INTERVIEW | 'Professor Yunus has always seen India as a natural ally of Bangladesh'
How did you first meet Professor Yunus? Tell us about your work with him over the years?
My love of South Asia was born after I watched the film Gandhi. I read everything I could about the Mahatma. I wish he was still alive and I could move to India to serve him. I was deeply inspired by (Mahatma) Gandhi and I thought of finding the modern-day Gandhi whom I could serve. As a student at the Cornell University in the mid-1980s, I got excited about the possibilities of micro credit, especially the way Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank provided it. It seemed to be such a practical, sustainable and scalable way to attack poverty. So, I wrote to him in 1987 and asked if I could come to Bangladesh to work with him. He agreed but told me that he would not pay me and that I needed to learn Bangla before my arrival to the country. I got a Fulbright Scholarship to support my first year in Bangladesh with Grameen, became fluent in Bangla, and ended up staying in the country for the next six years. I researched and wrote a book on Grameen, Yunus, and how his micro-credit model was being used in the US. The book 'Small Loans, Big Dreams: Grameen Bank and the Microfinance Movement in Bangladesh, America and Beyond' came out in 1996 and is now in its third edition (2022).
When I turned 30, Professor Yunus asked me to start an organization that would promote the Grameen model and ideals globally. This is when I launched the Grameen Foundation in 1997 and ran it for 18 years. When Professor Yunus began to be targeted by the Sheikh Hasina government, myself and many others tried to help him through those difficult years in small ways.
Why did you choose to come to Bangladesh again now? Did you foresee the revolution?
I had planned this trip a few months ago. It had been a while since I had been to Bangladesh and I knew that Professor Yunus was under attack. I wanted to be there to show my support. I also wanted to see some of my friends in the country and visit the village where I did the field research for small loans. I wanted to keep my Bangla sharp and eat hilsa and rui fish. When the student protests started in mid-July, many people advised me to cancel my trip, but I went ahead with it. I thought that people were finally voicing their discontent against the Hasina regime and I wanted to see how that would play out. I thought that the regime was unstable and vulnerable, but I had no idea that it would fall within a few days of my arrival.
What is the situation and mood in Dhaka now?
Almost everyone I talk to here is thrilled that Hasina is out, and that Professor Yunus accepted the request of the student leaders to fill the vacuum and serve as the Chief Advisor. There is however, still some sporadic violence but the police have come back and normalcy is gradually returning. It will take time but the trend is in the right direction. People are responding well to Professor Yunus in his new role. Almost everyone I spoke to wants him to remain in that role for a few years in order to reset Bangladesh politics and get the economy back on a better footing.
What are the expectations and demands of Bangladeshis?
People want a new type of politics and politicians to emerge. They want their leaders and parties to be more focused on the future than on the past. This is especially true among young people, who are the future of Bangladesh. Professor Yunus keeps urging them to step forward and lead the country through their actions. They are responding to his calls. Of course, there is a lot of grieving for the lives lost in the student-led revolution. Many were injured, some of them with serious injuries. These were tragic and unnecessary losses. It appears that people are rolling up their sleeves for nation-building under a trusted and competent leader, and doing so with a growing sense of optimism.
How do you think the interim government is doing?
I won’t say that the interim government has done everything right. But it is getting most things right. There were some appointments to the cabinet. Professor Yunus is setting the tone for national healing and reconciliation with his trip to Rangpur to console the family of Abu Sayed -- one of the earliest students who was killed in the uprising, and to meet with students there. He has elevated two student leaders to cabinet positions, and I expect he will mentor them like he mentored me in my 20s. He is meeting with his cabinet, senior government officials, and different political parties and letting them share their views openly. He is leading by consensus and through consultations. He has come out strongly on protection of minorities. It’s still early but I feel the government has started off on a strong note.
How do you explain attacks on Hindus and minorities in Bangladesh? Professor Yunus on Friday assured Prime Minister Modi that he would protect and safeguard them.
As far as I can see, most of the violence that has taken place has been political in nature, rather than attacks against minorities. I have always known Bangladesh to be a tolerant society, where different religious and ethnic groups generally get along well. Professor Yunus has encouraged foreign and domestic journalists to travel to the country and report on what is actually happening to the minorities. Many journalists whose visas were denied before are being approved now. He recently visited a Hindu temple in Dhaka to continue his call for communal harmony while stating that all Bangladeshis were part of one family and they needed to live in peace.
With the interim government in place, how does the bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh look like?
In my view, there was a perception here that the Indian government was backing the Hasina government despite its many defects. Professor Yunus has always seen India as a natural ally of Bangladesh, so over time I think that the relationship will heal. Hopefully the Indian government keeps a close watch on Hasina in India, and limits anything she does on their soil to destabilise the new interim government. That will go a long way in improving bilateral relations between the two neighbours.