THE ROHINGYA CRISIS: WHY THE WORLD MUST ACT DECISIVELY

The dimensions of the crisis generated by the systematic persecution and expulsion of Rohingyas by the Myanmar authorities have been a sustained subject for global debate in these present times. The refusal of the Myanmar government to heed the world's warnings, its obfuscations in the matter of following through on the recommendations of the Annan Commission, and the dogged reluctance of Aung San Suu Kyi, once an ardent advocate of democracy and human rights in her country, to speak up for the Rohingyas have left the international community deeply disappointed. And disturbing too is a report by UN investigators on human rights abuses in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The problem does not look about to be resolved any time soon, with more than 750,000 Rohingyas taking refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, pushing social dynamics in an already over-populated country to the edge. The fear is that the crisis could fester before getting dangerously out of hand, unless the global community goes for decisive action.     

Dynamics of remittance practices and development: Bangladeshi overseas migrants

Remittances from migrant workers play a significant role in keeping the economy of Bangladesh vibrant, adding around six per cent to the country's GDP and helping to maintain the balance of payments. This article examines remittance flows from Hong Kong and Malaysia to Bangladesh; the dynamics of remittance practices; and the impact on the well-being of migrant families. Data were collected from 126 labour migrants (56 in Hong Kong and 70 in Malaysia) between November 2004 and October 2006. The article presents empirical data showing that while remittances are significant component of the Bangladeshi economy, a considerable amount goes to ‘unproductive’ schemes. Hence remittances at the micro level that do not significantly contribute to increasing household capacities fail to bring about the anticipated sustainable development at the macro level.

La dynamique des pratiques d'envoi de fonds et le développement : migrants bangladais à l'étranger

Les envois de fonds par les travailleurs migrants jouent un rôle considérable dans le maintien du dynamisme de l'économie du Bangladesh, car ils comptent pour environ six pour cent du PIB du pays et contribuent à maintenir la balance des paiements. Cet article examine les transferts d'argent de Hong Kong et de Malaisie vers le Bangladesh, la dynamique des pratiques d'envois de fonds et l'impact sur le bien-être des familles migrantes. Des données ont été recueillies parmi 126 ouvriers (56 à Hong Kong et 70 en Malaisie) entre novembre 2004 et octobre 2006. Cet article présente des données empiriques qui montrent que, si les envois de fonds constituent effectivement un élément considérable de l'économie bangladaise, une quantité importante va vers des programmes « non productifs ». Ainsi, les envois de fonds au niveau micro qui n'apportent pas une contribution importante à l'accroissement des capacités des ménages ne donnent pas lieu au développement durable prévu au niveau macro.

Dinâmicas de práticas de remessa e desenvolvimento: imigrantes bengaleses

As remessas feitas por trabalhadores imigrantes desempenham um papel significativo em manter a economia de Bangladesh vibrante, adicionando cerca de seis por cento do PIB do país e ajudando a manter o balanço de pagamentos. Este artigo examina os fluxos de remessa de Hong Kong e Malásia para Bangladesh, as dinâmicas das práticas de remessa e o impacto sobre o bem-estar das famílias de imigrantes. Os dados foram coletados de 126 trabalhadores imigrantes (56 em Hong Kong e 70 na Malásia) entre novembro de 2004 e outubro de 2006. O artigo apresenta dados empíricos mostrando que embora as remessas sejam um componente significativo da economia de Bangladesh, um montante considerável vai para esquemas “improdutivos”. Assim, as remessas no nível micro que não contribuem significativamente para melhorar as condições da família, não conseguem promover o desenvolvimento sustentável previsto no nível macro.

La dinámica de las remesas y el desarrollo: los migrantes de Bangladesh en el extranjero

Las remesas de los trabajadores migrantes constituyen una parte importante de la economía de Bangladesh ya que representan el seis por ciento del PIB del país y contribuyen a mantener el equilibrio de la balanza de pagos. Este ensayo analiza los flujos de remesas de Hong Kong y Malasia hacia Bangladesh, la dinámica de cómo se utilizan las remesas y su impacto en el bienestar de las familias de los migrantes. Se recopilaron estadísticas de 126 trabajadores migrantes (56 en Hong Kong y 70 en Malasia) entre noviembre de 2004 y octubre de 2006. Los datos empíricos que presenta el ensayo demuestran que, si bien las remesas son un componente significativo de la economía de Bangladesh, una parte considerable se destina a actividades “improductivas”. Por lo tanto, las remesas a nivel micro que no contribuyen de manera significativa a mejorar las condiciones de los hogares no aportan al desarrollo sustentable a nivel macro que sería deseable.     

Western sociology and the Muslim world

This article examines the Syeikh Muhammad Abduh's ideas on society, diagnoses of its problems and viable solutions. Central to this article's argument is the appropriation of Abduh into the list of thinkers found within the discipline of sociology that has been dominated by Europeans in his era. By highlighting several themes related to the challenges and anxieties faced by Muslim societies in facing up to Western modernity, which Abduh was much concerned with in his discourses, it is hoped that future scholars would re-examine his sociological thoughts in light of its significance towards fostering East–West intellectual symbiosis.

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Reforming Indian agriculture and the rise of farmer's protest in India: Tracing the discourse and the way ahead

The Indian government unveiled new farm legislation on September 27, 2020, with the goal of empowering the farming community. According to the government, new farm regulations will reduce the reliance of indigenous farmers on the mandi (market yard) system, which is now in place and is quite exploitative and full of middlemen and legal cartels. The regulations made contract farming lawful with the intention of luring private sector investment in bolstering agricultural supply chains and infrastructure to give farmers better pricing. But these rules are referred to as repressive and anti-farmer by the farming community. Farmers believe that eliminating the mandi system will eliminate the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism and that contract farming will ultimately be damaging, enticing major corporations and private investors to bind them to unfair contracts that will result in exploitation. Farmers' demonstrations have begun as a result in the former territory of the green revolution. In order to determine if the new farm regulations introduced by the central government are indeed beneficial to the rural community or not, the article followed the debate among many academics, policy makers, economists, researchers, stakeholders, and politicians (the government's spokesman). The article's main focus is on analysing the farmers' demand for the new farm rules to be repealed and the economic justification for their opposition. Additionally, it contends that new farm rules will encourage capitalistic farming and endanger the viability of farming communities, particularly small and marginal farms (S&M).     

Stakeholder engagement for value-based banking: The case of Malaysian Islamic banks

This study explores the practices of stakeholder engagement (SE) in Malaysian Islamic banks. In 2017, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) introduced the Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) framework, with the aim of promoting a more sustainable and responsible banking system in the country. Among others, the VBI framework requires Islamic banks to adopt a stakeholder-driven approach to their business operations, which involves understanding and responding to the needs and expectations of their stakeholders. Within this context, we apply a content analysis of the annual and sustainability reports of all stand-alone Islamic banks in Malaysia to document the changes in the banks' quality of SE after the introduction of the VBI. The content analysis is guided by a new index that we construct, termed as the Stakeholder Engagement Quality Index (SEQI), which covers four dimensions of SE process: the purpose, stakeholder mapping, scope and approach to the engagement. Our results indicate that the SE quality significantly increases overall and for the third (i.e., scope of SE) and fourth (i.e., SE approach) dimensions subsequent to the VBI. Additionally, in terms of bank types, we find that the SEQI score is higher for commercial Islamic banks than development Islamic banks in the post-VBI period. Despite such improvements, our study alerts policymakers that there are areas that need further attention. Among others, these include integrating SE into the banks' internal managerial functions and encouraging active stakeholder participation in the design and implementation of the engagement itself.     

Influence of leadership style on job satisfaction of NGO employee: The mediating role of psychological empowerment

The objective of this investigation is to analyze the impact of leadership styles on frontline employee psychological empowerment, and thereby, improving the job satisfaction level of employees. A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted in nongovernmental organization (NGO) functioning in two major cities (Islamabad and Peshawar) of Pakistan, analyzing a total sample size of 319. Structural equation modeling results revealed that transformational leadership style has a significant association with job satisfaction, and the effect is partially mediated by the psychological empowerment. Conversely, findings showed that the relationship between transactional leadership and psychological empowerment was insignificant. Though, there existed a direct positive relationship between transactional leadership and job satisfaction. This research makes an important contribution in the area of leadership, which can be useful for NGOs to recognize the importance of leadership and encourage psychological empowerment of frontline employees. The findings also provide significant implications for organizations to understand better the importance of leadership, which will be helpful to enhance organizational success.     

Pashtun Jirga and prospects of peace and conflict resolution in Pakistan’s ‘tribal’ frontier

ABSTRACT

There is growing recognition and appreciation of traditional approaches towards peace and conflict resolution across the world. This article aims to highlight the crucial role and consequential importance of traditional mechanisms of peace and conflict resolution in Pakistan’s terror-hit Pashtun ‘tribal’ areas, formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). These ‘peripheral’ areas of Pashtun tribes stand in relative isolation from the ‘centre’ of the Pakistani ruling establishment. Moreover, with the onset of militancy since 2001 in the Afghanistan–Pakistan region, the situation has turned worse for the local Pashtun tribes. The article discusses the changing role of traditional mechanisms and local structures of peace and conflict resolution, arguing that colonial legacies have failed to prevent, manage, resolve or transform conflicts in post-colonial states such as Pakistan. Furthermore, the Pashtun cultural code of Pashtunwali, along with its various tenets and structures, especially Jirga (Pashtun tribal council) and Lashkar (tribal militia), is also discussed in the article. The article concludes that the changing socio-political situation, along with the rise of the secular Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), is presenting a challenge to ‘tribal’ Pashtun patriarchal values as well as traditional structures like Jirga in the region.