Eminent jurist and Gono Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain today said people’s access to basic rights and state of good governance of a country are the original yardsticks of its development, not its per capita income.

“Per capita income cannot be an indicator of development and it has been recognised internationally. When we studied economics 50 years ago, development meant the rise of per capita income, but it has been proved totally wrong lately,” he said at a national conference.

“If discrimination prevails in the society, 10 to 20 percent of upper-class people will possess 90 percent of wealth while the condition of other 80 to 90 percent will be deteriorated. So, per capita income can’t be the yardstick of development,” he continued.

“We have to see whether people are getting access to basic human rights like food, clothing, residences and also the state of good governance. These are the yardsticks of development,” Dr Kamal Hossain said.

He was speaking at the national conference titled “Access to Justice for All” at Bishwa Sahitya Kendra auditorium in Dhaka.

Twenty-eight non-government organisations (NGOs), who are working for human rights and providing legal aids to people, organised the two-day conference.