Many didn’t think Bangladesh would ever be born. And there were those who never thought the nation would ever be able to stand on its own. A disturbing majority still thinks that Bangladesh is the outcome of the long-drawn rivalry between India and Pakistan.
Bangladesh’s war for independence was, in truth, the culmination of a prolonged movement for emancipation from economic, political, and cultural subjugation by West Pakistan. The nine-month-long Liberation War was influenced by certain values, values which have given us a country where progress, equity, and justice are the underlying philosophies.
Forty-four years later, that journey still appears rather thorny and turbulent. Though the aspirations of its people were profoundly articulated in the Constitution, much of the ambition has faded over the years.
Post-liberation, our country has experienced incessant turmoil in the forms of assassinations, coups, counter-coups, and military rule. These were exacerbated by wide-scale corruption and malgovernance. After a long period of instability and misrule, the country moved towards a democratic phase through the parliamentary elections of 1991. This transition, however, could not go on for long, as our brand of politics had yet to prove itself mature enough, always devolving into a confrontational mess.
Our independence was about achieving democratic, economic, social, and cultural rights. 44 years is not a long time for a nation to be built, but it is not so short that we still have to struggle with basic national matters such as the form and nature of governance, the exact process of national elections, and setting the guiding principles of parliamentary democracy.
Despite all the shortcomings, our achievements in certain areas have been spectacular: The macro-economic indicators look much better than many of our peers. The GDP growth rate had increased to 6.1% in 2014 from 3% in 1973. On average, our GDP has risen, from 2.8% in the 1970s to 6% in the 2010s. High growth has pushed per capita income upward 12 times in 2014 from that in 1973.
The share of exports in GDP is now almost 20% compared to only 4% in 1980. Similarly, import doubled in 2014 compared to 1980 in terms of its share in GDP. And high imports are financed through an impressive remittance flow. Remittances have increased more than seven times as a share of GDP during 1980-2014.
Dependency on foreign aid to undertake its development has declined by almost half in terms of its share in GDP in 2014 from that in 1973, indicating a more self-reliant growth effort. More like a developing economy, the graduation from being agriculturally-dependent to industry and service sector-based growth is something we are observing only recently.
Our social indicators are not lagging either. Economic progress has positively impacted the social life of the population at large on many counts. The share of the population below the poverty line has declined from being more than 80% in the early 1970s to 24.3% in 2014. The seventh five-year plan sees people below the poverty line fall further to 17%, and the ultra poor to 8% by the end of the plan period. Life expectancy has increased 1.5 times since 1973.
The literacy rate of our population, in the last 15 years, has doubled. The maternal mortality rate has declined by almost four times, while child mortality rate has fallen more than five times at present, since the 1980s. Trust me, the list is pretty long.
However, these numbers not only portray a partial scenario, but they also do not reflect the mental state of failed expectations of the millions whose lives were not impacted by such stories of growth. A lack of equity regarding income distribution is still prevalent. Any tangible positive change in the lives of the poorest sections still remains largely unattended.
So, while we rejoice these achievements, we should not discount the frustrations caused by all the opportunities that we have missed. The promise of an equitable, just, and democratic society has somehow been tarnished by bitter political hostility and deep-rooted rivalry between our major political parties. And while steady progress has been made in the face of such adversity, sustainability of that momentum seems a distant dream. But the question does indeed arise: How do you make our growth not only more acceptable and rewarding but sustainable as well? The answer: By making growth itself more inclusive and beneficial to the majority.
It seems Bangladesh is on auto-pilot at the moment. It’s hardly growing at all. But if growth moves around even by 6%, we can’t keep a large population fed forever, let alone be able to finance large “public good” projects as well. A trajectory of 8% GDP growth, with most of the public good projects being delivered on time, and without much controversy, is the only option going forward.
For that, we need our educational institutions to produce good, knowledgeable students, our courts to be effective, our civil bureaucracy to be forward-looking, our policy-planners to shed their apparent tunnel vision, our parliament to actually discuss and decide on national priorities, and our courts to champion the causes of the common people.
Bangladesh has come a long way, yet it still has a much longer way to go in order to establish its footprint in the comity of nations. Our dream as a nation is big, but dreaming big alone will not yield true change, it needs to be backed up by good old-fashioned hard work.
