Why Awami League banned again

Awami League, the majority party in the December 1970 general elections in Pakistan, was banned on March 26, 1971 when President General Yahya Khan refused to transfer power to the party. The banned League launched freedom movement and succeeded in carving the state of Bangladesh out of Pakistan. Thus, Awami League emerged as the founder party of Bangladesh, but ironically Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in January 1975 banned all political parties including, Awami League, and established one-party system in the newly-established country under Baksal party. Years after Mujib's assassination in August 1975, his daughter Sheikh Hasina revived Awami League and managed to come to power in 1996. Later, in 2009, Hasina assumed power for a second time and continued to lead the country till August 2024 when she had to escape to India due to a popular movement against her government. In May 2025, the interim government of Dr Muhammad Yunus banned the League.

Despite Hasina's autocratic and repressive rule spanning more than 15 years, Awami League still has its support base in Bangladesh. Thus the ban on the party might be counter-productive. In its May 12, 2025 issue, The Diplomat writes, "Bangladesh's interim government has banned all activities, including the online presence, of the Awami League (AL), led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, until the ongoing trials for crimes against humanity and genocide involving its leaders - these relate to the party's deadly crackdown on the July uprising of 2024 - are concluded."

Why has the interim government banned Awami League and how will it impact the polarised politics of Bangladesh? Will Awami League resurface under the new name? What will be the implications of the ban?

When banned in March 1971 by the military regime in Pakistan, Awami League faced charges of sedition. Banned for the second time, in May 2025, the party is fighting allegations of extrajudicial killings and corruption for which its leaders, including former PM Hasina, are under trial.

The Diplomat further writes, "The decision, which came nine months after Hasina's ouster from power by students-led mass protests, has been taken under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which was enacted by the AL back in 2009. The interim government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the AL's notorious student wing, under the same act on October 23 last year. The ban on the AL marks a significant escalation in Bangladesh's turbulent political landscape. It also raises questions about the efficacy and implications of banning political parties in a country with a history of such measures."

A few weeks ago, a massive demonstration held outside the residence of Dr Yunus by the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami demanded that Awami League be banned because of its role in crushing the student movement of July-August 2024 in which more than 1,400 people were killed. Surprisingly, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also welcomed the ban on Awami League even though it had opposed it in October last year. New Delhi has also, quite understandably, criticised the ban, saying it undermines democracy and is meant to promote an exclusive mode of politics.

Despite the fall in Hasina's popularity, particularly due to her taking refuge in India, Awami League is not at all a dead horse and its role in Bangladeshi politics cannot be dismissed. The vacuum left behind due the ban on the League cannot be filed by NCP, Jamaat or BNP. The League will not remain under Hasina's influence forever, and a new leadership will emerge and try to restore its vote bank. As The Diplomat aptly remarked, "The ban on the AL has major implications for Bangladesh. Its removal from the political arena leaves a vacuum in the ideological space once dominated by Bengali nationalism. Since before the country's independence, Bengali nationalism has been the AL's ideological cornerstone and a unifying political tool to justify its regime and marginalize opposition voices, especially those promoting religious or ethnic identity politics."

The ban on Awami League will have three major ramifications:

One, the credibility of the caretaker government will dwindle because it has neither the mandate nor the legitimacy to take major policy decisions. Banning Bangladesh's founder party and attempting to erase Sheikh Mujib from the minds of people - by removing his picture from the currency notes - will not work. Furthermore, taking a decision under the influence of NCP or Jamaat reflects how fragile the caretaker government is. The reports that Dr Yunus wants to resign as the interim chief executive of the country also reflect how vulnerable the caretaker government has become due to the growing resentment against his failure to hold national elections.

Two, Awami League still has a network that is collaborating with India. It's because the decades of the League rule had deepened New Delhi's influence in Bangladeshi bureaucracy, judiciary and civil society. The League-RAW nexus is no secret and India's reaction to the ban on the League is understandable. Economic predicament of Bangladesh and the growing restrictions by New Delhi on trade shipments from Indian ports will have negative fallout on Dhaka. With Bangladesh surrounded by India from three sides and having to grapple with a colossal Indian influence on its media, civil society, bureaucracy and judiciary, the caretaker government of Dr Yunus will be unable to fully protect the sovereignty of Bangladesh. Hundreds and thousands of patients from Bangladesh seek medical treatment in Indian hospitals which may not be possible anymore because of the growing visa restrictions imposed by the Indian missions. China and Pakistan cannot be a substitute to Bangladeshi nationals in the context of medical treatment.

And three, the reports of a rift between the Bangladesh army chief and the caretaker chief executive reflect growing schism between the two pillars of power. The army chief is perturbed over the growing influence of Islamists in Bangladesh under the alleged patronage of the caretaker government. While BNP is demanding general elections this year, there are suspicions that the caretaker government wants to prolong its hold on power. In that case, Bangladesh will plunge into another phase of chaos and disorder.