Shahadat Swadhin
The Bangladesh Awami League (AL) emerged from a faction of the Muslim League as a secular force in the politics of then-East Pakistan. The party was founded as the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League in 1949. It was led by Bengali nationalists Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Yar Mohammad Khan, Shamsul Huq, and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a former prime minister of Pakistan.
Under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during Bangladesh’s Liberation War, the AL became the country’s most popular party. Over time, the AL evolved into a family-controlled entity, dominated by the Sheikh family.
After the assassination of Mujib, as well as most of his family, his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, assumed leadership of the party, continuing the family legacy. However, her time in power saw a shift toward “one-party politics,” which gradually weakened Bangladesh’s democratic institutions. Her regime has been accused of overseeing 1,926 extrajudicial killings and 1,676 cases of enforced disappearances. The 2018 Digital Security Law was used to suppress social media activities, enabling her government to restrict the freedom of expression. Between 2018 and 2022, 1,109 cases were filed under the law, resulting in the arrest of 161 opposition politicians and 138 journalists.
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