Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, now serving as Bangladesh’s chief adviser, said the nation has entered a new era of dignity and self-reliance.
“We are not a nation that survives on anyone’s charity or mercy. We walk with our heads held high,” he said at a national ceremony at the Bangladesh Parliament, marking the signing of a new charter.
Yunus, who helped guide the transition after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, said the charter will serve as a model for other nations. “Many countries will come to learn from it,” he said, calling the recent uprising and reforms proof that Bangladesh can inspire the world, not depend on it. Indeed, the Gen Z revolution that started in Bangladesh is convulsing authoritarian states in Asia and Africa.
Transcript of Key Portion of Yunus’s Speech:
Today is not just a ceremony. The entire nation will be inspired by this. It will find a new path. That we are not a small nation. We are not a nation that survives on anyone’s charity or mercy. We do not live under anyone’s dictates. We walk our own way. We walk with our heads held high.And we will walk with our heads held high all over the world. We have that capability. We will give to other countries. We have that capability. Other countries will learn from us. We have that capability.
Today, the charter that was signed, many countries will come to learn from it, I can tell you this with a guarantee. This one example that has been set, we can set many more examples like this. May we walk that path.
We are a great nation. As that great nation, we must feel it within ourselves. So that no one can just push us aside and walk away. When they see us, they show respect. They bow their heads. ‘How did you do all this?’ They are still wondering how they did so much.
This uprising happened, it overthrew a government of so many years, the government fled, a new government was formed, a new charter was made, they did so much. This is what they are looking at with wonder and amazement.