Zafar Sobhan- Editor and Inspiration

Zafar Sobhan epitomizes the entrepreneurial, enterprising spirit that he sees in the country of Bangladesh. As the Opinions Editor of the Daily Star, Bangladesh’s premier English language newspaper, Sobhan has a lot to say about the changes that the country has gone through as well as the direction in which it is heading.

Though the bulk of Sobhan’s education has been in the West, he has always returned to Bangladesh throughout his life. It is this international perspective which makes him able to analyze his country from the view of both an insider and an outsider, making him more aware of the changes taking place. After graduating from Pomona College in the United States, he spent a year in Bangladesh teaching English literature at a high school before he went to Pepperdine University for law school. He went to graduate school at the University of British Columbia in Canada and then moved to New York to work as a corporate lawyer. After four years of working in the world of law, he taught English literature at a public high school in New York, as he passionately believes in the power of youth and the importance of literature. In 2003, Sobhan moved to Dhaka as the Opinions Editor of the Daily Star.

Because he keeps returning to Bangladesh after absences of several years, he has a continuously new perspective on the changing country. He now feels that things are �poised to take off� in Bangladesh as people grow more and more independent and self-motivated, relying on themselves and their own intiatives rather than the government. In the first years of its existence, directly after independence, Bangladesh was a poor country ravaged by war. The people looked to the government to help in the first decade, before they realized its limited effect. Later they put their trust in NGOs, and though they have helped a lot, they too have limited capacity. Now, Sobhan mentions an �entrepreneurial spirit� as the people look to neither government nor NGOs to solve their problems, but to themselves. Businesses are springing up, and since 1996 Bangladesh has enjoyed a steady average economic growth rate of 6%.

Sobhan calls Bangladesh �the most resilient country on Earth,� referring to its ability to recover from the many natural disasters and other tragedies that the country unfortunately suffers from. He gave the example of three cyclones that struck the country in 1970 (death toll of 500,000), 1991 (death toll of 138,000), and 2007 (death toll of 3,100). Though the 2007 cyclone was of a greater magnitude than the first two, the country’s capacity to deal with disasters has improved so drastically that much less people died.

Bangladesh is also greatly improving in areas like women’s rights and education, though there is still a lot do do. Though there is still a great deal of misery, inequality, and injustice, Sobhan believes that the changes that have happened so far are extremely encouraging. Unfortunately, the interaction between religions is a continuing problem in this Muslim-majority country. Religious violence against Hindus has increased since independence and some Hindus feel like they don’t have a future in Bangladesh. Other minorities like Christians and the tribal people in the Chittagong Hills are also not completely at home in Bangladesh. Though there are a few minority members of Parliament, more improvement is necessary before minorities can feel truly comfortable.

The people of Bangladesh seem staunchly committed to democracy. Sobhan cites the example of the caretaker government which was in charge of Bangladesh for two years before the 2008 democratic elections, which handed over power to the Bangladesh Awami League. He says that people were restless and unhappy with the idea of the caretaker government, greatly preferring the chance to democratically elect leaders. Though they were initially a bit frustrated with democracy, the two years under the caretaker government affirmed their commitment to democratic elections and the power to choose. Daily Star polls report that people seem generally happy with the government, although there is the possibility of disillusionment if it fails to meet their expectations. The intellectual circles are more cynical.

As the Opinions Editor of the Daily Star, Sobhan tries to nurture a new generation of writers, giving them a forum to express their views without discriminating by age. Before his leadership, almost all of the writers were over sixty years old, but he has a more meritocratic approach, even publishing articles by college students as long as they are smart and have something to say. This shift represents the increasing importance of the young people of Bangladesh.

Sobhan is committed to working with youth in a variety of spheres. Projonmo Bangladesh- Generation Bangladesh TV Show, was a talk show featuring young people aimed at their generation. This was particularly important before the election, as the show threw a concert in order to attempt to increase the political involvement of Bangladesh’s youth. He co-founded Phiriye Ano Bangladesh, an organization which gets youth engaged in political processes, social work, volunteering, and community action, particularly as many Bangladeshi youth feel that they don’t have a voice or platform. Sobhan chairs the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center, a non-profit which provides leadership training to students with an interest in public services. Though there are many idealistic young people, there is little avenue for their talents and opinions, a situation which Sobhan is working to change.

As a Yale World Fellow, Sobhan is excited about gaining an incredible educational experience as well as becoming part of the Yale World Fellows Alumni network. He looks forward to collaborating with current Yale World Fellows as well as those from classes past. Zafar Sobhan’s international upbringing and his work with youth makes him one of the most exciting young leaders in Bangladesh.