New Delhi: A year after former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina went into exile amid a student-led uprising, the Awami League has been outlawed with its leaders scattered, imprisoned, or in hiding.
Now, the party’s members are reorganising, preparing for what they say will be a return to democratic rule.
“The atrocious way in which the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina were attacked post 5 August and even before that was shocking,” Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former education minister under Hasina, told ThePrint. “But our willingness to sustain as a political party runs deep.”
The remarks underscore the political volatility that has engulfed Bangladesh since August 2024, when Hasina fled the country following weeks of unrest sparked by a court decision to reinstate job quotas for descendants of the 1971 war heroes. The decision triggered mass protests that evolved into a national movement against perceived elite privilege and authoritarianism.
The protests began with students but quickly became a mass movement. Public university campuses, private colleges, and madrasas became flashpoints for clashes between protestors and security forces. Hasina’s response was widely criticised as inflammatory. Her comparison of protesters to “Razakars,” the wartime collaborators of 1971, added fuel to fire.
By late July 2024, violence had escalated. Human rights groups estimate that more than 1,400 people died in street clashes. Under mounting pressure and facing internal defections, Hasina fled Bangladesh 5 August.
Muhammad Yunus then assumed control of an interim administration, promising reform and national reconciliation.
His government imposed a sweeping ban on the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act. In May 2025, the Election Commission revoked the party’s registration, cutting it off from formal political participation. The ban prohibits all forms of activity, including publications, media campaigns, rallies, meetings, and conferences, effectively creating an environment where future attacks on its members may be seen as justified.
Despite the ban, Awami League leaders insist that Bangladesh’s oldest political party remains a force.
“We are still mobilising, still speaking to the people, and they are speaking back. This has given hope to the people of Bangladesh, who are now hopeful of change,” Nowfel said.
According to Nowfel, at least 300,000 Awami League supporters are currently imprisoned. Over 100 people have died in mob violence since the ban, he said. Prominent public figures—actors, musicians, academics—suspected of ties to the party have faced assault, arrest, or public shaming.
“The term ‘fascist collaborator’ is now a licence to beat someone in the street,” according to Nowfel. “Outside, it’s mob terrorism. Inside, it’s mob justice. We see history repeating itself. This reminds me of what happened after Mujibur Rahman’s assassination in 1975. Our workers were hunted then. They are being hunted now.”
However, Awami League is not all in the clear.
In August 2024, murder cases were filed against Hasina and over 100 Awami League leaders and activists, linking them to the deaths of a student and a teacher during the student protests in Chattogram and Bogura.
A case, filed at Chandgaon police station, accuses Hasina, Nowfel, and others of orchestrating an attack that killed 19-year-old HSC examinee Tanvir Siddiqui during a July 18 protest in Chattogram’s Bahaddarhat area. Protesters were reportedly attacked with machetes and firearms. According to reports, Tanvir later died at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
In July, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court. The verdict, delivered in absentia, will take effect if she is arrested or surrenders, prosecutors said.
Now living in India, Hasina faces multiple charges, including crimes against humanity related to last year’s crackdown on student protests. This is her first formal sentence, amid ongoing trials targeting officials of the banned Awami League.
Nowfel, however, dismissed these accusations. “Post 5 August, 800 people have died. I have 160 cases against me. There are 250 cases against Sheikh Hasina. Those who filed these cases now say that they don’t even know who we filed cases against. The parents whose children died have been made to sign false documents to implicate us. There is no way to fight these cases,” he said in his defence.
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‘History being repeated’
Since August 2024, police have reported over 225 attacks on law enforcement personnel. Meanwhile, individuals imprisoned under the Awami League rule, some linked to extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, have reportedly been released.
“Those we put behind bars are now walking free, and they are rewriting the rules,” Nowfel alleged.
Official figures show 25 incidents of political violence targeting the Awami League between January and June 2025, resulting in 339 injuries and six deaths.
Beyond political persecution, critics argue the interim government is operating in violation of constitutional norms. Several high-ranking officials, including Yunus himself, hold dual citizenship—technically disqualifying them from office under Bangladeshi law. Nonetheless, they remain in power, extending the interim period and delaying elections indefinitely.
“The people can only express their will through elections,” Nowfel said. “But those are being deferred. Yunus has no public mandate, no constitutional authority. It’s a seizure of power through soft means, and it is just as dangerous.”
According to Nowfel, 16 political parties allied with the Awami League—including the Workers’ Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD), and factions of the Jatiya Party—have also faced mob violence and legal action.
“Yunus has been talking about some cosmetic development,” Nowfel said. “But none of it is for the people of Bangladesh.”
According to Nowfel, the most alarming trend is the rise of radical ideology in the vacuum left by the crackdown on mainstream political forces. Attacks on cultural institutions, Sufi shrines, and religious minorities have surged. According to Nowfel, more than 250 mazars, Sufi tombs or shrines, have been desecrated since Hasina’s ouster.
“Even members of the Awami League who speak for progressive values have been abused,” he said. “Dhaka is witnessing moral policing, and radical groups are gaining ground.”
Other Awami league members that ThePrint spoke to, warned that regional stability is at risk.
“Terrorism now won’t come from Pakistan,” an Awami League worker told ThePrint. “Because of the government’s closeness to them, Bangladesh is becoming the next Pakistan—for India.”
“Bangladesh has now turned into another Haiti, Somalia Afghanistan. Within a year, it has been proven what the Sheikh Hasina government was capable of doing in Bangladesh… People now have more faith in us. The people now know what obstructuons Hasina faced to keep the country going,” Nowfel told ThePrint.
They, he alleged, have given power to foreigners who have dual citizenship and will one day, run away. “From Younus to (chief adviser’s envoy for International affairs) Lutfey Siddiqi, are all dual citizens. Constitutionally, we have a rule that dual citizens cannot hold positions of power.”
What next
Awami League leaders emphasise that they are not giving up. Both Awami League members and Nowfel are assured that once elections are held, the party will return to power and that the people would vote for them.
There is no change in the party hierarchy. Hasina remains the leader of the party. In her last address in May, she accused Yunus of “seizing power with the support of terrorist elements.”
“He has taken control with the help of terrorists and individuals banned internationally—people my government protected Bangladesh from,” she said in a virtual speech. Hasina has repeatedly asserted that the Awami League will return and once it does, she will ensure a democratic transition to power.
Nowfel reiterates her claims. “This is not the first time we’ve been pushed underground,” Nowfel said. “And it won’t be the last time we come back. If we do mass protests right now, the country will suffer. As members of the oldest political party, we don’t want that.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)