https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/about daily 0.75 2021-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613249836255-6ZBKQMIHPKLCN1F453BH/Bangladesh+woman+cellphone.jpg About 'Are We Rich Yet?' Young mother with infant and cellphone. From the Government of Bangladesh’s Sustainable Development Goals tracker website. Photographer and date unknown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612136113206-ERVN037LI5INXQ35EY18/Hatirjheel_2nd-bridge.jpg About 'Are We Rich Yet?' A vision of what might is to come? Hatirjheel bridge, 2014. © Nahid Sultan / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612131319889-2MZ2ZN1L2EK8APOWRZZ6/MaskedNom.jpg About 'Are We Rich Yet?' - About me I am Naomi Hossain, a London-born Bangladeshi-Irish researcher, based since 2015 in Washington, DC after stints in Dhaka, Brighton, and Jakarta. I study and write about the political economy of development, often about Bangladesh. Since 2019 I’ve been a Research Professor at the Accountability Research Center at American University in DC. I’m also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, and work closely with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development. I’ve written two books about Bangladesh: The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Elite Perceptions of Poverty in Bangladesh (University Press Limited, 2005), and co-edited several other collections. This is something of a lockdown project, intended as a collection of writings for anyone interested in reading about Bangladesh in English. It gets a bit nerdy in places (sorry about that). If you are interested, you can see more of my academic work here and here. I tweet about many things, not always advisedly, @nomhossain. https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/home daily 1.0 2021-02-13 https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/holdingwater daily 0.75 2021-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610912431036-MBJ53K506CG7287O3V9K/Sundarbans+water.png Holding water: an introduction to Are We Rich Yet? The Bay of Bengal on a calm day, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613251296939-MVOKXXQ24TWWTYW95ALN/BANGLADESH_AIRPORT.jpg Holding water: an introduction to Are We Rich Yet? The international airport at Dhaka. Earth masudrana joni, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613251010564-GLVCOKFELJITOOMH0CL1/National_Assembly_of_Bangladesh_%28Night%29.jpg Holding water: an introduction to Are We Rich Yet? Jatiya Sangsad, the National Assembly, at night. Syedsazzadulhoque, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/theconcertforbangladeshhalfacenturylater daily 0.75 2021-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612738384970-116WW0XYADPMVBIEVOXT/BANGLADESHconcert1971LipackOWNER.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Still frames of The Concert By Richard Warren Lipack. CC by SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BANGLADESHconcert1971LipackOWNER.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254472109-18AUHU07VLD001QM983E/R-3724285-1557638435-3350.jpeg.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Sleeve for Joan Baez’s Song of Bangladesh (A&M records, 1972). Found at: https://www.discogs.com/de/Joan-Baez-Song-Of-Bangladesh/release/3724285#images/40110508 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613255266360-WWQGNDYNYSULHZ6HZJS3/Concert+poster.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Poster for the album of The Concert for Bangladesh, from https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/liner-notes/george-harrison-concert-for-bangladesh/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612739191894-ARLPF5T51TUPM891GSWA/George_Harrison_-_Bangla_Desh.png The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Cover of Harrison’s single. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Harrison_-_Bangla_Desh.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254787413-3EG2C7Q9KX5TBWVP051Y/George-Harrison-and-Pandit-Ravi-Shankar.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, at the New York press conference announcing the Concert for Bangladesh, 1971 (photographer unidentifiable; source: http://megainsane.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/George-Harrison-and-Pandit-Ravi-Shankar.jpg) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254715102-7F303GROFLZWPURDP2GY/250px-Concert_Against_Bangladesh.png The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later The parody Concert against Bangladesh record in The Simpsons, Season 10, Episode 217, ‘I’m with Cupid’ (1999). Found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254304211-TQBYI8BAVYMGBLI3Z8LO/yst-teaser1sheet-frm-rgb-small-5c635561a01cf-1-5d373c804468f-1.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Universal Pictures’ Yesterday, directed by Danny Boyle (2019). Found at: https://www.universalpictures.com/movies/yesterday https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254847991-DCKVUBCMGTGHJ858F4FT/71NQAu5cfqL._SL1500_.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later The poster for Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011). Found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613254603525-M8ZA2H6MWTCAD309L66L/The_Concert_For_Bangla_Desh.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later The Concert for Bangladesh album cover. Found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Concert_For_Bangla_Desh.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610983296430-29WI7SE4P2BT85BEXVPK/Concert+sources.jpg The Concert for Bangladesh half a century later Some of my sources - books, records & videos about the Concert for Bangladesh https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/princemoosa daily 0.75 2021-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611155715529-5BE0DIMGZMD11EMZ9U3O/Screenshot_2021-01-18+Prince+Dr+Moosa+bin+Shamsher+-+The+ultimate+luxury+-+the+rarest+pair+of+shoes+made+of+diamonds+Facebook.png Prince Moosa wants you to know Prince Moosa’s diamond shoes displayed on his Facebook page; found at: https://m.facebook.com/DrMoosabinShamsher/photos/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610995429576-FNRHBYHFC4NFHS8VBH3O/Prince+MOosa.jpg Prince Moosa wants you to know Cover of Weekly Ajker Arthokontho, showing Prince Moosa (September 1, 2013) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610996699026-XTUI44MGKG4IFZVXB8YE/Moosa.png Prince Moosa wants you to know Landlines, in a screenshot from Prince Musa Bin Shamsher: The Hideously Rich Tycoon From Bangladesh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610996969075-WPIHMYUF77P3S52OES69/red+jacket+Moosa.jpg Prince Moosa wants you to know Prince Moosa in red https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/theperfectstorm daily 0.75 2021-02-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610997722406-2XLFL2TX1GWQNF16K916/Iftekhars+book.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine Iftekhar Iqbal’s The Bengal Delta (2010) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610999362845-GNSB3MLRF4HMHH2ELEF0/vegetables.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine Local vegetable market in Khulna, Bangladesh. April 17, 2014. Credit: M. Yousuf Tushar. ©WorldFish https://www.flickr.com/photos/theworldfishcenter/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610997938665-9NXBZUQ06UBPRNVJMTC7/Zainul+Abedin+Bhola.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine Zainul Abedin’s sketch of the Bhola cyclone. Found at: https://archive.thedailystar.net/forum/2007/december/cyclone.htm https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613324558916-CWNMEJLM598BZHKV5WDZ/Zainul_Abedin_2JA.jpg%2C2100x2100.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine Zainul Abedin, Famine Sketch, 1943. Found at: https://www.documenta14.de/en/south/888_so_many_hungers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610999234951-D2FUA485NRKSP3VT4I6U/famine.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine Kurigram gruel kitchen November 1974. © Lutheran World Federation photo. In The Lutheran, January 22, 1975. www.elca.org/archives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610998429478-KT1GDWCYKI8YUS7Y943C/bhashani.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine The ‘Red Maulana’, Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, pictured in Cuba in 1965. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610998568173-P91A4JG0862FR74FCUNP/bangabandhu.jpg The perfect storm & the final famine ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visiting cyclone-affected areas. From https://www.dhakatribune.com/tribune-supplements/tribune-climate/2019/07/30/glimpsing-cyclone-bhola. Picture credit: Alfred Sommer, 1970 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1610997585078-EBIRAP2M349BJF9CME0T/image-asset.jpeg The perfect storm & the final famine Satellite image of the Bhola cyclone, 11 November 1970. Noaa - From E.C. Barrett's Climatology from Satellites, (London: Methuen, 1974), ISBN 0416659403 https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/arewemiddleincomeyet daily 0.75 2021-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611000688341-CDJA9DYM5BWF2ZAVRQDJ/Anti-Corruption-Oath-Taking-Ceremony.jpg Are we middle income yet? Jaago Foundation youth volunteers taking an anti-corruption oath. https://jaago.com.bd/our-gallery/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611002017901-V4S3DI1LDWTI002GIEEC/embankments%2C+Khulna%2C+2014.JPG Are we middle income yet? Embankments, Khulna, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611002340510-TWTE7NJ6TZVG1K819IZ7/Hay+festival+2014.JPG Are we middle income yet? The Dhaka Hay Festival (now the Dhaka LitFest), 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611000479899-W6Q4NS4EXX1JXQKBYO89/no+begging.jpg Are we middle income yet? Dhaka city corporation sign declaring a ‘begging-free area’, this one in front of the Sonargaon hotel, 2014 https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/aerotropolitans daily 0.75 2021-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611162409083-3ZUHYAIJ3NELI35I7CO7/Flying+to+Bangladesh+%282%29.png Aerotropolitans Queuing up to go home to Bangladesh; Kuala Lumpur airport, 2015 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611159007357-PJP8W53WTWRC04BQ2ZVY/Patiently_waiting_for_a_flight_home_%285755270530%29.jpg Aerotropolitans Patiently waiting for a flight home from Libya, 2011. DFID - UK Department for International Development, CC BY 2.0. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611159281780-X9Q3JEGXKFKWOHV9UJ38/Aerotropolis.jpg Aerotropolitans People are not the subject of John D Kasarda and Greg Lindsay’s Aerotropolis: the Way We’ll Live Next (2012) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1611159488938-6QZ3TVZTGHJVX85VNIAL/Bangladeshi_E_Passport.jpg Aerotropolitans Bangladeshi e-passport; By tsrbd - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90030975 https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/digital-dhaka daily 0.75 2021-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612045678456-N5FILM8ACZH7H3CW0U9S/Lalbagh_Fort_%28%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%97_%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%97%29.jpg Nostalgia in digital Dhaka Figure 2 Lalbagh Fort (2015). Source: 2 Syedsazzadulhoque, CC BY-SA 4.0. Found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1613255773435-OPUXPRFLNE1ZC9SAKTCL/Dhaka+rickshaw.jpg Nostalgia in digital Dhaka Dhaka City 2, by Dherendra Chandra Das. https://www.rickshaw-paint.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DSC_0121.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612045549970-7QX81KTPG8D268TCD49N/Zoffany-Lalbagh_Fort.jpg Nostalgia in digital Dhaka "The South Gate of the Lalbagh Fort" oil on canvas, by the German painter Johan Zoffany, 1787. 26 in x 30 in. Private collection. Image courtesy of Ben Elwes Fine Art. Source: 1https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zoffany-Lalbagh_Fort.jpg. Accessed 29 December 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612047525320-4V5Q42T67GG5P3PQYVTW/image-asset.jpeg Nostalgia in digital Dhaka Khawaja Nazimuddin, the Chief Minister of East Bengal, seated here in an impressive room of Ahsan Manzil, the ancestral home of his cousin, the Nawab of Dhaka, Khawaja Habibullah Bahadur, who stands on the left with wife Ayesha Begum. Picture by Irving Penn, 1947. A different version of this (without associate editor Allene Talmey in the background) was published in the November issue of Vogue that year. Found here. https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/cyclonepolitics daily 0.75 2021-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612735552993-BVVH3LL49BRH77I8IOGH/rampal_power_plant_0.jpg Cyclone politics in a warming world Shaer Reaz’s ‘explainer’ about the Rampal Power Plant, from The Daily Star, 2016. Found here. https://www.becomingbangladesh.net/cyclonepolitics-1 daily 0.75 2022-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe7cd222bf7ab7e1bbda075/1612735552993-BVVH3LL49BRH77I8IOGH/rampal_power_plant_0.jpg Cyclone politics in a warming world (Copy) Shaer Reaz’s ‘explainer’ about the Rampal Power Plant, from The Daily Star, 2016. Found here.