I can serve you: to the students. Yunus
October 1, 20246 Mins Read
Jumbangla Desk: Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has hinted at a change in the course of his life after taking over as Bangladesh's interim prime minister following student-led protests in July-August.

Former prime minister dictator Sheikh Hasina fled to India at the beginning of August, when Dr. Yunus was in Paris to attend the Summer Olympics. He was watching these events from about 5 thousand miles away; But a few hours after Sheikh Hasina was ousted on August 5, Yunus received a phone call. He was asked to serve as chief adviser to the interim government.

The American public broadcasting company NPR's journalist Michelle Martin wanted to know his statement on the formation of the responsibility of the interim government, the current situation of Bangladesh, what the future state will be like. The interview, which took place in New York City on September 27, was published by NPR on Monday.

Michelle Martin: When we spoke last summer you were on trial for corruption and now you're representing Bangladesh on the world stage. All this is a turn of events. Are you surprised to find yourself in this position?

Muhammad Yunus: A very strange turn of events. I was in Paris before I was sworn in as chief adviser , I was trying to see if I would go back, I would be arrested, because she (Sheikh Hasina) would be angry with me and send me to jail. So I was thinking of returning late. And suddenly I got a call from Bangladesh that she (Sheikh Hasina) has now left. We want you to be the head of the government. It was a big surprise.

MARTIN: What went through your mind when you got the phone?

Yunus: Should I be involved in running the country at all? It is a very difficult political situation; But when the students called me and explained what the situation was, I finally said, 'Yes, you gave your life for this. If you can give life, I can drop all my other considerations. I can serve you. I will do it.'

MARTIN: And when you say that you gave life, you're not exaggerating and it's not a metaphor.

Yunus: No, it's not a metaphor. People die. About 1,000 young men died, standing in front of the guns and letting the bullets hit their chests. Literally, the youth came and sacrificed themselves. As they were leaving their homes to join the protest, they were saying goodbye to their parents. They are saying goodbye to their siblings; 'I might not come back.' That is the consciousness in which the whole thing happened. Finally, it was so unbelievable that the Prime Minister decided to leave the country. Because the whole crowd was coming towards his house.

MARTIN: On the one hand, these protests paved the way for the exit of some corrupt leaders who were very unpopular in the movement. In the early days of those disturbances, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus were attacked. All these incidents were partly due to their loyalty to Sheikh Hasina's party. Some of these incidents appeared to be attacks against minorities only. Those incidents have also decreased; But since then, there have been more attacks, this time at Sufi shrines. According to our report, since his ouster there have been over 20 planned assassinations, killings by agitated mobs. Why is this happening?

Yunus: The people are in the mood for revolution. So this is a revolutionary situation. Many of them were killed. So they are looking for people who caused the death of their colleagues. So the people were attacking the followers of the party led by Sheikh Hasina. When you say minority communities are being attacked, those minorities, especially the Hindu community, were associated with Sheikh Hasina. So you cannot distinguish whether they are attacked because they are followers of Sheikh Hasina or because they are Hindus; But they were attacked, it is certain; But then we take over the responsibility of the government and try to establish peace. I keep telling everyone that we may have differences. That doesn't mean we have to attack each other.

MARTIN: Do you think you can get people back on track to focus on reform instead of revenge?

Yunus: The time for revenge was only a few weeks; But then normality started to return. So we are running the country. But there are protests, not retaliatory protests. Most of the protests are for their salary hike, their job demands, who were sacked earlier by the government.

So they said, the previous government mistreated us and we lost our jobs for no reason. Because we belong to another political party. So all the deprived are trying to meet their demands. We were trying to convince them. See these are your 15 years of anger. We cannot resolve it within 15 days. Give us some time so we can go back. You are in a very difficult situation and we need to resolve it in a systematic way.

MARTIN: Speaking of time, the army is behind you. Military leaders said the interim government would have to rule for 18 months. Opposition parties don't want that. They wanted elections in November. Is 18 months enough time to do what you need to do?

Yunus: People are not considering these numbers. How many months, how many years do they think they need. Some say it should be done quickly, because if you take too long you will be unpopular and everything will be messed up. Some say no, you have to finish reforming. So you stay longer. Because we don't want to go to Bangladesh 2.0 without fixing everything. So there is a debate about this.

MARTIN: You know, you're almost talking about a complete restructuring of civil society.

Yunus: That's exactly what version 2 means. We don't want to go back to the old style. So what is the meaning of giving so much life? It doesn't make sense because we've destroyed everything we've done. So we have to start building a new country.

MARTIN: You know, it's challenging; But it's exciting, isn't it?

Yunus: It's very exciting. You are looking at the negative side. I see it very positively. I said this nation has got the biggest chance. These people, the country are united in one thing: we need change.

MARTIN: You are 84 years old. I don't know if you have ever thought of yourself as a head of government, head of state or not. Do you think you will see Bangladesh become the country you hope for in your lifetime?

Yunus: Not everything. But I'll be very happy, it's on its way. Institutions are fine. The policy is correct. Young people are committed to changing the world through the role they play within the country and globally. Speaking of climate change, we are victims of climate change. But we have to work together. I always give importance to the youth, because they will build the future and they should be in leadership positions anyway. Because they have to inherit this planet. As you mentioned, I am 84 years old. I don't have a long time ahead of them, they have a whole life ahead of them.

Retaliation time was only a few weeks, said the US media. Yunus