The Osman Dynasty: The Making and Unmaking of a Political Family

Abstract

The Osman Dynasty in Bangladesh is several generations deep and combines legitimate mobilization politics with money-making businesses and ‘godfather’ tactics. This article focuses on two aspects of dynasty formation: its relationship to the wider political context and the issue of dynastic succession. The brittle nature of the national sovereignty in a traumatized postcolonial and post-war society of 1970s and 1980s constituted an environment in which local powerfuls could establish themselves through a combination of legitimate political activism and muscle politics. And yet there were rivals and challenges and succession was not assured. The reasons for the dynasty now seemingly unable to able to pass the torch to a fourth generation, underscore the changed circumstances. This article will thus argue that local dynasty formation constitutes a historically specific phenomenon.