Durbikkho by Design? The Silent Descent into Economic Hunger in Bangladesh

 As Bangladesh’s interim government pushes forward with IMF-driven reforms, a quiet but deadly crisis is unfolding—not through natural disaster, but through policies that increasingly feel like economic suffocation for the majority. The fear is no longer abstract. It’s visible in market stalls, in electricity bills, in gas stations, and in the eyes of a population watching their daily survival slip further from reach.

🇧🇩 From Subsidy Cuts to Soaring Prices

The promise of "reforms" has come with a high cost. Since accepting the $4.7 billion IMF loan, the government has committed to:

• Floating the exchange rate, pushing the dollar to nearly Tk 124+ in the open market.

• Removing subsidies on essentials like fuel, fertilizer, and electricity.

• Raising interest rates to battle inflation—which ironically only makes borrowing, investing, and surviving harder.

While these steps may please international lenders, they are crushing the average Bangladeshi. Inflation hovers around 11.66%, but the real cost of daily essentials has more than doubled in many areas. In rural and urban pockets alike, the signs of "durbikkho" (famine) are emerging—not due to lack of food, but because people can no longer afford it.

⚠️ Is This Famine... Engineered?

No official in the interim government has admitted to "causing" poverty or famine. But when policies:

• Prioritize global repayment over domestic relief

• Strangle local markets while welcoming dollar-based profiteering

• Impose austerity without safety nets

—then the result becomes indistinguishable from economic warfare against the poor.

This is not the famine of 1974, where floods and supply shocks played a role. This is a famine of affordability—a durbikkho by design. People aren't dying in droves (yet), but they are being starved of dignity, opportunity, and hope.

🧮 How We Compare to Pakistan and Sri Lanka

We are told not to worry, that Bangladesh is “better off than Pakistan.” But look closely:

• External debt is over $103 billion

• Interest payments are up 44% year-on-year

• Dollar reserves are dangerously low

• Exports face increasing global pressure

• Political instability, censorship, and crackdowns have returned

In 2018, Pakistan took the IMF path. By 2023, its currency collapsed and inflation reached 38%. In 2022, Sri Lanka ran out of fuel and food. Bangladesh is walking the same rope—blindfolded, and under IMF guidance.

🔍 Who Will Speak for the Poor?

The irony is bitter: in the name of "reform," millions are being left behind. Where are the social protections? The emergency food relief? The guarantees of survival for garment workers, farmers, and day laborers?

So far, all we’ve seen is compliance for dollars, not compassion for people.

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🛑 What Needs to Change—Now

If we are to avoid a full-scale crisis:

• Subsidies must be reinstated for the most vulnerable.

• Food and medicine price caps should be enforced strictly.

• Dollar hoarders and syndicates must face legal consequences.

• Social safety programs must be funded, not cut.

• National dialogues must resume—without censorship or fear.

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✊ Final Words

This is not just about economics. It is about human rights, dignity, and the future of a nation that once rebuilt itself from ashes. Bangladesh deserves better than a silent starvation under the name of structural adjustment.

Let us call this what it is: an engineered economic disaster—one we still have time to stop.