Abul Barkat, Ph. D. is currently Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Barkat is a reputed researcher in the field of political economy of human development with special concentration on poverty and humane development, indigenous and minority peoples right to development, land-poverty-development nexus, criminalization of economy and politics, gender divide in development, population and health, and economics of fundamentalism. Dr.Barkat has in his credit over two hundred and fifty research studies and publications. Dr. Barkat’s research based pioneering books in the area of political Economy of Land in Bangladesh are: Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh: Living with Vested property, Char Land in Bangladesh : Political Economy of Ignored Resource, Political Economy of Land Litigation in Bangladesh, A Case of Colossal National Wastage, Political Economy of Khas Land in Bangladesh, An Inquiry into Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh through the Vested property Act: Framework for a Realistic Solution, Political Economy of the Vested Property Act in Rural Bangladesh. He actively participates in the civil society activities. Dr. Barkat is the current elected General Secretary (2007-2009) of the Bangladesh Economic Association.