AL’s 20th council: 67-yr walk to Suhrawardy Udyan

Bangladesh Awami League, country’s oldest party that started holding the hand of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, walks into its 20th council today at Suhrawardy Udyan.

It has been a walk through ups and downs since its inception in 1949 when a faction broke out from then Muslim League and formed the idea of Awami Muslim League at Rose Garden. 

Journey of #Bangladesh Awami League- A brief look at the party's history since 1949 https://t.co/SGuFSIoC9e #ALBDCouncil #ALBDCouncil2016 pic.twitter.com/kuvodx1BdI

— Awami League (@albd1971) October 22, 2016

ROSE GARDEN, THE BIRTHPLACE

Coming out from Muslim League, a faction of the party held a meeting at Rose Garden on KM Das Lane in Tikatuly of Old Dhaka in June 23-24, 1949. Maulana Bhasani gave his inaugural speech at the meeting with Ataur Rahman Khan in the chair.

There, a decision to form a separate political party East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was taken – which later became the first opposition party of the then Muslim League.

Rose Garden as it stands today in Old Dhaka. Photo taken from Facebook page of Bangladesh Awami League

The first council held in November 14, 1953, saw Maulana Bhasani emerging as the president and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the general secretary of the Awami Muslim League.

That council is where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was later awarded the Bangabandhu title, became a top leader and an influential figure of the Awami League.

SHEIKH MUJIB HELMS AL IN 1966

The fifth council of Awami League on March 18, 1966 saw Sheikh Mujibur Rahman become the president of party after repeated periods of being elected the general secretary since the start.

Tajuddin Ahmed was elected the general secretary.

It was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who led Awami League to the council of June 4, 1970 – the last council before Bangladesh would emerge in a bloody battle for freedom in 1971.

Sheikh Mujib, in the council, called upon the councilors of the Awami League to be prepared for the upcoming election to meet the 11-point demand based on six-point one.

And, in 1971, Bangladesh ripped itself apart from Pakistan and achieved independence under the unparallel leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his party.

INDEPENDENCE & THE FALL OF A LEADER

On April 8 in 1972, the party held its first council after gaining independence from Pakistan where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zillur Rahman were made president and general secretary of the party.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then president of Awami League, during a council session of the party. Photo taken from Facebook page of Bangladesh Awami League

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s last council election was in January 18, 1974 – where he resigned from the party’s post in an attempt to separate the government from a political party.

On August 15, 1975, Bangabandhu was brutally assassinated along with his family – a scar in history that threw Bangladesh into stages of uncertainty and towards a path strayed from democracy.

INCEPTION OF SHEIKH HASINA

After two more councils in 1977 and 1978, Sheikh Hasina, the elder of the bloodline of Bangabandhu was elected president of Awami League in absentia in February 1981.

Abdur Razzak was made Awami League’s general secretary in that council.

Sheikh Hasina came back a year later to lift her party. Since then, she has been leading the Awami League until today.

On January 1987, Awami League held its 14th council where Sheikh Hasina was re-elected the president and Sajeda Chowdhury made general secretary of the party during the rule of military junta Hussein Muhammad Ershad.

SHAPING THE FUTURE WITH HASINA’S VISION

Several more councils of the Awami League went by. Sheikh Hasina was elected the president of the party in all of them. In 1996, she was elected the prime minister of Bangladesh for five years.

The last council was held in Dhaka on December 29, 2012 – during the rule of Awami League with Sheikh Hasina leading both the country and her party with a vision of Digital Bangladesh.

Under her leadership, Bangladesh has attained the status of lower-middle income country and is set on course for becoming a middle income country by 2021.

However, now, Sheikh Hasina has declared that she would rather like to step down and see new face at the helm of Awami League after leading her party for 35 years.

The  Center for Research and Information (CRI), research wing of the party prepared a publication on the history, targeting the AL council this year.

(Online Journalists Ainul Haque Pramanik and SMA Ronie contributed to the making of this report.)