Back رابطة عوامي Arabic বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ Bengali/Bangla Lliga Awami Catalan Awami League Danish Awami-Liga German Σύνδεσμος Αουάμι του Μπανγκλαντές Greek Aŭamia Ligo Esperanto Liga Awami de Bangladés Spanish عوامی لیگ بنگلادش Persian Awamiliitto Finnish

Awami League

Bangladesh Awami League
বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ
AbbreviationAL
PresidentSheikh Hasina
General SecretaryObaidul Quader
Governing bodyCentral Working Committee
Founders
Founded23 June 1949 (1949-06-23) (as East Pakistan Awami Muslim League)
Banned10 May 2025[a]
Split fromMuslim League
Merged intoBangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1975)
NewspaperUttaran[1][2]
Student wingBangladesh Chhatra League[b]
Youth wingBangladesh Awami Jubo League
Women's wing
Farmer wingBangladesh Krishak League
Trade unionBangladesh Jatiya Sramik League
Volunteer wingBangladesh Awami Swechasebak League
Armed wing
National affiliationGrand Alliance
Colors  Green
SloganJoy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu
('Victory to Bengal, victory to Bangabandhu')
Party flag
Website
Awami League official

The Bangladesh Awami League,[c] commonly known as Awami League,[d] is a major political party in Bangladesh. Founded in 1949 and being the oldest existing party in the country, it played a vital role in country's struggle for independence. It's one of the two traditionally dominant parties in the country, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and had maintained a sole dominance over the country's political system between 2009 and 2024, before being ousted in the July Revolution. The party's activities were banned by the post-revolution government on 10 May 2025, under the Anti-Terrorism Act.[3][4]

In 1949, the party was founded as the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League (after 1955, the East Pakistan Awami League) by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Yar Mohammad Khan, Shamsul Huq, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and joined later by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. It was established as the alternative to the domination of the Muslim League in Pakistan and over centralisation of the government. The party quickly gained a massive popular support in East Pakistan and eventually led the forces of Bengali nationalism in the struggle against West Pakistan's military and political establishment. The party under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the struggle for independence, first through massive populist and civil disobedience movements, such as the Six point movement and Non-cooperation movement (1971), and then during the Bangladesh War of Independence.

After the emergence of independent Bangladesh, Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujib won the first general elections. The party along with other left-wing political parties of Bangladesh were merged into Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) in January 1975, where Awami League politicians played the leading role in BaKSAL. After the August 1975 coup, the party was made onto the political sidelines, and many of its senior leaders and activists were executed or jailed. In 1981, Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became the president of the party and continued to hold the position to this date.

The party played a crucial role in the anti-authoritarian movements against the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad. After the restoration of democracy amidst mass uprising in 1990, the Awami League emerged as one of the principal players of Bangladeshi politics. The party formed governments winning the 1996, 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections. Throughout its tenure as the ruling party from 2009 to 2024 under Sheikh Hasina,[5] Bangladesh experienced significant democratic backsliding[6][7][8] and was consistently described as authoritarian,[e] and dictatorial.[f] It was finally overthrown with the Student–People's uprising in August 2024. Since then, the party remained underground. On 10 May 2025, the interim government banned all activities by the Awami League, in cyberspace and elsewhere, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The ban will last until the International Crimes Tribunal completes the trial of the party and its leaders.[21][22] On 12 May 2025, the Bangladesh Election Commission suspended the registration of the Awami League as a party.[23][24]

Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, and Obaidul Quader have been serving the president and the general secretary of the party, respectively. Sheikh Hasina has headed the party since 1981. Amongst the leaders of the Awami League, five have become the President of Bangladesh, four have become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and one became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.


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  1. ^ "AL mouthpiece 'Uttaran' publication today". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Uttaran celebrates PM's birthday tomorrow". The Financial Express (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  3. ^ "All Awami League activities banned until ICT trial completed". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  4. ^ "আওয়ামী লীগ নিষিদ্ধ করার সিদ্ধান্ত: সাইবার স্পেস-সহ যাবতীয় কার্যক্রমে নিষেধাজ্ঞা দেওয়ার কথা জানিয়েছে অন্তর্বর্তী সরকার". BBC Bangla (in Bengali). 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  5. ^ "An interim govt will run Bangladesh, says army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman". bdnews24.com. 5 August 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh: Violent Repression of Opposition". Human Rights Watch. 17 January 2019. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021.
  7. ^ Riaz, Ali (21 September 2020). "The pathway of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh". Democratization. 28: 179–197. doi:10.1080/13510347.2020.1818069. ISSN 1351-0347. S2CID 224958514. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  8. ^ Hossain, Akram; Mahmudul, Haque (19 October 2021). Survival Strategies of Jamaat as a Religion-Based Political Opponent in Bangladesh. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 105–123. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-4314-9_7. ISBN 978-981-16-4314-9. S2CID 239951371. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ^ Hossain, Akram; Mahmudul, Haque (19 October 2021). Survival Strategies of Jamaat as a Religion-Based Political Opponent in Bangladesh. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 105–123. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-4314-9_7. ISBN 978-981-16-4314-9. S2CID 239951371. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ^ Ruud, Arild; Hasan, Mubashar (18 October 2021). Masks of Authoritarianism Hegemony, Power and Public Life in Bangladesh. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. p. 112. ISBN 9789811643149.
  11. ^ "Bangladesh: Violent Autocratic Crackdown Ahead of Elections". Human Rights Watch. 26 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Bangladesh's dictator flees—leaving behind a dangerous vacuum". The Economist. 5 August 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  13. ^ Ahmed, Redwan; Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (26 July 2024). "Bangladesh student protests turn into 'mass movement against a dictator'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Sheikh Hasina: Bangladesh democracy icon-turned-iron lady". France 24. 7 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Sheikh Hasina forced to resign: What happened and what's next?". Al Jazeera English. 5 August 2024. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  16. ^ McVeigh, Tracy (6 August 2024). "Sheikh Hasina: child of the revolution who eroded Bangladesh's democracy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  17. ^ "'Free from dictatorship': Bangladesh protesters celebrate Sheikh Hasina's exit". India Today. 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  18. ^ "'Not only Bangladesh ... ':Farooq Abdullah's cryptic lesson 'for every dictator'". The Times of India. 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Sheikh Hasina: From a pro-democratic leader to a dictator". Daily Sun. August 2024. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Sheikh Hasina: How Bangladesh's protesters ended a 15-year reign". BBC. 5 August 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Govt decides to ban activities of AL until completion of ICT trial". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 10 May 2025.
  22. ^ "Bangladesh outlaws Awami League party amid protests, paves way for trial". bdnews24.com. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Awami League's registration suspended: EC Secretary". Bangladesh Pratidin. 12 May 2025. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  24. ^ "EC scraps banned AL's registration, disqualifies for JS elections". The Business Standard. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
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