The pride of a Nobel Prize

We have so much reason to be proud of him as we have to feel embarrassed about the ravages of poverty. We are still the lowest amongst the low, a nation where most people live under the poverty line, eking out their living on an income of less than $2 per day. So, here comes a messiah-like man who rises like a Phoenix from the ashes of our misfortunes, and blossoms like a lotus in the murky waters of our ignominy. Right now, he is the only bright spot in a benighted country which is detested abroad for corruption, and despaired at home for contentious politics.

Needless to say, we are fortunate to have him as our own Nobel laureate, one whose intellectual capacity has won global recognition, yet one who can speak to us in our own language. This is a homegrown Nobel phenomenon, one which has been spun with the threads of our own dreams by a son of this soil into a tapestry for the economic emancipation of the people of this country.

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But what can we do with this phenomenon, the man himself and the genius that he embodies? The first things first and we have done them already, the congratulations, jubilations, the outpouring of love and respect to celebrate a celebrity who has done us proud. He has visited his father's grave, the Shaheed Minar, the Savar Memorial, his hometown, the village where he had started his work thirty years ago, the civic receptions, media frenzies, handshakes, and embraces. He has already gone through the rigmaroles of success, the rituals of glory, which raise a man on a pedestal and turn him into divinity. The celebration is going to last for many more days.

Still the question is what can we do with him? What can we do with a larger-than-life man in a country full of paltry interests? Perhaps it has the pathetic irony of an idyllic island standing in the middle of shark-infested waters. Of course, he will be busy in his own rights, doing the lecture circuits, traveling most of the time, attending receptions, dinner parties, invited to sit on boards of companies, endlessly hounded by media for his comments on national and international topics.

Some people might even want to drag him into politics. He might win a seat, even as many as five seats, if he decides to contest in the elections. He might be asked to become the head of the caretaker government, arbitrate national disputes, lead national and international missions, write his autobiography, memoirs, etc. Dr Muhammad Yunus has attained his height and he doesn't have to look back again.

It is amazing that people from all walks of life converged on him to rejoice over his achievement, even crooks bending over to touch his feet in a rare display of un-ingratiating respect. For the first time since Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had rallied this nation, we have got an institution-like personality or a personality-like institution that has turbocharged our dimming hopes. Dr Muhammad Yunus is more than a name, more than a Nobel laureate, more than an economist. He is the architect of optimism, the archangel of aspiration, who can give a second chance to this divisive nation.

But how? When the fanfares subside and the nation returns to normal, what will be his role amongst us? Will he be a reformer, revolutionary, teacher, guide, philosopher, an emblem of national pride or just an aging doyen relishing the resplendent afterglow of his astounding fame? Will he step aside from Grameen Bank, like Bill Gates did from Microsoft, to give more time to nation-building and social upliftment?

Often the political climate doesn't suit the Nobel laureates. Camilo Jose Cela, who won Nobel Prize in literature in 1989, was made a senator of the Spanish constituent assembly by royal appointment. He used to frequently fall asleep during the deliberations and earned a reputation for his bad mouth.

Another Nobel laureate in literature, our very own Rabindranath Tagore, drew flack for his political views. He was accused of being lenient to the British rule and was compared with Goethe who had stood aloof from the German war of liberation. The expatriates submitted a telling letter during his visit to San Francisco, which stated that although the Indians were justly proud of the poetic achievements of Tagore, they didn't care for his social-political philosophy. The matter went so far that a plot was hatched to have two men assassinate Tagore, who was subsequently given overnight police protection and moved to Santa Barbara for his safety.

At some point Dr Muhammad Yunus will find himself caught between pride and prejudice when the baser instincts wake up like the revelers after a night of drunken spree. He might even get sucked into the maelstrom of political controversies, because the same people who are proud of him for the Nobel Prize might grow wary of his political propensity.

Nonetheless, a Nobel Prize has come to us like a pauper wins the lottery. We have many grave issues but one great man, and we might want to stretch him like a limited budget trying to meet too many needs. May be we should keep him on the pedestal instead, and just admire him. May be he can be a role model who can remind us that greatness is when one life is dedicated for the sake of many, the reverse of which is the trend in our politics.

Perhaps a great life is also like the payoff line of a tea company: one bag makes several cups of tea. Dr Muhammad Yunus has won a Nobel Prize, then he might make a great political leader, then a statesman, ultimately earning his rightful place in history as someone who has successfully lived many lives in the span of a single lifetime. It will be his decision if he wants to go through these transformations and enter politics.

But it will be immensely more helpful if he goes around the country and talks to us, telling us about the redeeming power of dreams. The Nobel Prize is the result of a young professor who believed in his dream and reposed his trust in the infinite energy of the human spirit. Can he not give more time to unlock our minds so that we can be infected by more of these dreams?

We are proud of Dr Muhammad Yunus, and we are proud of his Nobel Prize for peace. Let this pride do magical things. Let it transform us, so that we can transform politics, before those politicians get a chance to drag the pride of this Nobel to the grovel of dirty politics.

Mohammad Badrul Ahsan is a banker.