Political Response to ICT Initiatives in Bangladesh: Diffident to Confident Steps

Abstract

In the context of the use and growth of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in other developing and neighbouring countries, Bangladesh was a little late in realising the potentials of ICT. Bangladesh has taken a firm stance in favour of ICT since 1997. Despite that, the initiatives and efforts of the successive governments suffered from confusion, fear and ignorance about ICT and its potentials along with enthusiasm. In the context of this reality, this paper studies the nature of initiatives and efforts of various governments taken during 1996 to 2013 in developing and implementing the policies and legislation including the National ICT. The paper observes that the attitudes of political leadership vary as political power changes hands as all political leaderships do not perceive ICT as a bearer of positive change in government machinery. The paper concludes with the arguments that ICT in Bangladesh is gaining strong institutionalised form as the political responses have become more confident.