Economically poor and marginalised rural people do need a justice system which is easily accessible, less expensive, efficient, fair, impartial, unbiased, capable to provide remedies timely, and consistent with their values. The objectives of introducing State-led Rural Justice Systems, namely the Village Court system and the Arbitration Council system, were to fulfil this need of the rural population in Bangladesh. In other words, the objectives were to provide them with better alternatives to the village shalish that often becomes a space for the powerful village elite to exercise their various types of power. Previous studies show that the State-led justice systems have failed to achieve the objectives miserably. The reasons why the state-led rural justice systems are yet to become better alternatives to the shalish, or why these systems have failed to provide access to justice to more rural justice seekers have become obvious in this book. This book suggests an immediate state intervention in the field of rural justice. Despite some plaguing incapacities, the state-led rural justice systems have adequate strengths. A thoughtful and careful intervention to fight the weaknesses and challenges exposed in this study can strengthen the state-led rural justice systems to a greater extent.

The monograph covers the issues related to the evolution of land tenure systems, land reforms, the main features of formal land law that is in force in the various legal systems of the countries of South, East, and Southeast Asia, and customary land rights. The current state of land law in Asian countries: land rights, the provision and suspension of these rights, the relationship between formal law and customary land tenure systems, the problems of recognizing customary communal land rights are analyzed. For students, graduate students and teachers of law schools, employees of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, as well as for all those interested in issues of land, civil law and comparative jurisprudence.

This book aims to understand how Asian jurisdictions conceptualise rehabilitation within both the correctional and forensic mental health sectors. Little has been written about rehabilitation practices for people in criminal justice and forensic mental health services in Asia. Although there is some recognition of the need to develop and/or adjust rehabilitation practices for non-white/non-western peoples in Western jurisdictions, the extent to which Western-derived practices have been considered, adjusted, or adopted in Asian countries is not well known. This book includes contributions from an international team who explore the ways in which history, culture, religion, and resources impact how rehabilitation is conceptualised and offered in multiple Asian countries. It aims to provide an understanding of the relative merits of contemporary Western practices across different Asian countries and consider how these practices have been adopted and adapted within correctional and forensic mental health sectors. This book is essential for administrators who are developing rehabilitation strategies and for practitioners working with people who have a history of offending behaviour.

Fifty Years of Bangladesh portrays the multi-faceted dimensions of Bangladesh’s development journey, its economic and social transformation and political and cultural contestations. The book presents new empirical data supplemented with critical analysis of processes, actors and actions that have been the drivers of Bangladesh’s transformation and offers new ways of understanding Bangladesh. Organized in six sections, the book provides a multi-disciplinary, holistic and interrelated narrative of the Bangladesh story covering its economic and social transformation, the political history and changing cultural landscapes. It presents new empirical data and proposes new theoretical and analytical frameworks to explain the country’s complex and paradoxical developments. Capturing the vast landscape of changes that have taken place in different sectors of Bangladesh during the last fifty years, the contributors analyse the variety of Bangladesh’s experiences, its achievements as well as the shortfalls and mistakes. They propose new models and perspectives to ground Bangladesh’s developments, identify persistent and emerging challenges and suggest ways forward. A valuable addition to scholarship on Bangladesh, this book can be used as a reference in universities, research institutions and international development agencies interested in Development Studies, South Asian Studies and studies of the Global South.

This book analyses the key livelihood and governance challenges that the urban poor experience while navigating public spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Using data collected through extensive fieldwork in Bangladesh, the book contributes to the emerging scholarship of resilient cities, gendered space, spatial justice, and poverty in cities of the Global South. The book assesses the everyday politics of survival for the urban poor; how the poor negotiate different levels of formal and informal modes of power and governance; and the dynamics of gender. It explores how tenuous counter-spaces are created when these factors combine to provide a valuable framework for work in other urban contexts in the Global South beyond Bangladesh. Using cross-disciplinary perspectives, this book investigates the issues of human development, urban governance, urban planning and the gendered nature of urban space to outline how these issues enable or constrain poor people’s livelihood practices and their rights to be in the city. Exploring debates surrounding placemaking and inclusive cities and their connection to poor people’s livelihoods, this book will be of interest to scholars in the field of Sociology, Development Studies, Planning, Geography and Anthropology.

In the context of sustainable development, recent land debates tend to construct two porous camps. On the one side, norms of land justice and their advocates dictate that people’s rights to tenure security are tantamount and even sometimes key to successful conservation practice. On the other hand, biodiversity protection and conservation advocates, supported by global environmental organizations and states, remain committed to conservation strategies, steeped in genetics and biological sciences, working on behalf of a "global" mandate for biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Land Rights, Biodiversity Conservation and Justice seeks to illuminate struggles for land and territory in the context of biodiversity conservation. This edited volume explores the particular ideologies, narratives and practices that are mobilized when the agendas of biodiversity conservation practice meet, clash, and blend with the demands for land and access and control of resources from people living in, and in close proximity to, parks. The book maintains that, while biodiversity conservation is an important goal in a time where climate change is a real threat to human existence, the successful and just future of biodiversity conservation is contingent upon land tenure security for local people. The original research gathered together in this volume will be of considerable interest to researchers of development studies, political ecology, land rights, and conservation.

Although the literature and cultural practices of the South Asian region demonstrate a rich understanding of criminology, this handbook is the first to focus on crime, criminal justice, and victimization in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. South Asia’s rapid growth in population and economy continues to introduce transformations in social behaviors, including those related to criminality and victimization. Readers of this handbook will gain a comprehensive look at criminology, criminal justice, and victimology in the South Asian region, including processes, historical perspectives, politics, policies, and victimization. This collection of chapters penned by scholars from all eight of the South Asian nations, as well as the US, UK, Australia, and Belgium, will advance the study and practice of criminology in the South Asian region and carry implications for other regions. The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Criminology provides a wealth of information on criminological issues and their effect on the countries and governments’ efforts to mitigate them. It is essential reading for students and scholars of South Asian criminology, criminal justice, and politics.

Social Transformation in Bangladesh explores the social, political, and cultural implications of the unprecedented economic development that has occurred in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. In the 1970s, Bangladesh was labelled an international basket case because of food insecurity and low levels of per capita income with high population growth and various social problems. Defying overwhelming odds, however, a societal transformation is underway in Bangladesh with diverse opportunities and challenges. This edited book analyses issues of inclusivity, extractivism, sustainability and equitability as it takes a look at the interconnected metamorphosis of the economy, society, culture, and the environment of Bangladesh. Discussing topics from the products of post-industrial society, such as YouTube sensations and digital labour platforms, to groups that have suffered marginalisation for decades, such as the urban poor, and Indigenous peoples, a wide array of scholarship and case studies are used to analyse the challenges and opportunities offered by the process of societal transformation. With insights from multidisciplinary scholars, this collection will be of great interest to those specialising in the fields of sociology, political science, anthropology, development, refugee and migrant studies, media studies, labour studies, health, and indigeneity.