Bangladesh’s interim leader is Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, a longtime political opponent of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A day after Ms. Hasina’s resignation due to weeks of deadly protests, the country appointed the 84-year-old as its interim leader. Ms. Hasina views Prof. Yunus as a public enemy, despite his pioneering use of microloans; he is currently on bail, appealing against a six-month jail term in a case he has described as politically motivated. Students who led the mass protests that unseated Ms. Hasina refused to accept a military-led government and pushed for Prof. Yunus to lead the interim administration.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus Struggle
Prof. Yunus, who served a six-month jail sentence in January for violating labor laws, expressed that Ms. Hasina’s anger also had an impact on him. Since 2011, allegations have surfaced that he slandered politicians in Bangladesh. In 1983, he founded Grameen Bank to assist poor people in starting small businesses by providing them with small, long-term loans. The idea has since spread all over the world. Accusations of tax evasion and working at Grameen Bank beyond the mandatory retirement age led to his firing, despite Prof. Muhammad Yunus denial of these charges. He and the bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for showing that “even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.” He was known around the world as the “banker to the poor,” but Ms. Hasina called him a “bloodsucker” of the poor and said his bank charged too high interest rates. Although the origin of the dispute with Ms. Hasina remains unclear, many believe it stemmed from his unsuccessful attempts to establish a political party.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus: Father of Microfinance
Following the forced resignation and departure of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Shik Hasina, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, will spearhead the interim government in Bangladesh. President Muhammad Shahabuddin, along with military leaders and the leaders of student groups against discrimination, decided to form an interim government with Unice as its chief. In 1983, Dr. Muhammad Yunus was known in Bangladesh as the father of microfinance. Driven by his belief that credit is a fundamental human right, he established Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, thereby pioneering microfinance nationally and assisting thousands of impoverished individuals in the country. This eventually won Dr. Muhammad Yunus the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Despite his international fame and recognition, he wasn’t very popular with the government under former PM Hasina because of his criticism of the government.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Prison
This year, he was arrested in January for violated. Muhammad Yunus served six months in prison before receiving bail in March. Granted bail. Some believe that the arrest was politically motivated, as it was just days before the Bangladesh in 2011, amid all the turmoil and challenges, he faced removal as the managing director of Grameen Bank on charges of violating retirement regulations, despite his vocal advocacy and continued criticism of the PM Hasina government’s political views.
Freedom and the Bangladesh
Bangladesh is currently experiencing a celebration similar to the one we experienced on December 16, 1971, when we achieved freedom from Pakistan. Now that we’ve overthrown a very totalitarian government, there’s a great deal of celebration throughout the country, not just in Dhaka, with millions of people enjoying their freedom on the streets. We are finally free from all the difficulties we have faced, which is why we are enjoying this moment. We are witnessing the dawn of a new era in Bangladesh, where we have finally rid ourselves of those who have been tormenting them, creating problems for them, and fostering corruption throughout the country.
Dr. Abid Hussain Nawaz, Post Doc, Ph.D.
Muhammad Mudassir, MPhil scholar in social work
