poor-man-s-banker-muhammed-yunus-at-the-cusp-of-change

Life is strange, with its unexpected twists and turns – but in the case of Nobel Laureate and father of microfinance, fondly referred to as “banker to the poor,” Prof Muhammad Yunus, it has been dramatic.

It has not even been a month since July 15 this year, when his trial began at a Dhaka court after he was indicted on June 12 of many charges, including embezzlement of more than $2 million from the dividends of the employees of a telecom company.

 

It was speculated then that Prof Yunus, awarded the Nobel in 2006 for pioneering microcredit to help the poor, especially women, was a victim of vendetta by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

 

His worldwide popularity, it was said, did not go down well with her – and last month it seemed the 83-year-old, now 84, was finally set to serve time behind bars. For how long was anybody’s guess.

 

Today, however, just a few weeks later, Prof Yunus appears to have appeared on the Bangladesh firmament as – not a convict – but a leading light, someone who could take over one of the country’s topmost positions as adviser to an interim government.

 

The woman accused of being his arch enemy is no longer the prime minister. She fled the country on August 6 after violent clashes fuelled by student unrest over government job quotas spiralled out of control – ending more than 300 lives, injuring thousands and destroying property worth millions.

 

As the Army took over after Hasina’s departure, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) on August 6 for the formation of an interim administration.

 

Student leaders who coordinated the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement also announced simultaneously that they wanted Yunus to head an interim government. 

Bangladesh’s Daily Star reported that Nahid Islam, one of the main coordinators of the movement, had said in a video on social media that Yunus had agreed to take on this crucial responsibility.

 

Once an admirer of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founding father of Bangladesh, Yunus called Hasina’s resignation the country’s “second liberation day.”

 

The man who achieved global fame with his groundbreaking microcredit and microfinance concepts, who made it a mission to empower the poorest of the poor entrepreneurs with zero interest loans, was born on June  28, 1940, in Bathua village in Chittagong. It was then the Bengal Presidency, which later became East Pakistan and then Bangladesh.

 

Especially active in his Chittagong College days in extracurricular activities, winning awards for drama, Yunus then studied economics at Dhaka University and was appointed lecturer in economics at Chittagong College in 1961.

 

A Fulbright Scholarship took him to the US, where he completed his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in 1971.

 

From 1969 to 1972, he taught economics at the Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro as assistant professor of economics.

 

Later, after the Bangladesh War of Liberation, Yunus returned to his country, joining Chittagong University as economics department head.

 

However, seeing the poverty around him he grew disillusioned and as he told Time magazine in an interview, his life changed when he saw a woman, remarkably poor, weaving beautiful bamboo stools.

 

After a conversation with her he realised she had borrowed money from a loan shark and the terms he set was that he sold her products at prices he dictated. Instead of accessing the free market she was left with virtually nothing.

 

Convincing her to take a loan from him and return it when she could, Yunus realised that the only things these “poor entrepreneurs” required were cheap loans to earn a good income, and this was how he founded Grameen Bank.  

 

 The bank, Grameen, which he founded in 1983, also received the Nobel. It gave the poor access to loans, which no bank was willing to give, at cheap rates, sustaining millions and inspiring other countries to adapt his model of banking to help their impoverished citizens.

 

Unfortunately, because of politics and Hasina’s alleged animosity, now Grameen is officially owned by the government.

 

 Yunus was thrown out in 2011 apparently after attaining the retirement age of 60, but it was speculated to be Hasina’s doing.

 

 He has been investigated on and off for over 10 years in what he alleges is vendetta by her government.

 

Earlier this year he was convicted to six months in prison on separate charges of violating labour laws, but was granted bail by the Supreme Court’s High Court Division when the sentence was challenged. 

 

 In a recent interview to a television channel, he said such charges affect him, his life gets disrupted.

 

 Yunus is the caregiver to his wife, a dementia patient who is completely dependent on him. 

 

 His trial began this month, even as Yunus and 13 others accused have pleaded not guilty and demanded exemption.

 

 Since Grameen diversified over the years,  Yunus has been accused with others of embezzling Taka 250 million (more than $2 million) from the workers’ welfare fund of Grameen Telecom.

 

 Grameen Telecom owns a 34.2 per cent stake in Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone operator, Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Norway’s telecom giant Telenor.

 

 There are a whopping 150 other cases against Yunus, including major corruption charges that could have seen him jailed for years if found guilty.

 

 He has denied the charges.

 

 Hasina had said it was not a personal battle. She had earlier alleged that he took advantage of the poor and evaded taxes, which Yunus termed “baseless.”

 

 The interest rates charged by Grameen were the lowest in the country, he claimed.

 

 Her ministers had insisted then that the course of law was being followed even the opposition had alleged that the trial was “influenced by the government.”

 

 Yunus had in turn said Hasina found  him a threat after he launched a political party, only to give it up as he says he was not cut out for it.

 

 His popularity worldwide was another reason for her resentment, he claimed.

 

As his trial date was set in July pressure had built globally for Yunus’ release.

 

 An open letter to Hasina was sent by 241 global leaders, including over 125 Nobel Laureates and former US President Barack Obama, expressing concern over Yunus’ “continuous judicial harassment and potential jailing.” 

 

 Today, Yunus is at the cusp of change -  the man behind one of the greatest banking stories of all times has survived a storm and looking ahead to a new future.

He has changed millions of lives – will he now rewrite Bangladesh’s story in the same way, reshaping the world’s attitude to the poor, considering them an essential cog in the wheel to ensure equal distribution of wealth and a life of dignity and sense of purpose to those denied even a basic meal? 

Inputs from PTI