Alongside the coordinated efforts of various ministries and departments, key roles in governing the state are played by the Cabinet Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Public Administration, and several other major offices. One of the main aspirations of the July movement that ousted the Awami League government was to establish a citizen-focused, transparent, accountable, and efficient public administration. However, recent controversial actions by several of these ministries have raised doubts regarding those expectations. In particular, questions have emerged about the roles of the officials leading these departments. Most of the officials at the center of discussion are members of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Administration Cadre’s 1982 batch.
Analysts consider the 1982 batch of administration cadre officers to be one of the most influential in today’s administration. Although members of this batch began retiring nearly a decade ago, many of them were reappointed on a contractual basis due to their close ties with policymakers in the interim government. Most of them currently serve as senior secretaries. The batch has built a strong influence within the government. Officers from this batch are now in charge of key departments such as the Cabinet Division, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Road Transport and Highways Division. However, various controversial decisions and actions from these departments have repeatedly put the government under scrutiny. As a result, the dominance of the 1982 batch within the administration is being questioned.
On June 26 of this year, the Cabinet Division was forced to backtrack from a decision to observe a new national day following criticism over a controversial circular. That day, the Cabinet Division announced that August 8 would be observed as “New Bangladesh Day” to mark the day the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus was formed. The announcement triggered intense criticism across the country and on social media. Questions were raised over the relevance of declaring August 8 as “New Bangladesh Day.” Facing backlash from various quarters, the Cabinet Division was ultimately forced to issue another circular withdrawing the decision to observe the day. This controversial move brought criticism upon the Cabinet Division. The current head of this government division is Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid, a 1982 batch administration cadre officer. He was appointed as a Senior Secretary on October 16 last year and is the 25th Cabinet Secretary of the government.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has come under criticism over the past year due to a severe deterioration of law and order across the country. Over the past six months, the situation has worsened in many areas. According to data from Bangladesh Police Headquarters, between January and June this year, there were 1,930 reported murders, 366 robberies, 970 incidents of mugging, 11,008 cases of violence against women and children, and 515 abductions. In addition, the recent violence in Gopalganj has raised serious questions regarding the role of law enforcement agencies. Following the incident, the Ministry of Home Affairs formed a probe committee on July 17, led by Home Secretary Nasimul Gani, to investigate the matter. However, amid widespread public backlash, the government formed a six-member commission headed by a former Justice on July 24 to further investigate the violence. The ministry’s overall activities have drawn sharp criticism from various quarters.
Nasimul Gani, the top official at the home ministry, is currently serving under a contractual appointment as Senior Secretary. He belongs to the 1982 batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration Cadre). Early in his career, Gani served in various levels of field administration and also worked in foreign missions. He previously held positions such as Private Secretary to former Speaker of Parliament Barrister Md Jamiruddin Sircar, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and Private Secretary to the President. He also served as Director General at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). In 2009, while serving as an Additional Secretary, he was made an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Four years later, in 2013, the AL government forced him into retirement.
According to multiple sources, on August 12 of last year, Ali Imam Majumder was appointed Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of the interim government. He was sworn in as an adviser on August 16. He played a key role in restructuring the public administration during the early days of the interim government, closely assisting the Chief Adviser in this process. As part of this, he relied heavily on a former personal assistant. It was after this that the 1982 batch of civil servants began re-emerging in key administrative roles.
The BCS examination notification for the ’82 batch was published in May 1982. Later, the examination was conducted on the basis of that notification until mid-1983. The recruitment of candidates recommended by the Public Service Commission (PSC) took place between October 1983 and January 1984. Those recruited through that process are known as the “1982 batch.” In December 1982, the Public Service Commission issued a separate announcement for a special irregular exam, which is why this group is also often referred to as the “1982 regular batch.” Notably, this was the last batch in Bangladesh to be selected under the 1,600-mark exam system modeled after the British and Pakistani superior service structures. After that, the PSC shortened the syllabus and reduced the exam marks.
Md Siraj Uddin Mia, an officer from the 1982 batch, is currently serving as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser under a contractual appointment. On August 5, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the contract of former Principal Secretary Toffazzel Hossain Miah was canceled on August 7. Siraj Uddin Mia was appointed to the post on October 2. He holds a postgraduate degree in economics from the University of Chittagong. In 2009, while serving as a Joint Secretary, he was made OSD and later retired in 2016.
When asked about the 1982 batch officers holding key positions in important ministries, former Secretary and ex-rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC), A K M Abdul Awal Mazumder, told Bonik Barta, “Secretaries play a role in various aspects of governance. They are fully responsible for managing transfers, promotions, and appointments. They design reforms and make recommendations. At the top level, there may be one or two changes. But overall, secretaries are accountable for many of the government’s administrative outcomes. For example, when the Home Secretary was made the head of the investigation committee for the Gopalganj incident, he could have stepped back and said, ‘I am the Home Secretary, and law and order is my responsibility. How can I investigate my own performance?’ Mistakes like this do exist—they’ve made many.”
He further said, “In matters like the introduction of ‘New Bangladesh Day’ or other major decisions, secretaries have no role. These are high-level government decisions. Big decisions for the nation don’t originate from secretaries.”
When asked about the dominance of the 82 BCS batch in the current bureaucracy, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, President of Nagorik Oikya, told Bonik Barta, “Nothing is under the administration’s control, and that’s a fact. After the Milestone incident, two advisers and the press secretary got stuck there. Look at the Gopalganj incident, the incident at the Secretariat—if you take all these into account, you’ll understand the overall condition of the country. Reforms are being talked about, but no reforms are actually being implemented. It’s not enough to judge only by the 82 batch of the public administration. You have to look at the whole picture. There’s no denying that nothing is functioning in key ministries and departments.”
Following the path of the previous government, the Ministry of Public Administration has sparked discussions by continuing to offer widespread retrospective promotions, contract-based appointments, and designating officials as Senior Secretaries. There is also growing criticism that the initiative to raise salaries for government employees is simply a move to appease them. Despite instructions to implement the recommendations proposed by the Public Administration Reform Commission, no visible steps have been taken yet. The Ministry of Public Administration is currently headed by Dr. Md Mokhlesur Rahman, a member of the 82 batch of the BCS Administration Cadre. Holding the rank of Senior Secretary, he is a Harvard graduate. Throughout his career, he has served at various levels of field administration and in foreign missions. He also served as Secretary of the Anti-Corruption Commission and as Secretary of the Public Service Commission. However, after taking over as Senior Secretary, the sluggish activities of the ministry under his leadership have drawn criticism.
When asked about the overall situation, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, Head of the Public Administration Reform Commission, told Bonik Barta, “We carried out the responsibility the government gave us. It’s now up to those responsible for implementation to do their part.”
Currently, Dr. Mohammad Abdul Momen, an officer from the 82 batch of public administration, is serving as the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). He also served as Senior Secretary of the Public Security Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs for the interim government. In his career, he gained experience working in various levels of field administration. He also held important posts such as Chairman of BRTA and Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Md Ehsanul Haque, serving as Senior Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, is also an officer from the 82 batch of the administration cadre. Additionally, M A Akmal Hossain Azad, another officer from the same batch at the senior secretary level, leads the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission.
Regarding the activities of the 82 batch officers, Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, General Secretary of Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, told Bonik Barta, “At the end of the day, all reforms and welfare initiatives in the country collapse because of bureaucracy. Despite being at the center of corruption and disruption of state services, they are not held accountable. All the blame falls on politicians, though that’s not the whole picture. So, the issue is not just about the 82 batch, their age, qualifications, technical skills shortage, or retired officials returning to work—it requires a thorough review of the entire civil administration. We have seen that there’s no effort to implement the Public Administration Reform Commission’s recommendations and reviews. A broad-based dialogue and debate with stakeholders are essential to make public administration transparent, efficient, and people-oriented.”
On this matter, BNP Standing Committee member Selima Rahman told Bonik Barta, “The nation gave the interim government the responsibility to run the country, but it’s impossible for them to manage everything. When chaos spread in the country, many key ministries appointed secretaries to restore order through strict governance. But it’s clear that people have been appointed to positions for which they are not qualified. Also, a secretary alone cannot control everything. They have a large workforce to manage. This is where problems arise. So appointing secretaries from one batch won’t change everything overall, but it can bring some changes. The entire bureaucracy is conflicted, and people have lost trust in them. Actually, it will be much easier to control these if an elected government comes to power.”
Former caretaker government adviser Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman told Bonik Barta, “The desire for change is being hindered in many places due to bureaucracy. We see bureaucratic governance at the institutional level of the state, which is causing many obstacles. Their own benefits come first. All their demands have been fully met. But the question is—bureaucrats don’t hold the overall authority of the state. They have created a strong position for themselves, but why was this opportunity given to them? Retired bureaucrats have been brought back—through whom did they come? The matter falls on the interim government. Their appointing authority was the interim government.”
Regarding the interim government’s appointment culture, Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “They speak a lot about revolutionary ambitions and promise various reforms based on public demand. But as the means of implementation, they have chosen conventional bureaucrats. It’s not that there aren’t good officers among the bureaucrats. Many skilled and energetic young officers genuinely want to work for the country. But due to opportunistic bureaucratic leadership, a deep problem has formed within our institutional structure. This has been tolerated and has expanded — much of the responsibility for which lies with the interim government.”
He added, “Because of bureaucracy, much of the desired progress is not happening. A big reason is that the interim government empowered opportunistic and benefit-seeking bureaucrats. At the same time, the interim government’s ‘governing style’ has also caused problems. Good-intentioned bureaucrats don’t understand which signals they should follow. On one hand, the government has over-empowered the bureaucrats; on the other hand, their administrative messages are unclear and opaque.”
Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman further evaluated, “It is also seen that some groups who benefited excessively from the July uprising have thoroughly exploited the bureaucratic process for their own interests. These opportunistic bureaucrats, once in power, have only increased their own advantages, while those who genuinely want to move state affairs forward honestly are receiving wrong and misleading signals.”
Cabinet Secretary Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid told Bonik Barta, “We are trying to run the state well within our capacity and capability. Within our limited capacity. We also need to understand the reality.” Asked whether the current administration is controlled by the 82 batch, he said, “Some officers from our batch hold senior positions. There is no control here. We are managing.”