On its Golden Jubilee, Bangladesh no longer a miracle, but a model
UNB
Tribune Editorial
Publish : 16 Dec 2021, 11:44 AMUpdate : 13 Feb 2022, 06:21 PM
50 years ago, the youngest nation in South Asia was born out of the ashes of a war-torn land. Its independence leaders and people named it after what the land had been known historically throughout the ages -- Bangladesh.
When Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called the Bengali people to be prepared for the ultimate struggle in his now historic March 7, 1971 speech, the Pakistani rulers understood that their tyranny can no longer continue. So, it unleashed its military power on the unarmed public on March 25, beginning a genocide.
But Bangladesh fought back. After nine months of asymmetric war between the marginally trained but supremely courageous freedom fighters of Bangladesh and the monstrous Pakistani military, Bangladesh won its freedom on December 16, 1971. The victory came at a huge cost of millions of lives lost. Millions of people who lost their homes and became refugees. It is, therefore, a time when Bangladesh must remember and honour these sacrifices.
The country must also honour its biggest ally in the war, India, which trained and fought alongside Bangladesh’s freedom fighters, and without its involvement the War of Independence may have dragged on for much longer.
Now, 50 years since that day, Bangladesh has come a long way, through many ups and downs. The country’s journey throughout these 50 years has been far from easy. It has gone through immense struggle -- be it famines, floods, autocracy, and our ever-present problem of corruption. But no one can deny Bangladesh’s place as a nation today, in the world and in the hearts of its people, a country brimming with potential, a nation full of opportunities. Despite the dark periods, Bangladesh is now stronger than ever with the country being widely recognized as a fast-growing developing nation, and heading rapidly toward becoming a developed nation.
Yet, this is just the beginning for Bangladesh, and its next two decades will arguably be the most important in our history. Beginning with its graduation from an LDC to a middle-income economy, followed by fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and finally, in 2041, beating the middle-income trap that so many nations fall prey to and emerge as a developed nation. Along the way, Bangladesh must be mindful of the digitization the world is moving towards, and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence that shall dominate the future. While Bangladesh has made inroads when it comes to embracing digitization, and the government’s Digital Bangladesh vision played a major part, it must remain cognizant of digitization remaining a bridge, and not create a further divide among socio-economic classes.
It is imperative to note that it is not enough to be a developed nation, as this is not the marker of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned. Indeed, it is to build an equitable nation, with no poverty, with no glaring economic disparity, that must be the goal for Bangladesh.
As the country celebrates its monumental 50th Victory Day today, there is a lot that the country can be proud of. Its political stability and stride toward modern development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, for example, is a beacon of light in South Asia and even the world. Its people will once again remember today those that liberated Bangladesh, as the country moves unstoppably on toward prosperity and becoming the “Shonar Bangla” it always aspired to be.
On its Golden Jubilee, Bangladesh no longer a miracle, but a model
50 years ago, the youngest nation in South Asia was born out of the ashes of a war-torn land. Its independence leaders and people named it after what the land had been known historically throughout the ages -- Bangladesh.
When Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called the Bengali people to be prepared for the ultimate struggle in his now historic March 7, 1971 speech, the Pakistani rulers understood that their tyranny can no longer continue. So, it unleashed its military power on the unarmed public on March 25, beginning a genocide.
But Bangladesh fought back. After nine months of asymmetric war between the marginally trained but supremely courageous freedom fighters of Bangladesh and the monstrous Pakistani military, Bangladesh won its freedom on December 16, 1971. The victory came at a huge cost of millions of lives lost. Millions of people who lost their homes and became refugees. It is, therefore, a time when Bangladesh must remember and honour these sacrifices.
The country must also honour its biggest ally in the war, India, which trained and fought alongside Bangladesh’s freedom fighters, and without its involvement the War of Independence may have dragged on for much longer.
Now, 50 years since that day, Bangladesh has come a long way, through many ups and downs. The country’s journey throughout these 50 years has been far from easy. It has gone through immense struggle -- be it famines, floods, autocracy, and our ever-present problem of corruption. But no one can deny Bangladesh’s place as a nation today, in the world and in the hearts of its people, a country brimming with potential, a nation full of opportunities. Despite the dark periods, Bangladesh is now stronger than ever with the country being widely recognized as a fast-growing developing nation, and heading rapidly toward becoming a developed nation.
Yet, this is just the beginning for Bangladesh, and its next two decades will arguably be the most important in our history. Beginning with its graduation from an LDC to a middle-income economy, followed by fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and finally, in 2041, beating the middle-income trap that so many nations fall prey to and emerge as a developed nation. Along the way, Bangladesh must be mindful of the digitization the world is moving towards, and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence that shall dominate the future. While Bangladesh has made inroads when it comes to embracing digitization, and the government’s Digital Bangladesh vision played a major part, it must remain cognizant of digitization remaining a bridge, and not create a further divide among socio-economic classes.
It is imperative to note that it is not enough to be a developed nation, as this is not the marker of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned. Indeed, it is to build an equitable nation, with no poverty, with no glaring economic disparity, that must be the goal for Bangladesh.
As the country celebrates its monumental 50th Victory Day today, there is a lot that the country can be proud of. Its political stability and stride toward modern development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, for example, is a beacon of light in South Asia and even the world. Its people will once again remember today those that liberated Bangladesh, as the country moves unstoppably on toward prosperity and becoming the “Shonar Bangla” it always aspired to be.
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