New political parties have coincided with major landmark events. Here is a look back
Representational photo: Star/file
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Representational photo: Star/file
A new political party steps on to the stage today almost seven months after its key office bearers led a public uprising to oust Shiekh Hasina’s autocratic regime.
The young leadership of the National Citizen Party aims to reshape the country’s political landscape with a renewed commitment to strengthen democracy and a firm stance against all forms of discrimination.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Throughout Bangladesh’s history, political parties have typically emerged in the aftermath of landmark events in response to socio-political context and reality.
Events like the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent, 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, and the popular campaign against military dictator Ershad’s regime in the 1990s coincided with the emergence of political forces that reflected people’s aspirations of the time.
Communist Party of Bangladesh
The Communist Party of Bangladesh is a successor organization to the All India Communist Party founded in 1920. After the partition in 1947, the party was named Communist Party of Pakistan and launched on March 6, 1948, during the second congress of the All-India Communist Party in Calcutta.
Bangladesh Awami League
After 1947 partition, progressive elements started to oppose the communal and rightist politics of the Muslim League, a faction of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League headed by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Abul Hashim formed East Pakistan Awami Muslim League in 1949. Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, more popularly Maulana Bhashani, was made president and Shamsul Hoque general secretary. The term “Muslim” was later deleted in line with the party’s secular ideal, and the party later evolved into the Bangladesh Awami League.
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party, was founded in July 1957 headed by Maulana Bhasani.
Awami League leaders Maulana Bhasani and Suhrawardy, who was the prime minister of Pakistan back then, differed on foreign policy. The leftist faction headed by Bhasani demanded an independent foreign policy without alignment with any super power. His demand also included maximum autonomy for East Pakistan.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
After the country’s liberation, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal emerged as a leftist party. It was formed out of the division within the Bangladesh Students League, a student front of Awami league. The leftist group led by Sirajul Alam Khan and ASM Abdur Rab stewarded the formation of the new party in October 1972.
BAKSAL
The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League was introduced in 1975 following the fourth constitutional amendment that envisioned a single-party system, led by Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
General Ziaur Rahman was effectively in charge as military leader of the country since November 7, 1975 after Bangabandhu’s assassination that had led to a chaotic situation. Then President Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem resigned and handed over charge to Zia in April 1977.
BNP
Zaiur Rahman’s tenure saw the restoration of multi-party democracy as he launched a 19-point action programme on 30 April 1977 that would eventually lead his political party. A nationalist front called Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal widely known as Jaagdal was formed in 1978 under his patronage with Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar as its convenor.
Later the Ganatantrik Dal was dissolved and Bangladesh Nationalist Party was established in September 1978. General Zia himself became its convenor. BNP’s top leadership comprised a wide range of element from leftist and to right-wing groups.
The BNP manifesto emphasizes Bangladeshi nationalism, the establishment of a strong and inclusive democracy based on mass unity, national economic liberation, self-reliance, and progress through the united and concerted efforts of the people.
Jamaat-e-Islami
For their active role against the liberation war in 1971 and involvement in war crimes, Jamaat-e-Islami was banned in Bangladesh until its revival in 1979.
From the early 1930s an attempt was made to float a political party under the leadership of Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi with an objective of launching Islamic movement in India.
Jamaat-e-Islami was established with Maulana Maududi as its Ameer or chairman in 1941. Jamaat started its work in what is now Bangladesh in the 1950s. Based on unwavering faith and trust in Allah, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami aims to establish an Islamic democratic political system and a balanced economic system in the country. It also advocates incorporating Islamic ideology into state system.
Jatiya Party
After assassination of Zia, then army chief Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad usurped state power in a coup de’tat in March 1982. Justice AFM Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was made President of Bangladesh. General Ershad wanted to have a political party of his own and a party styled Janadal under the leadership of Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was formed.
In the second stage of the formation of the party a new political forum, Jatiya Front, was formed at the initiative of General Ershad. A group of leaders from BNP, factions of Janadal and Muslim League, the Ganatantri Dal, United Peoples Party, joined this front.
A new political party styled as Jatiya Party was formally launched in January 1986 with Hussain Muhammad Ershad as its chairman.
Post-1990
After the fall of Ershad in the wake of a mass uprising, several political parties emerged. One of them was Islamic Oikyo Jote (IOJ). It was established in late December 1990 consisting of seven parties—Khelafat Majlish, Nezam-e-Islam, Faraizi Jamaat, Islami Morcha, Ulama Committee, a splinter group of NAP (Bhasani), and Islami Shashantantra Andolan.
Its main objective is to steer a united political movement to establish an Islamic polity modeled upon the Khilafat.
Dr Kamal Hossain, an eminent lawyer and a former leader of Awami League, floated Gano Forum in August 1993. It is a liberal party, which works for a stronger civil society and a rule based egalitarian society.
A new political party — Bangladesh Gono Odhikar Parishad — was launched in October with former Gono Forum leader Reza Kibria and former Ducsu Vice Present Nurul Haque Nur as convenor and member secretary respectively.