 "Why Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League could be banned in Bangladesh and why it matters")
Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh and made her way to India after facing mass protests, could soon see her party, the Awami League — founded by her father Mujibur Rahman — being banned in her home country. If this occurs, then Bangladesh would lose its oldest existing political party in the country, a party that played a large role in achieving Bangladesh independence.
The move becomes even more probable after the Bangladesh interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League.
How did we get here? What does this mean for the party? We answer your questions.
Ban on Bangladesh Chhatra League
On Wednesday (October 23), Bangladesh’s interim government announced the ban on the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Awami League’s student organisation.
In a home ministry notification, the government has said that for the past 15 years, under the Awami League government, the Bangladesh Chhatra League had been involved in various activities that disrupted public safety, including murder, rape, torture, harassment in student dormitories and tender manipulation.
It said there was sufficient evidence indicating that the group continued to engage in conspiratorial, destructive and provocative activities against the state. The regime declared a ban on it under section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, with immediate effect, said the notification.
Bangladesh Chhatra League president Saddam Hussain slammed the move, telling ThePrint, “This is a mob-like government. We do not see any legality behind the ban. This ban is similar to Yahya Khan’s ban on the BCL during the 1971 Liberation War. We do not agree with it. BCL has always participated in democratic processes and will continue to do so.”
The Awami League also criticised the ban. In a post on X, the party led by Sheikh Hasina wrote, “Bangladesh Awami League believes that banning an organisation that led the Bengali liberation struggle and the war of independence, and whose name is intertwined with the very existence of the state of Bangladesh, by an unconstitutional and illegal interim government is a tragic and unfortunate event for the nation — a cruel irony. It is a brutal revenge by the defeated forces of 1971 against the liberation struggle and the war of independence.”
Bangladesh Awami League's Protest and Strong Condemnation Against the Vile and Unjust Ban on a Historic Organization Tied to the Nation's Independence
— Bangladesh Awami League (@albd1971) October 24, 2024
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Through a notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs of the unconstitutional and illegal so-called interim government, the… pic.twitter.com/ghwidSCsd6
Sign of things to come for Awami League
Many believe that the ban on BCL is an indication of what could be the future of the Awami League . On October 20, the Daily Star reported that the interim government would be barring the Awami League and like-minded parties from participating in political activities.
Mahfuj Alam, the special assistant to the chief adviser, was quoted as saying, “Those who had taken part in the last three elections and come to parliament illegally deceived the people, and the interim government will of course put obstacles to their political participation.
“You will see how these barriers will come into effect. It has a legal aspect and it has an administrative aspect — you will see it soon. These things will become clearer when the election process starts.”
Earlier, on September 1, the Bangladesh High Court dismissed a writ petition seeking a ban on the Awami League. The writ petition was filed by Arifur Rahman Murad Bhuiyan, executive director, Sarda Society, on August 19. The plea in the court sought Hasina’s party’s cancellation for its alleged involvement in the killing of students and general people during the student-led mass upsurge.
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement, the students union that was responsible for the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s government , has been categorical in its demand to ban the Awami League. They hold Hasina and her party responsible for the deaths of over 600 people, who died in incidents of violence in the protest against the controversial quota system in government jobs first started in mid-July.
End to Bangladesh’s oldest party
If the Muhammad Yunus-led government does ban the Awami League from future political activities, it would signal the end of the country’s oldest political party in the country. Founded in 1949, it has been at the forefront of almost all democratic movements before and after the birth of Bangladesh. It also led the nation to independence.
The last time the Awami League faced such an existential crisis as it does now — Hasina is not in the country and its other senior leaders have also fled — was in August 1975 when Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed.
It was only in 1981 when Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh and rebuilt the party. Since then, she has been leading the organisation and it is under her leadership, the party has assumed power five times.
However, in recent times, there have been allegations against the Awami League and its leader Sheikh Hasina of being authoritarian and dictatorial in nature. Hasina, according to many, dismantled the political infrastructure that allowed for democratic governance and respect for human rights more broadly. Many of the Awami League’s leaders have also been accused of corruption. Sheikh Hasina has also been accused of using the State machinery against protesters.
It seems that the new generation of Bangladesh is done with the old ways. They want new ideas, and new people and want to step away from the history that makes Bangladesh the country that it is.
With inputs from agencies
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