2009 in Bangladesh explained

The year 2009 was the 38th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the first year of the second term of the government of Sheikh Hasina.

Incumbents

• President: Iajuddin Ahmed (until 6 January), Zillur Rahman (starting 6 January)
• Prime Minister: Fakhruddin Ahmed (acting) (until 6 January), Sheikh Hasina (starting 6 January)
• Chief Justice: Md. Ruhul Amin (until 23 December), Md. Tafazzul Islam (starting 23 December)

Demography

Population, total

145,924,795
Population density (per km^2)	1121.0
Population growth (annual %)	1.1%
Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)	103.7
Urban population (% of total)	29.7%
Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	21.6
Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	5.8
Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)	52
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)	69.5
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)	2.4

Economy

National Income

	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
GDP	$102.5 billion	BDT7.1 trillion
GDP growth (annual %)	5.0%
GDP per capita	$702.3	BDT48,317
Agriculture, value added	$17.5 billion	BDT1.2 trillion	17.1%
Industry, value added	$25.9 billion	BDT1.8 trillion	25.3%
Services, etc., value added	$54.6 billion	BDT3.8 trillion	53.3%
Balance of Payment
	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
Current account balance	$3.6 billion		3.5%
Imports of goods and services	$23.1 billion	BDT1.6 trillion	23.2%
Exports of goods and services	$17,047.5 million	BDT1.2 trillion	16.9%
Foreign direct investment, net inflows	$901.3 million		0.9%
Personal remittances, received	$10,520.7 million		10.3%
Total reserves (includes gold) at year end	$10,341.5 million
Total reserves in months of imports	5.1

Note: For the year 2009 average official exchange rate for BDT was 69.04 per US$.

Events

• 19 February - ML Happy sunk near Barisal City.^[1] At least 39 people died in the sinking.^[2]
• 25 February – Mutiny staged by Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force at BDR HQ, Pilkhana, Dhaka.^[3] The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, killing the BDR Director-General Shakil Ahmed along with 56 other army officers and 17 civilians. They also fired on civilians, held many of their officers and their families hostage, vandalised property and looted valuables. By the second day, unrest had spread to 12 other towns and cities.^{[4] [5]} The mutiny ended as the mutineers surrendered their arms and released the hostages^[6] after a series of discussions and negotiations with the government.^[7]
• 13 March – A fire at Bashundhara City shopping mall kills 7 and injures 50 more.^[8] The blaze started around 1:30 pm, after Friday prayers, on one of the top floors.^[9] Most of the offices were empty, as Friday is the first day of the weekend in Bangladesh. A security guard died as he jumped off the top of the building to escape the fire. Seventeen others were injured. The chief security officer of the building was rescued from the roof top by a Bangladesh Air Force Bell-212 helicopter.^[10]
• 17 April - Police arrest 31 suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir members for planning terrorism.^[11]
• 25 May – Cyclone Aila ravages the south-west coast.^[12]
• 27 November - A ferry named MV Coco-4 sunk near Bhola Island, killing 75 people, out of more than a thousand on board, with several dozen more reported missing.^[13]
• 4 December - Another ferry sunk in Daira river located in Mithamain Upazila, Kishoreganj District killing at least 47 people.^[14]

Awards and recognitions

International recognition

• 1 May - Bangladeshi attorney and environmentalist Rizwana Hasan was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009.^[15]
• 12 August – Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the US US President Barack Obama.^{[16] [17]}

Independence Day Award

Recipients	Area	Note
	literature
	culture
	science and technology
	social welfare	posthumous

Ekushey Padak

1. Burhanuddin Khan Jahangir (education)
2. Syed Anwar Husain (research)
3. Mahbub Ul Alam Choudhury (language movement)
4. Ashraf Uz Zaman Khan (journalism)
5. Begum Bilkis Nasir Uddin (journalism)
6. Manik Chandra Saha (journalism)
7. Humayun Kabir Balu (journalism)
8. Selina Hossain (literature)
9. Shamsuzzaman Khan (research)
10. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad (poverty reduction)
11. Mohammad Rafi Khan (social service)
12. Monsur Ul Karim (fine arts)
13. Ramendu Majumdar (theatre)

Sports

• Kabaddi:
  • Bangladesh won bronze medal in Kabaddi in Asian Inddor Games.
• Football:
  • Bangladesh hosted the SAFF Championship from 4 to 13 December. Bangladesh lost to India in the semi-finals.
  • Abahani Limited Dhaka defended the B. League title.
  • Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club won the inaugural Bangladesh Super Cup and were received the prize money of Tk 1.20 crore.^[18]
• Cricket:

• • The Bangladesh cricket team started the year with on-going test series against Sri Lanka. They lost their first test match of the year.
  • After the test series, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe joined host Bangladesh in a Tri-Series. Bangladesh became runner-up while Sri Lanka became Champion. Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh was judged the Player of the Series.
  • The Bangladesh cricket team toured the West Indies during the 2009 international season, from 3 July 2009 to 2 August 2009. The tour consisted of a two-Test series, a three-ODI series, and one Twenty20 International. Due to industrial action between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players' Association, the West Indies fielded a weak team which was missing its entire First XI during the series.^[19] Bangladesh easily accounted for the weakened West Indian team, winning the Test series 2–0 and the ODI series 3–0. In the Test series, Bangladesh recorded only its second and third Test wins ever, its first and second Test wins as the touring side, its first series win as the touring side, and its first Test series whitewash. In the ODI series, it was also Bangladesh's first series win as the touring side against a Test nation, and its first series whitewash against a Test nation. The West Indies won the Twenty20 match.
  • Later, the Bangladesh cricket team toured Zimbabwe. They played five One Day Internationals against Zimbabwe and won the series 4-1.
  • The Zimbabwe Cricket Team again toured Bangladesh from 27 October to 5 November. The tour consisted of 5 ODIs.^[20] Bangladesh won the series 4-1.

Deaths

• 25 February – Md Shawkat Imam, army colonel (b. 1961)
• 16 April – Husne Ara Kamal, academician, philanthropist, and social worker (b. 1934)
• 9 May – M. A. Wazed Miah, nuclear scientist and husband of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (b. 1942)
• 5 June – M. A. Sattar, industrialist and politician (b. 1925)
• 17 June – Gaziul Haque, language activist and author (b. 1929)
• 12 September – Shah Abdul Karim, baul musician (b. 1916)
• 3 December – Swadesh Bose, economist (b. 1928)

See also

• 2000s in Bangladesh
• List of Bangladeshi films of 2009
• Timeline of Bangladeshi history

Notes and References

1. News: Ferry sinks in south Bangladesh . BBC News . 19 February 2009.
2. News: Death toll rises to 39 in Bangladesh ferry accident . https://archive.today/20120912091345/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1460881.php/Death_toll_rises_to_39_in_Bangladesh_ferry_accident . dead . 12 September 2012 . 22 February 2009 . . 29 November 2009 .
3. News: Bangladesh becomes battle zone . Mark Dummett . 26 February 2009 . BBC News.
4. News: bn:বিডিআর জওয়ানদের বিদ্রোহ নিহতের সংখ্যা ১৫ বলে দাবি * মহাপরিচালক শাকিল বেঁচে নেই * জিম্মি কর্মকর্তাদের পরিণতি অজানা . BDR jawans claim rebellion death toll to 3 * Director General Shakil does not survive * hostage officials unknown . . 1 . 26 February 2009 . http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MjIxOTM= . bn . 25 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090227000825/http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MjIxOTM= . 27 February 2009 . dead.
5. News: Bangladesh guard mutiny 'spreads' . BBC News . 26 February 2009 . 23 April 2010.
6. News: Bangladesh guard mutiny 'is over' . BBC News . 26 February 2009 . 5 January 2010.
7. News: bn:অবশেষে আত্মসমর্পণ . bn . Prothom Alo . 27 February 2009.
8. News: Farid . Hossain . Fire at Bangladesh's Largest Mall Kills 7 . 13 March 2009 . ABC News . 20 March 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090327153647/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7074414 . 27 March 2009 . live.
9. News: Bashundhara City turns towering inferno . bdnews24.com . 13 March 2009.
10. News: Fire hits Dhaka shopping center . BBC News . 13 March 2009 . 13 March 2009.
11. News: Bangladesh arrests 31 alleged militants. The Sydney Morning Herald. AFP . 18 April 2009.
12. News: United Press International . 27 May 2009 . Death toll rises to 180 from Cyclone Aila . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605052521/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/27/Death-toll-rises-to-180-from-Cyclone-Aila/UPI-54601243424098/ . 5 June 2011 . live . 27 May 2009.
13. News: Capsized Bangladesh ferry death toll rises to 75. NY Daily News. en. 4 February 2017. 13 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113012434/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/capsized-bangladesh-ferry-death-toll-rises-75-article-1.414003. dead.
14. News: 47 die as boat sinks after hitting launch: 8 missing in the accident in Daira river in Kishoreganj . The Daily Star.
15. Web site: Syeda Rizwana Hasan . Goldman Environmental Prize . 1 May 2009.
16. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients/ "President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients"
17. Web site: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/video/President-Obama-Honors-2009-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients. whitehouse.gov. President Obama Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients. National Archives. 12 August 2009.
18. Web site: Super Cup Mohammedan's. Al Musabbir. Sadi. March 28, 2009. The Daily Star. June 27, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240627175844/https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-81655. live.
19. News: Australia relief at West Indies players strike resolution. The Telegraph. 14 October 2009. 23 March 2012.
20. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/series/422623.html?template=fixtures Fixtures and Results