4 From Basic Need to Basic Right: Right to Food in Context - Dr. Abdullah Al Faruque 1. Introduction Food is a most essential good and important basic need of a human being for survival. One of the important objectives of modern welfare States is to ensure this basic need for their people. Despite the fact that Bangladesh has made impressive progress in social and economic development in the recent years, hunger, malnutrition and poverty are still widespread and remain a reality for millions of its extreme poor. Food insecurity is a chronic problem in Bangladesh. Food security is essential element of human security and fundamental to economic development. Nutritional deficiencies have devastating consequences for the well being and future of the people. Hunger and malnutrition are intrinsic deprivations and severely diminish the quality of life. Furthermore, under-nutrition is associated with reduced learning abilities, greater exposure to disease and other impairments of individual and social opportunities.1 Every welfare state is under obligation to ensure basic needs of its people. Article 15 of the Constitution of Bangladesh requires state to ensure people’s access to basic necessities including food, clothing, shelter, and medical care as one of the fundamental principle of state policy. Article 18 states that the state is obligated to regard the raising of the level of nutrition and improvement of public health as among its primary duties. Although these social rights are not justiciable, their inclusion as a fundamental principle of State policy is significant because it serves to guide interpretation of fundamental rights, including the right to life under article 32. In many instances, the higher judiciary of Bangladesh has applied the fundamental principles to interpret the meaning of the fundamental rights. However, despite the constitutional recognition of basic need of food, due to low income level, lack of access to land, unequal distribution of land ownership, disparity, lack of the necessary  Dr. Abdullah Al Faruque is a Professor & Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong. The author can be contacted at faruquecu71@yahoo.com The author is grateful to Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh for commissioning this study. 1 Jean Dreze, ‘Democracy and the Right to Food’, in: Philip Alston and Mary Robinson (eds.), Human Rights and Development, New York, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 47.