36 . SOCIAL SCIENTIST influences of political and commercial interests of particular countries. 1 Such being the aid environment faced, it Is Up to the policy makers and aid negotiators of the recipient country to safeguard the national interests and viewpoints. Thene-is the option to refuse to accept aid if it is contradictory and detrimental to the national interests and priorities. But is this a feasible option for Bangladesh ? The question involves ^ the class tcharacter and class interests of the power elites who are responsible for planning and implementing development; seeking, negotiating and accepting, aid; and managing the affairs of the state and the government. A Self-reliant strategy calls for fundamental structural changes* in" the economy and presupposes radical shifts in intellectual, social, cultural, economic and political processes of change based on conscientization, pohticization and organization of the people at large. 6ut such a strategy would adverselraffect the interests of the power elites. They therefore are unlikely to adopt this course^ and it appears that as long as they remain in control, the dependent development strategy with foreign aid at the centre^tage and donor dictates pervading the development policies and strategies will continue to hold swav in this country. 1 External Resource Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, Flow of External Resources into Bangladesh (as of 30 June 1982) 2 Just Faaland, "The Bangladesh Aid Groups in ^ust Faaland (ed ), Aid and Influence, The Case of Bangladesh, The Macmillan Press jUtd , 1981 't 3 Annual aid disbursement in recent years has been of the order of US $ 1 2-1 4 billion (See Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Government of'Bangladesh, Statistical Pocket Book of Bangladesh 1983, p 43) The t6tal population in 1981 was 87 rrtilhon according to 1981 Population Census, and the population growth rate has been estimated at 2 3 6-per cent per annum, which implies a population of 91 mitnon inr 1983 whe*n the to 4 L.F Gordon "Aid Modalities in^Bangla9desh\ presented at Aid* •Review Meeting for Bangladesh, Vienna, 30 March-10 Apnl 19«1 ^ * ^ < , 5 Q^K Ahmad and M Hossain, Rural P6vefty AUffwitwn^n Bangladesh-^fycpeyences and Policies, FAO, Rome, February 1984 jor some 4ctails on food ai^ and/its consequences m Bangladesh one mav see Q;K< Ahmad, "Contribution of Food Aid to Equitable Growth in Bangladesh", presented at the World Food Programme/Government of the Netherlands Seminar on F9odAid marlungtheTwntieth*Ar[niversarvorWPP,*atthe4iaguer^-5 October / 1983, and published in Report or the tlonrf^tence*, WFP^ia T^rme dFCaracala, Rome 6 M Sveduzz3im3Ln, Budget Speech 198'4-S 5*^ ^ ^ , , ^ t ?. , ^ 7 Statistical Pocket Book of'Bangladesh J9 8 IM, p 4^5 and 438 . -, , . 9 Rehman Sohhan, The Crises of External Dependence, The Oxford UniversitvPres's, Dhaka, ] 982, p\8 '- - ^ ' ^^ '" ^ .^-l - 10 Ibid, p 29 . » ! , * » . ^f \ \ Statistical Pocket Book ^Bangladesh 1983, <^h «& p. 370 ' \ -^ » t <^< ^ ^ l& Sbtd,^ 370 ,' z ,. ..,, , ,^^ ^ , ^ ^ /W,p ^98 , , ^,,^ , . . . 14 Ibid, p 401 , * < ^ . 15 Q. K Ahmad and M Hoss^n,^ c^ Taote }\ and Statistical Pec&ffSEgok o/'Banglvtdesh 19 8 3, op at, p 404 ^ ' * ^* * ^ « *' ^^ N- ^ ; i 16 Report on Interim Evaluation of WFP-assysted project Bangladesh ^2?6, an 4 Expansion, March 1980 , . , . .