We are deeply saddened by the untimely death of Prof Tofail Ahmed. He was a scholar and practitioner who believed in contributing to change, but with humility and quiet consistency. Professor Ahmed used his knowledge and passion to indefatigably advance the idea of building democracy from below. He was a lifelong advocate for the devolution of power to the local government and decentralization. He envisioned a powerful local government system, where elected and administrative officials have the authority to deliver meaningful public goods and are held to account by the people.
Many have written about his scholarship and the breadth of his activities. I would like to remember him through the work we did together when he was our colleague at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), and later, when he chaired the Local Government Reform Commission and I was a member of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission.
From early on in my work in development, I had been fascinated by the Shawnirvar model and various government reforms aimed at bringing government and decision-making closer to the people, thereby strengthening citizens’ participation and voice in local government bodies -- in other words, effective governance from below. However, ensuring that local bodies have the authority to deliver and that citizens have the voice and power to hold them accountable remains the greatest challenge. These reforms have consistently faced vigorous opposition, both direct and indirect, as no political party or bureaucracy was willing to relinquish power to citizens.
Dr Tofail was one of those who continuously fought -- through his writing, lectures, and work -- to make this a reality.
While developing the research and advocacy program for Sharique, an SDC-supported local governance project where BIGD was a partner, Dr Tofail helped us focus on critical areas that could have a significant impact. The areas included supporting local representatives with resource mobilization and establishing practical accountability mechanisms. In both cases, he suggested using both formal and informal approaches, as he had a deep understanding of the on-the-ground realities. We advocated for simple strategies by which union parishads could finance their activities, rather than being dependent on the central government.
While conducting research and developing advocacy briefs on how to bring about change, Dr Tofail quietly challenged our thinking, opened our eyes to new possibilities, and moved the agenda forward unobtrusively. His passion for the political empowerment of marginalized people was also reflected in his work with us, where we examined the roles, responsibilities, and constraints faced by women in reserved seats, and the fact that most of them never “graduated” to general seats.
Moving forward to 2024 and 2025, the choice of Dr Tofail to head the Local Government Reform Commission was an obvious one. The second-round commissions, created in November 2024, worked closely together, as they knew they would face challenges in engaging with the political agenda that the Consensus Commission and political parties were advancing. The Women’s Commission found the Local Government Commission and its chair, Dr Tofail, to be very welcoming and open to ensuring that women’s participation and representation in local government bodies, both as elected representatives and as citizens demanding services and accountability from these bodies, would be addressed.
Conversely, in our commission report, we integrated both the political role of local government and its developmental role in relation to women’s advancement. Dr Tofail tirelessly advocated for non-party local elections to be held before national elections, ensuring that national political parties would not dominate these elections. The Women’s Commission supported this view as well, but as of yet, neither the interim government, nor the Consensus Commission, nor the political parties has given it any attention.
Dr Tofail’s work is more important than ever in the present world, where democracy is undergoing a serious challenge, as it is losing relevance to people, and its co-option by those with power and money is becoming increasingly blatant. In Bangladesh, undergoing a profound political change after the fall of a government that had become increasingly autocratic, his work will inspire and guide us as we struggle with the question of how to make the government truly work for the people.
The central idea of effective government and governance from below warrants serious attention from politicians, policymakers, and social innovators. This will require a clear intention, significant investment, and innovative solutions. We have not taken significant action on the local government commission’s recommendations, and it is not part of any dominant discourse of the time. Yet, arguably, we could have started by getting the local government and governance right as the foundational step that matters most to the majority of citizens, and then linked the rest of the meta-reforms from there.
A befitting tribute to the life and work of Prof Tofail Ahmed would be to take ownership of the recommendations of the local government commission, which was arguably his last contribution as its chair, and keep them alive and thriving.
In the Tong Alaap BIGD arranged with him, Ferdousi Sultana, and Gitiara Nasreen a few weeks back, he mentioned that in other countries, reform commission reports become reference documents that governments use when designing policies and formulating laws. We are hopeful that this commission report will also become one such document.
He also discussed how he was trying to persuade those in relevant, powerful positions to recognize the recommendations as official guidance, using his formal and informal connections. He pointed out that, although the government formed the commissions, sadly, the commission members themselves have to advocate for their recommendations to the government.
Although he is no longer with us, I believe there will be others to carry forward his work.
Maheen Sultan is a Senior Fellow of Practice and Nusrat Jahan is Head of Communications and Knowledge Management at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University.