The inception of Awami League: the rise of opposition politics
It is known to all that, in 1940, Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq tabled the historic Resolution incorporating the idea of more than one states in the Indian subcontinent. According to this resolution, there was to be a separate state comprising the Bangla speaking regions of the sub continent. But the plan was completely sidetracked when India was divided in 1947 on the basis of Mr. Jinnah’s Two-nation Theory, and the artificial state of Pakistan came into being with two wings separated by a thousand miles. These two wings comprised two entirely different lands, languages and cultures. The establishment of Pakistan could not solve the problem of Bangalee nationality. On the contrary, the repressive policies of the Pakistani ruling elite against various nationalities brought the question of Bangalee’s separate nationhood to the forefront. In this backdrop, within 4 months and 20 days of the creation of Pakistan an opposition student’s organization named East Pakistan Student League was formed under the leadership of the then young and promising student leader, Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (January 4, 1948). On June 23, nest year, a meeting of the leaders and workers known to be the supporters of Hussain Shaheed suhrawardy was held at ‘Rose Garden’ of K. M. Das lane, Dhaka.
There a new political party named Awami Muslim League was formed with Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani as chair, Shamsul Haq of Tangail as Secretary, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (then interned in Jail) as Joint Secretary and Yar Mohammad as Treasurer. It was the first oppsition party in the then East Bangal (later renamed East Pakistan). In a process of secularization, the word ‘Muslim’ was eventually dropped from the name of the party. Since its inception, Awami League has championed the cause of the political rights of the Bangalee people and fought relentlessly for the attainment of those rights. The present Bangladesh Awami League inherits the legacy of the party founded in 1949. Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is the present president of Bangladesh Awami League.
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