100-Word Take | What India could learn from Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, won a landslide victory in the elections held last Sunday in Bangladesh. The opposition has alleged foul play, based on reports of rigging of votes and suspicions about the huge victory margin, with the Awami League winning 288 out of the 300 seats.

All we can do is point out that there are some fairly strong reasons for Sheikh Hasina to win. Despite being a much poorer country than India — its per capita income is only a bit more than half India’s — it scores over India on many fronts. The accompanying chart, with data taken from the World Bank, shows how Bangladesh beats its much richer neighbour on life expectancy, child mortality, extent of malnutrition, primary school completion rate and several other indicators. That is a powerful reason for the people of Bangladesh to vote for Sheikh Hasina.