Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has emphasised on discussion for strengthening democratic process along with other areas of democracy for betterment.
"Discussion is must in a democracy. And it is not important to search for perfect democracy. Nothing can be perfect. So, we need to focus and work on different areas of democracy for betterment,” Mr. Sen said.
He was delivering an open lecture titled, "Economic Development and Human Progress" in the capital Dhaka on Monday.
The special lecture was organised as a part of the launching ceremony of the book, titled, 'Bharat: Unnoyan O Banchana', the Bengali translation of 'An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions', jointly authored by Amartya Sen & Jean Drèze.
Mr. Sen also said economic development and progress in human development must complement each other to help reach the fruit of development to under as well as less privileged segments of the society.
And to facilitate human development, the state needs to play a critical role in ensuring education and health service to the people, he said. "No country in the world was successful in ensuring universal education and health services through private sector. It is the basic function of the state."
Leading vernacular daily Prothom Alo and local think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) jointly organised the programme.
Presided over by the CPD chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan, Editor of Prothom Alo, Matiur Rahman delivered the welcome speech. CPD executive director Mostafizur Rahman conducted the question and answer session.
Amartya Sen is now Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, at Harvard University.
He was awarded Noble prize in economics in 1998. His ancestry is in Manikganj district of Bangladesh.
The Bengali translation of the book has been published by Kolkata-based Ananda Publishers while Dhaka-based Prothoma, a book publishing wing of Prothom Alo, becomes the sole distributor in Bangladesh.
BBN/AI/AD-24Feb15-11:00am (BST)