The 2000s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on 1 January 2000, and ended on 31 December 2009. For Bangladesh this decade was characterized by strife among the political parties over the caretaker government system for managing the national elections. Continued rapid urbanisation and globalization influenced the socio-economic and cultural activities of the country in this decade.
Politics and national life Political transition In July 2001, the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League government stepped down to allow a caretaker government to preside over parliamentary elections. Political violence that had increased during the Bangladesh Awami League government's tenure continued to increase through the summer in the run up to the election. In August, The leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina agreed during a visit of former President Jimmy Carter to respect the results of the election, join Parliament win or lose, forswear the use of hartals (violently enforced strikes) as political tools, and if successful in forming a government allow for a more meaningful role for the opposition in Parliament. The caretaker government was successful in containing the violence, which allowed a parliamentary general election to be successfully held on 1 October 2001. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Second Khaleda administration, 2001–2006
The Four Party Alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won over a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Begum Khaleda Zia was sworn in on 10 October 2001, as prime minister for the third time (first in 1991, second after the 15 February 1996 elections).
Despite her August 2001 pledge and all election monitoring groups declaring the election free and fair, Sheikh Hasina condemned the election, rejected the results, and boycotted Parliament. In 2002, however, she led her party legislators back to Parliament, but the Bangladesh Awami League again walked out in June 2003 to protest derogatory remarks about Hasina by a State Minister and the allegedly partisan role of the Parliamentary Speaker. In June 2004, the AL returned to Parliament without having any of their demands met. They then attended Parliament irregularly before announcing a boycott of the entire June 2005 budget session.
On 17 August 2005, near-synchronized blasts of improvised explosive devices in 63 out of 64 administrative districts targeted mainly government buildings and killed two persons. An extremist Islamist group named Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) claimed responsibility for the blasts, which aimed to press home JMB's demand for a replacement of the secular legal system with Islamic sharia courts. Subsequent attacks on the courts in several districts killed 28 people, including judges, lawyers, and police personnel guarding the courts. A government campaign against the Islamic extremists led to the arrest of hundreds of senior and mid-level JMB leaders. Six top JMB leaders were tried and sentenced to death for their role in the murder of two judges; another leader was tried and sentenced to death in absentia in the same case.
In February 2006, the AL returned to Parliament, demanded early elections and requested significant changes in the electoral and caretaker government systems to stop alleged moves by the ruling coalition to rig the next election. The AL blamed the BNP for several high-profile attacks on opposition leaders and asserted the BNP was bent on eliminating Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League as a viable force. The BNP and its allies accused the AL of maligning Bangladesh at home and abroad out of jealousy over the government's performance on development and economic issues. Dialogue between the Secretaries General of the main ruling and opposition parties failed to sort out the electoral reform issues.
Political crisis and Caretaker government, 2006–2008
The months preceding the planned 22 January 2007 elections were filled with political unrest and controversy. Following the end of Khaleda Zia's government in late October 2006, there were protests and strikes, during which 40 people were killed in the following month, over uncertainty about who would head the caretaker government. The caretaker government had difficulty bringing the all parties to the table. Awami League and its allies protested and alleged that the caretaker government favoured the BNP.
The interim period was marked by violence and strikes. The Election Commission disqualified Hussain Muhammad Ershad as a candidate. On 3 January, the Grand Alliance responded by withdrawing its candidates en masse. They demanded to have voters' lists published.
Later in the month, the president Iajuddin Ahmed imposed a state of emergency. Iajuddin Ahmed resigned from the post of chief adviser, under the pressure of Bangladesh Army, and appointed Fakhruddin Ahmed, the new chief adviser. Political activity was prohibited. The military-backed government worked to develop graft and corruption cases against leaders and members of both major parties. In March 2007, Khaleda Zia's two sons, who both had positions in Bangladesh Nationalist Party, were charged with corruption. Hasina was charged with graft and extortion in April 2007, and a day later, Khaleda Zia was charged with graft as well. There was attempt by Bangladesh Army chief Moeen U Ahmed, the head of Anti-Terrorism division of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence Brigadier General ATM Amin, and Director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence Brigadier General Chowdhury Fazlul Bari to remove Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia from politics. Former Army Chief, General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, was made the head of Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission. The Anti Corruption Commission and the Bangladesh Election Commission were strengthened by the caretaker government. On 27 August 2007 violence broke out in the University of Dhaka campus between students and soldiers of Bangladesh Army. Students called strikes and burned effigies of the army chief. Police attacked the students and physically assaulted Acting Vice-chancellor Prof AFM Yusuf Haider and other faculty members of the University of Dhaka. Students were joined in demonstration by street vendors and slum residents who were evicted by the government. Bangladesh Army agreed to the demands of the protesters and removed the Army camp from the University of Dhaka campus. Students and teachers expressed dissatisfaction over the continued state of emergency in Bangladesh.
Second Hasina administration
The Awami league won national election on 29 December 2008 as part of a larger electoral alliance that also included the Jatiya Party led by former military ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad as well as some leftist parties. According to the Official Results, Bangladesh Awami League won 230 out of 299 constituencies, and together with its allies, had a total of 262 parliamentary seats. The Awami League and its allies received 57% of the total votes cast. The AL alone got 48%, compared to 36% of the other major alliance led by the BNP which by itself got 33% of the votes. Sheikh Hasina, as party head, is the new Prime Minister. Her term of office began on 7 January 2009 after Fakhruddin Ahmed. The new cabinet had several new faces, including three women in prominent positions: Dr Dipu Moni (Foreign Minister), Matia Chowdhury (Agriculture Minister) and Sahara Khatun (Home Minister). Younger MPs with a link to assassinated members of the 1972–1975 AL government are Syed Ashraful Islam, son of Syed Nazrul Islam, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, son of Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, and Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, son of Tajuddin Ahmad.
Since 2009, the Awami League government faced several major political challenges, including BDR (border security force) mutiny, power crisis, unrest in garments industry and stock market fluctuations. Judicial achievements for the party included restoring 1972 constitution (set by the first Awami League government), beginning of war crimes trials, and guilty verdict in 1975 assassination trial. According to the Nielsen 2-year survey, 50% felt the country was moving in the right direction, and 36% gave the government a favourable rating.
Bangladesh Rifles revolt
On 25 and 26 February 2009, section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the country's borders, staged a mutiny that brought the national life to a standstill. The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, killing the BDR Director-General and some army officers. They also fired on civilians, held many of their officers hostage, vandalised property and looted valuables. By the second day, unrest had spread to 12 other towns and cities.
Eventually, a total of seventy-four people were killed. Among them were 57 army officers seconded to the BDR. The Chief of the BDR, the Deputy Chief and all 16 Sector Commanders died during the revolt. The mutiny ended as the mutineers surrendered their arms and released the hostages after a series of discussions and negotiations with the government.
Administrative divisions Throughout the decade Bangladesh was administratively divided into 6 divisions, namely Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet which were further subdivided into a total of 64 districts (See List of districts of Bangladesh).
Demographics Based on World Development Indicators published by the World Bank the population of Bangladesh grew from 129 million at the beginning of the decade to 150 million by the end. This signifies an annual population growth rate of 1.5%. Population density increased from 991 to 1156 per km2. The urban population was 23.6% of the total at the beginning, which ended up at 29.7%. Dhaka, the largest city, with a population of 10.3 million, accounted for 33.1% of the total urban population by 2009. United Nations World Population Prospects show that the population growth rate was in decreasing trend (from 2.0% per annum to 1.1%), primarily due to reduction in fertility rate (births per woman) from 3.2 to 2.4. Life expectancy at birth increased from 65.3 years to 69.8 years with Child (0–5) mortality reducing from 87 per 1,000 births to 53. Age dependency ratio (% of working-age population) changed from 69.2% to 59.3% by the end of the decade.
Climate Temperature and precipitation
Compared to prior decade the average winter temperature from December to February increased by about 0.6 degree Celsius leading to overall average annual temperature increase by about 0.3 degree Celsius. Average rainfall decreased for July-Sep resulting in overall average annual rainfall decrease by about 31 cm.
Natural disasters
The extremely severe tropical cyclone, named Cyclone Sidr, was the major natural disaster in this decade. Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and quickly turned into a Category-5 equivalent tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The storm eventually made landfall in Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, causing large-scale evacuations. At least 3,447 deaths have been blamed on the storm. Save the Children estimated the number of deaths associated with the cyclone to be between 3,100 and 10,000, while the Red Crescent Society reported on 18 November that the number of deaths could be up to 15,000. International groups pledged United States Dollars95 million to repair the damage, which was estimated at $1.7 billion (2007 USD).