Certain political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat, and NCP, are engaged in malicious attempts to permanently ban and destroy the Awami League, the political party that achieved Bangladesh's independence and forms the mainstream of its history. However, in the face of the party's long struggle, historical roots, and extensive organizational strength, these conspiracies have been failing from the very beginning.
Since independence, there have been numerous plots to destabilize the newly formed state. In 1972, Sirajul Alam Khan, one of the key organizers and theoretical leaders of the liberation war, broke away from the party to form JSD with the aim of establishing 'scientific socialism.' At that time, through the creation of the so-called Gonobahini, setting fire to jute mills, creating artificial food shortages, and engaging in killings and enforced disappearances, the then-government was harassed.
Following the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members on August 15, 1975, illegal usurper of power Major Ziaur Rahman initiated multifaceted plots to annihilate the Awami League. Yet, the party did not lose heart even in those dark times. When Sheikh Hasina returned to her homeland in 1981, the Awami League bounced back with new momentum and glory. After Zia's death, the futile attempt to sustain the party and government through Justice Abdus Sattar also failed. Subsequently, the Ershad government fell through the prolonged mass uprising of the 1990s, and the BNP came to power in the 1991 elections.
It was during the BNP's tenure that terrorism emerged across the country. Militant organizations like Harkat-ul-Jihad and Bangla Bhai reared their heads, and bases for India's separatist 'Seven Sisters' were established in the border areas of Bengal. On February 15, 1996, Khaleda Zia brought self-proclaimed killer of Bangabandhu, Khandaker Rashid, to victory through a rigged election and seated him in parliament. However, that government fell within a span of just five months in the face of intense mass protests.
For state governance and public welfare, the Awami League won the June 1996 elections and assumed power, subsequently uprooting the bases of Indian separatists and taking initial steps to rid the country of terrorism. At the same time, it repealed the Indemnity Act, initiated the trial process for the August 15 killings, and ensured the execution of the assassins.
After the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power in 2001, militant activities took on an extreme form across the country. A series of bomb blasts were carried out targeting courts, shrines, and judges. On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack was launched at an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in an attempt to assassinate the party president and then-Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina. In that barbaric attack, Ivy Rahman and numerous leaders and activists were martyred, while over two hundred were injured.
Overcoming all adversities and conspiracies, the Awami League returned to state power through a landslide victory in the 2008 elections and successfully governed the country for a decade and a half. Although the government underwent a transition in 2024 amidst various domestic and foreign conspiracies, the fundamental foundation of the party could not be shaken.
In the current political landscape, the BNP, Jamaat, and NCP believe that the Awami League can be permanently banned from politics. However, the Awami League's organizational efficiency, nationwide grassroots mass base, and unprecedented public support are the primary reasons for the concern of rival parties. Intimidated by this massive public support for the Awami League, policymakers of the government are trying to establish a reign of terror through fictitious cases against leaders and activists and through mob culture.
Meanwhile, ever since the announcement that party president and four-time successful Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return to the country in December, extreme panic has prevailed within the government and the opposition alliance. Even by torturing leaders and activists, it has not been possible to suppress the movement-oriented spirit of the Awami League. Every chapter of history has proven that no domestic or foreign conspiracy has ever been able to destroy the Awami League, which is deeply blended with the soil and people of this country, nor will they be able to do so in the future.
