Victory Day: A constant source of inspiration

Bangladesh today celebrates the 43rd anniversary of its Victory Day with due festivity and enthusiasm. The nation recalls, with its pride and dignity on this momentous occasion, the defeat of the Pakistani occupation forces that had taken recourse to genocide and all sorts of 'scorched earth policy' to continue their subjugation and exploitation of a land that once used to be known as East Pakistan. This occasion commemorates the surrender by the occupation army of the then Pakistan and thus the triumphant emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign state in the comity of nations on December 16, 1971. A grateful nation will pay its glowing tribute, on this day, to the brave freedom fighters. The valiant sons of the soil embraced martyrdom, making supreme sacrifices for the cause of their motherland. The valour that was demonstrated by the freedom fighters during the nine-month-long war of liberation, would continue to be a source of great inspiration for the entire nation.  
However, the occasion, its celebration apart, offers the nation an opportunity to look, in retrospect, at its achievements and failures, in terms of the goals for which the people of this country had waged the bloody war of liberation. It was the aspiration for an exploitation-free, democratic Bangladesh that was the main driving force behind this nation's arduous course to freedom and independence. It is also a befitting occasion today to look around to revisit political, social and economic progress that Bangladesh has achieved over the years since its birth in 1971, in a comparative perspective, to assess how other countries have done during this period.
Whatever such an assessment does indicate or tend to suggest, there is no denying that Bangladesh has made commendable progress in a good number of areas, despite all its adversities, odds and difficulties that this nation had undergone in the aftermath of colossal damage and destruction that were wrought by the then occupation army. It is thus not difficult to appreciate why the economic growth rate was not quite impressive at the beginning of the journey of Bangladesh as an independent nation. There were many twists and turns in between. However, with market economy taking root and the private sector assuming a greater role, the country has witnessed many remarkable changes in its socio-economic landscape. It is particularly noteworthy that its level of poverty has declined remarkably, with a steady rise in its per capita income in its post-Independence period until now. However, worries still remain over the widening income inequality.
During all these years since independence, Bangladesh has remained a mixed bag of hope and despair. It is still considered an under-performer or under-achiever, on many counts, particularly in view of the time-tested resilience of its people and also of its yet-untapped potential. But its achievements are also remarkable in some areas of consequence, notwithstanding many natural calamities that it has so far faced, amid the long-lingering persistence of its institutional and governance-related, multi-dimensional problems, mainly owing to man-made factors. This does certainly make the nation optimistic about its future. With the right kind of policy-support for harnessing the full potential of its people and also for facilitating an inclusive growth process on a sustained basis, this country can make wonders. It all depends on the state of governance. The government has to take the lead role in pursuit of the right course by removing hurdles to trade and investment in an inclusive, growth-friendly environment that does not encourage 'cronyism' in any form. The economy will then move on to a higher growth trajectory, with opportunities made open to all.