I'm sure I have own biases, but increasingly I think that Nepal needs to learn a lot from Bangladesh. If interested, please find a review I once published in The Nepali Times. [Thanks to my friends M Hossain, T Hussain, A Huq for their suggestions that made this piece better than what it was before.] ******************** Development by lists The youngest South Asian country could build upon the resilience of its business community by Ashutosh Tiwari From Issue #251 (10 June 05 - 16 June 05) | Most Nepalis are unsure about what to make of Bangladesh. When asked, they grope for clichés: floods and cyclones, heat and dust, overpopulation and food shortage, poverty and destitution. Others who have been there talk about the allure of Bangladeshi textiles and handicrafts, the zing of Bangla cuisine, Sylhet’s stunningly beautiful tea gardens and mangrove forests of Sundarbans. Some mention the vitality of politically conscious theatre and arts scenes, a few may even hum a stanza or two of evocative Rabindrasangeet. But tell them how this youngest South Asian country, with a land area that’s slightly smaller than Nepal’s but a population of 150 million, has today created food surpluses. Explain to them its success in reducing population growth at a rate lower than Nepal’s. Describe its pioneering use of micro-credits to help impoverished women through NGO networks. Talk about how its $ 5 billion-a-year readymade garment industry has managed to maintain a steady growth despite the end of the global quota system. Add further that South Asia’s largest shopping mall opened for business in Dhaka last October and you are likely to hear the inevitably lamentable comparisons with Nepal. To be sure, highlighting Bangladesh’s recent achievements is not going to make its problems related to governance, economy and geography disappear anytime soon. But doing so does recast them as manageable problems that-given the political will, resources and time-are likely to yield solutions. More at: - http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/251/Review/399