OUR CORRESPONDENT, New Delhi

Voicing concern over the situation in Bangladesh, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said his friend Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government, is taking significant steps but has a long road ahead to resolve the impasse.

In an interview with PTI at his ancestral house in Santiniketan recently, he cautioned against banning the Awami League, saying such a move would repeat the same mistakes that other parties had accused the Awami League government of making.

Asked about his assessment of Yunus as Bangladesh’s chief adviser, Sen said “Yunus is an old friend. I know he is highly capable and, in many ways, a remarkable human being. He has made strong statements about Bangladesh’s secularism and democratic commitment.”

“If you suddenly become the head of a country, as Yunus effectively has, you must consider various factions. There are Islamic parties, and now Hindu factions as well. I have great confidence in Yunus’ abilities,” he said.

Sen said Bangladesh, which has largely kept communal forces like Jamaat in check, should continue its admirable commitment to secularism.

According to Amartya Sen, “Bangladesh should make the best use of its tradition of working together rather than attempting to sideline any particular group. A broader perspective is needed. I hope that the Bengali commitment to freedom and pluralism will persist. And

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