Awami League  one of the oldest and major political parties in Bangladesh. It was founded in Dhaka on 23 June 1949 at a convention of the leaders and workers known to have been a faction of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and headed by huseyn shaheed suhrawardy and abul hashim. The new party was named East Pakistan Awami Muslim League. It was established with Maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani as president, ataur rahman khan, Sakhawat Hossain and Ali Ahmed Khan as vice-presidents, Shamsul Huq of Tangail as general secretary, sheikh mujibur rahman (then interned in jail), khondakar mostaq ahmad and AK Rafiqul Husain as joint secretaries, and Yar Mohammad Khan as treasurer. At the party's third council meeting held in Dhaka on 21-23 October 1955, the word 'Muslim' was dropped out from the name of the party to make it sound secular. The party believes in welfare-oriented economy. It has front organisations among the students, labours, peasants, youths and women.

The Awami League was the first opposition party in the then Pakistan. At its birth the party adopted a 42-point programme with special emphasis on the demand for provincial autonomy. Recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan, one man one vote, democracy, framing of a constitution, parliamentary system of government, regional autonomy and removal of disparity between the two wings had been the popular demands of Awami League during the initial period of the Pakistani rule. In the 1954-elections in East Pakistan, it was the Awami Muslim League which was instrumental in forming the united front with other opposition parties in order to unseat the ruling muslim league from power.

In the elections, out of the 237 Muslim seats the Muslim League was able to secure only 9 seats as against 223 seats (Awami League secured 143 seats) bagged by the Front. During the 24 years of Pakistan, Awami League was in power in the province for only about two years (1956-1958) headed by Ataur Rahman Khan, and at the centre for 13 months (12 September 1956 to 11 October 1957) as a coalition government headed by Suhrawardy. In spite of many constraints, these governments made several attempts to meet the just demands of the Bangalis. The role played by Suhrawardy in the passing of a law in the National Assembly introducing joint electorate system (14 October 1956) deserves special mention.

In 1957, Awami League had to face a crisis resulting in a split in the party over the issue of foreign policy. Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhasani were having a difference of opinion for quite some time, the former favoured strong links with the West, particularly with America, while the latter was in favour of a non-aligned foreign policy. The division came to the fore at the kagmari conference (Tangail) of the Awami League (7-8 February 1957). The rift eventually led to the formation of a new political party named National Awami Party headed by Maulana Bhasani.

During General Ayub's autocratic rule (1958-1969), the Awami League emerged as the vanguard spirit of the autonomy movement. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman could establish his supreme control over the party during this period. In February 1966, at a conference of opposition parties in Lahore Sheikh Mujib presented the historic six-point programme of the Awami League. The programme included: federal parliamentary system at the centre including universal adult franchise; all powers in the federating units except foreign relations and defence; separate currencies for East and West Pakistan; right of the federating units to levy taxes and duties; right to negotiate trade and commerce with foreign countries by the federating units; and finally, para-militia or para-military forces for their own defences. The Ayub government reacted to Mujib's charter of demands by instituting the agartala conspiracy case (1968) against him and 34 others. The case led to a mass upsurge in 1969 which forced Ayub Khan to step down from power.

In the backdrop of mass movement and fall of ayub khan, the Awami League won a stunning victory in the 1970 general elections bagging 160 out of 162 territorial seats in East Pakistan allotted in the central legislature. Awami League had a similar landslide victory in the Provincial Assembly elections in East Pakistan bagging 288 seats out of 300. It also won all the 7 women seats in the National Assembly and the 10 women seats in the Provincial Assembly.

Thus Awami League emerged as the single majority party in the Pakistan National Assembly with 167 seats out of a total of 313. But instead of allowing Awami League to form government, the military junta of yahya khan resorted to his military machine to deal with the situation. The Awami League and its chief Sheikh Mujib called a massive non-cooperation movement in East Pakistan from 2 March (1971) onward to which most people of East Pakistan declared solidarity. The attack on the unarmed Bangalis in Dhaka and other places in East Pakistan by the Pakistani army in the night of 25 March 1971 sealed the fate of Pakistan. Mujib was arrested and flown to West Pakistan to face a trial for treason. Soon the war of liberation began and the government in exile (mujibnagar government) formed by the leaders of Awami League led the war which ended in victory on 16 December 1971.

During Bangladesh period, the Awami League had been in government in two terms for only eight years and a half, first under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1972-1975) and later under his daughter, sheikh hasina (1996-2001). The first Awami League government had to confront the challenges of reconstruction of a war-ravaged country. The situation was further aggravated by the large-scale possession of illegal firearms in private hands.

The most important achievements of the Awami government under Sheikh Mujib included framing of a constitution (1972) for independent Bangladesh, arranging the quick return of the Indian soldiers who joined the liberation war as aide to freedom fighters, winning of recognition of the new nation from 140 nations of the world. Holding of general elections under the new constitution was another achievement of the Awami League. In the elections (March 1973), the Awami League won a comprehensive victory securing 293 out of 300 seats in the jatiya sangsad.

But for the Awami League government, the most telling aspects were the famine of 1974, failure to curb rampant corruption and inability to arrest the ever-declining law and order situation. In a desperate bid to prevail upon the situation, a state of emergency was declared (1974), and the bangladesh krishak sramik awami league (BAKSAL) was formed in January 1975 by replacing multi-party parliamentary democracy with a one-national party led presidential government under the fourth amendment to the constitution. The baksal system abolished all other parties including Awami League, at least officially. The baksal system was also accompanied by hard laws banning newspapers excepting a few and curbing civic rights.

Taking the opportunity of these negative developments, a band of disgruntled junior ranking army officers assassinated Sheikh Mujib including his family members who lived with him on 15 August 1975. Soon there came another catastrophe on the party when four of its top leaders, syed nazrul islam, tajuddin ahmed, captain m mansur ali and ahm qamaruzzaman were killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail on 3 November 1975. Furthermore, immediately after revival of the party (1976) under the Political Parties Regulations as promulgated by the Martial Law government of General ziaur rahman, it suffered a split.

The Awami League, however, began to regain strength under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina from the early 1980s. It got 39 seats in the general elections of 1979, 76 seats in 1986 and 88 in 1991. In early 1990s, Awami League, in alliance with other opposition parties started a relentless agitation marked by boycotting parliament first, then resignation from it and calling recurring hartals. As a result, the then BNP led government was finally persuaded to make the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution providing for a Non-party caretaker government, which was the main demand of the Awami League.

In the elections held on 12 June 1996 under the caretaker government, Awami League won 146 seats and formed government on 23 June 1996. The Awami League government was in power for a full five-year term and in the elections held on 1 October 2001, Awami League was defeated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led four-party alliance. The preceding Awami League government headed by Sheikh Hasina was marked by several events, including the signing of the ganges water sharing treaty (1996) with India, the chittagong hill tracts peace accord (1997) and initiatives towards empowerment of women with the provision for their direct election to the union parishad and other local bodies.

[Harun-or-Rashid]