Shouldn't Akter Hamid Khan be awarded for Nobel Peace Prize?
Bangladeshmoves DESK, 18 March, 2007, Revised on 3 December 2010 :
Dr. Muhammad Younis was awarded Nobel peace prize for the contribution of poverty alleviation nearly three years ago on his micro credit program. For the empowerment of women through micro-credit scheme also pleased the attention of the jurists. Despite such mammoth achievement, awarding such prize to the former made controversial within intelligentsia circle itself exposing it was politically consideration for gaining specific objective from Bangladesh . Badruddin Omar, the prominent writer of Bangladesh, for instance, wrote an article entitled by ‘Next election in Bangladesh and Nobel peace prize' in his book ‘Poverty business of Younis' : “ Those who influenced for choosing Nobel peace prize was impossible to anticipate . Because the decision was taken quickly and for the need of American imperialism ...”
In the case of Nagib Mahfuz, Egyptian Nobel laureate, critics argued that he was chosen for from the political point of view. As he was secular in belief, he could have been used to divide among the Muslims. In Pakistan Mr. Abdus Samad, Nobel Laureate was also chosen as he was Kadiani; again he was chosen to divide the Muslim Society. There is another perception: to make a familiar face for any other political usage. All this presumption can no longer be over looked.
Interestingly, the man who was the initiator of poverty alleviation in Bangladesh , Dr. Abdul Hamid Khan was not chosen for Nobel Peace Prize anymore. Presently a few knows about him. Akter Hamid Khan born in Agra , India in 1914. He completed his MA degree from Agra University in 1934 and joined Indian Civil Service (ICS). As an apprentice he studied literature and history in Cambridge University .
As an ICS officer, he spent most of his lifetime in the then East Bengal . During Great famine in 1943, he was so shocked with the inhumane role of the Government, he resigned from the post and started as a day laborer and locksmith in a village near Aligor .
In 1947 he started teaching profession in Jameia Milia in Delhi and passed three years in that institution. After the liberation in 1947, he migrated in Karachi and came to Comilla Victoria College as a teacher. Afterwards he stayed there till 1958. Rural development became the part of his mission and vision and his revolutionary thinking, in fact was, sparked from there.
In 1958, he went to Michigan State University in the USA for the training of rural development. Returning from there he set up BIRD in Comilla and became the first Director of it. He worked as a Director till 1971. After liberation war he moved to Pakistan and worked in Agriculture University from 1972 to 1973. He came back to Michigan University in 1973 and stayed there till 1973. In 1978-79 he worked as an adviser to the Rural Development Authority of Bangladesh. In 1980 he established ‘Orangi Pilot project' (OPP) in Karachi . Since then OPP was taken as the biggest ‘Area Development Project' in Asia . Akter Hamid Khan was recognized for his unprecedented project. He was an intellectual having vast knowledge in Bengali, English, Arabic, Urdu and Hindi. Furthermore, he contributed a vast number of articles, reports, books. Most of them were dedicated to the rural development issue.
BIRD accumulated his idea under ‘The works of Akter Hamid Khan' (1982) in three parts. For the contribution of rural development the then Pakistani ruler awarded him ‘Sitara-e-Pakistan' in 1961 and Magsesi Award. Michigan University awarded him Doctor of Law in 1964.
Undoubtedly his poverty alleviation theme projected significant advancement. He was the first man in the area should have been awarded for Nobel Peace Prize since poverty played a vicious role to form a filthy political culture. Akter Hamid Khan should have been selected for the prize. After his achievement of Nobel Prize, other peoples should be selected for the award in Bangladesh in poverty alleviation scheme. Since such devoted persons are overlooked by Nobel committee for the award of Nobel Prize, it seems that Nobel prize is awarded to in consideration of specific political view which supersedes any logical approach.
After three years, many intellectuals are now arguing about his controversial role he was playing in the name of poverty. On the basis of usury, his poverty alleviation project is in fact a flop which is easily be recovered from the warning of Allah(AS) Who warned against usury many a times in the Holy Quran. Usury is in fact, a war against Allah (SA) who, in fact, can not win at all. Most interestingly, a VIP of Bangladesh who once became jam-packed for the reputation of Mr. Yunis for the contribution of institutionalized usury in Bangladesh at private level remarked him as ‘usurer'. Furthermore, she enraged against the ‘corrupt (bribe taker)' too. After three years, those two emblems are supposed to be painted on her and her allays and it is the reason why the ‘usurer guru of Mirpur' is supposed to be the rival and now it is the right time to throw the dirt at him when her popularity is supposed to be faded for the reason of usury and corrupt pathways and when he is supposed to chosen to fill up the vacuum in the political field. Allah knows the truth!
In fine, we are to sadly announce that such row of usurer and corrupt may not bring any positive transformation to Bangladesh , whereas a vigorous change is sought by us. So we look forward to the active, divine law abiding, honest, and charismatic as well as Allah fearing person for the prosperity of Bangladesh .
Source: BANGLAPEDIA
An article on Grameen Bank written by Mir Ilias Hossein in Bengali may be read for the information regarding corruption of Nobel Prize Winner. click - PDF