For Bangladeshis in their motherland and the world over, celebrating 50 years of their independence and the centenary birth anniversary of the one who led us in this journey to freedom, this is indeed a milestone. Before March 26 1971, the idea of being a citizen of an independent nation was a dream that we craved for, the hope that gave us the courage and resilience to fight for and the belief that we as a people had the power to bring about change.

Our indebtedness to our Freedom Fighters, our martyrs and our people who fought valiantly and sacrificed everything, will never wane. And now at 50 years of age we as a country have earned the right to celebrate all our achievements while taking stock of the limitations that have held us back.

We have surprised even our most harsh critics with the remarkable positives in socio-economic indicators. Our economic growth has been startling and consistent - helping us to graduate to a developing country.

In this supplement we identify the highlights of our developmental and economic successes and provide some realistic assessments of how we can make our achievements sustainable.

This includes the drivers of our economic growth and how to maintain its momentum, the remarkable success in increasing girls enrolment in schools, reducing infant and maternal mortality and in disaster management, the role of our local NGOs in nation building especially by empowering women, the startling growth of the private sector especially the RMG, the contributions of our migrant workers, other expatriate Bangladeshis, our maritime victories, laurels earned by our peacekeepers abroad, our breakthroughs in agriculture, our commendable food self-sufficiency, our infrastructure mega projects that will take our development to greater heights and our journey towards a truly digital Bangladesh. While we celebrate and acknowledge the immense mountains we have climbed and conquered we must also be realistic in acknowledging the challenges ahead. There are still many more promises we must keep to honour our martyrs and realise the dreams of Bangabandhu, the Father of our nation. We are still yet to create the inclusive, egalitarian and just society that they had visions of. To do that we must all work much harder and with greater sincerity and commitment to make this nation one that fulfills the aspirations of all its citizens.

Mahfuz Anam

Editor and Publisher

The Daily Star