Bangladesh marked the golden jubilee of its independence with nationwide celebrations. Alongside, the country has reached a crucial and notable milestone in its quest for development. Bangladesh has forged a new identity as a developing country by demonstrating its strength and capacity. With an improved image and branding as a graduated nation, the young country has solidified its position in the global arena.
Bangladesh illuminates an interesting and revealing chapter in the book of international development. Following its independence after a nine month long carnage in 1971, the war-torn country was labelled as the “international basket case”. It was looked down upon as an endless cycle of foreign aid and international dependence. However, the disaster prone, resource scarce, war traumatized, poverty stricken nation proved itself an indomitable force to be reckoned with. On the backs of the country’s hardworking and tenacious workers, Bangladesh has achieved in shedding its image as a tale of economic woe, and has rewritten its fate.
From the depths of its blood soaked history, Bangladesh has risen – baptized. In its relentless pursuit for development, Bangladesh surpassed World Bank’s benchmark to graduate from Low Income Country to Low Middle Income Country by 2015. Following that, in 2018, the nation satisfied all initial UN established criteria to be move out of the Least Developed Country. The tropical delta with its proud citizens are now paving the path to completing the periodic review process and achieving both by 2026.
Photographs by Din M Shibly
