How did Bangladesh become a world power in textiles?

How did Bangladesh become a world power in textiles?

Seventy-three years ago, when the beloved homeland came into being, it consisted of two regions. In 1971, one region was separated and became Bangladesh.

At the time of its establishment, it was a poor country. 90% of the population of the country was living below the poverty line. Today, however, the per capita income of Bangladeshis is higher than that of Pakistanis. The Bangladeshi economy is growing the fastest in South Asia. International economists cite the governments of developing countries as examples of how Bangladesh has been liberated from poverty.

The question is, how did the economic revolution come about in our former ally? There are lessons for both the Pakistani ruling class and the people in its dramatic story. It reveals that Bangladesh's success was born out of luck, hard work and stubbornness. Forty-nine years ago, poverty in Bangladesh The reason for the visit was that there was no industry and trade which created employment. There were a few paper making factories which were built by the industrialists of West Pakistan. They were nationalized.

Ironically, corrupt elements also entered the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. They began to return the public treasury as their father's property. Rising corruption in the Mujib government forced the Bangladeshi military to intervene and revolt. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman was killed. Thus began a long period of political upheaval and manipulation in Bangladesh.

Urdu Road Shop

The textile industry also started in Bangladesh during the political turmoil. Which became the main cause of economic growth. Interestingly, West Pakistan played a key role in laying the groundwork; a former ally who was ousted by the Bangladeshi ruling class. The story begins in 1964 when an organization called Mercury Shirts was established in Karachi. This company used to export readymade garments from Pakistan to European countries. From 1965, Central Shirts started making garments from a few tailors in Dhaka.

This went on for three years. Muhammad Riaz-ud-Din was also among these tailors. He learned from experience how ready-made garments are exported. She soon opened her own sewing shop on Urdu Road in Dhaka. In 1973, he started selling ready-made clothes. Honest and hardworking, Allah Almighty blessed the business and it began to grow. Then, by the grace of God, he got an unexpected help.

By 1972, buying and selling readymade garments had become a global business. Then China, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand were the main players in this field. These developing countries were exporting large quantities of ready-made garments to Europe and the United States. But this growing export put the readymade garment industry in the US and Europe in jeopardy. In fact, garments from Asian countries were cheaper, so naturally the demand in Europe and the US increased while the sale of local garments became more expensive. The cause began to diminish.

The shortage has led to the closure of some garment factories. Many people became unemployed. There was a danger that thousands of workers would lose their jobs due to the closure of more factories if cheap garments continued to arrive from Asia. Make a law or else thousands of unemployed will become a threat to them. So the United States and European countries enacted a law called "Multifiber Agreement" to prevent unemployment, which came into force on January 1, 1974.

The arrival of Olando

The Multi-Fiber Agreement sets quotas for each Asian country. For example, every year so many shirts in the United States will come from Pakistan, so many thousands of pants from India and so many thousands of coats from South Korea. The agreement allowed the distribution of detailed garment orders in different countries.

The main goal was to reduce the number of garments coming from Asian countries so as not to ruin the business of local companies. The agreement allowed low-income countries to buy more ready-made garments from the United States than from other countries. The purpose was to boost their economy. The owners of Olando, a South Korean garment company, came up with the unique idea of   a ready-made garment factory in a poor country. To be implemented in collaboration with

From this factory, it was possible to make more profit by sending garments to America and Europe. The owners of Hollando again considered where to set up the factory. They first wanted to invest in an African country, but the continent of Africa was far away. At last their eyes were fixed on Bangladesh. This poor country was located nearby. Then there was the cheap workforce. So the owners decided to set up their new garment factory in Bangladesh. Finally, in 1974, a representative of the South Korean company arrived in Dhaka and started talking to people working in the local garment industry about setting up the factory.

After getting the information, he came to know that Muhammad Riaz-ud-Din has experience in making readymade garments. So the representative went to meet him and put forward the plan of the South Korean company to set up a new factory. Mohammad Salahuddin kept thinking for a day and then decided to set up a ready-made garments factory with the help of Hollando. He was a far-sighted, experienced and patriotic industrialist. He knew that in the past many countries had made themselves prosperous and developing by developing the textile industry. They included South Korea. So he thought that if a factory for making readymade garments was set up in Bangladesh, the way would be paved for more factories to be set up in the future. So he promised to set up a factory.

The factory was completed in the next three years and from 1978, the garments manufactured in the factory began to be imported abroad. In the same year, Noorul Qadir also stepped into the field of readymade garments. Noorul Qadir was a senior government official in United Pakistan.

When Bangladesh came into being, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman included him in his government as Secretary of Industry. After 1975, Noorul Qadir resigned and started doing business. In 1978, he set up an organization called Desh Garments to make ready-made garments and send them abroad. He innovated by sending 131 of his workers to South Korea to receive advanced training in ready-made garments. The workers stayed in South Korea for six months for training and then returned home.

Implementation of "GSP"

Thanks to modern machinery and experienced employees, Desh Garments soon became the largest readymade garment company in Bangladesh. A few years later, the company's employees abandoned it and set up their own small-scale factories. They too developed and thus the readymade garment industry began to take root in Bangladesh.

During this period, a number of factors played a key role in strengthening the Bangladeshi readymade garments industry. The first process was the Multi-Fiber Agreement, which led foreign companies to set up garment factories in Bangladesh. The second process was that manpower was available in the country in abundance and cheaply. These workers were also educated and hardworking.

So they became the backbone of the new industry. In 1979, another boom in Bangladesh became a breath of fresh air for the new industry. In developed countries, there has long been a movement for people from the poorest countries to come. Duties and taxes on goods should not be imposed or reduced. The activists wanted to support the economies of the poorest countries in this way. Inspired by this movement, in 1971 European countries and the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand granted some trade concessions to the poorest countries but they proved to be temporary. Western NGOs seeking to improve the economies of the poorest countries Keep the movement strong.

He urged developed and wealthy governments to make permanent and reasonable arrangements for providing trade facilities and incentives to the poorest countries. Finally, in 1979, the European Union and the United States adopted a formal system of reducing duties, tariffs, taxes, etc. Called "GSP" (Generalized System of Preferences). Through this system, taxes on various goods coming from the poorest countries were reduced or completely waived.

At that time, Bangladesh was one of the poorest countries. That's why he naturally joined the ranks of African and Asian countries that benefited from the GSP system. This concessional tariff also gave an opportunity to the Bangladesh Readymade Garments sector to flourish and new factories started to be set up. Foreign companies now prefer Bangladeshi readymade garments as they are cheaper and thus increase their profits. 98% of the people in Bangladesh are of Bengali descent. That is why there are no racial and linguistic conflicts.

This quality also developed the readymade garments industry there. Although political turmoil continued, the industry continued to thrive as it was supported by cheap manpower as well as two international agreements. By 2000, 3,000 ready-made garment factories had opened in Bangladesh. Most of them were located in Dhaka, Chittagong and adjoining areas. These factories were directly employing more than 2.5 million men. While 500,000 people were directly involved in this industry.

The twists and turns of politics

Surprisingly, Bangladesh has been the center of political turmoil since 1975, but the ready-made garment industry has continued to grow. The father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, used to call himself a people's leader, but as soon as he came to power, his June also changed. He soon became a dictator and gave free rein to his loved ones to commit corruption.

As a result, the ministers and advisers of the Awami League government became millionaires as soon as they blew up the public exchequer while the people had no welfare. The disrespect of the Awami League leaders increased to such an extent that they started playing with the honors of mothers and daughters to the common people. Angered by this bitter reality, a few young army officers ended the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman on August 15, 1975.

Sheikh Sahib was brought into the government of India and on his Independence Day he was released from the world. After the departure of Bangla Bandhu, the army and politicians started playing the game of gaining power. When the army called politicians greedy and corrupt, they started calling generals hungry for power. Meanwhile, the military officers started fighting among themselves and killing each other. From 1975 to 1977, Bangladesh was the scene of intense political and social chaos and unrest. After the former Army Chief, General Zia-ur-Rehman became the President in April 1977, the situation became somewhat normal. President Zia-ur-Rehman reshuffled the army and bureaucracy and wiped out the corrupt politicians in the society. In 1978, he founded a political party, the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party).

However, many generals in the army were not happy with him. He thought he was not getting promotions. In May 1981, a similarly unhappy Major General assassinated President Zia-ur-Rehman through his troops. Just two weeks before his death, the slain President had allowed Begum Hasina Wajid, the daughter of a Bangladeshi brother, to visit Bangladesh. She had been living in exile in India since December 1975.

Establishment Awareness

By this time, the Bangladesh Army had realized that peace and order in the country were essential for the development of the economy. That is why the caretaker government, with the support of the army, took various steps to pacify the people. The arrest of the two wives was also part of the same government campaign. In addition, the government arrested and prosecuted corrupt politicians, government officials, industrialists, etc. The caretaker government tried to bring justice and rule of law in the country.

The aim was to restore the government writ in the society. Elections were held in December 2008 which were won by Begum Hasina Wajid's party. She has ruled since then. The BNP and other opposition parties did not participate in the 2014 and 2018 elections. He demanded that the elections be held under a caretaker government. Hasina Wajid did not accept this demand so she boycotted the elections. However, the negative effect of this process was that the popularity and influence of the opposition parties in the society decreased.

Hasina's single government took important steps to develop the economy. The country was short of electricity. The government allowed the establishment of a private power plant, which helped end load shedding. Tax-free zones were set up in different areas where Pakistani industrialists later set up garment factories. He announced incentives for the private sector to invest in the country. In particular, the Hasina Wajid government had the full support of the army. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections.

He also did not hold such protests which would jam the economic wheel. Thus, the verbal rhetoric in the opposition media was very much against the government but it did not take any major step to disrupt law and order. Thus, economic activities continued vigorously. Hasina Wajid's government leaned towards India. He hanged the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and other opposition parties. Some government ministers have been accused of corruption. From time to time there were protests against the government but the wheel of economic growth continued.

Keeping this wheel running is a great achievement of the Bangladeshi ruling class or establishment. Begum Hasina Wajid was considered a dictator, but it is also a fact that she practiced good governance in Bangladesh and became an excellent administrator. Bangladesh's GDP was only 75 8.75 billion in 1971, rising to 53 53 billion in 2000. In the last ten years, it has risen from 11 115 billion to 7 347 billion. (Pakistan's GDP is 0 270 billion) It seems that in these ten years, Bangladesh has more than doubled its economic growth and the main reason was to establish law and order. Also, the government's pro-economy measures have led to economic growth.

The birth of the middle class

Economic growth has lifted millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty. A middle class was born in the society which has become a force today. This class is also developing the national economy by increasing its purchasing power. Bangladesh exports 45 45 worth of products. (Pakistan's exports 21 21 billion) 80% of which is readymade garments. The corona virus epidemic has damaged the industry but is now recovering. Other figures for the Bangladeshi economy are enviable. The total debt of the country is 40% of GDP.

It is as if the Bangladeshi governments continue to borrow less. Pakistani governments borrowed to bring this rate to about 100 percent of their GDP. Until the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto government in 1977, Pakistan had a total debt of only Rs 1,000 billion. Today it has reached Rs 35,000 billion. Bangladesh has غیر 35 billion in foreign reserves.

Pakistan has only ten and a half billion dollars. It is clear from the above facts that the ready-made garment industry, which initially brought the Bangladesh economy to its peak, initially flourished through lucrative international agreements. Since 2009, the government has also provided all the opportunities for it to flourish. Thus the country and the nation benefited from economic development. Now Bangladeshi manufacturers and businesses are also developing other industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemical products, leather making, etc.

One of the main reasons for the rise in economic growth in Bangladesh is that the intelligence agencies monitored the activities of all ministers, advisers and government officials and did not allow them to openly engage in corruption. Anyone involved in corruption in the government structure would be fired immediately. The eradication of corruption has restored public confidence in the government and boosted economic activity. It is true that the Bangladeshi economy still faces many challenges. Bangladeshi workers complain that ready-made garment factories pay them low wages.

Working conditions in factories are not good, many men work in one room. The Hasina Wajid government is accused of not treating Rohingya and Assam Muslim refugees and Bihari Muslims well. The Corona epidemic also damaged the economy. The opposition claims that the government has become a dictator and is pursuing a policy of suppressing the opposition in every possible way. He has formed gangs of thugs.

Despite these problems, Bangladesh's economic growth is likely to continue. The reason is that there is still harmony and understanding between the three main pillars of the Establishment; the army, the political government and the bureaucracy. If this continues, in a few years, Bangladesh will move from being one of the poorest countries to one of the developing world. This change will be seen as a significant achievement of the Bangladeshi ruling class which has brightened the future of their country.

It is clear from the above story that Pakistan does not have some of the factors that Bangladesh has. For example, cheap manpower, lucrative international agreements and the absence of a hostile frontier. But it is also clear that especially in the last ten years, the Bangladeshi ruling class has succeeded in bringing good governance to the country. His practical and concrete steps brought prosperity to the country and raised the standard of living of the common man. Whether the government structure is democratic or monarchical, the best government is the one that works for the welfare of the people. The Pakistani ruling class can also learn from the Bangladeshi model of good governance and start an era of economic growth and prosperity in Pakistan that will benefit the common man.