INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is a fairly new country, gaining independence in 1971 after a brutal genocide. In March 1971, the Pakistani army launched a vicious military campaign against East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) to repress the Bengali independence movement. The nine-month genocide resulted in nearly three million people dying, ten million fleeing to India, and 30 million being internally displaced (Jahan, 2012). This article explores how the genocide affected the development of Bangladesh.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (United Nations, n.d.). Few studies focus on how genocide impacts development, and even fewer on the developmental impact of the genocide in Bangladesh. This may be attributed to the lack of recognition of the genocide.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
When Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, its per capita income was among the lowest in the world, and so were the levels of various social development indicators (Mahmud, 2008). The country largely depended on jute production and subsistence farming but struggled to feed its population of over 75 million people (Akinrebiyo, 2024). In 1974, Bangladesh was devastated by a famine, which was exacerbated when the United States cut off food aid on the grounds that Bangladesh was selling jute bags to Cuba (Basu, 2021). Despite struggling in the first couple of years of independence, Bangladesh has become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, which most experts did not predict.
Source: ‘Interactive Map: Bangladesh GDP from 1961-2023’, World Bank Group
The graph above demonstrates Bangladesh’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 1961 to 2023. It is important to note that between 1961 and 1971, Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, which might have affected its GDP. The GDP dropped significantly in 1971 and 1972, when the genocide occurred. Bangladesh’s GDP rose back to pre-genocide rates in 1974. Soudis et al. (2016) find that genocides act as negative shocks to the economic growth path of afflicted countries, which has a permanent negative effect on the level of economic activity and productivity.
These growth rates do return to their previous path, but at a lower level of GDP than before. This can be seen in the graph above. Bangladesh’s GDP has not reached pre-genocide rates. Bangladesh is considered a middle-income country, and its per capita income now closely rivals India’s and significantly exceeds Pakistan’s (Basu, 2021).
With the help of NGOs, such as Fazle Hasan Abed’s BRAC and Muhammad Yunus’s Grameen Bank, Bangladesh has transformed its economy. Foreign investments have helped it become an industrial powerhouse focusing on textile and apparel manufacturing (Akinrebiyo, 2024). The shift toward textile manufacturing also improved women’s workplace participation. Bangladesh is now a leading global exporter of ready-made garments.
The ready-made garment industry was responsible for 84.4 percent of Bangladesh’s total exports in 2019 (Mamun & Hoque, 2022). The genocide seemed to negatively affect Bangladesh’s economic development most directly following its independence. However, it has made significant improvements that most did not predict and some lower-income countries have tried to emulate.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
Bangladesh’s economy has significantly improved since its independence. However, the country is currently facing a political transition. Similar to its economic development, Bangladesh’s political developments have been influenced by its independence more so than the genocide. Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim-majority countries to have sustained procedural democracy for a significant period of time while being held as a model for other developing countries due to its gains in human development. However, the country has drawn attention because of the intensity of its conflictual politics (Shehabuddin, 2016).
Shortly after its independence, Bangladesh transitioned into a parliamentary democracy. In 1972, Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury was elected as President, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) was elected as Prime Minister, and a constitution was adopted later that year focused on four main principles: nationalism, secularism, socialism, and democracy (U.S. Department of State, 2008). A military coup was launched in 1975 to remove President Mujib from office. Bangladesh would spend the following two decades under direct and indirect military rule. The country would undergo a series of military coups until it transitioned to a democracy in the 1990s.
There are currently two dominant political parties in Bangladesh, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Since the 1990s, the country has had a period of credible elections with these two political parties alternating power. However, the AL has held power since 2008, subsequently abolishing the caretaker government tasked with organising free and fair elections. In July 2024, student-led protests mobilised over the reinstatement of job quotas that disproportionately benefit the descendants of Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war fighters, which many students view as unfair and outdated (Macdonald, 2024). The government responded by using lethal force, an internet shutdown, and arbitrary arrests and detentions.
A United Nations (2025) report found that the AL party, which is the current ruling party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations. The report further estimates that 1,400 people were killed between July 1st and August 15th, 2024, with thousands injured (United Nations, 2025). The protests resulted in the Prime Minister resigning and fleeing to India. Currently, Bangladesh is being run by an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, with elections set to take place later this year or at the beginning of next year.
Shehabuddin (2016) argues that due to the challenges faced during the reconstruction of Bangladesh after its independence, such as a factionalised military, a depleted economy, and uncertainty about international recognition and financial support, leaders often relied on centralised decision-making to consolidate power and address pressing problems. The weakness of democratic institutions has raised concerns, as they allow for the emergence of authoritarianism within the government and foster distrust within the public.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
This section will explore several indicators of social development: social inclusion, gender equality, life expectancy, and education. A crucial aspect of social development is social inclusion. While Bangladesh has made some improvements on various social indicators, the inclusion of religious minorities is still a point of concern. During the genocide, the Pakistani army targeted members of the Hindu community, students, and intellectuals (Jahan, 2012). In 1971, the largest religious minority in Bangladesh were Hindus, which constituted 22 percent of the population, compared to present-day, where the population of Hindus has declined to 8.5 percent (Minority Rights Group, 2018).
Hindus are leaving Bangladesh because of continued discrimination, land grabbing, and growing violence. The Hindu-American Foundation (2024) estimates that 11.3 million Hindus fled Bangladesh because of religious persecution between 1964 and 2013. Furthermore, approximately 230,612 Hindus leave the country annually (Hindu-American Foundation, 2024). The mistreatment of Hindus seems to stem from the 1947 partition, which was later reinforced by the genocide in 1971 and is still continuing today.
Shortly after gaining independence, Bangladesh’s life expectancy was under 50, and it currently exceeds 70 years (Trotsenburg, 2023). The life expectancy in Bangladesh surpasses most of its neighboring countries. Similarly, fertility rates dropped from 6.1 in 1971 to 2.1 in 2018 (Trotsenburg, 2023). Despite being one of the poorest nations in 1971, Bangladesh reached lower-middle income status in 2015.
The country is aspiring to be an upper-middle-income country by 2031. Poverty in Bangladesh declined from 11.8 percent in 2010 to 5.0 percent in 2022 (World Bank Group, 2024). In 1971, girls accounted for 17 percent of lower secondary school enrollment, whereas girls now account for more than half of enrollment (Trotsenburg, 2023). As such, Bangladesh has made strides in life expectancy and education.
Bangladesh has also made improvements in women’s labour participation. However, the country still struggles with gender equality and empowerment. According to the United Nations Gender Inequality Index (GII), Bangladesh ranks 131 out of 162 countries with most inequality following between reproductive health, empowerment, and the labour market (UNFPA, n.d.).
A factor that has helped improve women’s empowerment is the increase in workplace participation. Bangladesh’s female labour participation rates rose from 4 percent in 1974 to 36 percent in 2019 (Mamun and Hoque, 2022). The garment and textile industry employs around 4.2 million people in Bangladesh, with 90 percent of that figure being women (Mamun and Hoque, 2022). As a result, women have gained increased economic freedom and empowerment by working in these industries. While Bangladesh has made improvements in several social development indicators, there is still work that needs to be done in several areas.
CONCLUSION
The 1971 genocide did not impact Bangladesh’s economic and social development as much as its political development. The country’s economic development surpassed the expectations of most experts due to its textile and apparel manufacturing. Furthermore, economic, political, and social development was impacted the most directly following Bangladesh’s independence. The country’s political development does cause some concern with the recent resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but perhaps the country will move away from increasing authoritarianism and closer to democracy. As mentioned, Bangladesh’s government needed to consolidate power to address the issues it faced after gaining independence.
Despite these difficulties, Bangladesh has been working to advance its development since the genocide and its independence. However, the refusal to recognise the genocide makes tracking its impact on development difficult. Most of the articles referenced in this article did not include Bangladesh in their research when researching the effects of genocide on a country’s development. It is essential to research this topic further as the social and political impacts of the genocide are still felt today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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