For the people

The prize was conferred upon Dr Yunus for his work in poverty reduction and for peace. In fact, poverty and peace are mutually exclusive: peace cannot enter where there is poverty and vice versa. It is true, not only in Bangladesh, but also in other parts of the world. A peace loving nation must, therefore, be a pro-poor nation in terms of the persuasion of state policies.

I personally congratulate Dr Yunus and his esteemed institution for the honour they have brought for us. The first Bangladeshi, and the third Bengali, to win the prestigious prize has proved once again that we can create history, and stand high in the world community -- as we did in our war of liberation -- provided we commit ourselves to the cause of the nation.

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The professor, unlike many of us, did not stop at only professing the terrible gravity of the poverty, but also took practical steps, spending year after year in the areas where the poor live, trying to solve their problems. His concept of credit as the center point of helping the poor succeeded not only in Bangladesh, but is also being followed in other parts of the world.

I had the opportunity to evaluate one of Dr Yunus's pet innovative projects: the village pay phones. This was a time when only 100 mobile phones were placed with 100 poor women in 100 villages in and around Dhaka city to allow them to sell services and take home a return.

Mobile phones replaced livestock, poultry, and puffed rice where the credit used to go earlier. I was amazed to see that a woman who used to be a "servant" (kajer beti) in others' houses was moving with a mobile set, taking the calls to the recipients. The mobile increased their mobility within the village, and to be more illustrious, the village heads -- Sarkers, Talukders, and Bhuiyas -- used to come to their house for a phone call. I mean, the master to the servant.

At that time I was teased by some teachers with the argument that mobile phones belong to multi-national corporations (MNC) and, hence, such credit led activity would only serve the purpose of the MNCs. These days, I am happy to see some of those critics with mobile phones in their pockets, possibly paying more to the so-called MNCs than the poor of the villages do. Importantly, mobile phones are in every nook and corner of the country, helping trade and business.

One important aspect of the Grameen Bank (also applies to Brac and Proshika), to me, is that its programmes are gradually changing with the tune of the time. The programs are responsive to technological change, the growing size of the loans, and other factors that might cause stagnation. Many of the models in the world, including the socialist ones, met premature death just because they stood still when the platform was moving. Therefore, whether the Grameen model will be sustainable or not would depend on whether Grameen can itself adapt to the changing world.

Sustainable poverty reduction does not depend on Grameen alone. It is a function of a wide array of variables, some of which are under the control of the government, some of which depend on what is being undertaken in the universities and laboratories, some of which depend on the private sector, and some of which depend on natural calamities. We have, over the decades, made minuscule progress towards poverty reduction and social development, even though Grameen has played s leading role in the struggle.

The most important thing is that the world at large has recognized a model from Bangladesh. Wherever we go we face a query about Grameen. It is, therefore, a pride for the people of Bangladesh. It is a prize for the nation's performance.

Another message should be clear. With the coming of the Nobel Peace Prize to this country, expectations with respect to Bangladesh and Bangladeshis have increased in the world. It is time to bury the ugly titles we have been bestowed with over the years, e.g. corrupt, fundamentalist, undemocratic, etc.

We should stand by a truly democratic form of governance, and resist all kinds of interventions to steal the people's choices. The whole nation should be in both a celebrating and a resisting mood.

We are celebrating the prize for economic freedom, of a section of the poor, that Professor Yunus and his institutions are engaged in. Alongside this, we demand economic, social and political freedom for all segments of the society.

And Let us vow to resist the evil that threatens us as a nation. Our greetings go to the micro-credit pioneer, Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank, and also to the people for their long struggle towards a fair society.

Abdul Bayes is Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.