1977 in Bangladesh explained

The year 1977 was the 6th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the first year of the Government of Ziaur Rahman. In this year while the new President had to deal with a number of mutiny and overthrow attempts, he also managed to consolidate his power through a referendum, and promoted a nineteen-point political and economic program focusing on population control, food security, education and rural development.^[1]

Incumbents

• President: Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (until 21 April), Ziaur Rahman (starting 21 April)
• Vice President: Abdus Sattar (starting June)
• Chief Justice: Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain

Demography

Population, total

73,463,593
Population density (per km^2)	564.4
Population growth (annual %)	2.5%
Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)	106.3
Urban population (% of total)	11.6%
Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	44.4
Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	16.3
Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)	211
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)	50.5
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)	6.7

Economy

National Income

	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
GDP	$9.7 billion	BDT149.3 billion
GDP growth (annual %)	2.7%
GDP per capita	$131.4	BDT2,032
Agriculture, value added	$4.7 billion	BDT73.0 billion	48.9%
Industry, value added	$1.6 billion	BDT25.0 billion	16.7%
Services, etc., value added	$3.3 billion	BDT51.3 billion	34.4%
Balance of Payment
	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
Current account balance	style="text-align: right;"	-$281.0 million		style="text-align: right;"	-2.9%
Imports of goods and services	$1,203.9 million	BDT18.5 billion	12.4%
Exports of goods and services	$540.6 million	BDT10.5 billion	7.0%
Foreign direct investment, net inflows	$7.0 million		0.1%
Personal remittances, received	$78.9 million		0.8%
Total reserves (includes gold) at year end	$241.5 million
Total reserves in months of imports	2.3

Note: For the year 1977 average official exchange rate for BDT was 15.38 per US$.

Events

• 21 April: Zia replaces Sayem as the President.
• 30 May: Zia wins 98.9 percent of votes in referendum on his continuance as president.^[2]
• 3 June: Supreme Court justice Abdus Sattar becomes vice president.
• 1 September: Formation of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
• 28 September: A Japan Airlines Flight 472 en route from Mumbai to Tokyo was hijacked by 5 Japanese Red Army terrorists shortly after takeoff, and forced the plane to land at then Zia International Airport.^[3] The terrorists' demand of $6 million and release of 6 JRA terrorists from Japanese prison was met by the Japanese Prime Minister.^[4] Bangladesh Air Force was deployed to control the situation in the ground and to facilitate negotiations.
• 30 September: A mutiny breaks out in Bogra.
• 2 October: The mutiny is quelled, but is followed by another failed attempt to overthrow Zia in Dhaka.
• A five-year treaty is signed with India on water sharing.^[5]
• Bangladesh became an Associate member of the International Cricket Council.^[6]

Awards and Recognitions

Independence Day Award

Recipients	Area	Note
	social work	posthumous
	literature	The national poet of Bangladesh
	science and technology	posthumous
	arts	posthumous
	rural development
	medical science
	population control
	music
	sports
	welfare	First Ambassador from Bangladesh to USA

Ekushey Padak

1. Mohammad Nasiruddin (literature)
2. Ustad Gul Mohammad Khan (music)
3. Ibrahim Khan (education)
4. Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua (literature)
5. Khondakar Abdul Hamid (journalism)
6. Ayub Ali (education)
7. Shamsur Rahman (literature)
8. Zahir Raihan (drama)
9. Rashid Choudhury (fine arts)
10. Abdul Alim (music)
11. Altaf Mahmud (music)
12. Ferdausi Rahman (music)
13. Farrukh Ahmad (literature)

Sports

• Domestic football: Abahani KC won Dhaka League title, while Rahmatganj MFS came out runners-up.^[7]

Births

• GMB Akash, photographer
• Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, photographer
• Amin Khan, actor
• Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu, footballer
• Zulfiqer Russell, lyricist

Deaths

• 13 February: Abdus Salam, editor. (b. 1910)
• 2 May: Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua, writer. (b. 1906)
• 2 September: Theotonius Amal Ganguly, Archbishop. (b. 1920)
• 24 October: Hatem Ali Khan, politician. (b. 1904)
• 3 November: Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda, scientist. (b. 1900)
• 11 November: ARM Inamul Haque, social worker. (b. 1921)

See also

• 1970s in Bangladesh
• List of Bangladeshi films of 1977

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bangladesh: A Country Study: The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977-82. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. 11 October 2018.
2. Book: 1989 . Heitzman . James . Worden . Robert . Table A. Chronology of Important Events . https://www.loc.gov/resource/frdcstdy.bangladeshcountr00heit/?sp=21 . Bangladesh: A Country Study . Washington, D.C. . Federal Research Division, Library of Congress . xvii.
3. News: JAL 1977 plane hijack in Dhaka: Japanese filmmaker to make documentary . bdnews24.com . 15 November 2011.
4. News: Japanese Red Army member's life sentence to stand. 15 November 2011. Japan Times. 15 September 2011.
5. Book: Haq, Enamul . 2012 . Ganges Water Sharing . http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ganges_Water_Sharing . Islam . Sirajul . Sirajul Islam . Jamal . Ahmed A. . Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh . Second . Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
6. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/BDESH/BDESH_HISTORY.html Cricket in Bangladesh
7. Web site: List of Champions. Atsushi Fujioka for Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 16 October 2018.