Awami League's evolution
The Awami League was born when Shaheed Suhrawardy decided to drop the word Muslim from Awami Muslim League to merge with the secular forces in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The idea was indeed visionary as it aimed to unite both Muslim-Bengalis and Hindu-Bengalis under a common identity-- Bengali. Moreover, since then the Awami League championed the demand of ordinary people of East Pakistan under the charismatic and uncompromising leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which ultimately resulted in the independence of our motherland--Bangladesh. A key reason underlying the success of pre-independence Awami League is that it was consistent with its principles and it succeeded in producing dynamic leaders who were able to lead the country even when Sheikh Mujib was imprisoned by the Pakistani forces. However, post-independence Awami League somehow failed to consistently practice the principles which it was formed upon. Some examples of such inconsistencies --its introduction of one-party system by creating BAKSAL; its participation in the election of 1986, which gave a new life to the autocratic regime of HM Ershad; its failure to have any within party democracy which only allowed incompetent people to emerge as leaders in the party apparatus; and lastly its short lived memorandum of understanding (MoU) with fanatic forces which alienated the party from its secular ideals. Today, it is hard to perceive the ideals that the Bangladesh Awami League really stands for, and, more importantly, what they aim to deliver in future. Even a month ago they were active in bringing back democratic forces in power. Now, after the release of their party chairman, they have somehow silenced down and some say a deal had been struck. We want to know what this deal is. And, is it in line with the principles that this party was formed upon?
We hope no arrangements made by any party take us back to the autocratic times of the 1980s, and we sincerely hope democracy flourishes in our motherland.
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