Bangabandhu's Independence was the Root of all Advancement in Bangladesh

Hiren Pandit:

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest son of the soil and greatest Bengali for thousands of years, the great hero of history and the father of the nation, has made the dream of Bengal a reality and gave the people an independent state. In the historic speech of March 7, 1971, Bangabandhu instructed the people of Bangladesh to plunge into the war of liberation.

Inspired by this hypnotic speech, the Bengali nation started taking preparation for start a liberation war with weapons and independence was attained through the 9 months of the war in sacrifice for the fresh blood of 3 million martyrs, a disgrace to two lakh mothers and sisters, and boundless sacrifice. The victory was attained on 16 December after 23 years of struggle and 9 months of armed struggle, defeating the Pakistani aggressors.

Bangabandhu landed in the country on 10 January 1972 and mentioned just after his arrival that "the freedom will not be fruitful if the people of Bengal do not eat rice on a full stomach, this freedom will not be fulfilled for me if the mothers and sisters of Bengal do not get clothes, the freedom will not be fulfilled for me if the people of this country, who are my youths, do not get jobs".

The thoughts and instructions of Bangabandhu in the constitution for the overall development of the country are described in the articles of the second part of the constitution. Development of local governance institutions, participation of women in national life. On 12 January Bangabandhu took over as Prime Minister under the Provisional Constitution and formed a new cabinet. After Bangabandhu's historic speech on March 7, the whole country, including all government and non-government organizations in the then East Pakistan, continued to follow Bangabandhu's instructions and the Bengali part of the army awaited Bangabandhu's instructions.

Reconstructed the war-torn country and successfully tackled various economic and other challenges. Returning to newly independent Bangladesh, he saw that there was no food in the warehouses, no crops in the fields, and there was no reserve in the central bank. No bank is functional. Roads and railways are cut off, and seaports and seaports are destroyed. Schools and colleges were abandoned barracks. The Pakistani invaders destroyed everything possible knowing that defeat was certain.

Taking over as Prime Minister for the second time on January 8, 2009, Sheikh Hasina worked tirelessly to implement the Sixth Five-Year Plan, the MDGs, and the First Perspective Plan. She was re-elected in the February 5, 2014 elections and got a chance to take the country forward by forming the government. Prime Minister took 10 special initiatives. Prioritizes poverty, hunger-free society, housing, education, medicine, employment, social safety net, and digitization in the country.

Now Bangladesh is the third-largest producer of rice in the world and is also self-sufficient in fish, meat, eggs, and vegetables. Bangladesh ranks second in terms of the growth rate of fish production in inland open water and Bangladesh ranks first among 11 Hilsa-producing countries. Today, the benefits of 'Digital Bangladesh' have spread from urban to villages.

Bangladesh has achieved many unprecedented successes. Our beloved motherland is moving forward by overcoming various obstacles. PM Sheikh Hasina has taken up several mega projects. The Padma Multipurpose Bridge starting its journey on 25th June.

This will revolutionize communication with the South part of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 contributes to boosting the country's economy by providing all citizens with a wide range of telecommunications services (direct-to-home TV, radio, telemedicine, education, and internet access), Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Dhaka Metrorail Project, Materbari Deep Seaport Construction Project, Rampal Coal Based Power Project, Bangabandhu Tunnel Construction Project, work of 100 economic zones is in progress, elevated expressway, more than three dozen high-tech parks, and IT villages are being built. The eighth Five Year Plan has been adopted and implemented accordingly.

The villages are equipped with all civic amenities. Today we have become a country with self-respect in the world holding our heads high. According to the World Economic Forum, Bangladesh will be the 24th largest economy in the world by 2030. According to the second perspective plan, in 2031, there will be no one to call Bangladesh extremely poor.

Bangladesh moves to develop countries. Per capita income is now 2824 dollars, human resources, and economic fragility- the criteria for these three indicators determine the eligibility of developing countries to be listed. Bangladesh has achieved the desired qualifications in these three indices. Even in the COVID-19, Bangladesh's per capita income has stunned the whole world by maintaining economic continuity. Which has multiplied the acceptance. Women are now contributing at all levels including social, political, and economic. Women in rural areas are not lagging in the touch of technology. They are also moving forward in parallel.

The people of Bangladesh are well and happy. Bangladesh's economy has reached many promising milestones. The country is moving forward by overcoming various obstacles. The government has undertaken several mega projects. The government has vaccinated 75% of the people of the country at a cost of Tk 20,000 crore and all of them will be brought under this vaccine in phases. Work on the Padma Multipurpose Bridge at its own expense is nearing completion. The bridge will be opened to traffic this year. This will revolutionize the communication system in the southern part of Bangladesh.

The government has worked tirelessly to implement the Sixth Five Year Plan, the MDGs and the First Perspective Plan. The shelter has so far provided shelter to 3,20,072 families. On the centenary of Mujib's birth, the government has given one body to 66,179 families as a gift of the year. There are about 14,500 community clinics at the doorsteps of the people to provide health services at their doorsteps. The government provides scholarships and stipends to more than three crore students, various allowances to six lakh people, rice worth Tk. 10 lakh to 50 lakh families and subsidies to farmers in the agricultural sector. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government announced various stimulus packages worth Tk. 1,21,000 crore which is playing a vital role in alleviating poverty.

Bangladesh is now the third largest rice-producing country in the world and also ranks second in terms of the growth rate of fish production in fish, meat, eggs and vegetables in self-sufficient inland waters. My Village My Town is spreading the benefits of 'Digital Bangladesh' from my city to the countryside. The transformation of Bangladesh from an LDC to a developing country was announced on the golden jubilee of independence. The UN made a final recommendation to make Bangladesh a developing country. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2030, Bangladesh will be the 24th largest economy in the world. According to the second perspective plan, in 2031, there will be no one in Bangladesh who can be called ultra or extremely poor.

There have been positive changes in women's education, women's empowerment, healthcare, and maternal & child mortality. Women are now contributing at all levels including social, political and economic issues. Rural women are not far behind in the touch of technology. They are also moving forward on balance with men. This has brightened the image of Bangladesh in the world. Bangladesh is moving forward on the path of building the golden Bengal of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's dream.

Today's youth are the leaders of tomorrow. Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education are being introduced extensively to turn the young generation into human resources. Career-based education is essential in today's world. The country must move forward with the proper value of the knowledge, skills, experience, aspirations and opinions of the youth. Are these the reasons for the anger and weeping of the retailer and wholesalers of democracy-freedom of speech and human rights in Bangladesh?

The Prime Minister has set four milestones for the country to achieve. The first is the vision of Digital Bangladesh achieved to a great extent, the second is the achievement of sustainable development goals in 2030, the third is to build a developed Bangladesh in 2041 and the fourth is the Delta Plan of 2100.

All citizens must work for a better Bangladesh, free from hunger and poverty (SDG-1 poverty alleviation and SDG-2, zero hunger) and uphold the spirit of liberation war and secularism that Bangabandhu dreamed of. Bangladesh has limited resources and more population than land. Nevertheless, Bangladesh today is a role model of development to the world.

Most of the world's economies have seen negative growth over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This means that the gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries is lower than the previous year. Even in high-growth countries like neighboring India, the size of GDP has shrunk by about 8 percent. Bangladesh was one of the exceptions to this rule. The economy has suffered but has not shrunk in size compared to the previous year. Despite the global economic downturn in 2019-20, Bangladesh's economy has not lagged.

Writer: Columnist and researcher