The people of our country have certain characteristics. I'm not sure if it's geographical or anthropological in nature. Perhaps it's ingrained in the DNA. Even if we don't have food in our stomachs, we live day and night in a dream, and that dream is politics. Politics means parties, and parties mean rivalry, as we can see.
Everyone is in a race—who will surpass whom, beat them, uproot them, and take control of the country. To legitimise this takeover, goals, ideals, and manifestos are crafted with all sorts of attractive words. Detailed programmes are made that seem to complicate people's lives. So what? This is politics. And politics, in this country, is a grand democratic right. Who has the courage to take away that right? Yet, one party manages to shut down another party's politics. It's said it protects public interest, strengthens democracy, and preserves the sovereignty of the state.
The game of banning parties in this country has been going on for a long time. When we first became independent, we had our cherished Pakistan. Right at the beginning, the Communist Party was banned because they didn't believe in democracy. They practiced class-struggle politics, and it was said they were anti-Islam. How could something anti-Islam exist in the Muslim country of Pakistan? During 1954, the ban on the Communist Party was lifted when a coalition government led by the United Front and later the Awami League was in power in East Pakistan. During Ayub Khan's military rule, the party was banned again, and this ban remained until 1971.
Then the sword of prohibition fell on Jamaat-e-Islami. The party was first banned in 1953 for inciting riots against the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore. The ban was lifted within a year. In 1961, for opposing the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, they were banned again, but returned to politics in 1965.
During Ayub Khan's military rule, no other political party was banned. However, political activities were prohibited for about four years. In 1971, Yahya Khan's military government banned the Awami League and the National Awami Party led by Wali Khan. The National Awami Party never returned to Pakistan under that name. The members of that party formed a new party called the Pakistan National Party.
In the early days of independent Bangladesh, no party was banned by law. Due to restrictions on religion-based politics in the constitution of 1972, Islamist parties naturally went into hiding. Among them were the Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami, Nizam-e-Islam Party, and Pakistan Democratic Party. During the Liberation War of 1971, they were collaborators of the Yahya regime. It's worth mentioning that these parties were already out of favour after the elections of 1970. Citizens voted them into oblivion.
On 25 January 1975, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution was promulgated, effectively banning all political parties. State leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman launched a ''national'' political party—Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL). It was essentially a rebranded version of the Awami League and its allies.
The landscape changed with the assassination of Mujib on 15 August 1975. The BAKSAL system was abolished, and political parties re-emerged. As a leader, General Ziaur Rahman rose, issued proclamations, changed and amended some constitutional provisions, which led to the resurgence of religion-based parties. The process of registering political parties began.
Between 1976 and 1977, there were several coup attempts to overthrow Ziaur Rahman's government. During that time, three parties were banned—the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) led by Moni Singh, the Democratic League led by Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed, and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) led by MA Awal. The JSD led by jailed leaders Jalil and Rob did not get registered as a party during that time. Within about a year, all restrictions were lifted. Ziaur Rahman moved towards a democratic system. For many years afterward, no political parties were banned in the country. Some parties, however, voluntarily remained underground, having an aversion to mainstream politics.
During the Liberation War of 1971, numerous war crimes and atrocities were committed in this country. Many murders and indiscriminate killings took place. Allegations were primarily against the Pakistani army and their collaborating political parties. Jamaat-e-Islami's name repeatedly came up as a collaborator. From 2009 onwards, the Awami League held power for many consecutive years. During that time, efforts were made to corner Jamaat.
Top leaders were jailed, many were executed. However, the party was not banned. Jamaat's registration was canceled by the Election Commission because parts of its constitution conflicted with the national constitution. This means they couldn't contest elections with a designated symbol, but party members could contest as independents or under another party's symbol.
In July 2024, we witnessed an unprecedented mass uprising. The Awami League government was in a precarious situation. Towards the end of July, the government, through an executive order, banned Jamaat. Two reasons emerged: the government believed Jamaat was orchestrating the mass uprising against it, or Jamaat was being set up as a scapegoat to divert public attention. On 5 August 2024, the tables turned, and Jamaat was free the next day.
There was intense public disapproval against the Awami League. Seizing the opportunity, Muhammad Yunus' interim government banned the Awami League's activities, preventing it from participating in the 2026 elections. By not allowing them to participate in the election, the interim government took away the voters' opportunity to reject the Awami League.
Here lies the question: who has the sovereign power to accept or reject a party? The voter or the government? The current BNP government has legislated in the ongoing parliamentary session to ban the Awami League. The idea that the Awami League could one day be banned and Jamaat-e-Islami could take seats in the national parliament is a ''paradox'' of history.
Why did the government decide to ban the Awami League at this stage? This is a million-dollar question. All parties represented in the parliament agreed on the decision. It can be said that this decision was made based on a kind of political consensus. Secondly, local government elections will be held soon. As a result, the Awami League will have the opportunity to organise itself at the grassroots level. Measures are in place to prevent that.
Another question arises: does the Awami League truly want to return to or become active in politics? Judging by their demeanor, it doesn't seem so. The top leaders of the party are all fugitives. The leadership, reliant on relatives, knowingly sent all relatives abroad before the uprising.
The party's president, Sheikh Hasina, is practically the owner of the party. Nothing in her behaviour suggests she wants to return to politics. If she had that intention, her words and actions would have been different. Now, her son speaks on her behalf. Has the Awami League ultimately become a mother-son party? Meanwhile, many supporters of her party are lamenting across the country, yet there's no trace of the party's owner. It's a massive party with supposedly millions of supporters. Where are they?
The Awami League may also have some strategies behind its ban. This will become clear in the days to come.
*Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher.
*The opinions expressed are the author's own.
#The article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam