Communal peace in Bangladesh after Rohingya crisis: An assessment of different approaches to community development.

The recent persecution of Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority group of Western Rakhine state, by state military has forced more than half a million people to take refuge in Bangladesh. It has sparked tension between Muslims and Buddhists in Bangladesh as different research and mass media reports illustrated the role of Buddhist nationalist groups in the massacre of Rohingyas. Thus, Bangladesh is vulnerable to communal violence not only based on religion but also based on ethnic, class, race, and national identity. This paper reviews existing community development theories to assess potential approaches' capability of ensuring communal peace in Bangladesh. The assessment includes the analysis of major community development theories and approaches and their applicability to a given context. The analysis argues that due to the scarcity of assets and resources community development approaches in a humanitarian crisis need some external intervention and bureaucratic supervision. Otherwise, it would be difficult to deploy any community development approach to ensure communal peace leading to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]