Despite Bangladesh’s transformation from the status of a war-ravaged country half a century ago to one of the globally fastest-growing economies today, the nation still has to strive to create “Sonar Bangla” (Golden Bengal) for every citizen, said Radwan Mujib Siddiq, grandson of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“50 eventful years have passed since a new country called Bangladesh forced its way onto the world map. The transformation from an impoverished, war-torn state to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world has garnered major interest in the country’s development journey,” wrote the editor-in-chief of WhiteBoard, a policy-based magazine, in its editorial.
He said: “Bangladesh has come a long way. But there can be no room for complacency as we strive to make Sonar Bangla a reality for every citizen, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, gender, or socioeconomic group. This is the dream that millions of Bangladeshis laid down their lives for.”
“We must not lose sight of what makes us who we are, as we look to the future,” added Radwan, also a trustee of the ruling Awami League’s research wing – Centre for Research and Information (CRI).
The third installment of the quarterly focusing on the 50th anniversary of independent Bangladesh covered a gamut of policy issues including access to justice, women’s participation in politics, and institutional capacity building.
WhiteBoard, the country’s first policy-based magazine, launched on September 20 last year with a promise to bring in new ideas to the policy-sphere of Bangladesh.
The first issue of the magazine, published by CRI, covered policies adopted by the architect of independence Bangabandhu in post-liberation Bangladesh which had set the tone for the country’s development and progress.
The second issue, which launched last December, incorporated articles on the path to recovery for the government from the pandemic.