Dishonouring the honoured: the insensible politics

The people worldwide witnessed yet another act of disgraceful defacement on March 04 last 2011 afternoon, thanks to satellite media, when cricket fans stoned buses carrying local and foreign team members from Mirpur Stadium to their hotels after the defeat of the Bangladesh team, the "Tigers' as we like to call them. The frustrated youth have been watching recent national events and learning from the senior leadership how to dishonour a globally honoured celebrity, the lone Nobel Laureate of the country, instead of having been proud of him. No wonder, such shameful acts can only promote chaos and confusion, disorder and divisiveness, vengeance and vendetta at a time when we need national political consensus and social cohesion of the highest order, with a shining international image. This is a manifestation of poor governance and mis-rule of the meanest order under any criteria whatsoever. Professor Muhammad Yunus has a dream - he would like to see that poverty goes to the museum. This goes with the idea of right to credit, of which, he is a great exponent, and in the same direction of the emerging global movement for establishment of right to development. There is even a need and possibility of creation of a UN Development Council, like the Security Council. However, Dr. Yunus has been working to translate his vision into reality, through relentless missions, starting from a remote village in Bangladesh in mid-1970s. His ideas and success stories have reached the whole world. The world has taken him seriously. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 out of 191 contenders world-wide. This is the first Nobel Prize won by a Bangladeshi, the first Nobel prize on peace received by any Bangalee and third Nobel Prize won by a Bangalee after Rabindranath Tagore in1913 for literature and Professor Arnartya Sen in Economic Sciences in 1999. The whole nation was overwhelmed with joy; considering the event as triumphant as winning the liberation war in 1971. This was definitely good news amidst the world media coverage of Bangladesh as a poor country with the highest incidence of corruption, agitation and confrontational politics of the worst kind. It is time to recall how a proposal for Nobel Prize in Economics culminated in the awarding of Nobel Peace Prize. Prof. Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank are joint recipients of Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below". Ole Danbolt Mjoes, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced in Oslo on October 13, 2006, "Across cultures and civilisations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development. "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty," he said, adding that Yumus's goal was to "end poverty in the world". Personally, I thank my stars that I had the unique opportunity to be associated with this historic event at the initial stage, while working in diplomatic assignment in Stockholm. My responsibilities included coordination of development cooperation with the Scandinavian countries and improvement of financial and trade relations with them. Nomination of an individual or any institution for the Nobel Prize did not obviously fall within my charter of duties. Out of sheer personal conviction, this writer became involved in "Nobel diplomacy". Amidst heavy afternoon snowstorm, this writer, accompanied by Ashraful Haque, a PhD student in Stockholm University and former student of Prof. Yunus, called on Prof. Lars Parson, head of the Department of Economics, Stockholm University and former Chairman of the Nobel Committee on Economic Sciences, in his antique home in Gamla Stan (old town) of Stockholm where the academics, intellectuals and artists like to live. It was February 26, 1993. The last date for submission of nomination for Nobel Prize was February 28. Nomination for Nobel Prize could be submitted by a member of any of the Nobel Committees, a Nobel laureate, a professor of relevant subject in any University in the Scandinavian region or selected Universities worldwide. That year, among the six such Universities were Jawaharlal Nehru University and Tokyo University. We did not expect them to propose the name of Prof. Yunus. Well in advance, we were trying to convince Prof. Lars Parson to propose Dr Yunus for the prize. My acquaintances in Stockholm University in connection with my research and publication on Tomas Transtromer, the leading Swedish poet with striking similarities with Jibanananda Das, were helpful. I procured the latest information materials, literature and studies on Grameen Bank from Dhaka, which the Stockholm professor went through and then agreed to initiate a proposal. We prepared a paper on Grameen Bank philosophy, activities and achievements to facilitate better understanding. Thus, as soon we entered, the Professor handed over the draft proposal addressed to Chairman of the Nobel Committee on Economic Sciences. We readily agreed on the draft and the proposal was submitted on February 27. I traced prof Yunus out in New York. The usually humble professor was happy, but advised us not to publicise the matter. We could not keep it entirely secret, and I had to face the wrath of some influential people in Dhaka, who did not like the idea. Some of them were friends of the professor, and at least one of them managed to get a job under the Grameen Group after retirement from government service. At one stage, I was asked to wind up the Economic Wing of the Embassy and return to Dhaka before completing my tenure, although only a month before I was congratulated by the same persons who recalled me for increase of Bangladesh export to Scandinavia by 147 per cent in one year. Fortunately, some sane elements in high positions got my recall order cancelled and encouraged me to hang on in Stockholm and pursue the proposal. After the change of government, a very senior minister, widely respected as an astute politician and perfect gentleman, during a visit to Sweden in October 1996, expressed similar sentiments and emphasized that Bangladesh needed a Nobel Prize winner. Prof. Muhammad Yunus did not receive Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993, though short-listed. Nor did he get it subsequently. Instead, he got Nobel Peace Prize after a gap of 13 years. Why they did not award the Noble prize for Economics to an Economist? We have the answer. In 1993, I was disappointed to see neither Prof. Yunus nor poet Tomas Transtromer got the prize. I discussed the reasons with those who knew. Prof. Kjell Espmark, Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee for Literature advised me not to delay publication of my book "Shubha Sandbya, Hey Sundar Galihirata", critique with Bangla version of selected poems of Tomas Transtromer frorn Stockholm University hoping to coincide with a prize announcement for the poet, because he may never be awarded it, even if he deserved it, only because he was a Swede. Prof. Yunus had a different case. He challenged the internationally established traditional banking system and conventional economic theories under which credit or loan of any form cannot be advanced to an individual or any entity without collateral security. Prof. Parson told me later, the members of the committee who decided upon who would be awarded Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences were all traditional economists, and they had no reason to vote for but every reason to vote against Prof. Yunus, as he went against the tide and even proved himself right in practice of whatever ideas he had. The members, moreover, took a plea that Prof. Yunus did not develop any substantive economic theory based on micro-credit. While formulating the proposal in favour of Yunus, Parson was clear about these issues. Even then, he argued in the proposal that Yunus had a theory, which he proved practicable through Grameen Bank. That is why he deserved the prize more than the traditional theorists. Prof Parson defined the theory of micro-credit in just one simple sentence - "The poor, including the destitute women, are bankable without collateral security". True, Yunus did not elaborate his theory by writing volumes. But, now, after a decade, his theory has found place in text books for higher studies in economics and development. He was not awarded prize in economics, but a prize for peace is considered appropriate, as no amount peace is attainable without economic wellbeing. Here, in this situation, poverty reduction and peace go together. Once someone is nominated for a Nobel Prize, he or she continues to be in the list of nominees till he/she is alive. In this case, Yunus was being considered every year for economics. The proposal was transferred to Nobel Peace Committee in Oslo, Norway in 1995. Soon after the nomination, we arranged a visit of Prof. Yunus to Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). He lectured in Sida and in Stockholm and Lund universities. The visit got tremendous response and media coverage. I had long discussions on various issues with Prof. Yunus during the visit, in which I sought answers to many questions now being raised, particularly regarding sustainability of Grameen Bank after his exit. Prof. Parson felt that the Nobel Committee would watch the viability and sustainability of Grameen Bank over the years. Prof. Yunus thought sustainability will not depend on individual but on institutional capacity, which he was trying to develop. Award of Nobel Peace Prize 13 years after the original nomination is again a recognition to Welfare Economics, of which other great exponents include two more celebrated Nobel Laureates, namely Prof. Gunnar Myrdal of Sweden, author of "An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations: The Asian Drama" and an active campaigner in favour of Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, and Prof Amartya Sen, who dealt notably with hunger and famine. This has also proved that the advocates of "Critical Development Theory" are right when they say that the Euro-American model of economic development is not necessarily suitable for adoption by the so-called underdeveloped countries, most of them being former colonies having been mercilessly exploited by their erstwhile Colonial masters. Gunnar Myrdal was great promoter of the "Third Way", i.e. Social Democracy that goes between Capitalism and Socialism based on which Sweden turned itself into a high-tech developed country with mixed-economy and highest degree of social welfare. Now, very appropriately, Prof. Yunus has come up with "Social Business", that may also proved to be a "Third Way" for Bangladesh, to be followed by other countries in similar conditions. The award was culmination of a long process of rural development and poverty reduction that Bangladesh experimented with. Rabindranath Tagore dispensed with his Nobel Prize money among Shilaidaha/Patisar farmers as micro-finance. Later, Akhtar Hameed Khan developed group loans through cooperatives. Yunus has developed the ideas further and proved that alternative development paradigm works, sometimes better. Thank you, Yunus Bhai, for giving Bangladesh enough reasons to stand erect, high and bright in any forum of the nations of the world, notwithstanding whatever smear and slur campaigns you have to surmount. You have the capability and courage to face the world. We, the people of Bangladesh, supported by the international community, look forward to the future with all our hopes and aspirations against all meanness and manipulation. The writer, a former Civil Servant, is Executive Director, Centre for Governance Studies. He can be reached at: cgs.bd.ed@gmail.com