Bangladesh Economy Archives - Lokmarg

Muhammad Yunus – Walking A Tightrope

By Kunal Bose 12th November 2024

Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, who acquired global reputation based on promotion of microfinance, targeting women through Grameen Bank, is facing multiple challenges in his unexpected new avatar. For him to push political reforms and steering the economy through turbulent times will require of Nobel laureate Yunus to maintain cordiality with India, China and the US as well as maintain peace in the country by disciplining the students and not allowing extremist forces, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and ISI sympathisers (their growing influence remains a cause for concern) to influence policymaking.

Once in the past, in 2006-07, Yunus following his fallout with the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina started dabbling in politics, including proposing constitution of a political party to be named Citizens’ Power. But the effort was abandoned soon because of perceived lack of support among the people. The announced philosophy of the still born party being “secularism and social liberalism” and politically positioned “centre to centre-left,” one gets a fair idea of which way Yunus will like Bangladesh to move, in case he gets a free hand, unbothered by the army and two student representatives (Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud) in the interim government.

Yunus was seen as somebody, who based on his past work in the country from giving women economic independence that changed their standing in the family and society to ushering in mobile telephony, ideal to heal the wounds on the body politic. While Yunus is man of the moment, he has to contend with several power centres, including the army. In the circumstances, many of the reforms that he may want to introduce before the general elections are held may undergo dilution because of pressures from vested interests, many inimical to India and favourably inclined to Pakistan. What in any case remains a concern even after the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina government over three months ago is the general disorder and regular circulation of rumours, causing fear and confusion among sections of the people.

Hasina government will be faulted on many counts, including muzzling of the opposition political parties and curbing freedom of the press and airing of criticism by civic society. But Hasina could claim credit for the country’s economic progress, particularly strengthening of the infrastructure and breakthroughs in agriculture that the country made under her watch. From a dangerously food deficit country and critically dependent on imports, Bangladesh is now a net exporter of a number of agri products. Let that progress in the farm sector (agriculture, forestry and fishing), accounting for about 12 per cent of GDP and providing employment to approximately 43 per cent of workforce be not derailed by prevailing uncertainties.

Sources in the caretaker government say the proposed reforms to clean the system will take time and therefore, the parliamentary elections will have to wait till early 2026. But such prevarications about the election schedule are much to the dislike of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which want the reforms to be carried out expeditiously preparing the ground for holding elections. Reforms apart, the caretaker administration cannot be oblivious to the UN General Assembly giving Bangladesh the target to graduate from a least developed country to a developing country by 2026 end. No doubt, the present circumstances are hardly propitious for taking a few more steps forward to reach that coveted target. In case the country returns to a functioning democracy, then that journey will become easier.

Back in 2016, Yunus subject to unrelenting harassment with all kinds of accusations, including a usurious moneylender, violator of labour laws and misuse of funds of the organisations he led could not think in his wildest dreams of leading the country at any stage. Therefore, as freewheeling liberals are prone to doing, Yunus spilt vitriol on Donald Trump at a meeting in Paris immediately on his winning the presidential election for the first time. Yunus then said: “Trump’s win hit us so hard that this morning I could hardly speak. I lost all strength. Should I even come here? Of course, I should. We must not allow this lapse into depression. We will overcome these dark clouds.”

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But as things turned out, Yunus became chief adviser of Bangladesh, where anarchy prevailed and rule of law was at a discount, in August and Trump will now be on his second presidential term. Trump couldn’t have cared what Yunus thought about him. He in any case gives the impression that scurrility hurled at him didn’t bother him then and also now. What, however, is certain is that such airing of views, though well in the past, is not to go down well with the US Administration. It is believed that Grameen America and Grameen Research made handsome donation to the Clinton Foundation ahead of Hilary’s bid for US Presidency. That also will not be a brownie point for Yunus vis a vis the Republican Administration.

In any case, Yunus who is close to the Democratic Party and hoping to secure a favourable financial package had Kamala Harris won the election must have been rattled by what Trump said ahead of the poll in a Diwali message. Describing Bangladesh remaining in “a total state of chaos,” Trump said: “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs… It would never have happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world.” What likely added to Yunus discomfort was Trump describing prime minister Narendra Modi as his “good friend.”

The Trump missive has brought some comfort to the Hindu community in Bangladesh, which for no reasons paid dearly in terms of lives lost and property destruction during and after the mass uprisings to remove Sheikh Hasina government from power. The 13.1 million Hindus constituting 7.95 per cent of the total 165.16 million population are the single largest minority in Bangladesh, according to the 2022 census. Because of persecution by sections of the majority community, especially in the countryside and migration to India, the percentage of Hindu population is down from more than 22 per cent in the 1940s to less than 8 per cent now. Braving all kinds of attack and harassment, including filing of cases of anti-national activities against minority community leaders, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists have started holding impressive demonstrations in the country’s major cities protesting against their unchecked victimisation.

In the meantime, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy has urged the US State Department to do the needful for protection of Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh. Yunus, as also the army in Bangladesh, will do well to remember that for the country to take a leap to developing country status, it will need financial and technology support of developed countries and unhindered access to their markets. The image of the country will be sullied and foreigners will be wary of dealing with Bangladeshis if the Islamist forces are allowed to run a jihad against the minority communities.

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Food Security: Is Bangladesh Already There?

By Kunal Bose 11th August 2023

Over half a century ago, when Bangladesh liberated itself from the yoke of Pakistani misrule suffering one of the history’s worst genocides in the process, it inherited an infrastructure, both urban and rural, virtually in a state of ruins. A result of destruction wreaked by Yahya Khan’s army during the 1971 liberation war. A major and immediate challenge faced by independent Bangladesh was to end the legacy of hunger and poverty among a very large percentage of the then population close to 71 million. As it would happen, when Dhaka was trying to repair the economy with limited resources at its disposal, quite a few Western countries with the US heading the list were dismissive of Bangladesh as a basket case. Such unfriendly disposition towards a new born war ravaged country, stretched to the extreme to mobilise resources, caused heartache in Dhaka.

The challenge was to build institutions for rapid economic and social development. The US antagonism to Bengalis fighting for independence with support from India – this has never flagged since – has got everything to do with Washington making diplomatic overtures to China using Islamabad as the base. It will be recalled that in July 1971, the US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger made a trip to Beijing wrapped in secrecy via Islamabad resulting in President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in the following year, ending a 25-year diplomatic deadlock. Whatever that was, the US antagonism towards a struggling Bangladesh did not go down well with many a nation.

A crisis that haunted Bangladesh for a very long time since Independence was yearly food deficit caused by low productivity of land and recurring natural disasters. As a result, the new born country became majorly dependent on food imports. No wonder the father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave a call in a historic address on February 20, 1972: “We must work hard with our farmers to revolutionise agriculture, not even an inch of our land should remain untilled and unused.”

The Mujibur call for optimal utilisation of land resource for bringing about a “revolution” in farming is since often invoked by Bangladesh leaders, including the present prime minister Sheikh Hasina. While the inevitability of progressive loss of crop land to accommodate “rural settlement, including human housing and urban industrial factories” remains, the country also has to contend with fragile ecosystems (haror, char, barind, coastal and hill) occupying 7,691,199 hectares or 53.1 per cent of its total area of 14,486,269 hectares. Such ecosystems, marked by a combination of unfavourable water regime and climate and salinity of water and soil militate against normal agricultural practices, posing many challenges to farm research organisations (some of these in Bangladesh are world class) and extension workers. But in spite of all the odds, the country’s transition from a state of recurrent shortages to making claims of “food surplus and security” is a story of unwavering focus on a sector (including animal husbandry and fish farming) providing livelihood to 40 per cent of labour force.

The fascinating journey of Bangladesh from least developed to a lower middle income country is based largely on transformation of its farm economy. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) has in a recent publication ‘A Development Trajectory of Bangladesh Agriculture: From Food Deficit to Surplus’ throws light in detail the steps the government has taken in partnership with research organisations, international development partners and all other stakeholders, including private industry and trade in bringing electrifying changes in food sector. Equally rich in data and analysis, the book tells in refreshing candour, unlike an official publication, the transformation story of farming in Bangladesh from subsistence to commercial production.

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Policy emphasis remains on diversification in farming but always keeping in sight the improvement in livelihood of farming communities as part of poverty reduction strategy. The book says an indicator of the progress in farming is the country becoming the world’s third largest producer of rice after China and India. While admitting that the rivers and streams in Bangladesh are in a “pitiful state,” the country continues to make commendable progress in freshwater fish production and exports.

With a 10 per cent share of global freshwater fish output, Bangladesh is only next to China (16 per cent) and India (14 per cent) in the world ranking of fish producing countries. In p theast ten years, Bangladesh has achieved 53 per cent rise in fish production and 20 per cent in fish exports. Among communities from this sub-continent living in Europe and the US, fishes of Bangladesh origin are much in demand.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) informs despite unavoidable agricultural land shrinkage, rice production between 1970 and 2021 rose from 11.8m tonnes to 37.6m tonnes, the annual rate of growth being 4.4 per cent. Dietary preferences of Bangladeshis undergoing change, the staple rice use is being supplemented by growing consumption of wheat based food products. Unlike rice growing, cultivation of wheat does not go back many decades in Bangladesh or earlier East Pakistan. Growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent, wheat production in Bangladesh sprinted from 0.10m tonnes in 1970 to 1.10m tonnes in 2021. But since domestic requirements of the second staple far exceed local supply, the country routinely falls back on imports in a big way.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said in a report that both domestic use and import of wheat will continue to remain under pressure because of high international prices and lower domestic supply. Going by USDA assessment, Bangladesh might have at the most imported 5.5m tonnes of wheat during 2022-23 when domestic use was likely to have contracted by 10 per cent to 6.9m tonnes. Wheat imports in which public and private agencies participate suffered a 25 per cent setback year-on-year to around 4m tonnes during 2021-22, according to food ministry data. Imports in 2021-22 were at a six year low as high prices of wheat drove many consumers to use rice instead.

Introduction of wheat cultivation happened before Bangladesh was born in East Pakistan in the late 1960s, more as an experiment and with seeds imported from Mexico. But as the BARC publication says the wheat crop in terms of growth saw its best time over 1972-90 “when the area planted to wheat increased at a rate of 19.7 per cent per year from a small area of 0.13m hectare in 1972-73 to 0.59m hectare in 1989-90.” During this period, wheat productivity also improved from 0.71 tonne to 1.50 tonne a hectare, after scaling a high of 2.16 tonne a hectare in 1984-85.

In subsequent years, however, progress in wheat cultivation lost the steam for reasons, which remain “debatable.” But a couple of factors, according to the publication, are generally cited for deceleration in area expansion and stagnation in yield. First, the availability of irrigation water in wheat growing areas led many farmers to switch to growing boro rice. Second, yield stagnation has got much to do with farmers economising on the use of inputs following reduction/removal of subsidies. The early promise surrounding wheat growing has not been fulfilled despite local research institutions developing many high yield varieties of seeds of short duration and adopting well to Bangladesh environment.

Thanks to Bangabandhu’s two popular slogans ‘sabuj biplab’ (green revolution) and ‘krishak banchle desh banchbe’ (the country will survive if farmers survive), policymakers were encouraged to commit progressively bigger funds for the farm sector and introduce a series of bold reforms, including allowing the private sector in grain trade, commercialisation of agriculture, involving private sector and NGOs in seed production and distribution parallel to government agencies, promotion of export-oriented crops and fisheries, etcetera. BARC book says: “Allocation in agricultural ADP (annual development plan) increased massively by 5.6 times from Taka 7,901 million a year during the second half of the 1970s to an allocation of Taka 44,500 million during 2022-23.”

While growth has not been pursued in wheat growing, Bangladesh now figures among the top ten producers of vegetables, potato, onion and some fruits, mangoes and jackfruit in particular. The Bangladeshi population is growing at the rate of 1.1 per cent and now stands at around 173 million. Therefore, in order to avoid hunger, particularly among rural population, the imperativeness of continued food production growth at a healthy rate remains.

Whatever claims Dhaka may make of “food security and surplus,” the country, according to Bangladesh Poverty Watch Report 2022, has 35 million people living below poverty line. In poverty elimination, the country has, however, made commendable progress in that from 80 per cent of the population at Independence to 20 per cent now is struck by extreme poverty. Some local economists argue that a country, which in 2021-22 spent around $8.35 billion on food imports, from rice and wheat to edible oils and dairy products, will have to do a lot more work to achieve the goal of food security.

In the circumstances, they think Dhaka has been too early in claiming ‘food security.’ Moreover, Bangladesh is overly dependent on imports of maize and soybean to make poultry feed. Insufficient availability of gas from domestic sources has made Bangladesh hugely dependent on fertiliser imports, the cost of which during 2021-22 soared to $4.39 billion from $1.36 billion in the previous year. While this being so, Bangladesh continues to record success in promoting food processing industries leading to value addition to local farm produce and creation of jobs outside agricultural sector requiring a variety of skills.

Bangladesh – Reeling Under Multiple Crises

By Kunal Bose 30th December 2022

Russia’s unrelenting military assault on Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022 has already done a significant collateral economic damage to Bangladesh and other East Asian countries. The setback is to an extent that Bangladesh, a least developed country which aspires to acquire middle income status by 2031 had to scamper to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package of $4.5 billion. Earlier to the damage being wreaked by the Ukrainian war that shows no signs of ending anytime soon, the Bangladesh economy took a beating from the Covid-19 pandemic. But as the IMF acknowledges, Bangladesh made a “robust economic recovery from the pandemic” by clocking a 3.4 per cent GDP (gross domestic product) growth in 2020 followed by a lot more impressive 6.9 per cent in the following year. The problem of inequitable distribution of incremental wealth generation among different sections of society remains.

In a recent country report, the World Bank has, however, cut the Bangladesh GDP forecast for 2022-23 by 0.6 percentage points to 6.1 per cent as the country battles “high inflation and rolling electricity blackouts.” Led by economic distress, Bangladesh is the third of India’s neighbour country to have secured accommodation from the IMF with all the stiff accompanied conditions. Nevertheless as IMF emergency funds help avert a potential debt servicing/payment default, they create the ground for more aid from other multilateral institutions and friendly nations.

Incidentally, Pakistan’s extended loan facility from IMF stands at about $7 billion. The highly politically disturbed Pakistan, according to expert estimates, will need at least $41 billion for debt repayments and to fund imports. Most worryingly, the country’s foreign exchange reserves are down to a level that could pay for about one month’s imports. Political unrest that recently took the form of an attempted assassination of dethroned prime minister Imran Khan, mostly covert army interferences in government work, the law unto itself ISI, state harbouring Islamist forces within the country and outside have all combined to exacerbate Pakistan’s economic problems. Till such time, the army stays put in the barracks and a democratically elected government gets a free hand to rule, there will be no redemption for Pakistan.

Sri Lanka will remain an example of how runaway inflation of food, medicine and fuel prices making them unaffordable for the masses could bring hundreds of thousands of protesters out on the road and lead them to lay siege on the President’s official residence forcing Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee to Singapore. The island country, which defaulted on its $51 billion external debts, ran out of foreign exchange to fund essential imports. That left Sri Lanka with no alternative but to agree to conditional $2.9 billion bailout from IMF.

India too a victim of inflation well beyond the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerable band and a high rate of unemployment is expectedly concerned about developments in its immediate neighbourhood. Concern remains about China spreading its influence in south Asia. Currency depreciation vis a vis US dollar and high energy prices have dealt a major blow to all these countries.

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Historically, India has an affinity towards Awami League and its leader Sheikh Hasina. This is based as much on thrice incumbent Hasina government pursuing a secular policy in the face of opposition from Jamaat-i-Islami and not so covert attempts at Islamisation/radicalisation of Bangladeshis by Pakistani agents as the ties forged since the liberation war leading to creation of a new country out of east Pakistan. Even then, New Delhi has kept communication channels with the principal Opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of which the founder was former President Ziaur Rahman (1977-81) live, if not for anything than to loosen its dalliance with Islamist forces. In any case, BNP has seen that its pursuit of a highly Islamist policy and communal rant are not yielding dividends at the hustings.

For example, in the 2018 general elections to Jatiya Sangsad (House of the Nation), BNP got only seven seats and 13 per cent of the votes. Besides the voters not warming up to what it promised in the election manifesto, the party had to contend with two handicaps during 2014 elections. First, the late Ziaur son Tarique, the acting chairman of BNP is cooling his heels in exile in London following the life sentence award given to him on charges of attempt to kill Sheikh Hasina in 2004.

Second, chairperson Khaleda Zia (the late President’s wife) spent nearly four years in jail between 2017 and 2020 on several corruption charges, including siphoning of foreign donation money for an orphanage. She got released from jail well before serving the full sentence, but with the condition that she would stay put in Dhaka. Moreover, she has serious health problem creating a leadership vacuum in BNP. Whatever that is, BNP has principally latched on to growing popular discontent about rising prices of all essential items to launch a campaign against Hasina government, which is becoming increasingly strident.

Despite official highhandedness in dealing with protests, BNP, to the surprise of the government has been able to hold massive rallies in districts and the capital city Dhaka. In the meantime, revelation of a big ticket corruption involving S Alam group, popularly believed to be Awami League’s key financier, has helped in fanning people’s anger against the government. Name almost any sector, including banking, S Alam has its finger in the pie. Such is the public resentment against the group taking multi-billion dollar loans from a number of banks, in some of which it has substantial equity ownership. Worse is the group has used the borrowed funds to fund purchase of hotels and real estate in Singapore. The irregularities in borrowings and subsequent investments offshore reek of a kind of corruption that Hasina is left with no alternative but to order an inquiry.

A question mark remains on the fairness of the inquiry since the involvement of some Awami League politicians close to the prime minister is not ruled out. But the bank loan scandal already an embarrassment for the administration will compromise the Awami League and its leader ahead of 2023-end elections in case the inquiry reveals some murkiness in loan sanctioning. Some BNP politicians claim that in the days ahead more cases of corruption involving businessman-politician nexus will come to light to provide them with the handle to berate the government of the day. Besides piling pressure on Hasina administration for its attempts to silence the Opposition using every means, including arrests and attempts to sabotage lawful protests, BSP for political optics made its seven MPs to resign their parliamentary seats. Naturally, Awami League is wondering aloud why did it take BNP four long years to realise that democracy is now at risk? As it happens in such awkward situations, the ruling party sees a foreign hand working.

Bangladesh foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has complained, not to anyone’s surprise that “some powerful countries have the historical habit to suppress third world countries like ours. Have they not in the past destroyed stable countries such as Iraq and Libya in the past? Let me warn my countrymen if we are not able to resist foreign engineered unrest then all of us will suffer.”

In the meantime, in its attempt to build pressure on Hasina government, BNP has announced a 27-point programme for structural reform of the state and governance. This, among other reforms, includes reintroduction of holding elections under a neutral government, limiting a prime minister to hold office for two consecutive terms (this in order to debar Hasina to become prime minister once again), election commission to be manned by “independent and impartial persons,” and formation of an election reforms commission. The elections are to be held by December 2023 and it is too early to make any forecast about poll outcome at this stage.

Bangladesh – A Long And Firm March Towards Prosperity

By Mahendra Ved 26th December 2019

Preparing to hug the half-century milestone, Bangladesh this month celebrated with aplomb its 49^th Bijoy Divas or the Victory Day. On that day in 1971, over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Joint Command of India and Bangladeshi Mukti Bahini forces, permanently altering the world map.

That slice of history may mean many things to many people today. But to succeeding generations of those who went through political turmoil followed by ten months of organised violence, and ending in a decisive military victory, remains and shall remain forever an extraordinary moment.

The parade marking the occasion showed a confident Bangladesh. Military hardware was proudly displayed on the ground and in the sky. That combined with floats and tableaux of projects, programmes and achievements made for an impressive show.

Indian veterans led by Lt. Gen. (rtd.) R S Kadian marched and so did a contingent and band of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). It struck Muhammad Iqbal’s musical note, “Saare Jahan Se Achha,” that harks back to an undivided South Asia.

Bangladesh has assigned itself a two-year tryst by which time it will complete 50 years of independence. It wants the world to notice its rise from being dubbed the “international basket case” in initial years to become, at annual 8.5 percent gross domestic product (GDP) rise, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Putting its cheap work force to good use and with many plus points that have eluded most others among the least-developed countries (LDCs), Bangladesh has all the makings of a developing nation. Out of the food scarcity rut, it is diversifying farm and industrial output and even exporting surplus.

It aims to leap into the cyber-digital era with come-hither calls to anyone who cares to respond. With its good debt servicing record, Bangladesh is an attractive investor’s destination. Both regional giants, China and India, are wooing and being wooed.

At independence, over 90 percent of its annual budget was foreign-financed. Two decades later, it was 70 percent and was 50 percent a decade back when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned to power.

The figure has now reversed. Ninety-two percent of the budget is being funded internally. Booming garment exports, some to marquee global brands and remittances from its 10 million working abroad contribute generously.

Bangladesh has long seen itself as a bridge between South and south-east Asia. With Cox’s Bazaar beach and Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarban, its tourism pitch is rising. People are warm and hospitable. But much needs done to improve infrastructure.

Many of Bangladesh’s human development indicators are better than others in the region. The economy is already the best-performing in South Asia, outdoing in proportional terms larger neighbour India and certainly, Pakistan, from which it violently separated.

Due to this past, Pakistan’s image remains negative in official and much of the popular discourse. India figures high despite the current concerns over two Indian laws with bearing on its east and northeast that encase Bangladesh. If persisted, they could have political fallout.

Sheikh Hasina cherishes India ties and has diligently worked to nurture them. For one, she has ended Indian militants’ run. She appreciates India’s contribution to Liberation and thereafter. She is trying hard to keep the current political and diplomatic discourse triggered by Indian laws, to the bare-minimum, so far. This reflects self-confidence and maturing of a nation of 165 million people.

There are other signs of a young nation with young people having the highest proportion in South Asia of women in every field. Farms and garment factories are ample proof of that. Exuberant crew members want to get photographed with passengers as part of the PR effort as more and more privately run airlines fly passengers in and out.

On political front, Hasina remains firm on punishing killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s foremost leader and her father in a 1975 military-led coup, and most of her family. The West is critical of the process employed and the Islamic world is unhappy. But both can’t ignore Bangladesh.

Ethos of the Bengali language stir of the 1950s and the freedom movement remains strong in the face of religious extremists. When these forces inflicted violence in 2013, Muslims and Hindus together fought back at Dhaka’s Shahbag Avenue. This conflict remains a constant challenge.

Bangladesh is, uniquely both. An Islamic nation that, thanks to its culture, is also broadly secular. (Secularism as basic principle remains part of its Constitution). The society as a whole remains conservative, respectful of elders and displays overt religiosity.

This complex amalgamation ensures co-existence and diversity. With that comes a high measure of political stability, due principally to Hasina’s continuance in office for a third consecutive term. She looms large over the country’s horizon. Forbes’ ranks her 29^th among the world’s most powerful woman.

As investors get attracted, she has forced Western governments to ignore her hard line on political opponents, especially the Jamaat-e-Islami. Her arch rival and two-term former premier, Begun Khaleda Zia, is ailing, ageing and denied bail, currently imprisoned for graft.

There are negative indicators, too, when it comes to transparency, sanitation, ease of doing business and media freedom that, as in the rest of South Asia, should hopefully improve with longer spells of political stability.

Contradictions seemingly persist and are growing with changes in other spheres. The pristine riverine scape of the boatman and his folk songs as one read in Tagore and Nazrul literature is slowly yielding place to increasing urbanization.

A provincial capital at Independence, Dhaka has become unbearably chaotic with 24×7 traffic snarls around high-rise buildings. As bridges and fly-overs struggle to make movement faster, a rapid mass transport system now under construction shall continue to add to the chaos, till it is completed.

These are but brief, broad-brush impressions, of one who has witnessed Bangladesh for over 45 years. Handicapped by inadequate knowledge, of language in particular, they are compensated, hopefully, by best wishes for bright future for its people.

The writer recently visited Bangladesh at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com