The citation of the Nobel Prize Committee succinctly sums up the achievement of Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank to bring the world closer to freeing the poor from the spectre of poverty—“Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring their own development”. “Dr. Mohammad Yunus”, the citation continues “has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical actions for the benefit of the millions of people not only in Bangladesh but also in many other countries”.

The concept that Yunus preaches is simple—credit is a basic human right-- give them credit, even a small one, and they will work out how best to use it break the shackles of poverty that are perennially wrapped around their abysmal existence. Don’t try to tell people how to overcome their penury, he advocates, give them opportunity to bring out their innate entrepreneurial skill to shape their own destiny. Small loans to people and businesses, he maintains, plays a crucial role to tackle the scourge of poverty, hunger and illiteracy. In the process, he redefined the concept of banking and creditworthiness of the underprivileged sections ofthe society. The Nobel Prize has also redefined the concept of world peace being linked to equity, social justice and well being of people in all strata of the society.

The principle enunciated by Yunus gains added significance in the context of age old perception of credit being quintessentially a rich man’s right and that the poor who cannot offer a collateral should be kept at arm’s length. Year after year, adaptation or replication of Grameen concept of micro-credit in communities across the world

have shown that poor are indeed better disciplined and possess greater integrity than their richer counterparts in terms of productive use of the credit and timely repayment of their dues. The success of Grameen concept underscores the strong conviction, personal charisma and genius of Yunus and lays down the road map to carry forward his mission to liberate the poor, especially the women, from the repressive economic milieu in which they play out their mundane existence on a daily basis.

Millions of people all over the world are still languishing in abject poverty. Late though as it may be, world leaders have realized the importance of eradication of poverty as a way of restoring peace in our troubled planet and included it as one of the millennium goals. We in the Grameen family join millions in Bangladesh and beyond to wish Yunus a long life to continue to play out his historical role to attain that goal in a bigger national and global canvas.