Bangladesh Awami League
The Bangladesh Awami League or the Bangadesh People's League is the main opposition party in Bangladesh. At the 2001 general election it got 40% of the vote and 62 of 300 seats, making it the second largest party behind the Bangladesh National Party.
It was founded on June 23, as the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, and fought for independence from Pakistan. The word Muslim was dropped in 1955. In the free elections of 1970 it won 167 of 169 East Pakistan seats in the National Assembly.
The party is headed by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter Late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Awami League had been in government in two terms for only eight years and a half in 33 years of Bangladesh. It came to power after the independence and formed government in 1972 under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. However Mr. Rahman was unable to control widespread corruption of his associates and officials and failed to restore order in the society. As a result the famine of 1974 was inevitable. Half a million souls were departed. Support for Mr. Rahman declined dramatically.
To worsen the situation Mr. Rahman in January 1975 introduces BAKSAL, a Mujib loyalist paramilitary, in order to reinforce his dictatorship. BAKSAL replaced the multi-party parliamentary democracy, banned independent newspapers, and demolished civil rights. Thousands of opposition political leaders were killed and abducted by the BAKSAL and most of them abductees never returned.
These negative developments led to a widespread dissatisfaction among the people and even inside the Army. In 15 August 1975 members of the armed forces along with the CIA operatives in Dhaka killed Sheik Mujibur Rahman including all his family members who lived with him. Within two months time 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.
See also: Politics of Bangladesh, List of political parties in Bangladesh.
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