Bangladesh is Now 50 Years Old

 By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottown, PEI] Guardian

As it marked Victory Day in December, Bangladesh, now 50 years old, has a lot to be thankful for.

In the first years of independence, the country struggled with military coups, political turmoil, poverty, and famine. Now the situation has dramatically changed for the better.

When British rule ended in the Indian subcontinent in 1947, two nations emerged. India had a Hindu majority but chose to be a secular republic, while Pakistan was to be home to the subcontinent’s Muslims.

Separated by about 1,600 kilometres, West Pakistan dominated politics, military and business. When the Pakistani leadership refused to grant the Bengali language in East Pakistan equal status with Urdu, the national language, discontent grew.

In the elections of 1970, the east voted overwhelmingly for the Awami League, established as a Bengali alternative to the Karachi-based Muslim League in 1949. Founded by Bengali nationalists in Dhaka, it won 167 of the 169 East Pakistan seats.

But instead of inviting its leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to form a government, the incumbent Pakistani leader, General Yahya Khan, repeatedly postponed the meeting of the national assembly and sent thousands of troops to East Pakistan.

Mujibur Rahman insisted that “the people of Bangla want to have their rights.” What followed was a nine-month-long war, staring in March 1971.

The Pakistani military government resorted to genocide against Bangladeshis, while many Bangladeshis joined the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters). Nearly ten million refugees also left for India, where the government set up camps and provided assistance to them.

In December 1971, after Pakistan attacked Indian airfields, India joined the war. Pakistan was defeated and forced to surrender to India. It was the largest military surrender since World War II.

The new nation that emerged, known as Bangladesh, remains uncertain of its identity. Is it a Muslim or a Bengali nation? Is it secular or religious?

The question is complicated by the fact that the country is also home to Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, as well as those who speak Sylheti, Khasi, Garo and other languages. 

In 1997 a peace accord was signed between the government of Bangladesh and the Chittagong Hill Tracts people, who differ markedly from the Bengali majority of Bangladesh with respect to language, culture, and religion.

Also, at the time of Partition, many Muslims from the Indian state of Bihar moved to what was East Pakistan. The Biharis spoke Urdu and, over time, tension escalated with the local Bangla-speaking population.

When war broke out, the Bihari community sided with West Pakistan. Their side lost the war, meaning that thousands were displaced for a second time. Having already left their homes in India in 1947, many migrated once again. In Pakistan they found a country less than willing to welcome them. Even today, many Biharis do not have full Pakistani citizenship.

The reverse happened to millions of ethnic Bengalis who in 1971 sought refuge in the Indian state of Assam, but, 50 years later, they are still considered “foreigners.” In recent years, efforts in Assam to deport or detain ethnic Bengalis have stepped up.

In the early years of independence, the Bangladeshi economy was ruined by the war and remained underdeveloped. Over 80 per cent of the population were living in extreme poverty.    

But Bangladeshis have been resilient in nation building and have made advances in many areas. While it was primarily an agricultural economy in 1971, the composition has changed over the decades, with industry and services now accounting for the lion’s share of economic output. Agriculture’s share of GDP has dropped to just 13 per cent.

The government has lifted millions out of severe poverty, increased mass literacy and reduced child mortality.

Before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy was growing rapidly, recording an annual expansion in the range of eight per cent for years.

The multi-billion-dollar textile industry is the second-largest globally, only surpassed by China, and rakes in over $35 billion a year from exports. The sector employs four million people, the majority of whom are women.

Observers say the nation over the years has invested heavily in the lives of women and girls. Currently, 98 per cent of children nationwide have finished primary school, with more girls in secondary school than boys.

Bangladesh has now had two female prime ministers, Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, the current incumbent, and Khalida Zia, head of the Nationalist Party.