This paper draws on anthropological perspectives for the ethnographic exploration of the state and for an understanding of state power and its manifestations. The author argues that the state must be approached as a variety of structures and practices manifested differently in different contexts. The paper also explores that state as a historical project stressing transitions that have taken place going from the establishment of a trading company to the emergence of a powerful system of control: the modern state. It also examines the state as events of representational practices manifested in public ceremonies, and focuses on bureaucratic processes. To understand the meaning and dynamics of bureaucracy, bureaucratic processes as manifestations of power structures are explored. While the major part of this thesis is concerned with state power and its manifestations, it also looks at its challenges.
Specifically, this paper focuses on Bangladesh, and fieldwork was conducted mainly in two places: Chittagong, located to the south-east, and Dinajpur, located in the north-western part of Bangladesh.
