Staff Correspondent

The number of middle-class people is growing, but they are not in the leadership of politics and their intellectual contribution to society is inadequate, eminent citizens said at a webinar.

Middle class people were five percent of the population in the 60s. Now they account for 30 percent of the population as the poverty rate continues to decline, they told the discussion organised by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).

Renowned economist Wahiduddin Ahmed said, “People becoming political leaders are from the moneyed class. Many of those who join politics become rich soon.”

In the context of the discussion, middle-class refers to people who seek knowledge, are thoughtful, play a role in formation of opinion in the society, and lead towards the creation of a highly moral society, he said.

“A developed society will not be built if economic progress takes place without intellectualism, thoughtfulness, and cultural activities.”

Middle-class people’s inadequate intellectual contribution to society can be attributed to a gradual decline in the quality of education, he said, adding that the educated and meritorious individuals are leaving the country.

He added that merit is unappreciated in all spheres of life.

Binayak Sen, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said in the 60s, 5 percent of the population was middle class. But the middle-class of that era helped create the mass upsurge in 1969.

Adnan Zillur Morshed, executive director of Brac University’s Centre for Inclusive Architecture and Urbanism, said there should be extensive research on the middle-class.

Journalist and writer Faruk Wasif said the new middle-class is more like a consumer group than a class of leaders.

PPRC Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman moderated the discussion.