A variety of reasons may be attributed to the rise of what seems an omnipotent executive under the parliamentary system of government. These are, among others, the control of legislative agenda by the executive, extremely powerful position of the prime minister, inclusion of anti-defection provisions in the constitution, use of ordinance making power of the president, inadequate debate on policy and legislation in the legislature, regular quorum crisis, and ineffectiveness of legislative committees due mostly to non-cooperation by the executive.

Of few scholarly works published so far on the subject, the book under review written by Professor Mohammad Mohabbat Khan is a welcome addition. Truly speaking, this particular book belongs to a different genre than the usual, in that it follows a well-designed research plan in its bid to probe historical backgrounds and functioning of parliamentary government in Bangladesh. Different chapters have been thematically arranged to provide an insightful picture of a lopsided framework of executive-legislature relations.

Divided into nine chapters, the book deals with basic tenets of parliamentary government, historical backgrounds of the executive-legislature relations, the nature of such relations in liberated Bangladesh up to 1990, and thereafter since the reintroduction of parliamentary government in 1991. More specifically, in chapter 1 the author introduces his plan of study, specifying distinctively the study objectives, including the structural arrangement of his book. Chapter 2 contains discussions on such concepts as constitution, legislature, executive and governance relevant to the functioning of parliamentary government in general. Chapter 3 examines the constituent elements and dimensions of executive-legislature relations drawing heavily on the experiences of parliamentary systems operating in England and other European countries. In fact, chapters 2 and 3 together amplify the theoretical setting of the rest of the study.

Chapter 4 provides detailed descriptions on the evolution of executive-legislature relations in the pre-liberation years. Chapter 5 analyses the nature of executive-legislature relations between 1972 and 1990. Chapters 6 and 7 include discussions on the 1991 parliamentary elections, reintroduction of parliamentary system of government, installation of Begum Zia's BNP government (1991-1996), Sheikh Hasina's AL government (1996-2001), which provide a background for subsequent developments ushering in a prime ministerial government in Bangladesh.

Chapter 8 contains analyses of the period between 2001 and 2005 which in effect bring into light the current and evolving executive-legislature relationships under the present BNP-led four-party government. The formation and functioning of the third caretaker government and the 2001 parliamentary elections are also discussed in this chapter. Finally, chapter 9 contains findings and observations about the nature of executive dominance of the legislature in Bangladesh. The study concludes with certain policy recommendations to bring about balance and harmony between two important branches of government, i.e. legislature and executive.

However, one may or may not subscribe to the author's recommendations which specify ways towards the goal of bolstering the status of parliament in Bangladesh, but it would indeed be difficult to discard them altogether. He deserves compliments for his painstaking efforts to collect and collate all relevant data, analyse them thoroughly and offer criticisms wherever called for.

On the whole, the book is informative and thought provoking. It makes a valuable contribution to existing knowledge about Bangladesh's parliamentary government in its constitutional, structural and functional contexts. For someone wanting to gather insightful knowledge on the growth and development of parliamentary government in Bangladesh, it is indeed a valuable publication available now at the leading bookstores in Dhaka.

Dr Syed Giasuddin Ahmed is Supernumerary Professor of Public Administration, University of Dhaka.