Bangladesh at a Glance

Official Name: The People’s Republic of Bangladesh

State Religion: Islam but other main religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity
are practiced in peace and harmony.

State Language: Bangla

National Anthem: The first ten lines of “Amar Sonar Bangla”. written by Nobel
Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

National Flag: Consists of a circle coloured red throughout its area, resting on a
green rectangular background. The length to width ratio of the rectangle is 10:6 and the
circle has a radius of one fifth of the length.

National Emblem: The national flower “Shapla” (nymphea-nouchali) resting on

water, having on each side an ear of paddy and being surmounted by three
connected leaves of jute with two stars on each side of the leaves.

Capital: Dhaka

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Name of Currency: Taka (TK)

Denominations:
Notes:Taka 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 & 1
Coins: Taka 5, 2, 1 and Paisa 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 & 1

Geographical Location: Between 20°34′ and 26°38′ north latitude and between 88°01′
and 92°41′ east longitude
.
Boundary:
North: India , West: India, South: Bay of Bengal, East: India and Myanmar

Area: 56977 sq. miles or 147570 sq. km.

Territorial Water: 200 nautical miles.
 History of Bangladesh

After the demise of British Empire in 1947, Bengal was partitioned as a province of West
Pakistan with being renamed as East Pakistan. Dhaka was declared as its capital. Despite of
adequate resources and demographic weight of East Pakistan, the entire Pakistan’s
government and military was largely dominated by the upper classes from the west.

The government of Pakistan — dominated largely by the west — declared Urdu as the only
official language of the entire Pakistan which triggered a massive dissatisfaction among the
people of the east. On 21 February, 1952, Bengali students in East Pakistan rose up for the
mother tongue and protested against this decision. As police open fired to their possession,
several students died for defending their language. The glorified sacrifice of these martyrs is
now observed not only in Bangladesh but also all over the world as International Mother
Language Day.

Displeasure on the west in the issues of economic and cultural domination resulted into the
emergence of Awami League as the strongest political voice of East Pakistan. In his historic
speech before hundred thousands of people at the Suhrawardy Udyan on March 7, 1971, the
president of Awami League and the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, called upon all the people of East Pakistan to launch a decisive struggle against the
Pakistani occupation and take a all-out preparation for the War of Liberation.

After a lot political unrest and provincial discrimination, Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali:
Muktijuddho) was commenced after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared
Bangladesh’s independence just before getting arrested in the early hours of 26 March 1971
by Pakistani military. President Yahya Khan and his military officials launched extremely
bloody measurement called Operation Searchlight on the innocent civilians of Bangladesh.

The exile government, formed by Awami League leaders, formally took oath at Meherpur, in
the Kustia district of Bangladesh, on 17 April 1971, with Tajuddin Ahmad as the first Prime
Minister and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Acting President.

A resistance force known as the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighter) was formed from the
Bangladesh Forces (consisting of Bengali regular forces) in alliance with civilian fighters. Led
by General M. A. G. Osmani, the Bangladesh Forces were organized into eleven sectors and,
as part of Mukti Bahini, conducted a massive guerrilla war against the Pakistan Forces. During
this war, the whole world witnessed the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, in which the Pakistan
Army and its allied religious militias carried out a wide-scale elimination of Bengali civilians,
intellectuals, youth, students, politicians, activists and religious minorities.

Amidst the sacrifice of countless Bangladeshi souls, Pakistani Army finally surrendered to the
Bangladesh-India Allied Forces on 16 December 1971. The nine month long Bangladesh’s
Liberation War was won on that day. And Bangladesh, with a lot of promise and hopes, starts
its glorious journey.
 Development of Bangladesh

Development of Bangladesh can be divided in two sectors. That are developing sectors &
developed sector. As a developing country , most of the projects are in developing.

Developing Sectors in Bangladesh

Here, I am trying to describe the developing sectors by describing some major projects in
Bangladesh. So, some major projects which are developing in Bangladesh are described in
below:

PADMA MULTIPURPOSE BRIDGE PROJECT: The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail

bridge across the Padma River to be constructed in Bangladesh. When completed it will be the
largest bridge in Bangladesh and the first fixed river crossing for road traffic. It will connect
Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-west of the country,
to northern and eastern regions.

Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park: The honourable Prime Minister, during her visit at
Jessore (a district under Khulna Division) on 27 December 2010, promised to establish an IT
park there as part of Government’s ‘Digital Bangladesh’ concept. Following her commitment,
the project titled ‘Establishment of Jessore Software Technology Park’ has been taken up by
Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA). The project got the nod of ECNEC on 05 March
2013. Accordingly, the project has been launched from February, 2013 and will continue till
September, 2014. The total estimated cost of the project is estimated BDT 479.53 million.

Rampal Power Station: The Rampal power station, also known as the Maitree Super Thermal
Power Project, is a proposed 1320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station at Rampal in
Khulna, Bangladesh. It is sponsored by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company
(BIFPCL).

Vision 2021: Vision 2021 was the political manifesto of the Bangladesh Awami League party
before winning the National Elections of 2008. It stands as a political vision of Bangladesh for
the year , the golden jubilee of the nation. The policy has been criticized as a policy emblematic
of technological optimism in the context of Bangladesh and the state repression of media, low
internet penetration, inadequate electricity generation.[1] The Vision 2021 is an articulation
of where this nation needs to be in 2021 – the year which marks the 50th anniversary of
Bangladesh’s independence.
Dhaka Metro Rail: The Dhaka Metro is an approved metro rail system under construction in
Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Referred to as the MRT, from Mass Rapid
Transit, the system will be accompanied by a BRT system running alongside the MRT's Line 6.
Both of these have been long called for to solve the extreme amount of traffic jams and
congestion that occur throughout the entire city on a daily basis, among the heaviest in the
world.

Construction began on 26 June 2016 with an inauguration ceremony presided over by Sheikh
Hasina.

Digital Bangladesh: Digital Bangladesh implies the broad use of computers, and embodies the
modern philosophy of effective and useful use of technology in terms of implementing the
promises in education, health, job placement and poverty reduction. The party underscored
a changing attitude, positive thinking and innovative ideas for the success of “Digital
Bangladesh”.

The philosophy of “Digital Bangladesh” comprises ensuring people’s democracy and human
rights, transparency, accountability, establishing justice and ensuring delivery of government
services to the citizens of Bangladesh through maximum use of technology, with the ultimate
goal being the overall improvement of the daily lifestyle of general people. This includes all
classes of people and does not discriminate people in terms of technology.

The government further emphasized on the four elements of “Digital Bangladesh Vision”
which are human resource development, people involvement, civil services and use of
information technology in business.

Deep Sea Port: Bangladesh Government has already taken so many steps to build up deep sea
port in Bay of Bangal as construction of the deep-sea port in Sonadia Island.

Developed Sectors in Bangladesh

Here, I am trying to describe the developed sectors by describing some recent major projects
in Bangladesh. So, some recent major projects which developed in Bangladesh are described
in below:

1500MW Power of Electricity attested in National Grade: The 116 years of electricity use in
this region of South Asia, including Bangladesh, was celebrated on December 7, 2016 amid
festivity. The power and energy week aimed at projecting the chronological achievements of
the government in the sector also started from that day. Celebrating 15000 MW of installed
power generation capacity, including 2000 MW of captive capacity and 600 MW of import,
was the main focus of the four-day celebration. The occasion was marked with spectacular
fireworks at Hateer Jheel as enjoyed by hundreds of thousand city dwellers. The highest
generation was recorded at 9036 MW during peak hours of June 30 this year. It is being
considered rational the actual generation capacity at 8,000 MW, which is due to the gas supply
constraints.

Digital District in Bangladesh: As digitalization of Bangladesh , Bangladesh Government has

already developed Jessore as First Digital District in Bangladesh. It’s a great step for
government to develop I.C.T sector in Bangladesh.

Completed Flyovers in Bangladesh: Bangladesh Government has already developed so many

flyover like Mayor Hanif Flyover(Longest Flyover in Bangladesh), Mirpur-Airport Road Flyover,
Kuril Flyover, Khilgaon Flyover, Mohakhali Flyover e.t.c.

Bangabandhu Bridge: Bangabandhu Bridge, commonly called the Jamuna Multi-purpose

Bridge is a bridge opened in Bangladesh in June 1998. It connects Bhuapur on the Jamuna
River's east bank to Sirajganj on its west bank. It was the 11th longest bridge in the world when
constructed in 1998 and currently the 6th longest bridge in South Asia. It was constructed over
the Jamuna River, one of the three major rivers of Bangladesh, and fifth largest in the world
in discharge volume.

Port of Payra: Payra is a sea-port in South Asia and the third sea-port of Bangladesh[1] located
at Patuakhali, Bangladesh. It is situated on the bank of Andharmanik River adjacent to the
Rabnabad Channel at Itabariya in Tiyakhali Union, Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali district. The
prime minister, Sheikh Hasina unveiled the foundation in Itabariya, Tiyakhali Union, Kalapara
Upazila on 19 November 2013.[2] The sea-port was started formally on 19 August 2016.

Advanced Network Technology in Bangladesh: State-run mobile operator Teletalk

Bangladesh limited and other GSM operators GrameenPhone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel
already started hi-speed 3G+ and 3.5G services using UMTS with HSDPA facilities.
Grameenphone has a plan to launch 4G LTE services first time in Bangladesh using TD-LTE
technology. Currently Grameenphone owned 10 MHz spectrum at 3G auction by BTRC.Robi
and Airtel recently merged together, newly merged company has a plan to introduce 4G
operation soon. Two other data operators, Qubee and Banglalion, currently offer 4G Wimax
services in Bangladesh. CityCell now switched off their operation by government order. It had
a nationwide third-generation CDMA2000 network.4G is coming soon to Bangladesh . BTRC is
working to organize an auction to introduce 4G services by 2016.

At last , Bangladesh Government has completed so many mega project for people of
Bangladesh.
 Achievement of Bangladesh

Bangladesh has so much achievement on different sector from 1947(first recognize as a

country of named East Bengal ) to present. I am trying to describe of some important periods
among the achievement of Bangladesh.

The Bengali Language Movement: The Bengali Language Movement, also known as the
Language Movement Bhasha Andolon, was a political effort in Bangladesh (then known as East
Pakistan), advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of
Pakistan. Such recognition would allow Bengali to be used in government affairs. Movement
was led by Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed. When the state of Pakistan was formed in 1947,
its two regions, East Pakistan (also called East Bengal) and West Pakistan, were split along
cultural, geographical, and linguistic lines. On 23 February 1948, the Government of Pakistan
ordained Urdu as the sole national language, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-
speaking majority of East Pakistan. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with
the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the
University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21
February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators
on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest led by the Awami Muslim League,
later renamed the Awami League. After years of conflict, the central government relented and
granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956. On 17 November 1999, UNESCO
declared 21 February International Mother Language Day for the whole world to celebrate, in
tribute to the Language Movement and the ethno-linguistic rights of people around the world.

1969 uprising in East Pakistan: 1969 uprising in East Pakista was a democratic political
movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that took place in 1969. The uprising consisted
of a series of mass demonstrations and sporadic conflicts between government armed forces
and the demonstrators. Although the unrest began in 1966 with the Six point movement of
Awami League, it got momentum at the beginning of 1969 and culminated in the resignation
of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the first military ruler of Pakistan. The uprising also led to the
withdrawal of Agartala Conspiracy Case and acquittal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his
colleagues from the case.

Independence movement: After the Awami League won all the East Pakistan seats as well as
a majority of the Pakistan's National Assembly in the 1970–71 elections, West Pakistan opened
talks with the East on constitutional questions about the division of power between the
central government and the provinces, as well as the formation of a national government
headed by the Awami League.
The talks proved unsuccessful, however, and on 1 March 1971, Pakistani President Yahya Khan
indefinitely postponed the pending National Assembly session, precipitating massive civil
disobedience in East Pakistan.

On 2 March 1971, a group of students, led by A S M Abdur Rob, a student leader, raised the
new (proposed) flag of Bangladesh under the direction of the Swadhin Bangla Nucleus. They
demanded that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declare the independence of Bangladesh immediately
but Mujibur Rahman refused to agree to this demand. Rather, he decided that he would
declare his next steps at a public meeting to be held on 7 March.

On 3 March, student leader, Shahjahan Siraj, read the 'Sadhinotar Ishtehar' (Declaration of
independence) at Paltan Maidan in front of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib at a public gathering
under the direction of the Swadhin Bangla Nucleus.

On 7 March, there was a public gathering in Suhrawardy Udyan to hear updates on the
ongoing movement from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, the leader of the movement that time.
Although he avoided directly referring to independence, as the talks were still underway, he
warned his listeners to prepare for any imminent war. The speech is considered a key moment
in the war of liberation, and is remembered for the phrase,

"Ebarer Shongram Amader Muktir Shongram, Ebarer Shongram Shadhinotar Shongram...."

"Our struggle this time is a struggle for our freedom, our struggle this time is a struggle for
our independence...."

Formal Declaration of Independence: In the early hours of 26 March 1971, a military

crackdown by the Pakistan army began. The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was
arrested and the political leaders dispersed, mostly fleeing to neighbouring India where they
organised a provisional government. Before being arrested by the Pakistani Army, Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman passed a hand written note which contained the Bangladeshi Declaration of
Independence. This note was widely circulated and transmitted by the then East Pakistan
Rifles' wireless transmitter. The world press reports from late March 1971 also make sure that
Bangladesh’s declaration of independence by Bangabandhu was widely reported throughout
the world. Bengali Army officer Major Ziaur Rahman captured the Kalurghat Radio Station in
Chittagong and read the declaration of independence of Bangladesh during the evening hours
on 27 March.

“This is Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Bangobondhu Mujibur
Rahman, hereby declare that the Independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established.
At his direction, I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. In the name of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, I call upon all Bengalees to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We
shall fight to the last to free our motherland. Victory is, by the Grace of Allah, ours. Joy Bangla.”
The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April
in Meherpur (later renamed as Mujibnagar, a town adjacent to the Indian border). Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman was announced to be the Head of the State. Tajuddin Ahmed became the
Prime Minister, Syed Nazrul Islam became the acting President and Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed
the Foreign Minister. There the war plan was sketched out with Bangladesh armed forces
established and named "Muktifoujo". Later these forces were named "Muktibahini" (freedom
fighters). M. A. G. Osmani was appointed as the Chief of the Armed Forces.

For military purposes, Bangladesh was divided into 11 sectors under 11 sector commanders.
In addition to these sectors, later in the war, three special forces were formed: Z Force, S Force
and K Force. These three forces' names were derived from the initial letters of the
commander's name. The training and most of the arms and ammunitions were arranged by
the Meherpur government which was supported by India. As fighting grew between the
Pakistan Army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini, an estimated ten million Bengalis, mainly Hindus,
sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam, Tripura and West Bengal.

The crisis in East Pakistan produced new strains in Pakistan's troubled relations with India. The
two nations had fought a war in 1965, mainly in the west, but the pressure of millions of
refugees escaping into India in autumn 1971, as well as Pakistani aggression, reignited Indian
hostilities with Pakistan. Indian sympathies lay with East Pakistan, and on 3 December 1971,
India intervened on the side of the Bangladeshis which led to a short, but violent, two-week
war known as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Pakistani capitulation : On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army

forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender and the nation of Bangla
Desh ("Country of Bengal") was finally established the following day. At the time of surrender
only a few countries had provided diplomatic recognition to the new nation. Over 90,000
Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces making it the largest surrender since World
War II.

Sheikh Mujib administration: The left-wing Awami League, which had won the 1970 election
in Pakistan, formed the first post-independence government in Bangladesh. Awami League
leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the 2nd Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 12 January
1972 and is widely regarded as the nation’s independence hero and founding father. Nation-
building under his regime was based on secular Bengali nationalist principles. The original
Constitution of Bangladesh, drafted by Dr. Kamal Hossain, laid down the structure of a liberal
democratic parliamentary republic with socialist influences in 1972.

On the international stage, Rahman and his Indian counterpart Indira Gandhi signed the 25-
year Indo-Bangladeshi Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace. Bangladesh joined the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Non-Aligned
Movement. Rahman was invited to Washington DC and Moscow for talks with American and
Soviet leaders. In the Delhi Agreement of 1974, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan pledged to
work for regional stability and peace. The agreement paved the way for the return of interned
Bengali officials and their families stranded in Pakistan, as well as the establishing of
diplomatic relations between Dhaka and Islamabad. Japan became a major aid provider to the
new country. Although Israel was one of early countries to recognize Bangladesh,[62] the
government in Dhaka strongly supported Egypt during the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. In return,
Egypt gifted Bangladesh’s military with 44 tanks.[63] Many Eastern European countries,
particularly Yugoslavia, East Germany and Poland, enjoyed excellent relations with
Bangladesh.[64] The Soviet Union supplied several squadrons of Mig-21 planes for the
Bangladesh Air Force.

Domestically, Rahman’s regime became increasingly authoritarian. There was an insurgency

by the radical socialist Jashod, as well as agitation by pro-business and conservative forces,
who felt the Awami League was unfairly taking exclusive credit for the liberation struggle.
Rahman imposed a three-month state of emergency in 1974 to quell protests. He formed the
Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, which was accused of human rights abuses. The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was
also distrusted by many in the Bangladesh Army.

Economically, Rahman embarked on a huge nationalization program. The economy suffered

as a result of socialist planning. Soviet and Indian aid also failed to materialize in the desired
quantity. The Bangladesh famine of 1974 was a major economic and food crisis. The
government blamed the United States for having a role in causing the famine, due to American
restrictions on food shipments to Bangladesh for Dhaka’s policy of exporting jute to Cuba. The
government eventually turned to the World Bank and IMF for assistance.

1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh: The 1990 mass uprising was a democratic movement that
took place on December 4 and led to the fall of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in
Bangladesh. The uprising was the result of a series of popular protests that started from
October 10, 1990 to topple General Ershad who came to power in 1982 by imposing martial
law and replaced a democratically elected President through a bloodless coup.

The uprising is marked as the starting point of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh after
nine years of military rule and paved the way for a credible election in 1991. Bangladesh
Nationalist Party led 7-party alliance, Bangladesh Awami League led 8-party alliance and
Leftist 5-party alliance was instrumental in staging the uprising against Ershad.

About hundred people died during the protests those led to the upsurge from October 10 till
December 4, around fifty were the casualty of the violent protests and street fights started
from November 27 after a state of emergency was declared. General Ershad was arrested
immediately after the uprising on corruption charges.

Bangladesh on Seven Summits: This year, mountaineer, activist, social worker and writer
Wasfia Nazreen became the first Bangladeshi and only Bengali to climb the highest mountains
on the seven continents of the world. Nazreen completed the Seven Summits record following
mountaineer Reinhold Messner's variations, and was recognised by National Geographic as
one of their Adventurers of the Year 2014/2015. On 18 November, she reached the summit of
Carstensz Pyramid, the tallest mountain in Oceania, thus completing a four year long journey
to the Seven Summits. She dedicated this incredible achievement to the “Spirit of 1971
Liberation War of Bangladesh and all those who are fighting to protect it."

Champions of the Earth: In September 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received the
highest environmental accolade of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the
Champions of the Earth award, in recognition of Bangladesh’s far-reaching initiatives in
addressing problems induced by climate change under her leadership. Bangladesh's first-off-
the-block initiatives to prepare the ecologically fragile country for the challenges it faces from
climate change were acknowledged through this award.

Lower-middle income status: Bangladesh has graduated from the status of lower income
country to that of lower-middle income country in 2015, according to World Bank. This is the
first time that the country has moved out of the low-income margin, joining those with gross
national incomes per capita (GNI) of $1,046 to $4,125. What is even more extraordinary is that
this has been achieved some six years ahead of the government’s projected timeline, since
Bangladesh was set to cross the threshold of a middle income economy by 2021.

Tulip Siddiq becomes British MP: Granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
and eldest daughter of Sheikh Rehana, Tulip Siddiq made it to the House of Commons in the
UK general election as a candidate of the Labour Party. Polling 23,977 votes, Tulip won the
Hampstead and Kilburn seat by defeating the Conservative Party's Simon Marcus. Previously
a local councillor and Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities in Camden council, Tulip
has spent weekends campaigning since she was 16 and has vowed to fight to save local
hospitals, fire stations and post offices.

Muhammad Yunus: Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social

entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and
microfinance. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank
loans. In 2006, Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for
their efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below".
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that "lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large
population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty" and that "across cultures and
civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work
to bring about their own development". Yunus has received several other national and
international honours. He received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009
and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.

In 2008, he was rated number 2 in Foreign Policy magazine's list of the 'Top 100 Global
Thinkers'.

In February 2011, Yunus together with Saskia Bruysten, Sophie Eisenmann and Hans Reitz co-
founded Yunus Social Business – Global Initiatives (YSB). YSB creates and empowers social
businesses to address and solve social problems around the world. As the international
implementation arm for Yunus' vision of a new, humane capitalism, YSB manages incubator
funds for social businesses in developing countries and provides advisory services to
companies, governments, foundations and NGOs.

In 2012, he became Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland.[5][6] He is a

member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Previously,
he was a professor of economics at Chittagong University in Bangladesh. He published several
books related to his finance work. He is a founding board member of Grameen America and
Grameen Foundation, which support microcredit.

Yunus also serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity
created in 1998 by American philanthropist Ted Turner's $1 billion gift to support UN causes.

In March 2011, the Bangladesh government fired Yunus from his position at Grameen Bank,
citing legal violations and an age limit on his position.[8] Bangladesh's High Court affirmed the
removal on 8 March. Yunus and Grameen Bank are appealing the decision, claiming Yunus'
removal was politically motivated.

Failure of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a developing country. So, when something is in process of developing , then

there will be happened some problems , challenges .And sometime this problems or challenge
will become the failures for this things. But, failure must be needed because, if you don’t failed
than you can’t go ahead in future. So, every failure for Bangladesh is a Challenge for
Bangladeshi People . Now, I want to describe about some major problems for Bangladesh in
below which are responsible for failure of Bangladesh.

POPULATION

The population of Bangladesh has been one of the major problems to the economical growth.
Policies and programmers by GOB and NGOs have been constantly trying to reduce the birth
and growth rate.

Bangladesh is the eighth most populated country in the world, having a population above
160million people in 55.598 sq.mile, which gives a population density of almost 1000
people/kilometer. The estimated crude birth rate is 26/1000 and the crude death rate is
10/1000 population(2010 est.). CIA mentioned that the growth rate of population in the
nation is 1.566% (2011). If the population growth rate is not prevented, according to the
steady growth calculation, the population is expected to be more than 300million people by
2050.
NATURAL CALAMITIES & ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM

Environment and natural calamities plays a vital role against the economical and infrastructure
development of Bangladesh. The disastrous effect of several cyclones and hurricanes are still
imparting pressure on the national economy.

Bangladesh is a land of different natural calamities such as floods, storms, droughts and
erosions. Estimated amount of 20.5% Bangladeshi inhabitants are flooded
annually(Mirza,2001). In 1998, flood had devastation effect on the economy and the
agriculture of Bangladesh, where 75% of the land was submerged, loss of crops in 700,000
hectares cultivated land and infrastructure damages were experienced(BBC, 1998). Re-
building the infrastructures took years and financial loans had to be realized from foreign
communities. Flash flood occurs regularly, rendering damages to crops, livestocks and makes
million people homeless. The loss of navigability of rivers and sudden flow of water from
upstream are main reasons for erosion and has been a major problem for the inhabitants on
the river bank. The effect of the second tropical storm Alia still has the negative impact on the
economy of Bangladesh, economy suffered a loss of $14.4million from the disaster(Wikipedia,
Alia).
Storm Alia made most of cultivatable land of Southern Bangladesh saline. Rice scientists have
invented a gene named Saltol. Saltol is inserted into the chromosome of low-yielding salt
tolerant varieties and high-yielding varities to grow crops in saline waters. Scientists are
hoping that use of such gene shall double the yield of rice grown in 2-4 years(Hossain,2008).
Scientific researches suggested that Bangladesh has fallen into the risky zone for earthquake.
Several small earthquakes has been experienced in the country sooner and indicating the
possible effect of the disastrous earthquake in the near future. Having poor infrastructural
base and neglecting building codes and guidelines, small earthquakes havehad enough impact
on the lives and infrastructure of the nation’s major cities. The effect of any big earthquake,
such with a magnitude of 7.5 Richter scale or above, would prove disastrous to the nation, its
population, infrastructure and the economy would suffer for couple of decades. Arsenic
poisoning in the northern part of Bangladesh, due to deteroiting level of ground water and
arsenic-rich materials in the region’s river system has caused a big alarm to the world
community. As per Unicef report in 2008, about 20 million people in the country’s 8,000
villages are using tube-well water contaminated with arsenic. Random testing of 4.7 million
tube-wells were carried out of which 1.4 million has been found to have arsenic above the
government-set drinking water level of 50ppb(parts per billion), whereas WHO guideline
states that 10ppb is the highest limit of arsenic present in water is drinkable(Unicef, 2008).

POLITICAL INSTABILITY

One might ask the question that the country gained its independence just 41 years out of
which 19 years were passed through unrestness, and the journey of the first democratic
government began just 21 years back, the country is still at the infant stage of democracy so
a mature democratic environment is a far cry. As stated by Ripan Kumar Biswas, freelance
writer of New York Times in 2008 ‘’There is no denying that things in Bangladesh today are
not the way they ought to be, let alone what they promised to be’’. He added, ‘’after 37 years,
people of Bangladesh are facing mortal challenges while they are remembering the supreme
sacrifices and gallantry of the country’s bravest and enlightened people but till now, is
Bangladesh free from any blueprint? Secularism, democracy, scarcity of essential livelihoods,
freedom of rights even tolerance, and communal harmony are being thrown overboard
today’’. Country which follows a democracy form of government are yet in the hands of
politicians and business syndicate groups. Political conflicts, inefficiency of local
administration, taxation fraudulent, corruption at government levels, cartel of business
syndicates are barricading the country from prospering ahead and achieve development as it
was supposed to have. The complains of the nation’s population and foreign conglomerates
remains on the pace of prosperity and development, regardless of constant effort and finances
exerted in Bangladesh by International organizations and foreign countries, in terms of loans
and aids. Political instability has cost Bangladesh a lot. To quantify political instability is a tough
practice, but the World Bank has come up with a composite index of political stability. The
composite index has been developed on the basis of assassination, civil unrest, military coup,
insurgency, terrorism, violation of human rights, etc. The index has revealed the gradual
deterioration of political instability in Bangladesh.

CORRUPTION

Corruption is one of the major barrier to economical development of a nation. The cancer
‘’corruption’’ is a global problem, heavily in under-developed and developing nations.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most underprivileged countries of the world. United
Nations Human Development Index(2002) listed Bangladesh ranking 145 out of 173 countries.
More than 40% of the total population of the country lives below the poverty line. Poor
governance and dysfunctional institutions have made the present situation more worse. The
pervasiveness and rampant abuse of power has earned the country a dubious reputation as
one of the most corrupted country in the world.

To overcome the failure of Bangladesh , we must solve out the way of that’s type of problems.

END