December 16, 1971. Dhaka was gripped by euphoria. People were shouting “Joy Bangla” from the streets to rooftops. Many were hugging each other, celebrating freedom.
BRAC founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed talking to some of the NGO’s beneficiary farmers during a field visit. Photo: BRAC
He is the president of the people , more precisely the president of the poor people .
This is what the then UNDP chief said when conferring the Human Development Award in 2004.
The first Human Development Award, after its introduction two years earlier, was given to Fernando Cardoso, President of Brazil. It provided a general idea that the award was meant for politicians, presidents or prime ministers. Names of presidents and prime ministers came in the list of nominees for the award which is given every two years. But in his speech during the second awards ceremony in 2004, the then UNDP chief said that this particular awardee had made more significant contributions to human development than the presidents or prime ministers nominated that year. That s why the award went to the man who was not president of any country, but president of the people . This man w