50 years of Bangladesh Independence – UPSC GS2

Bangladesh was the first new country to be created after World War II.

Bangladesh has achieved 50 years of independence.

Jinnah believed that religion is the most irrefutable instrument for nation-building. In erstwhile East Pakistan, he accused those who are promoting Bengali as an official language alongside Urdu as “enemies” who wanted to weaken Pakistan and enable the re-entry of East Pakistan into India.

He described Urdu as the language that had been nurtured by Muslims of the subcontinent, and is nearest to the languages used in other Islamic countries”.

Jinnah failed to grasp that East Pakistan was predominantly Muslim, but more than that, it was Bengali. East Pakistan rejected religious nationalism and demanded empowerment through fair political representation and access to the country’s resources.

Struggling with poverty and drought.

The economy was in an uncertain condition.

Armed forces were still coming to grips with an inconclusive war with Pakistan in 1965.

National morale was yet to recover from the defeat of the India China War in 1962.

Various arms and agencies of the government, as well as the political class, came together under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. India’s intervention in the liberation took place in stages over several months, each step timed to achieve the maximum result.

The military intervention, which began on December 3 took less than two weeks to achieve its objectives. It remains the shortest war in history.

The country has a stable 6% economic growth rate for over a decade.

Steep declines in infant and child mortality, Fertility rate, etc.

Gender parity in access to education;

A global leader in disaster risk management.

 Second-largest garment exporting hub in the world.

NGO movement of Bangladesh: Under it, non-state actors organised people in the rural areas.

Agricultural reforms ensured farmers take advantage of markets.

Government initiative to grant all garment exporters exclusive access to imported inputs duty-free.

New industrial policy to remove “licence raj.

Need to ensure a whole-of-government approach along with the framing of strategic objectives like it did in 1971.

India has to avoid communally divisive rhetoric in domestic and foreign policy also.

India has to fulfil its past promises to boost its relations by sharing the Teesta waters.