BASED on its pre-liberation politics in the then East Pakistan (1969-1972) and later, its dominant and towering presence in the political landscape of post-liberation Bangladesh, where the party moved in and out of government (1972-2024) and more recently, in government for a decade and a half (2009-2024), it is safe to say that the Awami League is a party of both amazing accomplishments and despicable aberrations, a party of spectacular contradictions.
Indeed, Awami League is one of the rare political parties in the world that championed the cause of democracy, the autonomy demand for erstwhile East Pakistan, and then faced with the challenges of power-sharing, opted for led a liberation war, established an independent Bangladesh (1969-1974), and then, degenerated into one of the most despotic and kleptocratic parties, while in government ruled through governing arrangements that “exhibited the hallmarks of fascism” (2009-2024).
A chronological stock-taking of Awami League – in opposition and in government – reveals the following dominant features that characterizes Bangladesh’s most loved and most hated political parties:
- A great mobilizer: Until recently, Awami League especially its leadership demonstrated this unique capacity in mass mobilization such that from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the ‘Father of the Nation’ to recently deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, its leaderships consistently appeared as the modern day Pied Pipers of Hamlin – people follow them blindly and even ready to sacrifice their lives and kill at their beck and call (1971, 2024).
- An opportunistic advocate of democracy: Awami League is the most avid advocate of democracy, only when it is in the opposition (1954 -1970).
It is Awami League that almost single-handedly mobilised the East Pakistanis against the dictatorial Pakistan military establishment, demanding democracy and for a 6-point based full autonomy for the erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that thanks to the intransigence of the Pakistan deep state, morphed into a civil war between the Pakistan establishment and the Awami League-led Bangladesh (March 25, 1971) and then led by the Awami League, the elected party, East Pakistan into the war of independence and formation of Bangladesh as a separate country, the third (after Pakistan and Maldives) Muslim majority country in the sub-continent. (March 26, 1971-December 16, 1971).
After assuming power in the newly liberated Bangladesh, Awami League began ruling through parliamentary democracy (1973-December 1974) and then the party used its overwhelming majority in the parliament and scrapped parliamentary democracy for a one-party rule, through BaKSAL, an autocratic governing arrangement. (January 1975-August 1975)
BaKSAL ended in a violent coup that killed the then President and the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family members as well as key Awami League leaders (August 15, 1975).
- Uses democracy to get to power, and once in power, uses democracy to kill democracy: Awami League is one of those rare political parties that uses democracy to get to power (1954-1970) and once in power, uses democracy to kill democracy (1972-1975; 2009-2024) – for example, in January 1975, Awami League used its overwhelming majority in the parliament to abolish parliamentary democracy and transformed governance into a one-party BaKSAL rule (January 1975 – August 1975); again, in 2009, after assuming power through free and fair elections, Awami League government used its parliamentary majority to abolish the election-time non-party neutral caretaker government (CTG) system, that it itself once advocated for when in opposition and got it established and used the CTG system got elected, then scrapped it.
After scrapping the CTG election system in 2009, Awami League government conducted three consecutive “elections” in 2014, 2018 and 2022 and “won” all of them, through rigging and fraud, with impunity and indeed, shamelessly and ruled autocratically without accountability, until a mass uprising deposed it in early August 2024 (2009–August 2024).
- Preferred tools of governance – political othering, patronage distribution, repression and corruption: Regardless of whether in or out of the government, Awami League makes hatred its key political capital, and uses political othering as its core means of mass mobilisation (the so-called “liberation” versus “anti-liberation” forces”, “Jihadists” etc.) and once in government, employs in addition to hate politics, repression, patronage distribution and institutionalised corruption, as tools of loyalty and control in governance and these particular attributes of Awami League’s governance became particularly evident during its recent decade and half long rule (2009-2024), that witnessed two contradictory trends – massive investments in infrastructure development ( a source of patronage distribution, too), galloping GDP growth and significant poverty reduction and at the same time, “a grim picture of systemic fraud, mismanagement and abuse of power across multiple sectors” and “extensive corruption across public and private sectors, stifling growth” etc.
Despite some noticeable evidence in development, institutionalised abuses have since emptied the exchequer, increased country’s debt-burden manifold, destabilised and put the economy under serious stress and that the deposed Awami League government “looted the economy openly” and yet “…most of us could not summon courage to confront it” for fear of harsh reprisals.
- Bartering of national sovereignty: Many suggest and with evidence that Awami League, as a political party would leave no stone unturned to get to power and if necessary, obtain external backing in exchange of favours, at the expense of the country’s sovereignty.
For example, during its 2009-2024 rein, Awami League reported to have granted disproportionate concessions to India to obtain its backing – covert and overt – to ascend and to entrench itself in power which compromised the sovereignty of Bangladesh. The mass uprising in August 2024 that toppled the Awami League government, exposed in its wake, the party’s claim to infallibility even with mighty external backing and at the same time, revealed India’s folly in opportunistic backing a regime that worked against the will of the people and interest of the country, which at the end, made it earn the wrath and distrust of people of Bangladesh so much so that Bangladesh is seeking security cooperation of other more powerful countries (2009-2024).
- A cult: Another redeeming feature of the Awami League is that its supporters support the party and its leader blindly, especially one that happens to possess the preferred genetic connection. Blind loyalty has allowed the party especially its leadership to get away with murder, literally, and over the years, degenerate into more like a mafia institution if not a cult where its supporters put the party ahead of the country and place the leader ahead of both the party and the country, to the position of a deity. It is thus interesting though not surprising to see that even after experiencing such a mass uprising against it, that contributed to its most spectacular and disgraceful downfall and a downfall which has been caused by its years of misdeeds, has not scoured its support base even by a centimetre nor are its supporters remorseful, nor are they reflecting. On the contrary, Awami League is planning revenge!
Since the July/August 2024 uprising Bangladesh is being governed by an Interim Government headed by Bangladesh’s Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Among other things, the Interim Government is preparing grounds for election to hand over power to an elected government.
Discussions are underway whether given Awami League’s sordid past should the party be allowed to participate in the upcoming elections. If they do, and signs are that they may, it would be important for the voters to take note of Awami League’s repeating diabolical characteristics that have costed Bangladesh dearly. At the same time, the July/August 2024 uprising that has unseated the Awami League government and made its leadership to flee to India may have given the party an opportunity to reflect, rectify and resurrect itself by shunning its bad habits – discard hate politics; reject the deposed leadership that have failed and shamed the party; and more importantly, move away from hero worship and cultist behaviour that allowed the party into a mafia like institution; and introduce democracy in the party itself and re-emerge with a new leadership committed to contribute to democracy, to an accountable and transparent governance and indeed, a prosperous, fair, inclusive and a sovereign Bangladesh.