2013 in Bangladesh explained

The year 2013 was the 42nd year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the fifth year of the second term of the government of Sheikh Hasina.

Incumbents

• President: Zillur Rahman (till 20 March), Abdul Hamid (from 21 March)
• Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
• Chief Justice: Md. Muzammel Hossain

Demography

Population, total

152,761,413
Population density (per km^2)	1173.6
Population growth (annual %)	1.2%
Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female)	103.0
Urban population (% of total)	32.8%
Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	19.9
Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people)	5.6
Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births)	42
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)	70.9
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)	2.2

Climate

• The lowest temperature since Bangladesh's independence, at 37.4°F was recorded in Saidpur on 10 January^[1] amid 2013 extreme weather events.

Economy

National Income

	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
GDP	$150.0 billion	BDT12.0 trillion
GDP growth (annual %)	6.0%
GDP per capita	$981.9	BDT78,483
Agriculture, value added	$23.2 billion	BDT1.9 trillion	15.5%
Industry, value added	$39.5 billion	BDT3.2 trillion	26.3%
Services, etc., value added	$80.1 billion	BDT6.4 trillion	53.4%
Balance of Payment
	Current US$	Current BDT	% of GDP
Current account balance	$2.1 billion		1.4%
Imports of goods and services	$41.6 billion	BDT3.2 trillion	26.8%
Exports of goods and services	$31,635.2 million	BDT2.3 trillion	19.5%
Foreign direct investment, net inflows	$2,603.0 million		1.7%
Personal remittances, received	$13,867.0 million		9.2%
Total reserves (includes gold) at year end	$18,087.7 million
Total reserves in months of imports	4.9

Note: For the year 2013 average official exchange rate for BDT was 78.10 per US$.

Events

• 5 February – Protests broke-out in Shahbag, Dhaka following demands for capital punishment for Abdul Quader Mollah, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment earlier that day, and for others convicted of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh.^{[2] [3]} Later demands included banning the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party from politics including election and a boycott of institutions supporting (or affiliated with) the party.^[4]
• 15 February - Blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was hacked to death by machete-wielding activists from a militant group named Ansarullah Bangla Team.^[5]
• 28 February - The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, the Vice-President of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the sentence, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked Hindus in different parts of the country. Hindu properties were looted, Hindu houses were burnt into ashes and Hindu temples were desecrated and set on fire.^[6]
• 3 March - Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a 48-hour hartal Protests led by Jamaate Islami activists and Sayeedi supporters were carried out during these strikes. during which, members of the Border Guards Bangladesh, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) allegedly shot live ammunition and rubber bullets into unarmed crowds, which included children, conducted sweeping arrests and used other forms of excessive force during and after protests.^[7]
• 20 March - The incumbent President of the country, Zillur Rahman, died at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore from a critical lung infection.^[8]
• 4 April - All Bengali blogs were blacked out for an indefinite time to protest the arrest of four bloggers in Bangladesh (Moshiur Rahman Biplob, Rasel Parvez, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo and Asif Mohiuddin).^[9]
• 24 April - A structural failure triggered the collapse of an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District which led to death of 1,134 individuals - mostly garments workers.^[10] Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.^[11] It is considered the deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history also the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history.^{[12] [13]}
• 5 May - Mass protests and rioting took place at Shapla Square in the Motijheel area of capital Dhaka. The protests were organized by the Islamist pressure group, Hefazat-e Islam, who were demanding the enactment of a blasphemy law.^{[14] [15]} The government responded to the protests by cracking down on the protesters using a combined force drawn from the police, Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh to drive the protesters out of Shapla Square.^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}
• 8 May - A fire kills 8 people in a garment factory.^[20]
• 15 May - The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Accord) was signed. It was a five-year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry.
• 10 July - hundreds of Bangladesh Civil Service examinees began protests^[21] demanding an immediate cancellation of all sorts of quota in public service recruitment. The protests continued for several days and turned into a nationwide movement against the Quota system in Bangladesh Civil Service recruitment.
• 12 December - Convicted war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla was hanged in Dhaka Central Jail.^[22]

Awards and recognitions

Independence Day Award

Recipients	Area	Note
Mohammad Shamsul Haque	liberation war	posthumous
Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain	liberation war
	liberation war
Abdul Hamid Miah	research on agriculture
Swadesh Ranjan Bose	economics	posthumous
Satya Saha	culture	posthumous
M. A. Hannan	liberation war	posthumous
	liberation war

Ekushey Padak

1. Rafiq Azad, language and literature
2. Asad Chowdhury, language and literature
3. Samson H. Chowdhury, social service (posthumous)
4. Udichi Shilpi Gosthi (arts)
5. Ajit Kumar Guha, Language Movement (posthumous)
6. Jamaluddin Hossain, arts
7. Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Language Movement (posthumous)
8. Kaderi Kibria, arts
9. Tofazzal Hossain, Language Movement
10. Nurjahan Murshid, social service (posthumous)
11. Bijoy Sarkar, arts (posthumous)
12. Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid, Liberation War.
13. MA Wadud, Language Movement (posthumous)

Sports

• Football:
  • Bangladesh participated in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification (Group D) matches held in Nepal. They defeated the hosts as well as the Northern Mariana Islands but they lost to Palestine and could not qualify for the next round.
  • Bangladesh later participated in 2013 SAFF Championship also held in Nepal, but in this competition they could not secure any victory.
• Cricket:
  • Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka from 3 to 31 March. The tour consisted of two Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Twenty20 International (T20I).^[23] Sri Lanka won the Test series 1-0, but the ODI series was drawn 1-1. Sri Lanka won the lone T20 Match.
  • Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, Nazmul Hassan, stated on 30 May 2013 that a Bangladesh player was questioned by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). He later confirmed the identity of the player as Mohammad Ashraful,^[24] the youngest centurion in test cricket. BCB decided "not to involve" former captain Mohammad Ashraful in any form of cricket until the ICC's ACSU submits its report.^[25]
  • Later Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe from 17 April 2013 to 12 May 2013. The tour consisted of two Test matches, three One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 International matches. The 2-match Test series and T20 series were drawn 1–1, while Zimbabwe won the 3-match ODI series 2–1.
  • The New Zealand cricket team toured Bangladesh in October and November. The tour consisted of two Test matches, three One Day Internationals and one Twenty20 International. The matches were to be played in Chittagong and Mirpur. Both Test matches ended in draws, Bangladesh won all three One Day Internationals and New Zealand won the sole Twenty20 International.
• Golf:
  • Bangladeshi golfer Siddikur Rahman won Hero Indian Open as part of 2013 Asian Tour.

Deaths

• 15 January - Abdus Shakur, writer (b. 1941)
• 24 January - Nurul Islam, physician, national professor (b. 1928)
• 6 March - Abdul Jalil, politician (b. 1939)
• 16 March - Jamal Nazrul Islam, mathematical physicist (b. 1939)
• 20 March - Zillur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b.1929)
• 10 April - Binod Bihari Chowdhury, activist (b. 1911)
• 20 April - Amin Ahmed Chowdhury, war hero, diplomat (b. 1946)
• 1 July - Mita Noor, actor (b. 1971)
• 18 August - Nazim Uddin Mostan, journalist (b. 1948)
• 19 August - Abdur Rahman Boyati, folk singer, composer (b. 1939)
• 10 October - Dilwar Khan, poet (b. 1937)
• 20 November - Rafiqul Islam, activist (b. 1950)
• 20 December - Khaled Khan, actor (b. 1958)

See also

• 2010s in Bangladesh
• List of Bangladeshi films of 2013
• 2012–13 Bangladeshi cricket season
• 2013–14 Bangladeshi cricket season
• Timeline of Bangladeshi history

Notes and References

1. Web site: 80 dead as temperature hits record low in Bangladesh. ReliefWeb. 10 January 2013. 31 March 2013.
2. Web site: THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMES (TRIBUNALS) ACT, 1973. bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd. 1 March 2013.
3. News: Protesters demand death for Bangladesh war crimes Islamist. 8 February 2013. Reuters. 6 February 2013.
4. News: Rahman. Mashiur. Analysis: Calls grow for banning Jamaat-e-Islami in BD. 1 March 2013. The Express Tribune. 28 February 2013.
5. News: Yallaoui, Safia Yallaoui . 12 April 2013 . Bangladesh Prime Minister faces pressure to kill blasphemous bloggers . Western Eye . University of the West of England . 18 December 2013.
6. News: 2 March 2013 . Bagerhat Hindu Temple Set on Fire . bdnews24.com . https://archive.today/20130407194310/http://dev-bd.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=241410&cid=2 . 7 April 2013 . 20 March 2013.
7. Web site: Bangladesh: End Unlawful Violence Against Protesters. . 2 April 2017.
8. News: Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman dies after illness . BBC News . 20 March 2013. 21 May 2018.
9. Web site: bn:বাংলা কমিউনিটি ব্লগ এলায়েন্সের যাত্রা শুরু হলো . BCBA starts its journey . https://banglacommunityblogalliance.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/bangla-community-blog-alliance-starts/ . Bangla Community Blog Alliance . bn . 22 August 2015.
10. News: Tansy . Hopkins . 23 April 2015 . Reliving the Rana Plaza factory collapse: a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 22 . The Observer . London . The Guardian . 22 June 2017.
11. News: Alam . Julhas . Hossain . Farid . 13 May 2013 . Bangladesh collapse search over; death toll 1,127 . Yahoo News . Associated Press . 13 May 2013.
12. News: 3 May 2013 . Bangladesh building collapse death toll passes 500 . BBC News . 3 May 2013.
13. News: Alam . Julhas . Hossain . Farid . 2 May 2013 . Bangladesh Building Collapse Death Toll Tops 500; Engineer Whistleblower Arrested . Huffington Post . Associated Press . 3 May 2013.
14. News: Press note on Motijheel reflects party views instead of govt: Dudu . 12 May 2013 . Weekend Independent . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029050045/http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=168711%3Apress-note-on-motijheel-reflects-party-views-instead-of-govt-dudu&catid=132%3Abackpage&Itemid=122 . 29 October 2013 . 19 May 2013 . dead .
15. News: Radical Islamists lay siege to Dhaka. Rahman. Anisur. 5 May 2013. Gulf News. 19 May 2013.
16. News: Ashraf . Shamim . 6 May 2013 . Hefajat men flee Motijheel . The Daily Star . 28 May 2014.
17. News: Govt trashes loss of thousands of lives rumour . The Daily Star . UNB . 10 May 2013 . 28 May 2014.
18. News: Bangladesh clashes rage over blasphemy law . Al Jazeera . 6 May 2013.
19. News: Riot police battle Islamists in Dhaka Bangladesh. BBC News. 21 May 2013.
20. News: Latest Bangladesh fire puts new pressure on retailers . USA Today . 22 February 2018.
21. News: Movement to continue until demands are met. Natun Barta . 12 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130719110724/http://www.natunbarta.com/english/national/2013/07/10/6326. 19 July 2013. dead.
22. News: Bangladesh executes opposition leader . Al Jazeera . 12 December 2013 . 12 December 2013.
23. Web site: Bangladesh tour in March. 30 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413090117/http://www.thepapare.com/index.php/cricket/364-bangladesh-tour-in-march. 13 April 2014. dead.
24. Web site: BCB to investigate BPL fixing allegations. ESPNcricinfo.
25. Web site: BCB 'not to involve' Ashraful in any form of cricket. ESPNcricinfo.