Barrister Solaiman Tushar :
Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, he jointly founded, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He is the first and only Bangladeshi to receive this award.
The question is naturally why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a student and teacher of the economics of thought. Same question at home and abroad.
An economist and banker by profession, Dr. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microfinance to help poor people, especially women.
Dr. Yunus is a social entrepreneur and banker who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering microfinance work that helped alleviate poverty in Bangladesh and was widely accepted around the world.
Bangladesh is going through a turbulent time. Destruction and destruction all around. The road is red in human blood. Thousands of people in the hospital.
Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Prime Minister on August 5 and fled to India. Her sister Sheikh Rehena was with her. In the history of Bangladesh, no other Prime Minister has escaped like this.
At a time of instability in Bangladesh, the peace Nobel laureate economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus came to lead the nation. There is no limit to the expectations of people towards him.
At present the country’s banking system is very fragile. Banks are struggling to run their daily operations. Billions of dollars have been smuggled out of the country. According to the news published in Daily Banik Barta on 7 August, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country with a government debt of Tk 18 lakh 35 thousand crore.
This loan has been taken from domestic and foreign sources. But when Sheikh Hasina assumed power in 2009, the debt status of the government was only 2 lakh 76 thousand 830 crore.
Accordingly, during the rule of Awami League for a decade and a half, the debt status of the government has increased by 15 lakh 58 thousand 206 crore, which is about 85 percent of the total debt of the government.
At least 14 thousand 920 crore or 149.20 billion dollars have been smuggled out of the country during the one and a half decade rule of Sheikh Hasina. The amount of money smuggled in Bangladeshi currency is at least 1760 thousand crore taka (118 taka per dollar according to the current exchange rate). However, Bangladesh currently has less than $16 billion in usable net reserves.
Sheikh Hasina took over as Prime Minister on 06 January 2009 after winning the 9th National Assembly Elections. Even till 31 December of that year, the amount of defaulted loans in the country’s bank sector was only 22 thousand 482 crore. By March this year, the amount of defaulted loans exceeded Tk 1 lakh 82 thousand crore.
During the regime of Sheikh Hasina, the people of the ruling party got the ownership of new banks. The party people took over many good banks and looted all the money and destroyed those banks.
At a time when the economy was fragile and unstable, Dr. Yunus took the responsibility of running the country. There is no end to people’s expectations for him. Will Dr. Muhammad Yunus be able to move the wheels of the country’s economy? Will he be able to stop the instability of the country?
According to the New York Times, the Nobel laureate started the Grameen Bank project with only 20 US dollars or equivalent. Grameen Bank provides loans to poor people who do not have rice or a stove. Some build houses with loan money, some buy rickshaws and make a living.
Apart from microcredit, Grameen Bank lends to other sectors including home loans, fisheries and irrigation projects. Because of the Grameen Bank established by him, the poor people were saved from exorbitant usury. Many poor people own a house.
From the establishment of Grameen Bank in 1976 until today, Yunus had to go through many paths. He is working as a guide for poor people. A sherpa helps mountaineers conquer the mountain by traversing difficult paths in the dark of night. Dr. Yunus is also working as a sherpa to alleviate the poverty of the poor. He is completely alone in this journey. He is lonely but successful.
The bank established in Jobra village is now known worldwide. The Grameen Bank model is also being used in other countries of the world. During the turbulent times of the country, Muhammad Yunus is the only qualified person. By him the second freedom of the country is protected. It has worldwide acceptance. People all over the world respect him. He will protect a country with a fragile economy.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner will bring peace and order to the country by stopping the unrest. This is what the nation expects from him. That’s why regardless of party opinion, Muhammed Yunus should be assisted. Foreign friendly countries should come forward to protect and develop Bangladesh’s second independence.
And the students of the country should be alert to stop the conspirators. For the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the prospect of establishing peace is the need of the hour. This is the demand of all 18 crore people of the country. Congratulations Nobel Peace Prize Winner for your new duty and position! You are the only person to ensure the peace for the nation. You can save our nation. We are with you.
(The author is a Supreme Court lawyer and scholar of in
ternational law.)
