Remembering the life and times of Akbar Ali Khan: A public intellectual par excellence

The year was 1971 and Bangladesh's war for liberation had just begun. The sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Habiganj (then a sub-district) was a young man who had actively participated in the civil disobedience movement before the commencement of the war. When the war began, he decided to supply ammunition to the guerrilla fighters fighting for freedom, still in the capacity of the SDO of Habiganj. 

As the Mujibnagar government was not yet established, many government employees refused to supply arms without written permission. As a result, the young civil servant issued an order to supply weapons, food and money to the freedom fighters. Not only that, he took about three crore rupees from the bank vault and delivered it to Agartala by truck to aid the war effort. 

Later, for his efforts, he was prosecuted by the Pakistan government. The junta sentenced him in absentia to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. This was the mark of the fearless man named Akbar Ali khan, who never shied away from doing the right thing.

Bureaucrat turned public intellectual Akbar Ali Khan breathed his last while undergoing treatment in Dhaka's Evercare Hospital around 10pm on Thursday. This multifaceted genius worked tirelessly to ensure the betterment of the country he fought to free and of its people. He will be best remembered for his outspoken opinions on matters of public interest, witty and insightful writings on a diverse range of topics and his fearlessness when it came to standing up for what is right. 

Akbar Ali Khan wore many hats in his life; he was a bureaucrat, economist, he studied and taught history, he served as an adviser to the caretaker government, all of which contributed to his later identity as a writer, original thinker and public intellectual.

"The more you say about him, the less is said. Because it does not feel like you are doing him justice," said Zahid Hussain, former chief economist at the Dhaka office of the World Bank Group, who worked with Dr Khan when he (the latter) was the chairman of NBR and later on when he became the finance secretary.

"If you see him simply as a bureaucrat or just an economist or a writer or merely a historian that would be too narrow. Because he had command over all these things. He could place even the smallest of things in the border context. If you don't have a tremendous intellectual capability you cannot do that. And in that regard it is very difficult to find someone comparable to him," Zahid Hussain added.

During his long and illustrious career, Dr Khan served as the chairman of the National Board of Revenue, secretary of the Ministry of Finance, and finally the cabinet secretary.

His biggest moment in the public eye came in 2006; he was chosen as an advisor to the caretaker government led by President Iajuddin Ahmed. He was Advisor in charge of the Ministries of Finance, Planning, Commerce, Post, Telegraph and Telephones. However, fearing that the elections would not be held in a free and fair manner, Akbar Ali Khan resigned along with three other advisers.

"I interacted with him when we both worked as advisors to the caretaker government so I got to know him as a coworker. He was a very transparent man. He took his role as an advisor to the caretaker government very sincerely and seriously. And that is why when we felt that we were not being able to carry out our duties properly, we decided that we would no longer be a part of the caretaker government," said noted human rights activist Sultana Kamal, who also served as an advisor to the 2006 caretaker government and subsequently resigned along with Dr Khan.

"He was a very outspoken person, he said only what he believed. In the political and cultural climate of Bangladesh you have to be a courageous person to say what is right," she added.

Dr Zahid Hussain is of the opinion that If someone has the intellectual prowess Akbar Ali Khan had, they have nothing to fear.

After the birth of Bangladesh, Dr Khan returned to the country from India and joined the establishment ministry. He worked there for six months and helped freedom fighters and returnees from Pakistan to get jobs. In 1973, he decided to quit his job and start teaching. He submitted his resignation but Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman refused to accept it. He was given leave to teach instead of retirement.

Sultana Kamal said, "One of the most impressive aspects of his personality was that since he was a former cabinet secretary, he had a very clear understanding of how the government worked. So when he spoke in the advisory panel there was an aura of confidence about him. Whenever he spoke in the advisory panel, he spoke from a place of experience. He possessed the quality of natural born leader as well."

But he had a lighter side as well. According to Sultana, he had a great sense of humour. His brand of humour was subtle but he could make light of the situation even during the tense days of 2006. 

"He could make you laugh. Not through typical jokes, his humour was based on his intelligence; wit would be the most apt word to describe it," added Dr Zahid. He went on to recount a tale from 2006.

When he was the Advisor in charge of the Ministries of Finance during the 2006 caretaker government. There was a seminar on a report by the World Bank on the challenges the Bangladesh economy would face in the future. Some people said it was a rather negative report. But in his speech as the chief guest, Dr Khan said, "Some people are saying this is a negative report but negativity is a relative thing. Let me tell you a story. Once there was a king, who asked his court to inform him what his subjects were saying about the future prospects of the kingdom. The members of the court told him the optimists were saying that soon they would have to live on grass alone. The king laughed and asked what the pessimists were saying. His advisors replied that the pessimists are proclaiming that there will be no grass to eat."

His point was that since the report didn't mention anything about people living on grass and also suggested ways to overcome the challenges it was not a particularly negative report. Through his wit he successfully lightened everyone's mood and brought the conversation on the right track.

This wit and subtle humour spilled over into his writings as well. His books on economics like "Parathaparatar Arthaniti" and "Ajab o Jabor Ajab Arthaniti" were noted for explaining complex economic topics to the layman through witty and lucid language. He even received praise from the likes of Desh – the most widely circulated literary magazine of Kolkata for his originality and wit.

He has published fifteen books and a number of articles on economics, history, public administration, and literature and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book, "Some Aspects of Peasant Behaviour in Bengal, 1890–1914: A Neoclassical Analysis," was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as "a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia." Dr Khan's book "Discovery of Bangladesh" was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded the Justice Md Ibrahim gold medal. 

His publications include "Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti" (2017), "Gresham's Law Syndrome and Beyond" (2015), "Andhakarer Utsa Hote" (2011), and "Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays" (2010).

"He was a very talented man. People will remember his writings and his teachings. And I hope he will always have a positive impact on the thinking of the people of this country," concluded Sultana Kamal.