys the ads. They do not seem to be

merely 30-40 second ad-clips, rather resemble complete cinemas‖

(Prothom Alo, 2009).

The claim appears correct when we see the ―Nana-nati advertisements‖

(the grand father and his grand son). They are really humorous and witty.

A Keya Ball soap advertisement cast in a setting of an election campaign

depicts a candidate to the chairmanship of Union Council feels

115

embarrassed at the brighter presence of an aide clad in a shirt whiter than

his one. Incidentally, the shirt was washed with Keya Ball soap. The facial

expression and comical threat by the candidate to his aide in the ad-piece

create much fun and enjoyment among the audience.

Motive of Making ads

The interest in making ads emanates from diverse drives. Some make ad

out of passion while others want to have a tap on creativity and production

before trying something greater. Mahfuz Ahmed says on his launching of

first TV advertisement, ―My ultimate goal is film-making. Preparing for

that, I am regularly making plays and this time I have made some

advertisements to that end.‖ (Daily Prothom Alo, Friday 6 March 2009).

On the other hand, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a reputed TV play and

short-film maker who produces ads often on passion.

Influence on Culture

Cultural elements put forward by advertisements today are confidence,

competition, individualism, freedom of women, self expression, self

establishment, hedonism (the eat-drink-and-enjoy stance of life), beauty-

consciousness, loquaciousness, romance etc. In the heart of today‘s

advertising industry infests greed, selfishness, ostentatiousness and

voracity. Actually, the desired qualities like fellow feeling, caring and sharing,

donating etc are nearly absent in today‘s advertisements; and though

visible ever, swallowed up and overwhelmed by the aforesaid maladies.

In addition, there are some advertisements promoting bohemian and

vagabond lifestyles. Grameen Phone promotes the urge- ‗Harie Jao‘ by the

juvenile models with abnormal lifestyles and bizarre dress-ups, which

seems to be a sinister call for the juveniles to a disastrous loss in an

ominous future. The dream of a future generation full of innocence,

responsibility, respect, study, knowledge and patience is totally

disappearing.

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A Shift in Sponsorship

Advertising has remodeled the form of patronization today. At present,

commercial undertakings have replaced the royal patronizing authorities.

There was a time when ancient kings in Bangladesh patronized the

contemporary cultural and literary works with expense from the public

exchequer. They enthusiastically commissioned considerable amounts to

keep ‗shwabha kobis‘ (poets of the royal court) and bhars (the comedians)

in the royal palaces. Biddapoti embellished the position of ‗the poet of

Royal court of Mithila‘ under the reign of King Shibsing who awarded

Biddapoti the soubriquet ―Kobikonthahar.‖ Zamidar Roghunath

patronized the poet Mukundaram who wrote ―Chandimongol‖. Raja

Krishna Chandra Majumder patronized the poet Bharotchandra who wrote

―Biddasundor‖ and the poet was entitled ‗Raygunakor‘. Magan Thakur,

the prime minister of Arakan, placed poet Alaol at a highly respected seat

in the palace of Arakan and thus he could cotribute to the rich translated

literatute of Bangla in the middle ages. The ruler Rokonuddin Borboksha,

Ashraf Khan and many others also patronized our ancient poets and

kabials (bards). The ancient rulers Paragal Khan and Chuti Khan

patronized the great literary work Mahabharat by Kobindra Poromeshwar

and Srikor Nondi respectively in the middle ages.

Now, in the changed circumstances, national and multinational companies

are sponsoring various cultural programs. Everyday numerous concerts,

musical soirees, exhibitions, model hunting competitions, sport events etc

are taking place, backed by the sponsorships of companies. ‗Jui‘, a brand

of coconut oil, presents the recently released romantic cinema ‗Monpura‘.

Among the talent hunting programs, the Lux-Channel-i Superstar, ATN

Bangla Trokader Taroka, and Close-up-One on the ntv are some examples.

Managers of all the cricket, football, tennis and hockey matches take

special efforts to collect sponsorships.

Advertisements Turned Pseudo News

It is a very common experience to see pieces of news on the TV and come

up to features in the newspapers that bear no news value on their own

merit. They are technically placed in the flow of other news items on the

117

TV, radio or newspapers with the same natural tone of news so that the

audience takes it as news. Consider a news item on the TV that informs

that a private commercial bank opened a new branch somewhere in the

country and Mr X or Y of the management was present in the occasion.

The piece takes considerable time, far more than usual, to show the video

footage of the occasion and broadcast the recorded part of the speech by

the top management personnel. The fact is that, in Bangladesh branch

opening of different banks is a commonplace event that does not deserve

so long airtime. The same news comes in the newspapers on the following

day with sizeable space for photographic and text description.

Nevertheless, the audience cannot imagine that the entire story is paid for.

The situation resembles what the theorist and historian Daniel J. Boorstin

calls ―pseudo event‖ in one of his famous books (Boorstin,1992).

Therefore, the same news turned advertisement can easily be labeled

―pseudo-news‖.

Month and Time Based Surfeit

The industry exhibits a glut of fresh advertisements on some occasions

round the year. December, the month of victory in the fight for national

freedom, brings a row of advertisements marking victory and frenzy;

March, the month of independence, provokes an array of ads colored with

freedom and national appreciation. February, the month of language,

prompts free music and advertisements redolent of the Language

Movement. Two Eids, Puja ceremonies, sultry summers, bleak winters,

festive parliamentary elections etc turn to be good reasons to induce

streams of theme-based advertisements.

Nuisance of Advertising

Advertising also creates nuisance today. It encroaches all the openness of

the city, pollutes sound by new video display units placed at the shopping-

hubs. Some below-the-line advertisements are rampant, creating public

nuisance. They are not in the least fact-checked. Handouts and slips likely

to promote the sex pills, herbals etc are often thrown into buses through

the windows to the annoyance of the passengers.

118

Distinctive Nuances

Many of the advertisements exhibit constructive nuances contributing to

the body of Bangladeshi advertisements. ‗Fair & Lovely‘ empowers their

customers with the ability to become ‗fairness experts‘ themselves.

Advertisement of ‗Doctor Milk Candy‘ embraces characters from ‗Ek Dui

Tin Sisimpur‘, a popular TV-serial for children. ‗Wheel‘ introduces a

‗whiteness scale‘ to enable the customers to compare whiteness with.

‗Asian City‘, a construction firm, metes out fresh humor amid the

customers by incorporating a Bengali proverb ‗Nake tel die ghumao‘

tapping linguistic resources of Bangla literature. Many of the recently

released advertisements by the phone companies like Grameen Phone and

Banglalink do exhibit excellence in emancipating people from prejudice,

ignorance and lack of information. They empower their customers through

information.

Flaws and Faults

The advertisements recorded and analyzed revealed some flaws and faults.

Even the lay audience can sense them with common sense. In addition,

some are subjects to esoteric interest and deep understanding of the

subject. ‗Aktel‘ associates a picture of a huge elephant to convey the

message that ―patronizing ‗Aktel‘ is not as costly as tending an elephant‖.

However, it clearly violates the general norm of positive/direct

communication for good news. The billboard advertisement prompts to the

customer at first sight that ―the product is as costly as tending an

elephant‖; which is contrary to the intended message. Here, nonverbal

message (the picture) contradicts the written message. ‗Brittle Biscuits‘

intends to introduce a buzz ‗khaite khaite jai bela‘, that is, ‗time passed on

munching (biscuits)‘. However, in Bangladeshi culture, it hears odd if one

speaks of passing time on biscuits. It exemplifies an inappropriate

association. The expression seems appropriate to items like chewing gum,

chanachur, baked dals and peas etc. ‗Surf Excel‘ influences children to

deliberately get sullied or to draw, scratch or stain onto the interiors of

their home in order to do ‗darun kichu‘, indicating some thing excellent in

future. In reality, children can and do many excellent things in cleaner

ways. There is little need to filthify or tarnish the clean ways of learning

and living.

119

Impact on Children

Television advertisements teach children many bad habits that are contrary

to the sense of sound life. Our school texts teach children to have all types

of food items with due zeal whereas television advertisements influences

them to be choosy and problematic for the parents. ‗Eldomilk‘ shows a

boy child thrust out his mouthful of rice awkwardly and claim ‗khabo na‘,

meaning ‗I will not eat‘. It categorically violates the norms promoted in

the school texts. Another ad shows a mother who claims in a ‗Pran Orange

Juice‘ advertisement that oranges are sour and her child does not eat

natural oranges. Rather she is happy that her child drinks ‗Pran Orange

Juice‘. The reality is that the juice is packed with much preservative

dangerously harmful for the kidneys of the children. At the same time

Bangladeshi market environment is infested with unbridled adulteration

(Khan M. A. 2010). Children are sometimes depicted as greedy and

selfish. An ad for a potato-cracker encourages them to lock the door to

enjoy it alone. On the other hand a girl child model increases her friends

by distributing her chips and crackers. Clearly, one promotes selfishness

and the other openheartedness.

Prospects of Advertising in Bangladesh

Learning From More Mature Cultures

The industry is going on learning many things from more mature markets

and nations with long heritage of rich culture as Mostofa Sarwar Farooki

gets inspiration from the famous Iranian film producer Abbas Kiarostami.

The trend to follow Indian advertisements in Bangladesh will continue as

is true in the case of TV serials.

Digitization of Advertising Media

The industry will gradually shift its base to more digital communications.

Mobile, broadcast TV and Internet advertising will mar the growth of

mass media based advertising on TV, radio, newspaper, and magazine as

evident in western countries.

120

Increase in Niche Advertising

Niche advertising swells at the presence of well-defined and well-

distinguished social groups. Social media and social networking sites as

these networks usually connect smaller groups of people but clearly

defined and similar in nature as customers. Networks like ‗facebook‘ are

very popular and pools friend groups who interchange almost all thoughts

and share practical problems of daily life. Therefore, marketers will try to

knock such cost-effective, self-motivated niches. Members of the group

generally greet information from these sites more cordially and without

any business mentality.

Emergence of Freelancers

Companies will arrange competitions for the business students and

creative people of different fields to conceive innovative ideas and buy

them with instant cash and thus reduce their agency cost. Already, a group

of business students from different private universities have mastered

some technological skills to use sophisticated instruments to make

advertisements. Some of them have learnt how to conceive the innovative

ideas that get noticed. So it can be avowed with some assurance that

freelancers will boom.

A Bulging Industry

At present, the Tk.1200-crore-industry is booming at the rate of 10% per

year; the credit goes to the intense battle among the major phone

companies over winning customers (Rahman, 2010). The trend says there

will be more academic excellence in advertisements, more application of

psychological methods and conditioning. Advertisements will be still

more of fun and enjoyment. Number and types of advertising will bulge in

the coming days. Customers will gain pleasure from them but will

remember only those with greater psychological impact.

121

Demand for Full Service Agencies

In the face of heightened competition, companies will spend more on

promotion. They will make binding relations with the full service

agencies, not only for advertisements but also for other forms of

promotions, especially online promotions. As the trend of publicity is

already on, some portion of the advertising budget will be allocated to the

favorable depiction of the marketer or the products through indirect

methods like coverage in reports, magazines, films, TV plays, sponsorship

of events etc.

A Complete but Interwoven Career Path

The careers of majority advertisement personalities will follow the path

portrayed earlier in this article whereas experts from other fields will fetch

breakthroughs to the industry. Therefore, advertising will always be a

career interwoven with other highly expressive areas. The industry will

next search for experts in all walks of life. The transcendence of the

attractive models will be affected once experts in other fields realize their

potentials in advertisement just as the case of Bangladeshi cricketers

today. Competition will ease out much of today‘s inequities and

irregularities of payments and honorariums to the artists and models.

Advertising in education

Media and advertisement courses will open a door to private universities

just in the same way as journalism has given an opportunity to them in

Bangladesh. As already stated, business students of this digital age are

very alert and creative. They are very much eager to take the challenge of

creativity. The universities also will come forward to satiate the demand of

the day.

Conclusions and Policy Implications

Pursue Academic Depth

Advertisers should explore deeper in academic areas like sources from

different new fields, novel dimensions of credibility, trustworthiness and

attractiveness, message formats, new aspect rational and emotional appeal,

122

various execution styles, subliminaity, refutation, sidedness, contrast,

comparative advertisement etc. in this way they can easily avoid the

humdrums of traditional ads and attract audience more efficiently.

Reduce the Use of Indirect Sources

Advertisements in the country have long been under the spell of beauty

girls and fashion forward males. It seems that the people involved here

considered only the ‗likability‘ feature of the models. Actually, the use of

indirect models in ads is somewhat akin to the use of passive sentences in

a piece of business writing; both being boring to the audience. However,

recent advertisements have shown that persons severely lacking beauty or

likability may well prove apt/attractive to the audience by dint of

‗familiarity‘ to and more specifically ‗similarity‘ with the audience. The

use of an unfamiliar and undersized young male model in the role of

varsity-admission seeking student in a Grameen Phone ad made the clip

the most attractive. Similar other pieces prove that the industry, today, can

replace the use of indirect models for attractiveness with other models apt

for the situation.

Digitally Tap the Untapped Talents

Advertisers should utilize information technology to tap the creative

power of unfamiliar but genuine talents who are less cared and

unevaluated. These people may remain unexplored in all walks of life.

Students often do not find any scope to vent their creative ideas generated

in their course works. This digital age provides them much opportunity to

be creative but their ideas do not see the auguring face of fruition in

practical field due to the absence of opportunity.

Regularize Remuneration

The models and creative personnel work under pressure, as they do not

have regularly salaried jobs. If they have permanent jobs, modeling is

secondary. Therefore, they cannot give full concentration to their creative

work. Advertisers must ensure their regular remuneration to ensure quality

work.

123

Fetch Inter-disciplinary Cooperation

Inter-disciplinary cooperation must be encouraged to enhance advertising.

In fact advertising is like a form of collage art that makes room for almost

everything real, unreal or surreal. It offers an ample opportunity to

intermingle literary lucidity, historical evidence, fictional fantasy,

scientific precision or universal truth. Creative people from all academic

areas should be fetched to enhance the industry.

References Akter, S. (2008) Telecom operators‘ battle fuels increase in advertising spend. The Daily

Star, 02 March, Business Page

Boorstin, D. J. (1992). The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America. Vintage.

ISBN:0679741801

Bangladesh National Parliament Secretariat. (2009). List of MPs in 9th

National

Parliament of Bangladesh.

http://www.parliament.gov.bd/9th_Parliament_MP%20List.pdf (January 23, 2010)

http://www.bdyellowbook.com/catalog/Business___Services/Advertising_Agencies___C

ounselors/ (February19, 2010) Bangladesh Yellow Pages.

http://www.dhakanews.info/share-of-television-advertisement-robi-crosses-grameen-

phone%E2%80%99s-cost-on-tvc/ (August 20, 2010) Rahman, M. (2010). Share of

television advertisement: Robi crosses Grameen Phone‘s cost on TVC. Dhaka News

(July 26, 2010).

http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=14500&Title=TV_is_mos

t_effective_advertising_medium_ (January 20, 2010) UTalkMarketing. (2010). ―TV

is most effective advertising medium‖. Industry Research.

http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/A_0049.htm (March 09, 2010). Anwar S. F. (2006).

Advertising. Banglapedia.

Prothom Alo (2009) Bigyaponchitro Nirmata, 06 March: pp 22.

Shehreen, I. K., Karim, E. (2009) ―Facing the Spotlight‖. Stories Behind the News. The

Daily Star, 25 December

Khan, M. A. (2007) Inverse Relationship Between Price and Adulteration. The New

Nation, 20 November

124

Appendix

Advertisements of Academic Interest

Identification Length

(sec) Theme used

Renowned/

Affiliated

model

Target group Sponsor Subliminality Nuances Lacking

Aktel uddakta 30 Self

dependence

N Entrepreneurs Aktel N --- ---

Mayer trisna

bojhe

60 Filial love ---

Service holder ---

--- ---

Anwar cement 30 Patriotism Y Builders Anwar

cement

Y --- ---

Kache thakun 30 Pastoral N Villagers GP N --- ---

Testa 30 Confidence Y Young Pepsi N --- ---

1952, 69, 71 20 Fiery N Mass BL Y --- ---

Khaite khaite jai

bela

30 ---

Y Young Brittle

biscuits

N ---

Inconsistent

Aktel means

economy

20 ---

N U Aktel N Associating

elephant

Inverse

communiqué

Dag theke darun

kichu

40 ---

N Children Surf Excel N ---

Malpractice

Sorry dosto 30 Embarrassment N U Citycell N FnF party ---

Manush bache

ashai

45 Social

commitment

N Mass DBBL N ---

Unrelated

Fairness expert 30 ---

Y ---

Fair &

Lovely

N Customer

power ---

Gol gol shocti 30 ---

Y Child Doctor milk

candy

N Sisimpur

Character ---

Truthfulness 40 Truthfulness N Child Pepsodent N ? ---

Dhobdhobe

shadar proman

40 Comparison Y Mass Wheel N White scale ---

Pran Milk Candy 30 Excel Child Pran --- ---

False

communiqué

Taja hoe jao 60 Achievement Y Mass Unilever N Assimilating to

Bidrohi

Miss-association

Nake tel die

ghumao

30 Relief Y ---

Asian city ---

Bangla

expression ---

Black horse 40 Energy Y Young Black

horse ---

Associating

band music ---

Women discuss

wheel

40 ---

N House-wife Unilever N Social

conversation ---

Chawalta vary

badob hoheche

30 Power of

information

N Students GP ---

Information

window ---

Amar baba tar

baba

60 Power of

information

N Mass BL ---

Information

window ---

Harie jao --- --- ---

GP --- ---

Destructive to

the society

Khabona

--- --- ---

Parents of

children

Eldomilk --- ---

Teaches bad

habit

Tok je beshi --- --- --- Children Pran juice --- --- Health hazard

125

‗MONGA’- A SEASONAL FOOD INSECURITY AND ITS

IMPACT ON POVERTY IN BANGLADESH: A LOCAL

ISSUE IN NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Profulla C. Sarker1 & M. Abul Hossain Sikder

2

Key Words: Monga. Food Insecurity. Mechanism. Poverty.

Abstract: This paper discusses the concept of ‗monga‘ and identification of

location of ‘monga’ in geo-social settings. This paper also discusses the

incidence of ‘monga’ in an analytical framework along with the main victims

of ‘monga’ and how it affects the life and society of the people in relation to

poverty. The main objectives of this paper is to examine the mechanisms that

have already been applied by the poor to exist in this crisis situation and the

services available by the GOs and NGOs to prevent as well as to reduce

poverty as a local issue in national perspective.

Introduction

The economy of Bangladesh is largely dependent on agriculture. About

21 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 23 per cent exports

of the country come from agriculture. It provides employment for about 60

per cent of the total labor force and it seems to have managed to feed 160

million people of the country. Access to land and livelihood is a crucial

factor for survival of the rural poor (BBS 2009). Hartman and James

(1979) emphasize the importance of land ownership in Bangladesh and

rightly point out that land determines who eats and who does not. Land is

a crucial asset for food production and a means for food, shelter and many

other economic activities including guarantor of employment opportunity.

Land ownership is, thus, an important contributor to food insecurity and

restricted livelihood opportunities leading to an ultimate cause of poverty

(Barkat et al. 2007). Historically, the ‘monga’ affected region was never a

food-deficit. Now this region is considered food deficit, because it is

1 Professor & Vice Chancellor, Prime University

2 Professor and Vice Chancellor (Acting), Atish Dipankar University of Science and

Technology

126

within the vulnerable grip of the mighty rivers viz. Padma, Jamuna,

Teesta, Jamunashwari, Dud Kumar, Darla etc. and as a result agricultural

production largely depends upon the adverse effect of climate change and

natural disasters.

The term ‗monga‘ is used during the food crisis in northern Bangladesh

which covers five districts viz. Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamarri,

Kurigram, and Gaibandha of Rangpur Division in Bangladesh. The

concept of ‘monga’ is used in the other parts of Bangladesh in different

terms such as ‗akal’ or ‗ovab‘

which express scarcity. The real

connotation of those terms is

poverty. ‘Monga’ is caused by

natural disasters like floods, river

bank erosion, draughts, tropical

storms, cyclones, sediment of sand

on cultivable land and tornadoes.

Natural disasters are causing

extensive damage to crops, lives,

and properties. Consequently,

people in that area face seasonal

food insecurity due to

unemployment. Work determines

who eats and who does not during ‗monga’. A map is stated here to get

clear perception on the locations of ‗monga‘. Poverty in this region with

other poverty stricken areas show significant co-relation where people

could not afford to eat more than 1,805 kcal per day (Zug,2006:10). Due

to the character of the river Jamuna, Teesta and Padma, people of those

areas are being affected by natural disasters which are putting them in

poverty. Natural disasters limit the agricultural activities and other

employment opportunities.

The geographical, ecological, socio-economic phenomenon fueled the

prevalence of ‘monga’. This paper discusses the concept of ‗monga‘ and

identification of location of ‘monga’ in geo-social settings. This paper also

discusses the incidence of ‘monga’, in an analytical framework along with

the main victims of ‘monga’ and how it affects the life and society of the

127

people in relation to poverty. The main objectives of this paper is to

examine the mechanisms that have already been applied by the poor to

exist in this crisis situation and the services available by the GOs and

NGOs to prevent as well as to reduce poverty as a local issue in national

perspective.

Conceptual Issues

The word, ‘monga’ has been derived from Hindi language ‗mehenga’

meaning ‗expensive‘ which indicates high food price, poverty and hunger.

‗Monga’ is a word which means scarcity of food due to natural calamities

in lean season. It has been observed twice in a year in northern region of

Bangladesh when agricultural activities become off just before the

seasonal harvesting. During this period the landless agricultural laborers

become unemployed and their food stocks exhausted and job opportunities

declined and the poorer section of people fall in serious food crisis. This

situation is called ‘monga’ in local term. It indicates acute deprivation due

to erosion of purchasing capacity of the poor because of their

unemployment. As viewed by Zug (2006) ‘monga’ is a cyclical food

insecurity which occurs during the lean season that directly affects the

people who are involved in agricultural activities.

The concept of ‗monga’ is restricted in lean season (mid September to mid

November) which reduces the people‘s access to income to support the

hungry mouths. It is a seasonal deprivation of poor and they are involved

in poverty. Poverty means lack of resources, underemployment, low

income, food insecurity and hunger, lack of shelter, poor health and lack

of social security and dignity. In conventional economic sense, poverty

might be defined as lack of employment and income resulting in

incapability of providing a minimum standard of living with reference to

food, housing, cloth, health, water and sanitation, education and social safety.

Research Methodology

This paper is based on secondary data, primarily through literature review

and targeted interviews with the key informants from cross-section of

people and experts. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method has been

128

applied to collect information on ‗manga‘ situation. In addition, case study

method is used to collect in depth information on this issue . The key

informants were the local leaders, professionals, and the people of civil

society. The data are fairly consistent and reliable, although there are some

discrepancies between government and non-government sources. The

emphasis has been given on qualitative analysis but some quantitative data

has been used to supplement the qualitative analysis.

The Victims of ‘Monga’

The main victims of ‘monga’ are the people whose incomes mainly

depend on agricultural labor and marginal farming e.g. landless and land

poor people. ‗Monga’ is a seasonal employment shortage associated with

lower intake of food. It has been observed that the people have to reduce

the number of meals during ‗monga‘. Similar findings are also found by

Ahmed (2005) in his research works of other regions of Bangladesh. The

different data shows that the ‗monga‘ affected districts are generally poor

compared to other districts. The people are largely the agricultural labor

and their wage rate is lower compared to outside of ‘monga’ area. For an

example, Kurigram is the only district across Bangladesh, where 50

percent of the total population is day laborer. It is found that the primary

group of ‗monga‘ affected people consists of those, who have to rely on

agricultural labor as their major source of income. It has been observed

that they have only income according to agricultural seasonality which is

determined by paddy cultivation. Many of them live from hand to mouth,

if they are not able to earn especially in lean season, they have to face food

insecurity.

The marginal farmers possess some amount of land and they are identified

as ‗land poor‘ people. This land is not able to provide food as required by

the owners, because of natural calamities like draughts, floods, river bank

erosion and sediment of sand. The small business men like hawkers who

sell crockery, clothes, food grains, etc. do not get customers during

‗monga’ because of less purchasing capacity and as a result their income

goes down. The female headed families are the worst sufferers of ‗monga‘

because they do not have source of income and as a result they have to live

on charity and relief. Many males migrate in search of employment as day

129

laborer and rickshaw puller. It has been reported by the van pullers that

their income reduces in lean season because they use this transport for

agricultural goods. Basket is used for storing the paddy. The basket

makers do not get consumers to sell their products during the lean season.

‗Monga’ may differ in severity within the households. There is a gender

dimension concerning the intra-household allocation of food in

Bangladesh. Haddad et al. (1996) found that a pro-male bias in food

allocation appears to be most prevalent at the household level in South

Asia, including Bangladesh. It has been found that the children and the

pregnant women and mothers during the lactation period face the greatest

nutritional risks within the household during ‘monga’ (WFP, 2005). The

mothers and the children are the main victims of ‘monga’ due to

discrimination of food allocation in patriarchal social system.

Incidence of ‘Monga’ The incidence of ‘monga’ involves an interplay or interface of so many

diverse elements, such as institutional aspects in the form or structure of

economic, social, political and natural systems of a particular society or

region. All these

interacting forces have a

direct relationship with

asset ownership of the

suffering people of the

community wherein

monga takes place. Thus

the most important assets,

among others, are land,

labor, services and

resources, employment

and income opportunities,

natural forces including

climate change and

environmental issues of

natural disasters like

floods, river bank erosion,

excessive rainfall, flash

floods, high temperature,

Source: Research Report, North Bengal Institute, RDRS,

Bangladesh, 2009.

130

droughts, cyclones, typhoons, water surges, severe cold, hailstorms that

directly inflict upon the community in connection with crop loss, and asset

loss which putting the community in pauperization in terms of landless,

homeless, rootless and ultimately forcing them to migrate from one place

to another. Thus the combined effects of all these factors cause deprivation

of food which leads to what is called ‘monga’ – a seasonal insecurity of

food in a lean season of a particular period of the year (see the analytical

framework of incidence of ‗monga‘). The crucial issues of ‗monga’ are the

seasonal deprivation of food due to absence of agricultural activities for

the farm labors and thus leaving no scope of income earning for them. To

a question, ‗why ‘monga’ occurs in five districts in Rangpur division only

and not in other areas, about 23 percent respondents from focus group

opined that no work opportunity is there in the lean season of ‘Ashwin-

Kartick’ (mid- September to mid- November) prior to harvesting of amon

paddy since the region is absolutely dependent on agriculture, followed by

21 percent as river erosion and floods, another 12 percent as perennial

floods destroy crops and make the victims paupers, more than 14 percent

reported as no industrial enterprises or mills and factories as an alternate

source of income and still a significant number of FGD informants viewed

it as most of the poor people are illiterate as they are unemployed, idle,

inarticulate and no scope for overseas employment. Some also expressed

resentment against the local political leaders and well-off neighbors who

do not support them in times of crisis nor do they take care of the poor

community by extending their helping hands (Bhuiyan, 2009). No

opportunities are available for skills development training making them

eligible for gainful employment either at home or abroad. Two things now

come to the fore: one is lack of work opportunity in agriculture sector, and

the other is illiteracy making them unemployed compounded with no

industrial establishment. The affluent neighbors are also not supportive to

them in times of needs and crisis thus terming them of lacking social

responsibility towards their poor neighbor (ibid).

Impact on Poverty

‘Monga’ creates disruption in the normal economic and social life and

puts the people in chaos, destroys economy and social structure and

contributes to replace social order. The breeding ground of poverty in

131

‗monga’ affected areas is lost of seasonal crops due to floods, river bank

erosion and draught. The victims are subject to absolute poverty as well as

culture of poverty. The land less agricultural laborers and the land poor

cultivators could not meet minimum requirement to survive due to

seasonal crop failure and they are considered as absolute poor. On the

other hand, women are subject to gender discrimination due to traditional

customs, beliefs and value system. They need to be satisfied with little

whatever it is food, health care, clothing and education. The culture of

feminization of poverty has great impacts on different phases of life cycle

of women and as a result the women are inborn poor. For an example, culture

of allocation of food at household level in gender perspective indicates that

the women need to be satisfied with the rest of food after taking by male

members.

During ‘monga’, the poor households suffer greater losses in terms of

physical and social assets, resulting in aggravating their poverty further.

Such losses of assets trap households in chronic poverty and affect

economic progress and social development. ‗Monga‘ affects the food and

nutrition insecurity from pediatrics to geriatrics and as a result the women

and children are the main victims. ‘Monga’ is defined as the situation

created by nature that makes people vulnerable and poor to buy adequate

quantity and quality of food. Under the circumstances, people consume

cheap and sometimes unhygienic food along with wild plants. ‗Monga‘ is

a popular expression for a severe food crisis in the lean season when most

of the people do not get employment opportunity to access adequate food

in terms of quantity, quality, safety and socio-cultural acceptablity. It

should be noted that Bangladesh has achieved much progress in

production of food grain including ‗monga‘ affected areas, but still a

significant number of people remain half-fed or ill-fed every day, because

of their extreme poverty situation, social inequality, and deprivation. A

study was conducted by RDRS Bangladesh (2004) in ‗monga’ affected

areas and found that most of the poor take inadequate amount of food

having low calorie which was less than1600 kcal per day per person

compared to minimum requirement of food for an active life is 2122 kcal.

It has been found that about 2.5 percent households went on hungry

without a single meal throughout the day, followed by 48.5 percent with

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only one meal a day, 46 percent two meals a day, while 3 percent had

three meals a day. This indicates that more than one-half of the households

were either without meal or one meal a day affecting them to lead a life of

occasional starvation either everyday or alternate day (Bhuiyan, 2009).

About fifty percent people live under poverty line in ‗monga’ affected

areas. The number of hungry mouth is increasing at alarming rate, because

daily average income is less than one dollar. More than 56 percent people

suffer from food insecurity. About 78 percent people are illiterate and 88

percent people have no scope to get training to stand by their own. The

progress of universal primary education for all is not satisfactory and as a

result 50 percent children under 10 years of age are out of school (Action

Aid, 2010). Gender dichotomization in relation to education and health

care facilities is another important issue of poverty in ‗monga‘ affected

areas. The rate of growth of fertility is high, because 50.9% are children

(RDRS, 2004). About 74 percent poor families have single earning

member and the rest of 26 percent of them have two members. About 45

percent people are engaged in wage labor followed by 15 percent in

begging, 12 domestic work, 4 percent van pulling, 3 percent fishing, 2

percent small trading and 19 percent are engaged in share cropping,

handicraft making, boatmanship, and so on (ibid). About 97 percent

people have no land for agriculture and 68 percent have homestead. Only

5 percent people have sanitary latrine and the rest of them have hang

latrine, use dug-well and open air for defecation. The prevalence of

diseases is high at times of flood. Especially when the flood water recedes,

many water borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery and other skin

diseases are common. Among others, women and children have a high

prevalence of water borne diseases.

Coping Mechanisms of the Poor

Coping refers to the thoughts and actions people use to deal with the crisis

situation. More specifically it is a process of managing to overcome the

crisis through adaptation with the resources that are available. The coping

mechanism means methods and techniques applied by the poor with

limited available resources to get rid of this crisis situation in the ‘monga’

133

affected areas. It has already been mentioned that ‗monga‘ is a cyclical

food insecurity which occurs during the lean season and directly affects

those who are involved in agricultural activities as laborers or marginal

farmers. This disadvantaged people search money in different ways for

their daily consumption during the crisis period. There are some

comparatively rich people and most of the time they take advantage from

the poor during the crisis situation. The ‗quasi-economic‘ interest is

observed behind the scenario of ‗monga’ in between the poor and the rich.

The poor people sell their assets like livestock, poultry, land, and other

movable assets cheaper than far below the market price in order to

overcome this crisis. On the other hand, the rich people take the

advantage to buy those things at cheaper prices. The main parameter of

quasi-economic interest is that the poor people want to exist by selling

their properties and the rich people are benefited by buying this property at

cheaper rate.

The poor people always try to minimize the ‗monga‘ on their livelihood

using the different coping strategies. These are preventive, resource-

opening, expenditure reduction and safety-net coping strategies. Many

people take loans from money-lender with high interest during the crisis

situation. The poor people sell their yield and labor in advance at low rate

to the better-off. The better-off people use the worse situation of the rural

poor for their personal profit. Bhattacharya (2005) pointed out that some

poor, people sold one mound of paddy for 175-200 taka in advance during

‗monga‘ 2004, which was worth about 350 taka during the following

harvest period. All mechanisms of lending money and selling labor and

crops in advance bring certain mitigation for the people during crisis

period as a temporary coping mechanism.

The selling of assets like livestock, trees, bamboo, jewellery, and furniture

is not the permanent mechanism to mitigate crisis. It has been reported

that the assets that have been built up by the poor with the intention to sell

them in times of need can be sold during ‗monga’ and these are considered

as a security source to mitigate the crisis. It has been found that many

people rely on cheaper or less preferred food. Even they depend on wild

food to eat. To quote a mother:

134

I am 42 years old widow. I have 3 young children; one is a son and others are daughters. I don’t have any land. I have a small hut beside the road and the land owned by the government which is called khas land. I am a day laborer and my two daughters were working as maid servant with little money ($ 2.00 per month along with food and accommodation) at the residence of better off people in the same village. My son is 8 years old and he is living with me. He is a student of grade two of a NGO school. He is also working in a tea stall as a part time worker without money. Just he gets two times meal. Now both the owner of the tea stall and one of the employers of my daughter refused to provide their employment, because of financial crisis. Under the circumstances, I could not find out any alternative what I should to do.

Many poor people reported that they borrow food or take help from their

relatives or friend to mitigate the crisis. Even some of the household

members eat meals at the residence of relatives or friends by rotation.

Many of them purchase food on credit. Many adult members of the family

reduce consumption to provide food for the children. It has been reported

by the law enforcement organizations that crime increases significantly

during the crisis situation. To quote a thief:

I am 38 years old and my name is Harun. I am a land less day laborer and live from hand to mouth. My family consists of five members. They are my father, wife, and one son and one daughter. My father could not work, because he is elderly and my wife is involved in house hold activities and my children are studying at secondary level. I am the only earning member of my family. Last two moths I did not get work and as a result I could not earn any money. My wife has managed because she borrowed money from my brother-in-law but this money has exhausted, so I don’t have any scope to buy food grain. My elderly father and the children are starving. I have tried to borrow money from my friends but I could not. Even I wanted to sell my labor in advance but no one has come forward to help me. Under the circumstances, I decided to be involved in stealing, otherwise I could not find out any alternative. I am not a professional thief but I have been compelled to involve myself in stealing due to extreme poverty and to provide food to the hungry mouths of children and elderly father.

It is found that some of the extreme poor people skip entire day without

eating and many of their young children are working in bidi (tobacco

stick) factories as bonded labor. It is very difficult for the poor to cross the

boundary of poverty, because most of them are in poverty trap in different

dimensions.

135

Services for the ‘Monga’ Affected Poor

The Local Government always plays an important role as the first

responder during disaster situations as well as mitigating the local people‘s

sufferings through Vulnerable Groups Development (VGD) program. This

program combines food assistance with training and credit package

keeping in view to enabling the victim women to improve their economic

and social conditions. This project is divided into four sub-projects: (1)

The Union Parishad VGD Centers; (2) The Women Training Centers; (3)

The Institutional Feeding and Development Centers; and (4) The Group

Leader/Extension Pilot Scheme.

1. The UPVGD sub-project aims to increase earning capacity of poor

and distressed women, through skill development training and

access to credit; to develop a savings habit and to increase

functional knowledge of women through training and participation

in the group activities; and to increase food intake of women and

their families. This project is implemented by the Ministry of

Relief and Rehabilitation and the local government structure at

Upazila (sub-district) and Union Parishad (lowest administrative

unit) in close cooperation of the World Food Program (WFP). The

thrust of this project is to implement the Income Generation for

Vulnerable Groups Development Program (IGVGD). It is a

collaborative effort between the Directorate of Relief and

Rehabilitation (DRR), Directorate of Livestock Services (DLS)

and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). The

program covers poorest of the poor and most disadvantaged group

in ‘monga’ areas as well as Bangladesh.

2. The IGVGD program aims to develop poultry training as well as

income earning activity for the VGD women, enabling them to

earn cash income. For a two year period, they are provided with

31.25 kg. of wheat per month as an income transfer. In addition,

they participate in a saving scheme. The VGD women who

participate in the IGVGD program also receive loans through the

DRR/BRAC Credit Scheme. The BRAC is providing motivation,

training, group organization and the delivery of inputs and services

to the VGD women.

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Conclusion

The term “Monga‖ is, nowadays, a widely used concept in Bangladesh. It

is, in fact, a seasonal insecurity of food or in other words, it can be said as

a seasonal deprivation of food due to lack of employment in farm sector

and income earning opportunities in the monga-prone districts of greater

Rangpur region. The inner thought, insights and explanation of Monga are

embodied mainly in the agricultural arena where rural poor people cannot

find any employment opportunities and income earning, whatsoever,

between transplantation and harvesting of Amon paddy in the Bangla

months of ‗Ashwin and Kartick’ (mid September-mid November). As a

result, they used to face cash shortage to buy food items although these are

abundantly available in the market. Here lies the difference between the

concept of ‘monga’ and ‗famine‘ when money is available but not food

due to its scarcity. Monga is therefore obviously a seasonal problem of

access to food but not an analogy to famine or near-famine situation. An

attempt is thus made to address the issue with more details empirically.

References

Ali, Ahmed (2005) ― Livelihood and Food Insecurity in Rural Bangladesh-The Role of

Social Capital‖. An Unpublished Ph. D Dissertation, Washington University.

Bhuiyan, Abdul Hannan,AKM (2009) Agricultural Perspectives in terms of Access to

Land and Livelihood Patterns of Monga affected Food and Ultra Poor People.

Research Report, North Bengal Institute, RDRS, Bangladesh.

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and Nutrition Monitoring. Food Policy. 19(3): 329-343.

Hartman, Betsy and James, Boyce K. (1979) Needless Hunger, Voice from a Bangladesh

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Mahmuda, K. (2006) Monga in North Bengal: Causes and Remedies. An Unpublished

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WFP (2006) Socio-Economic Profiles of WFP Operational Areas &Beneficiaries in Rural

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Zug, Sebastian (2006) ‗Monga‘-Seasonal Food Insecurity in Bangladesh: Understanding

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137

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Book

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People Don‘t Trust Government. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

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jors.2602476.

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9. Harley, N.H. (1981) Radon risk models. In: A.R. Knight and B.

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Seventh Life Sciences Symposium; 29-31 October, Knoxville, TN.

Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp.69-78.

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