Bangladesh celebrated the 50th anniversary of its war of independence from Pakistan on March 26. Dismissed as a potential “breadbasket” by then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the United States supported the military dictators who had put the elected representatives in jail and started a war of terror to intimidate the population into silence and submission.
This was a perfect case of the contradiction between what the United States publicly stands for and its government behaving exactly in the opposite manner. At birth 50 years ago, Bangladesh was in a terrible state. It was already one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the poorest by every economic indicator. Because of the war, economic infrastructure was in absolute ruins. It had no industrial base and no entrepreneurial class. Almost two-thirds of the country routinely went underwater during Monsoon seasons.
To make things worse, the retreating Pakistan army gathered all the top intellectuals of the country 48-72 hours before surrender and killed them. The only thing they could not destroy was the spirit of Bangladeshis, like what is being exhibited today by the valiant Ukrainian people. Bangladeshis, albeit with the assistance of India, not only defeated the Pakistan army but subsequently foiled repeated attempts to destroy its nascent democracy.
Today’s Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of garments, not a small feat for a country that did not export a single piece of garment at the time of its birth. With backward linkage, it is now the largest buyer of US cotton and has a new diversified economy with a strong IT service sector, a respected pharmaceutical industry, and has become a preferred center for investment by economic giants like China and South Korea. With US and European countries experiencing vulnerability due to COVID-19 and fractured political relationships, the top two destinations of choice for multinational companies for outsourcing are Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s contribution to the world economy is more than selling inexpensive garments. Its labor can now be found working in almost any country which will have them. Besides the Middle East, you can find thousands of Bangladeshi laborers in Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany, Japan, and France. Among the immigrant laborers, Bangladeshi workers are known for their industriousness, work ethic, and ability to have a good relationship with people. These workers are the biggest contributor (other than the garment industry) to foreign exchange earnings. In fact, Bangladesh ranks only behind Mexico and Pakistan in terms of workers’ remittances to their home countries.
Besides goods and labor, Bangladesh is showing the path of growth with its home-grown ideas. Its “investment on the poor” model of microcredit, pioneered by Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, is now the proven path for millions escaping poverty in 100+ countries. Bangladesh has also shown how NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) can complement government efforts to accelerate development. BRAC, the largest non-government organization founded in Bangladesh by Sir Abed, now serves over one hundred million people through its programs in education, healthcare, youth, and women empowerment in Asia and Africa.
Having a stable democracy, as well as having strong women in leadership positions, has helped Bangladesh. The single biggest reason for Bangladesh pulling ahead of India and Pakistan in per capita income and growth rate can be directly attributed to its investment in women’s education and a high percentage of participation of women in the labor force. The current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, has proven to be a strong administrative leader in the mold of Malaysia’s Mahathir Muhammad and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew.
There are other areas where Bangladesh stands out among the less developed countries. Currently, Bangladesh is the largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions in various troubled parts of the world. Bangladesh has been sheltering 1.1 million Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic group, who have been forced out of Myanmar by the military government. Rohingyas, who have lived in Myanmar for generations, are another minority community who are victims of ethnic cleansing and are stateless.
Bangladesh has its share of challenges. Environment, pollution, and endemic corruption as well as allegations of crony capitalism, loss of free speech, and inequality of wealth continue to haunt Bangladesh. However, no one can deny that most people are economically better off than ever before in history. Unlike most other countries, it has managed COVID-19 challenges extremely well. It is well on its path to becoming a prosperous middle-income country proving that Secretary Kissinger was wrong in his assumption about its economic viability and sustainability. In fact, Bangladesh is on its way to becoming the next Asian economic “tiger.”
Author: Faisal M. Rahman, Ph.D. Professor & Founding Dean, The Graham School of Management, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL 60611. Contact- rahman@sxu.edu or cell 1-312-533-0452
In my opinion Sheikh Hasina may have done lot of good but the dictatorship has to end. Corruption is everywhere that leads to the misery of the poor. Freedom of speech, freedom of news media & free education up to high school. I liked the comments in the last paragraph. People of Bangladesh still have a long rough ride to overcome. My 2 cents worth.