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103-532: Mahfuz Anam , editor of The Daily Star , is the chair and Muhammad Younus , chief advisor of Bangladesh, is the emeritus trustee of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. Md Morhsed Alam is the project director of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. Bangladesh Freedom Foundation was established as a trust in 1997 and registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau in 1998. It is funded by the Ford Foundation. Mahfuz Anam

206-567: A Bangladeshi organisation is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mahfuz Anam Mahfuz Anam ( Bengali : মাহফুজ আনাম ; born 18 June 1950) is a Bangladeshi journalist . He serves as editor and publisher of The Daily Star , one of Bangladesh's largest circulating English-language newspapers. After working in the United Nations for 14 years, Anam co-founded the newspaper with his mentor Syed Mohammad Ali in 1991 during Bangladesh's democratic transition. His criticism of

309-567: A presidential form of government. Sheikh Mujib renamed the League the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL), and banned all other parties. The consequences lead to a critical political state. BAKSAL was dissolved after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The move towards a secular form of government caused widespread dissatisfaction among many low ranking military personnel, most of whom received training from

412-522: A claim which Anam has refuted. The Hasina government briefly suspended government advertisements in The Daily Star , which are a key source of revenue for Anam's newspaper. Anam was born in 1950 in what was then East Bengal , a province of the Dominion of Pakistan . Anam is the youngest son of Abul Mansur Ahmed , a Bengali lawyer, writer and politician. His father worked and struggled for Muslims in

515-548: A famine : 70,000 people died, and support for Mujib declined. Bangladesh continued exporting jute to Cuba, violating US economic sanctions, the Nixon government barred grain imports to Bangladesh. This exacerbated famine conditions. In January 1975, facing violent leftist insurgents Mujib declared a state of emergency and later assumed the presidency, after the Awami League dominated parliament decided to switch from parliamentary to

618-483: A former employee of The Daily Star , is also critical of Anam for his views on the Padma Bridge graft scandal . In 2016, speaking at a panel discussion on ATN News , Anam conceded that reports published in The Daily Star in 2007 alleging corruption by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were based on uncorroborated leaks fed by the military's Directorate General of Forces Intelligence . "It was a big mistake," he said during

721-891: A historical, though still influential, ideological base combining left-wing nationalism , socialism , and democratic socialism . The party's nationalist outlook is primarily concentrated in its fundamental principles and historical role of nationalism in the Independence War. The ideology of Awami League has been evolved through political and socio-economic landscape of the country since its creation. The Party President Sheikh Hasina claimed that her party's ideology has been blended with pragmatism . Party's constitution states four fundamental principles in guiding its philosophy and policies: democracy , socialism , secularism and nationalism . The origins of these principles can be traced to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 's political thought . Awami League has been committed to secularism for

824-468: A keynote speech on "Why China should be interested in Bangladesh?", which discussed Bangladesh's economic growth and trade relations with Beijing. During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis , Anam openly criticized the army chief despite restrictions on press freedom under a state of emergency . In response to General Moeen U Ahmed 's suggestions for a Bangladeshi brand of democracy, Anam wrote "On

927-700: A landmark order for the establishment of the Bangla Academy in Dhaka. As tensions with the western wing grew due to the demands for greater provincial autonomy in East Bengal, Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the United Front government on 29 May 1954 under Article 92/A of the provisional constitution of Pakistan. In September 1956, the Awami League formed a coalition with the Republican Party to secure

1030-500: A link to assassinated members of the 1972–1975 AL government were Sayed Ashraful Islam , son of Syed Nazrul Islam , Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh , son of Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni , and Sohel Taj , son of Tajuddin Ahmad . Since 2009, the Awami League government faced several major political challenges, including BDR ( Bangladesh Rifles ) mutiny, power crisis, unrest in garments industry and stock market fluctuations. Judicial achievements for

1133-405: A long time. The party has promoted a strong secular image and depicted itself as a defender of secularism against Islamism . Most of the party leaders support the restoration of the original constitution of 1972 by removing Islam as the state religion . Since Islam has been made as the state religion of Bangladesh, Awami League has been trying to defended secularism in light of Islam. Being

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1236-527: A majority in the new National Assembly of Pakistan and took over the central government. Awami League President Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy became the Prime Minister of Pakistan . Suhrawardy pursued a reform agenda to reduce the long-standing economic disparity between East and West Pakistan, greater representation of Bengalis in the Pakistani civil and armed services and he unsuccessfully attempted to alleviate

1339-611: A member of parliament from Habiganj , was killed in a grenade attack in Sylhet later that year. In June 2005, the Awami League won an important victory when the AL nominated incumbent mayor A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury won the important mayoral election in Chittagong, by a huge margin, against BNP nominee State Minister of Aviation Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin . This election was seen as a showdown between

1442-540: A newspaper in Bangladesh with Syed Mohammad Ali, the former editor of The Bangkok Post . They secured funding from investors Azimur Rahman, A. S. Mahmud, Latifur Rahman , A. Rouf Chowdhury and Shamsur Rahman. In Anam's words, "The paper was a while in the making. It started in the 80s, with the frantic exchange of letters between S. M. Ali, based in Kuala Lumpur, and myself, based in Bangkok, both working for UNESCO. The plan

1545-560: A number of students including Abdus Salam , Rafiq Uddin Ahmed , Abul Barkat and Abdul Jabbar . The events of 1952 are widely seen by historians today as a turning point in the history of Pakistan and the Bengali people, as it was the starting point of the Bengali nationalist struggle that eventually culminated in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, who had been

1648-639: A part of Pakistan, and the establishment of the Muslim was led by its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his Muslim League party. In 1948, there was rising agitation in East Bengal against the omission of Bengali script from coins, stamps and government exams. Thousands of students, mainly from the University of Dhaka, protested in Dhaka and clashed with security forces. Prominent student leaders including Shamsul Huq , Khaleque Nawaz Khan , Shawkat Ali , Kazi Golam Mahboob , Oli Ahad , and Abdul Wahed were arrested and

1751-605: A political party called Nagorik Shakti (Citizen Power). Despite earlier libertarian views, Anam appeared to cautiously welcome the Fall of Kabul in 2021 and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan . He described the situation as a defeat for the United States. In spite of Hasina accusing Anam of colluding with the World Bank to stop the Padma Bridge project, Anam called the completion of

1854-666: A pragmatist party, Awami League often compromises with the Islamist political parties in social issues, which has been criticized. The party's tolerance of the Islamic practices, retaining of Islam as the state religion , silence during the attacks on secularists in Bangladesh , has been questioned. Sheikh Hasina supported calls to remove the Statue of Justice in Bangladesh Supreme Court. Many criticized these calls, saying Sheikh Hasina

1957-401: A quarter of a century ago, and has always had a reputation for journalistic integrity and liberal and progressive views – a kind of Bangladeshi New York Times ". After S. M. Ali's death in 1993, Anam began leading the journalistic operations of the newspaper. The newspaper's parent company Mediaworld Ltd appointed Anam as publisher in 1998. Anam worked closely with Syed Fahim Munaim , who was

2060-427: A recently appointed judge had falsified his academic credentials; the court action had been filed by the judge's father. Under the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina since 2009, Anam has faced 83 lawsuits, including 30 counts of criminal defamation . The lawsuits against Anam were criticized by PEN America . Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed calls Anam "completely unethical" and "a liar". David Bergman ,

2163-530: A recognizable and relatable image in riverine Bangladesh. The salutation Joy Bangla ( Bengali : জয় বাংলা ; meaning "Victory to Bengal" or "Long live Bengal") is the official slogan of the Awami League. It was the slogan and war cry of the Mukti Bahini that fought for the independence of Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The phrase Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu is used by

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2266-845: A staff correspondent of The Bangladesh Observer , the country's main English-language daily at the time. He later served as assistant editor of The Bangladesh Times . He was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Fellowship in Journalism in 1976 by the East-West Center . Between 1977 and 1990, Anam worked for UNESCO as a media officer and spokesman. He was posted in Paris , New York City and Bangkok . In his last posting in Bangkok, Anam served as UNESCO's Regional Media and Public Affairs Representative. While in Bangkok, Anam planned to set up

2369-554: Is one of the major political parties in Bangladesh . The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achieving the independence of Bangladesh . It is also one of the two most dominant parties in the country, along with its archrival Bangladesh Nationalist Party . The party was founded as the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League ( Urdu : آل پاکستان عوامی مسلم لیگ ) in 1949 by

2472-528: The All-India Muslim League (AIML)-nominated prime minister of Bengal in 1937 and held the same office after 1946 elections, did not agree to 'Muslim League' as the name of AIML in Pakistan. He initiated the thought that the ideal of political representation under religious identity was no longer prudent after independence and the organisation might be called the 'Pakistan League'. Moreover, he claimed that

2575-676: The Bengali nationalists Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani , Yar Mohammad Khan and Shamsul Huq , and joined later by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy who went on to become Prime Minister of Pakistan . It was established as the socialist Bengali 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 Bengal (later named East Pakistan ) and eventually led

2678-655: The Ford Foundation and Professor Rehman Sobhan to establish the Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. Anam has been described as a libertarian . His influential editorials cover sensitive issues of Bangladesh's turbulent politics and democracy. Anam became a fierce critic of both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia on issues like parliament boycotts, corruption and human rights abuses. Anam's economic views are pro- free market . In foreign policy, Anam supports improving relations with India . In 2010, Anam delivered

2781-573: The Jatiya Party led by former military ruler Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad as well as some leftist parties. According to the Official Results, Bangladesh Awami League won 230 out of 300 constituencies, and together with its allies, had a total of 262 parliamentary seats. The Awami League and its allies received 57% of the total votes cast. The AL alone got 48%, compared to 36% of

2884-637: The Pakistani army . On 15 August 1975 during the time of Major General K. M. Shafiullah as a Chief of the Army Staff, some junior members of the armed forces in Dhaka , led by Major Faruk Rahman and Major Rashid, murdered Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all his family members, including his wife and minor son. Within months, on 3 November 1975, four more of its top leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam , Tajuddin Ahmed , Muhammad Mansur Ali and A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman were killed inside

2987-565: The Persian-Arabic script was Bengali . Against this backdrop, Bengali nationalism began to take root within the Muslim League and the party's Bengali members began to take a stand for recognition. On 23 June 1949, Bengali nationalists from East Bengal broke away from the Muslim League, Pakistan's dominant political party, and established the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League . Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Shamsul Huq were elected

3090-548: The President of Bangladesh , four have become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and one became the Prime Minister of Pakistan . East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was formed as a breakaway faction of the Muslim League in 1949, within two years of the formation of Pakistan. The word Muslim was dropped in 1953 and it became a secular party. The word Awami is the adjectival form for the Urdu word Awam , which means "people"; thus

3193-798: The University of Dhaka . Anam won the All Pakistan Debating Championship for three consecutive years in 1967, 1968 and 1969. The debate championships were held in Karachi , Dhaka and Lahore . In 1971, Anam campaigned for the independence of East Pakistan . He joined the Mukti Bahini in the final months of the Bangladesh Liberation War , and at the end of it was an officer-in-training. Anam began his career in March 1972. He worked as

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3296-412: The "genius of the people". Anam's article was written amid fears of a direct military takeover in Bangladesh; the army chief later ruled out any possibility of grabbing power. One of Anam's most influential articles was "This is no way to strengthen democracy", which he wrote in response to Sheikh Hasina's detention by the military-backed caretaker government in 2007. In the article, he stated "We trust

3399-533: The 300 provincial assembly seats in East Pakistan. This win gave the Awami League a healthy majority in the 313-seat National Assembly and placed it in a position to establish a national government without a coalition partner. This was not acceptable to the political leaders of West Pakistan and led directly to the events of the Bangladesh Liberation War . The Awami League leaders, taking refuge in India, successfully led

3502-606: The Awami League and the BNP. However, the killing of party leaders continued. In December 2005, the AL supported Mayor of Sylhet narrowly escaped the third attempt on his life as a grenade thrown at him failed to explode. In September 2006, several of the party's top leaders, including Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP and Asaduzzaman Nur MP, were hospitalised after being critically injured by police beatings while they demonstrated in support of electoral-law reforms. Starting in late October 2006,

3605-406: 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, Bangladesh experienced democratic backsliding and was consistently described as authoritarian , dictatorial and fascist . It

3708-486: The Awami League led alliance carried out a series of nationwide demonstrations and blockades centring on the selection of the leader of the interim caretaker administration to oversee the 2007 elections. Although an election was scheduled to take place on 22 January 2007 that the Awami League decided to boycott, the country's military intervened on 11 January 2007 and installed an interim government composed of retired bureaucrats and military officers. Throughout 2007 and 2008,

3811-401: The BNP and the AL tell us of powerful visitors asking them to move against their party leaders or face corruption charges? We would like to strongly suggest that this is no way to strengthen democracy. Just as ' command economy ' failed so will 'command politics'. The core of democracy is people's right to choose their leaders and those who will represent them in the government". Anam protested

3914-643: The Bangladesh Freedom Forum and has received criticism from the Gateway House of the Indian Council on Global Relation for hiring the best talent away from government service. The foundation has provided funding for Bangladesh Junior Science Olympiad, Children Science Congress, National School Science Debate, STEM & ICT Skills for the Girls of Coastal Areas, and increasing harvest. This article about

4017-664: The Bengal Subah (presidency) throughout his lifetime as the socioeconomic atmosphere of Bengali Muslims was becoming worse at that time. His father was a reputed newspaper editor and political satirist in British India . During the 1950s, his father was vice president of the Awami League between 1953 and 1958, provincial Minister of Education in the United Front cabinet in 1954, and central Minister of Commerce and Industries in

4120-713: The Dhaka Central Jail as they were on behalf of BAKSAL. Only Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana , daughters of Mujib, survived the 1988 Chittagong Massacre as they were in West Germany as a part of a cultural exchange program. They later claimed political asylum in the United Kingdom. Sheikh Rehana, the younger sister, chose to remain in the UK permanently, while Sheikh Hasina moved to India and lived in self-imposed exile. Her stays abroad helped her gain important political friends in

4223-573: The Flag represent the four fundamental principles of the party. During the post- Mughal era , no political parties existed in the area known as Bangla or Bangal. After the British arrived and established government, the system of political representation (though much later) was adopted in the area of Bangla (Bengal) or introduced in Bengal. After the official departure of the British, the area known as East Bengal became

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4326-511: The Government of Bangladesh from all types of political and organizational activities and declared as a terrorist organization on 23 Oct 2024. The party has been labelled as centrist and centre-left , however, it has also been accused of being far-right and authoritarian since 2021. Awami League has been described as secular (though this is disputed), social-democratic , social-liberal , and economic-liberal , with

4429-439: The Muslim League's objective of struggling to form a nation state had been achieved therefore political representation should continue focusing on nationalism based on Pakistani sovereignty. Suhrawardy's suggestion was not accepted and he parted ways with the party to be re-established as the Awami League in 1949. This was to serve the first shock to the country's political structure. In 1953, the party's council meeting voted to drop

4532-589: The Muslim League. However, due to its strength stemming from the discriminated Bengali population of Pakistan's eastern wing, the party eventually became associated and identified with East Bengal. In 1952, the Awami Muslim League and its student wing played an instrumental role in the Bengali Language Movement , during which Pakistani security forces fired upon protesting students demanding Bengali be declared an official language of Pakistan, killing

4635-588: The National Democratic Front against Ayub Khan's military-backed rule and to restore elective democracy. However the alliance failed to obtain any concessions. Instead the electoral colleges appointed a new parliament and the President exercised executive authority. Widespread discrimination prevailed in Pakistan against Bengalis during the regime of Khan. The University of Dhaka became a hotbed for student activism advocating greater rights for Bengalis and

4738-434: The Pakistani state. They included Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the Awami League, who served as commerce minister. Leaders of the new provincial government demanded greater provincial autonomy for East Bengal and eventually succeeded in pressuring Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra , himself a Bengali , to endorse the proposed constitutional recognition of Bengali as an official language of Pakistan. The United Front also passed

4841-618: The Police and other agencies, violently cracked down on the protesters. In spite of that crackdown, the protests could not be quelled. The government imposed internet shutdown as well as curfews to forcefully stop the momentum of the movement. Eventually, the protests morphed into a movement aimed at ensuring the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. On 5 August 2024, millions of protesters defied curfew orders and marched towards Ganobhaban. Consequently, Hasina resigned and left Bangladesh for India. This ended 15 years of continuous awami rule in Bangladesh . In

4944-615: The Political Parties Elected Bodies Disqualified Ordinance, Khan banned all major political parties in Pakistan. Senior politicians, including the entire top leadership of the Awami League, were arrested and most were kept under detention until 1963. In 1962, Khan drafted a new constitution, modelled on indirect election , through an electoral college , and termed it 'Basic Democracy'. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy joined Nurul Amin , Khwaja Nazimuddin , Maulvi Farid Ahmed and Hamidul Haq Chowdhury in forming

5047-536: The Prime Minister's resignation. Suhrawardy requested to seek a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, but this request was turned down. Suhrawardy resigned under threat of dismissal on 10 October 1957. On 7 October 1958, President Mirza declared martial law and appointed army chief General Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law Administrator . Khan eventually deposed Mirza in a bloodless coup. By promulgating

5150-513: The Suhrawardy government and called a conference in February 1957 at Kagmari, Tangail in East Bengal. He protested the move and the support lent by the Awami League leadership to the government. Bhashani broke away from the Awami League and then formed the leftist National Awami Party (NAP). Yar Mohammad Khan funded the 5-day Kagmari Conference and was the treasurer of the conference committee. The controversy over 'One Unit' (the division of Pakistan into only two provinces, east and west ) and

5253-416: The West and in India that proved to be a valuable asset for the party in the future. After 1975, the party remained split into several rival factions and fared poorly in the 1979 parliamentary elections held under a military government. In 1981 Sheikh Hasina returned as Ziaur Rahman allowed her to return after the largest party faction, the Awami League elected her its president, and she proceeded to take over

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5356-399: The appropriate electoral system for Pakistan, whether joint or separate, also revived as soon as Suhrawardy became prime minister. In West Pakistan, there was strong opposition to the joint electorate by the Muslim League and the religious parties. The Awami League however, strongly supported the joint electorate. These differences over One Unit and the appropriate electorate caused problems for

5459-467: The armed forces and the dominance of the Muslim League. The Bengalis argued that they constituted the ethnic majority of Pakistan's population and Urdu was unknown to the majority in East Bengal. Moreover, the rich literary heritage of the Bengali language and the deep rooted secular culture of Bengali society led to a strong sense of linguistic and cultural nationalism amongst the people of East Bengal. The only significant language in Pakistan not written in

5562-464: The army chief General Aziz Ahmed . Anam blasted General Ahmed who suggested that criticizing the army chief was tantamount to criticizing the Prime Minister. Anam is traditionally seen as a defender of the values of secular democracy which inspired Bangladesh's independence movement. There has been speculation about Anam's political ambitions. Anam was involved in creating a citizens' platform with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus . Yunus tried to form

5665-464: The bridge's construction Sheikh Hasina's "finest hour". At the same time, his newspaper has faced pressure from the Bangladesh government and intelligence agencies. Anam's newspaper suffered a short lived drop in revenue due to the Hasina administration withholding adverts from government departments. The government then lifted the ban and resumed adverts in The Daily Star and its sister publication Prothom Alo . Anam's newspaper now has to work within

5768-488: The cabinet of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy , the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan , between 1956 and 1957. Anam's eldest daughter Tahmima Anam is a Bangladeshi English-language novelist and a recipient of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize . Anam's older brother Mahbub Anam was the editor of The Bangladesh Times and a Member of Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Anam studied at Notre Dame College in Dhaka. He holds degrees in economics from

5871-399: The chief of staff when he says that the Army is not involved in politics or forming any new party. But what do we do when we receive reports from our correspondents that district administrators are making lists of so-called clean politicians and that many of them are being visited by the powers that be goading them to join the new so-called king's party? What do we do when senior leaders of both

5974-427: The closure of a pro-opposition newspaper in 2010 by referring to Voltaire . In 2021, Anam took a neutral stand over the controversy surrounding the Al Jazeera documentary All the Prime Minister's Men . Censorship in Bangladesh meant there was little coverage of the scandalous accusations in the documentary. Anam called it "not a top-class work of investigative journalism". Anam also wrote a column openly addressed to

6077-477: The complicity of law enforcement forces in compromising the integrity of the electoral process. On 7 January 2024, the twelfth National Parliamentary elections were held which were boycotted by BNP and major opposition parties. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) condemned this process as one-sided and farcical. The election saw Awami League again clinching a landslide victory, winning 224 out of 300 directly elected seats. The 62 elected members who contested

6180-434: The confines of censorship due to the widely criticized Digital Security Act , which many Bangladeshi journalists want repealed. During the government of Khaleda Zia in the 2000s, Anam faced defamation lawsuits from ruling BNP leaders. He was co-accused with Matiur Rahman , editor of the Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo . Anam's lawyer was Kamal Hossain . Anam was also found to be in contempt of court for reporting that

6283-471: The country and carried out mine clearing operations. The party had pro Pakistani newspaper editors arrested and shut down the nations' newspapers leaving only four in operation. Food shortages were also a major concern of the Awami League. War had damaged all forms of farming. The party aligned itself with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and leaned towards the Soviet bloc. The party was accused of corruption by supporters of Pakistan. In 1974 Bangladesh suffered

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6386-419: The country's two largest political parties and the military has often resulted in him being sued; Anam dismisses the charges and the suits as attacks on press freedom. He was elected for a second term as chairman of the Asia News Network in 2022 and 2023. Anam is accused by Awami League leader and Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina of attempting to block funds for her signature Padma Bridge project,

6489-431: The country, out-beating rivals like The Bangladesh Observer and Holiday . Its editorial views became highly influential. It emerged as a symbol of Bangladesh's outspoken, diverse and privately owned press which flourished between 1990 and the late 2000s. According to the BBC , " The Daily Star is the most popular English-language newspaper in Bangladesh. It was launched as Bangladesh returned to parliamentary democracy

6592-410: The election as independents largely aligned with AL On 5 June 2024, The High Court of Bangladesh reinstated the controversial Job Quota System, sparking countrywide students protests. On 4 July 2024, The Appellate Division refused to rescind the verdict. As a result, protests intensified. Then the Appellate Division imposed a stay on the ruling but protesters continued to carry on their movement unless

6695-465: The elections in 1991, in which Khaleda Zia became the first female prime minister. AL's second term in office had mixed achievements. Apart from sustaining economic stability during the Asian economic crisis , the government successfully settled Bangladesh's long standing dispute with India over sharing the water of the river Ganges (also known as Padma ) in late 1996, and signed a peace treaty with tribal rebels in 1997. In 1998, Bangladesh faced one of

6798-416: The emergence of independent Bangladesh, Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujib won the first general elections . The party along with most other 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 forced by subsequent military regimes onto

6901-442: The first elected government in Bangladesh to serve a full term in office. The party won only 62 out of 300 parliamentary seats in the elections held in October 2001, despite winning 40% of the votes, up from 36% in 1996 and 33% in 1991. The BNP and its allies won a two-thirds majority in parliament with 46% of the votes cast, with BNP alone winning 41%, up from 33% in 1996 and 30% in 1991. In its second term in opposition since 1991,

7004-420: The first president and general secretary of the party respectively, Ataur Rahman Khan was elected the vice-president, Yar Mohammad Khan was elected as the treasurer, while Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and A. K. Rafiqul Hussain were elected the party's first joint secretaries. The party was formed to champion the rights of the masses in Pakistan against the powerful feudal establishment led by

7107-409: The food shortage in the country. The Awami League also began deepening relations with the United States. The government moved to join the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO), the two strategic defence alliances in Asia inspired by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Maulana Bhashani , one of the party's founders, condemned the decision of

7210-399: 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 1971 Non-Cooperation Movement , and then during the Bangladesh Liberation War . After

7313-407: The general election of Bangladesh staged by military ruler Lt. Gen. H. M. Ershad even though the other major political party and the winner of previous elections Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted. British observers including a journalists termed the elections a "tragedy for democracy" and a "cynically frustrated exercise". The Awami League emerged as the largest opposition party in parliament in

7416-543: The government agreed to their demands of taking a firm step for reforming the quota system. Prime Minister Hasina ignited controversy by her statement - "If the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the freedom fighters are deprived of quotas, will Razakars' (Collaborators of the Pakistani military during the Liberation War)grandchildren and great grandchildren get them?" The protesters were further galvanized at this comment. Bangladesh Students' League, aided by

7519-546: The government. By early 1957, the movement for the dismemberment of the One Unit had started. Suhrawardy was at the mercy of the central bureaucracy fighting to save the One Unit. Many in the business elite in Karachi were lobbying against Suhrawardy's decision to distribute millions of dollars of American aid to East Pakistan and to set up a national shipping corporation. Supported by these lobbyists, President Iskander Mirza demanded

7622-496: The government. Its pro poor policies achieved wide microeconomic development but that left the country's wealthy business class dissatisfied. The AL's last months in office were marred by sporadic bombing by alleged Islamist militants. Hasina herself escaped several attempts on her life, in one of which two anti-tank mines were planted under her helipad in Gopalganj district . In July 2001, the second AL government stepped down, becoming

7725-516: The historic decision to adopt the traditional Bengali boat, which signified the attachment to rural Bengal, as its election symbol. The election in April 1954 swept the United Front coalition into power in East Bengal with a massive mandate of 223 seats out of 237 seats. The Awami League itself won 143 seats while the Muslim League won only 9 seats. Veteran student leader and language movement stalwart Khaleque Nawaz Khan defeated incumbent prime minister of

7828-492: The immediate aftermath of the fall of the AL government, many of its leaders went into hiding. The properties and residences of many AL leaders were looted, vandalized and set on fire. Many ministers and influential politicians from AL have been arrested and taken into remand. Many of them were prohibited from leaving Bangladesh. The bank accounts of many AL leaders and their families have also been frozen. The student wing of Bangladesh Awami League has been officially banned by

7931-539: The interview and stated that "It was a bad editorial judgement, I admit it without any doubt". Despite his admission, he has been facing concerted attacks from the government and Awami League supporters. As of 18 February 2016, 79 cases have been filed against him including 17 sedition and 62 defamation cases. Awami League The Bangladesh Awami League ( Bengali : বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ , lit.   'Bangladesh People's League'), simply known as Awami League ( Bengali: [awɐmiliːg] ),

8034-402: The military backed government tried to root out corruption and remove Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of the AL and BNP respectively. While these efforts largely failed, they succeeded in producing a credible voter list that was used on 29 December 2008 national election. The Awami League won the national election held on 29 December 2008 as part of a larger electoral alliance that also included

8137-783: The newspaper's Managing Editor and responsible for revenue matters. Anam is the founding president of the Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB). He also served as Secretary-General of the Editors Council of Bangladesh . Anam was elected chairman of the Asia News Network (ANN) in Seoul in 2007. Anam is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bangladeshi chapter of Transparency International (TIB). Anam worked with

8240-456: The other major alliance led by the BNP which by itself got 33% of the votes. Sheikh Hasina, as party head, became the new prime minister. Her term of office began in January 2009. The second Hasina cabinet had several new faces, including three women in prominent positions: Dr Dipu Moni (Foreign Minister), Matia Chowdhury (Agriculture Minister) and Sahara Khatun (Home Minister). Younger MPs with

8343-569: The party included restoring original 1972 constitution, returning secularism to the constitution, beginning of war crimes trials, and guilty verdict in 1975 assassination trial. According to the Nielsen 2-year survey, 50% felt the country was moving in the right direction, and 36% gave the government a favourable rating. In the 2014 election the Awami League led alliance won a second term of which 154 Members (out of 300) of Parliament were selected where there were no election . Only 5% voter attended in

8446-447: The party leadership and unite the factions. As she was under age at the time she could not take part in the 1981 presidential elections that followed the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman . Throughout the following nine years of military rule by Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad the Awami League participated in some polls but boycotted most as Ershad did not believe in democracy. On 7 May 1986, Awami League participated in

8549-423: The party members at the end of speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to the devotion towards Bangladesh and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib. The Awami League party flag is a green field with four five-rayed red star at its centre, and a vertical red stripe at the hoist side. The flag also bears some resemblance to the flag of Pakistan , showing the ex-Pakistani origin of the Awami League. The four stars on

8652-471: The party suffered the assassination of several key members. Popular young leader Ahsanullah Master , a member of parliament from Gazipur, was killed in 2004. This was followed by a grenade attack on Hasina during a public meeting on 21 August 2004, resulting in the death of 22 party supporters, including party women's secretary Ivy Rahman , though Hasina lived. Finally, the party's electoral secretary, ex finance minister, and veteran diplomat Shah M S Kibria ,

8755-478: The party's name can be translated as Bangladesh People's League . During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, most of the Awami League members joined the Provisional Government of Bangladesh and Mukti Bahini guerrillas to fight against the Pakistani army and the name Bangladesh Awami League was eventually settled upon. The most common electoral symbol for the party has been a traditional boat ,

8858-406: The police were accused of repression while charging protesters. In March, senior Bengali political leaders were attacked whilst leading protests demanding that Bengali be declared an official language in Pakistan. The leaders included A. K. Fazlul Huq , the former Prime Minister of undivided Bengal. Amidst the rising discontent in East Bengal, Jinnah visited Dhaka and announced that Urdu would be

8961-419: The political sidelines, and many of its senior leaders and activists were executed or jailed. In 1981, Sheikh Hasina , the daughter of Sheikh Mujib, 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,

9064-465: The polling station and cast their votes. The opposition and one of the most popular parties (BNP) boycotted the election for removing the caretaker government (neutral government) system from the constitution after completion of 5 years tenure. With 21 people dead due to the violence during election, along with further human rights abuses and an absence of opposition, this was one of the controversial general elections in Bangladesh's history. This election

9167-424: The premises, and most importantly, get the 'declaration'—the official permission to start a newspaper". The Daily Star was founded during Bangladesh's transition to parliamentary democracy in 1991. The period coincided with economic liberalization reforms. The newspaper quickly gained popularity in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong . It became the largest circulating English-language daily in

9270-537: The provinces of Pakistan. After the so-called Agartala Conspiracy Case , and subsequent end of the Ayub Khan's regime in Pakistan, the Awami League and its leader Sheikh Mujib reached the peak of their popularity among the East Pakistani Bengali population. In the elections of 1970, the Awami League won 167 of 169 East Pakistan seats in the National Assembly but none of West Pakistan's 138 seats. It also won 288 of

9373-514: The questions of the Chief of Army Staff's idea of 'having our own brand of democracy' we want to point out that our first brush with a General in politics was with Ayub Khan back in 1958 and he wanted to 'reinvent democracy according to the genius of the people' and we ended up having 'basic democracy' that was thoroughly rejected by our people, though it took a while. Much later in Pakistan came General Zia-ul-Huq who also wanted to redefine democracy. His

9476-554: The restoration of democracy in Pakistan. On 5 December 1963, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was found dead in his hotel room in Beirut , Lebanon. His sudden death under mysterious circumstances gave rise to speculation within the Awami League and the general population in East Pakistan that he had been poisoned. The 6-point demands , proposed by Mujib, were widely accepted by the East Pakistani populace, as they proposed greater autonomy for

9579-474: The sole state language of Pakistan given its significance to Islamic nationalism in South Asia. The announcement caused an emotional uproar in East Bengal, where the native Bengali population resented Jinnah for his attempts to impose a language they hardly understood on the basis of upholding unity. The resentment was further fuelled by rising discrimination against Bengalis in government, industry, bureaucracy and

9682-465: The then East Bengali Nurul Amin in a landslide margin. Amin was defeated in his home Nandail constituency. Khaleque Nawaz Khan created history at age 27 by defeating the sitting prime minister and the Muslim League was wiped from the political landscape of the then East Pakistan. A. K. Fazlul Huq assumed the office of Chief Minister of East Bengal and drew up a cabinet containing many of the prominent student activists that were leading movements against

9785-486: The war against the Pakistan Army throughout 1971. Leader Sheikh Mujib was arrested by the Pakistan Army on 25 March 1971, but the Bangladeshi people continued the fight to free themselves for nine months. After victory on 16 December 1971, the party formed the national government of Bangladesh. In 1972, under Sheikh Mujib, the party name was changed to "Awami League". The new government faced many challenges as they rebuilt

9888-602: The word "Muslim". In the run-up to the 1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election , the Awami League took the lead in negotiations in forming a pan-Bangla political alliance including the Krishak Praja Party , Nizam-e-Islam and Ganatantri Dal . The alliance was termed the Jukta Front (United Front) and formulated the Ekush Dafa , or 21-point Charter, to fight for establishing rights in East Pakistan. The party also took

9991-417: The worst floods ever, and the government handled the crisis satisfactorily. It also had significant achievements in containing inflation, and peacefully neutralising a long-running leftist insurgency in south-western districts dating back to the first AL government's time. However, rampant corruption allegations against party office bearers and ministers as well as a deteriorating law and order situation troubled

10094-614: Was affiliated with the oranization. In 2009, the foundation sponsored Museums: Building Community event at the Liberation War Museum . It is partnered with Agrogoti Sangstha, Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society, Udayankur Seba Sangstha. Bangladesh Freedom Foundation has also received support from The Malala Fund and the Australian High Commission. It publishes a quarterly newsletter called Philanthropy. The Ford Foundation has mixed in with

10197-508: Was finally overthrown with the Student–People's uprising in August 2024. Since then, the party remained underground. Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, and Obaidul Quader , currently 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

10300-399: Was further tainted by arrests where dozens of opposition leaders and members were taken into custody. Amid this crackdown of opposition, in 2018, another election was held where BNP and all major opposition parties took part. That election was marred by allegations of widespread electoral fraud, harassment of political opposition and imprisonment of opposition activists. The opposition alleged

10403-661: Was quite a clever ploy and very original. In order to deprive the Pakistanis of exercising their right to elect a government Zia said 'I cannot accept democracy where sovereignty belongs to the people. In my book sovereignty only belongs to Allah'. So Zia-ul-Huq ran Pakistan under his personal fiat, as accepting the sovereignty of the people was against his belief. Ask any Pakistani for the great and irreparable damage he had caused to their country". Indian columnist Kuldip Nayar referred to Anam's piece in Outlook regarding Ayub Khan's views on

10506-442: Was that he would retire, in 1988, and I would resign, in 1990, and both of us would return to Bangladesh and launch our paper. The two-year advance presence of Ali Bhai coupled with my frequent visits from Bangkok, sometimes once every month, gave us the chance to finalise investments (with Mahmud Bhai [A S Mahmud], our founding managing director, acting as the catalyst), finalise our plans for the paper, wrap up major recruitments, rent

10609-484: Was the founding chair and Rehman Sobhan was the original treasurer of the organization. The founding trustee board included Debapriya Bhattacharya , Qazi Fazlur Rahman , Meghna Guhathakurta , Muhammad Younus, Nayla Khan, Sultana Kamal , Syed Manzoor Elahi , and Wahiduddin Mahmud . The board of trustee would later include Angela Gomes , Rokeya Afzal Rahman , Samson H Chowdhury , and Zafar Iqbal . Jamilur Reza Choudhury

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