# 1977 in Bangladesh

1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1977th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 977th year of the 2nd millennium, the 77th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1970s decade.
The year 1977 was the 6th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the first year of the Government of Ziaur Rahman. In this year while the new President had to deal with a number of mutiny and overthrow attempts, he also managed to consolidate his power through a referendum, and promoted a nineteen-point political and economic program focusing on population control, food security, education and rural development.

## Incumbents

* President: Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (until 21 April), Ziaur Rahman (starting 21 April)
* Vice President: Abdus Sattar (starting June)
* Chief Justice: Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain

## Demography

Demographic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1977 :
| Population, total | 73,463,593 |
| Population density (per km$^2$) | 564.4 |
| Population growth (annual %) | 2.5% |
| Male to Female Ratio (every 100 Female) | 106.3 |
| Urban population (% of total) | 11.6% |
| Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) | 44.4 |
| Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people) | 16.3 |
| Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000 live births) | 211 |
| Life expectancy at birth, total (years) | 50.5 |
| Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 6.7 |

## Climate

Climate data for Bangladesh in 1977 :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) | 20.4 (68.7) | 26.4 (79.5) | 26.3 (79.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 27.2 (81.0) | 28. (82) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.2 (82.8) | 26.1 (79.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 19.3 (66.7) | 24.9 (76.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.1 (0.16) | 32. (1.3) | 42. (1.7) | 299.3 (11.78) | 328.1 (12.92) | 527.8 (20.78) | 493. (19.4) | 293.2 (11.54) | 178.1 (7.01) | 159.6 (6.28) | 34. (1.3) | 25. (1.0) | 2,416.1 (95.12) |
| Source: Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia (UEA) ||||||||||||||

## Economy

Key Economic Indicators for Bangladesh in 1977 :
| National Income ||||
| | Current US$ | Current BDT | % of GDP |
| GDP | $9.7 billion | BDT149.3 billion | |
| GDP growth (annual %) | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.7% |
| GDP per capita | $131.4 | BDT2,032 | |
| Agriculture, value added | $4.7 billion | BDT73.0 billion | 48.9% |
| Industry, value added | $1.6 billion | BDT25.0 billion | 16.7% |
| Services, etc., value added | $3.3 billion | BDT51.3 billion | 34.4% |
| Balance of Payment ||||
| | Current US$ | Current BDT | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | -$281.0 million | | -2.9% |
| Imports of goods and services | $1,203.9 million | BDT18.5 billion | 12.4% |
| Exports of goods and services | $540.6 million | BDT10.5 billion | 7.0% |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows | $7.0 million | | 0.1% |
| Personal remittances, received | $78.9 million | | 0.8% |
| Total reserves (includes gold) at year end | $241.5 million | | |
| Total reserves in months of imports | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
Note: For the year 1977 average official exchange rate for BDT was 15.38 per US$.

## Events

* 21 April: Zia replaces Sayem as the President.
* 30 May: Zia wins 98.9 percent of votes in referendum on his continuance as president.
* 3 June: Supreme Court Justice Abdus Sattar becomes vice president.
* 1 September: Formation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
* 28 September: A Japan Airlines Flight 472 en route from Mumbai to Tokyo was hijacked by 5 Japanese Red Army terrorists shortly after takeoff, and forced the plane to land at then Zia International Airport. The terrorists' demand of $6 million and release of 6 JRA terrorists from Japanese prison was met by the Japanese Prime Minister. Bangladesh Air Force was deployed to control the situation in the ground and to facilitate negotiations.
* 30 September: A mutiny breaks out in Bogra.
* 2 October: The mutiny is quelled, but is followed by another failed attempt to overthrow Zia in Dhaka.
* A five-year treaty is signed with India on water sharing.
* Bangladesh became an Associate member of the International Cricket Council.

### Awards and Recognitions
#### Independence Day Award

| Recipients | Area | Note |
| Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani | social work | posthumous |
| Kazi Nazrul Islam | literature | The national poet of Bangladesh |
| Mokarram Hussain Khundker | science and technology | posthumous |
| Zainul Abedin | arts | posthumous |
| Mahbub Alam Chashi | rural development | |
| Brig. Mahmudur Rahman Choudhury | medical science | |
| Dr. Md. Zafrullah Chowdhury | population control | |
| Runa Laila | music | |
| Habildar Mostak Ahmad | sports | |
| Enayet Karim | welfare | First Ambassador from Bangladesh to USA |

#### Ekushey Padak

* Mohammad Nasiruddin (literature)
* Ustad Gul Mohammad Khan (music)
* Ibrahim Khan (education)
* Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua (literature)
* Khondakar Abdul Hamid (journalism)
* Ayub Ali (education)
* Shamsur Rahman (literature)
* Zahir Raihan (drama)
* Rashid Choudhury (fine arts)
* Abdul Alim (music)
* Altaf Mahmud (music)
* Ferdausi Rahman (music)
* Farrukh Ahmad (literature)

### Sports

* Domestic football: Abahani KC won Dhaka League title, while Rahmatganj MFS came out runners-up.

## Births

* GMB Akash, photographer
* Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, photographer
* Amin Khan, actor
* Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu, footballer
* Zulfiqer Russell, lyricist

## Deaths

* 13 February: Abdus Salam, editor. (b. 1910)
* 2 May: Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua, writer. (b. 1906)
* 2 September: Theotonius Amal Ganguly, Archbishop. (b. 1920)
* 24 October: Hatem Ali Khan, politician. (b. 1904)
* 3 November: Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda, scientist. (b. 1900)
* 11 November: ARM Inamul Haque, social worker. (b. 1921)