A Village View of Hunger and Power

which we have no first-hand knowledge. Bangladesh provides an instructive case in point. Some fifteen years ago the country (then the eastern wing of Pakistan) hardly was noticed by the media. As a result, few outsiders knew what was happening there, and fewer caredToday Bangladesh is world-famous. Throughout the world, ' Bangladesh' has become a bv- word for mass poverty, famine, eco.. nomic stagnation and underdevelopment. From 1971 onwards the media have covered these aspects extensively, thus catapulting Bangladesh into the limelight and creating a global interest in the country and its problems. The media, with their penchant for the spectacular, have branded Bangladesh a 'permanent disaster' an 'international basket case' and a 'bhanga desh' (a shattered land).