Shekhar Gupta
Respected and dear Prof Yunus,
At the very outset, I am conflicted on whether I should congratulate you or commiserate with you. Usually, one wouldn’t need to qualify such a brilliant ascent to power with a caution. But the challenge of leading a large, populous and still largely poor nation in the Subcontinent cannot be taken lightly.
Nevertheless, congratulations first. When I had the privilege of spending a couple of days with you, at a large philanthropy conference in Hubballi-Dharwad in early 2016, I was awed by your sincerity, gentle manner and yet a firm belief in your ability to master the odds.
In the Walk The Talk episode we recorded, you had told me the story of how Sheikh Hasina had taken away your bank, and you responded by taking your bank overseas.
You refused to take the bait of probably a too-clever-by-half response by me that her government took away your bank, and you took revenge by building one overseas. You said we’re not seeking revenge, but just doing the right thing. I could see then that you were angry, hurting and holding back.
The opportunity came last August in an incredibly dramatic meltdown of the Hasina government. You were brought back from overseas to head the new administration, though you still haven’t given yourself an executive or political title. You’ve stayed with ‘Chief Adviser’, and probably will go with that to Davos later this month.
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