50 years old documents suddenly revealed have shaken the foundation of Bangladesh’s most talked about story. Former intelligence officer Aminul Haq Polash, living in exile, has released internal papers from 1976 to 1983—and he claims these files could change the real story of microcredit forever.
According to Polash, these documents clearly show that the microcredit model originated from a research project of Chittagong University. But later Muhammad Yunus gradually took this entire initiative in his name and presented it to the world as his personal “discovery”. Polash alleges that for years the model that the world believed to be Yunus’s unique idea was actually a university research, which he had systematically hijacked.
Polash, a former National Security Intelligence (NSI) official who was forced to leave the country due to the alleged corruption investigation into Yunus, says these documents clearly show that the real origin of microcredit was not from Yunus, but from a university research project. “These bear Yunus’s own signature,” said Polash. He claims that these papers prove that microcredit was not an individual invention, but was the result of collective academic efforts of many researchers.
According to Polash, the documents he has made public show a completely different real story of microcredit, his allegations are as follows:
1. Microcredit originated from a research program of Chittagong University, not from Yunus
Polash alleges that the Rural Economics Program (REP) was started at Chittagong University in 1976 with a grant from the Ford Foundation. The first micro-lending experiment in Jobra village was an action-research project led by three researchers—Swapan Adnan, Naseeruddin and H.I. Latifi—run together. According to the documents, Yunus was entrusted only with the work of cooperative management in this research, and not with developing or running the microcredit model.
2. Bangladesh Bank adopted the model even before Yunus joined
According to Polash’s allegations, in a meeting chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank in 1978, it had been decided to implement this rural credit model at the national level. For this, it was also decided to release 100 crore taka through state banks – and this was later called “Grameen Bank Project”.
3. Ford Foundation gave the grant to the university, not to Yunus
According to a 1983 letter produced by Polash that the Ford Foundation sent to the Vice-Chancellor of Chittagong University, the grant was made to the university—not to Yunus personally. Polash says that all these documents together prove one thing: Microcredit was a collective university research, which Yunus later took over in his name.
Polash alleges that the pattern that started in the 1970s is now being repeated under the governance of Bangladesh. The only difference is that this time Yunus has the power of the entire country in his hands. According to Polash, after coming to power “illegally” in August 2024, Yunus used the state machinery to end all his legal troubles, end corruption and labor issues, impose tax waivers, reduce government stake and provide special benefits to rural groups. During this time, a policy of open nepotism was adopted by appointing his nephews and close associates to high positions.
Polash says that just as he built a global empire by taking over a rural research project of a university, today he is taking control of the entire governance structure of Bangladesh. In his words—“The man who can take over a research project in Jobra is today taking over the entire country in the same way.”
