Dr Akbar Ali Khan hailed as strong voice for justice, administrative reformer

They also agreed that his first identity was as a freedom fighter. The ideals of the Liberation War were aptly reflected in his professional life, and his passing away is an irrecoverable loss for society, they said.

They also said the spirit of the Liberation War was reflected in his personal and professional life, in how he thought of building a prosperous economy along with creating a society based on justice.

Talking with a reporter, Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya said Akbar Ali Khan reflected the philosophy of self-sacrifice in his life rather than being confined by bureaucratic trappings.

"He was behind introducing and creating a consensus in favor of the principles which are now being accepted very naturally in the administration of the state. He never shied away from linking democratic accountability with development. Instead, he was always vocal about it," said Dr. Debapriya, who is also a distinguished fellow of the private think-tank CPD.

Finally, he said Akbar Ali Khan was a brilliant representative of civil society and never hesitated in his post-service life to clarify his policy positions.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, the former adviser of a caretaker government, said Akbar Ali was a seeker of knowledge at heart, but not isolated from the people of his society.

“From his early book Discovery of Bangladesh to the numerous titles that followed, he was both meticulous in his scholarship and keen to connect to his readership. His unorthodox titles, his communicative language through which he explained complex economic issues in ways that both piqued and engaged a wide variety of readers, is testament to his great success as an author,” Zillur said.

Dr. Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), said Akbar Ali was a bureaucrat in his professional life, but he was not limited to that.

“He also left an impression of excellence in bureaucracy. He also initiated reforms, although we know how difficult it is to reform the country's bureaucracy. In some cases he succeeded, in many cases, he did not,” Raihan said.

He had the ability to deeply analyze the socio-economic development of the country. And he also studied the political economy of this development. This is also reflected in his writings. As a result, a great vacuum has been created in the intellectual discourse of the country.

“Many questions are now being raised about how inclusive and sustainable development is. Akbar Ali also spoke about these issues. Not that he talked much about these issues, but what he said had depth,” said Raihan, who is also a professor of development studies at the University of Dhaka.