'Bunch of me: Finally, a deserving bangalee wins the Nobel Prize

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Finally, a deserving bangalee wins the Nobel Prize

9 Comments Friday, October 13, 2006

Dr Yunus and his trademark institution "The Grameen Bank" has just been awarded the 2006 Nobel peace prize. This is a great day for bangalees everywhere :' )

Yunus and Grameen bank was awarded the Nobel Prize for their efforts to create economic and social development infrastructure in third world countries like Bangladesh. Yunus, the developer of the revolutionary concept of "Microcredit" i.e. the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans was born in 1940 and is one of "the" most highly respected and qualified economists of Bangladesh. Moreover, he is a chatgaiya like me :). In 1976, Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to make loans to poor Bangladeshis. Since then the Grameen Bank has issued more than US$ 5.1 billion to 5.3 million borrowers. To ensure repayment, the bank uses a system of "solidarity groups". These small informal groups apply together for loans and its members act as co-guarantors of repayment and support one another's efforts at economic self-advancement.

This was a long time since the last bangalee Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize in literature. Although, there was another Nobel prize winner in economics a few years ago who shared the same Bangladeshi bloodline, but his award was internationally questionable.

More on Dr Yunus at: Wikipedia and the official press release from the Nobel committee.

Update* : Thanks to Dina Mehta, i got hold of this youtube video that was part of "The New Heroes", a PBS series that profiles 14 social entrepreneurs and is available on DVD in the US (as usually, not in Bangladesh though)

tags:yunus, nobel prize, bangladesh, bangla, peace prize, grameen, grameen bank, microcredit, 2006 nobel, bengali, dhaka, chittagong

9 Responses to “Finally, a deserving bangalee wins the Nobel Prize”

It's an extremely well deserved Nobel Peace Prize! More power to people like him.

Mosilager on 10/14/2006
hmm... but why do you say Amartya Sen's winning the Nobel was questionable? Anything to support your view?

sting_crawler on 10/14/2006
You obviously have no familiarity 1) with Sen's work
2) nor with the depth and variety and importance of his research
3) nor with the extremely high regard that the economics profession has for him.

I suggest you gain some knowledge about these topics before spouting off like an ignoramus. Thanks.

yahoo on 10/16/2006
Excuse me Mr yahoo, but I myself am not doubtedful about Mr Sen or any of his works, I was merely expressing the opinion held by some :(

Atunu on 10/16/2006
While I won't suggest (like yahoo in the above comments) that you go and study Dr. Sen's work; I would request you to quote (internet links or people) from where the "internaional questions" came when He was given the Nobel for Economics.

sting_crawler on 10/16/2006
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

mlnorman on 10/19/2006
I'm an economist, and I'm not aware of anyone who would suggest that Sen was not highly deserving of his Nobel Prize. To insinuate otherwise strikes me as reflecting a very strange bias. The great majority of economists would probably agree that Sen has done far more for the world's poor than Yunus (although I personally think Yunus was very deserving of the award as well).

mlnorman on 10/19/2006
Thanks Mr Ml Norman for your views. I've never had doubts about Mr Sen's nobel prize or his empirical knowledge of economics. Its just that there was a debate in the web a some (actually a long time) time ago in which the debaters debated whether or not Mr Sen's discoveries were vital enough as to deserve the nobel prize. Because there were no such debates immediately after Dr Yunus received the nobel prize that I was led to believe that his renumeration was unquestionable. That is why I wrote such words :( My knowledge of economics is as limited as that of a hunchback redneck from Alabama, so there is no need to justify Yunus or Sen according to my retrospect. I hope everyone will understand that :)

Atunu on 10/19/2006
I was appalled to hear that someone can be awarded a prize for leasing to the poor. This has
got to be the most insulting award for the decade. How could anyone in the 21 century
not understand what happens when you lend money to people, especially poor people.

2 out of 10 may prosper but the other 8 will suffer.

The man has blatantly made money out of the poor and you choose to award him ?
May I please quote Psalms 5 before you think of disregarding my statement as rubbish.
please note verse 6.

1] Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
[2] Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
[3] My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
[4] For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
[5] The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
[6] Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
[7] But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
[8] Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
[9] For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
[10] Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
[11] But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
[12] For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

I personally hope for mercy and forgiveness but awarding the culprit is ridicule.

Mattania.

Anonymous on 10/25/2006

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Ahoy, I'm Naser I Hossain, a student of Mechanical Engineering (from Bangladesh) currently studying in BUET with my fingers crossed. My serenade(!) of life includes DIY projects,hacking random pestilence, taking photographs,occasionally designing websites/pages and playing with Web 2.0 stuff to keep myself aesthetically appeased from time to time. I also listen to Jazz and Blues (like those of Bob Seger and Louis Armstrong) profusely. If my rants interest you in the least detail I'd advice you to stick around . Meanwhile, to stay updated subscribe to my blog feed. For those interested in a part passionate web-designer part freelance hacker, consider taking a look at my incomplete resumé ;)

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