The 1980s (pronounced "nineteen-eighties", commonly shortened as the "'80s", pronounced "eighties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on 1 January 1980 and ended on 31 December 1989. For Bangladesh, this decade was characterized by economic hardship, natural disasters and military dictatorship. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ruled Bangladesh almost throughout the decade. Infrastructure development was slow but there was notable progress in local government administration, population control and NGO led microfinance activities which boosted the rural economy. The urge of freedom of speech and return to democracy influenced the cultural activities in the decade.
Politics and national life
Assassination of Ziaur Rahman
The decade began with President Ziaur Rahman at the helm. Zia faced twenty-one attempted coups against his government, including one by the air force. His one-time ally Colonel Abu Taher was tried for treason and executed. Similar fates were met by many of his perceived rivals in the armed forces. However, the final coup attempt resulted in his assassination in 1981. Zia was killed by troops loyal to Major General Abul Manzoor, who stormed his official residence in Chittagong on 30 May 1981. The mutiny was later suppressed by army chief Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
Sattar administration Zia was succeeded by Vice-president Abdus Sattar. President Sattar received a popular mandate during the 1981 presidential election. Vice-president Mirza Nurul Huda resigned in March 1982. Sattar also suffered from health problems due to old age.
The 1982 Bangladesh coup d'état deposed President Sattar and his civilian government. The Bangladesh military cited food shortages, corruption, and economic mismanagement as reasons behind the coup.
Ershad administration
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad assumed power in a bloodless coup on 24 March 1982, citing the "grave political, economic, and societal crisis" that the nation was in. This move was not unanticipated, as Ershad had previously expressed distaste with the ageing Sattar (who was past his 75th birthday) and his handling of national affairs, in addition to his refusal to allow the army more participation in politics. Like his predecessors, Ershad suspended the constitution and—citing pervasive corruption, ineffectual government, and economic mismanagement—declared martial law. Among his first actions were to privatise the largely state-owned economy (up to 70% of industry was in public ownership) and encourage private investment in heavy industries along with light manufacturing, raw materials, and newspapers. Foreign companies were invited to invest in Bangladeshi industry as well, and stiff protectionist measures were put in place to safeguard manufacturing. All political parties and trade unions were banned for the time being, with the death penalty to be administered for corruption and political agitation. Ershad's takeover was generally viewed as a positive development, as Bangladesh was in a state of serious economic difficulty. Two weeks before the coup in March, Prime Minister Shah Azizur Rahman announced that the country was facing significant food shortages. The government also faced a severe budget deficit to the tune of 4 billion takas, and the IMF declared that it would not provide any more loans until Bangladesh paid down some of its existing debts. The following year, Ershad assumed the presidency, retaining his positions as army chief and CMLA. During most of 1984, Ershad sought the opposition parties' participation in local elections under martial law. The opposition's refusal to participate, however, forced Ershad to abandon these plans. Ershad sought public support for his regime in a national referendum on his leadership in March 1985. He won overwhelmingly, although turnout was small. Two months later, Ershad held elections for local council chairmen. Pro-government candidates won a majority of the posts, setting in motion the president's ambitious decentralisation program. Political life was further liberalised in early 1986, and additional political rights, including the right to hold large public rallies, were restored. At the same time, the Jatiya (National) Party, designed as Ershad's political vehicle for the transition from martial law, was established. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Despite a boycott by the BNP, led by President Zia's widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, parliamentary elections were held on schedule in May 1986. The Jatiya Party won a modest majority of the 300 elected seats in the National Assembly. The participation of the Awami League—led by the late President Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina Wajed—lent the elections some credibility, despite widespread charges of voting irregularities.
Ershad resigned as Army Chief of Staff and retired from military service in preparation for the presidential elections, scheduled for October. Protesting that martial law was still in effect, both the BNP and the AL refused to put up opposing candidates. Ershad easily outdistanced the remaining candidates, taking 84% of the vote. Although Ershad's government claimed a turnout of more than 50%, opposition leaders, and much of the foreign press, estimated a far lower percentage and alleged voting irregularities.
Ershad continued his stated commitment to lift martial law. In November 1986, his government mustered the necessary two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to amend the constitution and confirm the previous actions of the martial law regime. The President then lifted martial law, and the opposition parties took their elected seats in the National Assembly.
In July 1987, however, after the government hastily pushed through a controversial legislative bill to include military representation on local administrative councils, the opposition walked out of Parliament. Passage of the bill helped spark an opposition movement that quickly gathered momentum, uniting Bangladesh's opposition parties for the first time. The government began to arrest scores of opposition activists under the country's Special Powers Act of 1974. Despite these arrests, opposition parties continued to organise protest marches and nationwide strikes. After declaring a state of emergency, Ershad dissolved Parliament and scheduled fresh elections for March 1988.
All major opposition parties refused government overtures to participate in these polls, maintaining that the government was incapable of holding free and fair elections. Despite the opposition boycott, the government proceeded. The ruling Jatiya Party won 251 of the 300 seats. The Parliament, while still regarded by the opposition as an illegitimate body, held its sessions as scheduled, and passed numerous bills, including, in June 1988, a controversial constitutional amendment making Islam Bangladesh's state religion and provision for setting up High Court benches in major cities outside of Dhaka. While Islam remains the state religion, the provision for decentralising the High Court division has been struck down by the Supreme Court.
By 1989, the domestic political situation in the country seemed to have quieted. The local council elections were generally considered by international observers to have been less violent and more free and fair than previous elections. However, opposition to Ershad's rule began to regain momentum, escalating by the end of 1990 in frequent general strikes, increased campus protests, public rallies, and a general disintegration of law and order.
Administrative division In 1980, Bangladesh was administratively divided into 4 divisions, namely Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi, which were further subdivided into a total of 18 districts (See List of districts of Bangladesh). On 23 December 1982 the Local Government (Thana Parishad and Thana Administration Reorganisation) Ordinance was promulgated to introduce major changes with respect to the system of local government at the thana level. Under the reorganised set-up, thana was designated as the focal point of administration. In 1983, the Local Government Ordinance of 1982 was amended to re-designate and upgrade the existing thanas as upazilas (sub-districts). Furthermore, during 1983–84, 46 new districts were created by upgrading them from thanas or upazilas. By the end of the decade the number of districts stood at 64.
Demographics Based on World Development Indicators published by the World Bank, the population of Bangladesh grew from 79 million at the beginning of the decade to 104 million by the end. This signifies an annual population growth rate of 2.7%. Population density increased from 609 to 796 per km2.
The urban population was 14.9% of the total at the beginning, which ended up at 19.3%. Dhaka, the largest city, with a population of 3.3 million accounted for 27.0% of the total urban population by 1989. United Nations World Population Prospects show that the population growth rate was on a decreasing trend (from 2.8% per annum to 2.6%), primarily due to reduction in fertility rate (births per woman) from 6.4 to 4.7. Life expectance at birth increased from 53.5 years to 57.8 years with Child (0–5) mortality reducing from 199 per 1,000 births to 150. Age dependency ratio (% of working-age population) changed from 91.9% to 84.7% by the end of the decade.
Climate Temperature and precipitation
Compared to prior decade the average annual temperature increased by about 0.3 degree Celsius with most notable increases for the months of December and June. Average rainfall increased for April, May and July leading to overall average annual rainfall increase by about 131mm.
Natural disasters
With severe flooding followed by tropical cyclone, 1988 was the year with the worst natural disasters in the decade, and probably one of the worst in the history of independent Bangladesh. The country experienced heavy rain and flooding in August–September 1988. Nearly 25 million people were rendered homeless and official death toll exceeded 500. About 30,000 km of roads were partially destroyed and rice crop on 3.5 million hectares was destroyed or damaged. The situation started to improve in late September, but people rendered homeless due to the flood continued to struggle. Striking in November 1988, a cyclone exacerbated the catastrophic damage from what was then considered the worst floods in Bangladesh's history. The brunt of the tropical cyclone's damage was inflicted upon coastal areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. A total of 6,240 people were killed as a result of the storm, with 5,708 in Bangladesh. Many of the deaths were a result of the destruction of homes or electrocution after strong winds toppled power poles across the region. Along the coast of Bangladesh, strong storm surge caused heavy infrastructure damage and contributed in wiping out an estimated 70% of all harvestable Bangladeshi crops, with an estimated 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of crops being lost.
Economy National income and balance of payment Bangladesh GDP was US$28.6 billion in 1980, which grew to US$40.2 billion in 1989 (in 2010 constant dollar) signifying a 3.4% annual growth. Agricultural Sector contributed to 31.6% of GDP in the beginning of the decade, which increased to 32.9% by the end. During the same period contribution from the industrial sector decreased from 20.6% to 20.3% and that of the service sector decreased from 47.8% to 46.8%. Per capita GDP marginally increased from US$351 to US$388 (in 2010 constant dollar).