BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY OF BANGLADESH 1971-2009

The Birth of Bangladesh/Sheikh Mujib (1971-75)

Bangladesh emerged as an independent state at the end of 1971 through a nine month long war of independence against the then West Pakistan. Millions of Bangladeshis sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their motherland. After forming government in independent Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the movement in 1971, became the first president of independent Bangladesh.  Sheikh Mujib was also the leader of the Awami League (AL) political party, which is still one of the major political parties in Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib went on an all out effort to reconstruct the war ravaged country. The first constitution of Bangladesh was prepared under the Mujib regime in 1972 considering nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism as the state principles. In August 1975, Mujib, and most of his family members, were assassinated by a group of military officers. The daughter of Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Hasina, escaped the attack as she was in Germany at that time.

Ziaur Rahman (1977-81)

Following a period of uncertainty, Major General Ziaur Rahman formally took charge as the head of the state in 1977. He amended the constitution through a Martial Law Ordinance circulated on 21 April 1977 and held the post of the President. Zia also initiated and established a political party named the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which also remains one of the major political parties in Bangladesh. Zia initiated social and economic reform activities and also tried to bring order within the armed forces. Zia’s regime came to an end with his assassination in 1981 by a group of army officers.

General Ershad (1982-91)

After the assassination of Zia, General Ershad, the then Chief of Army seized power and became the head of the state. The Council of Advisors of Ershad was drawn from the members of the civil and the military bureaucracy. He behaved as a military dictator. In 1988 he amended the constitution to make Islam the state religion. Most sectors were opened up to private investment. He also launched a political party named Jatiya Party (JP) in 1986, which still exists. However, there was growing discontent amongst the public against the dictatorship of Ershad. Public discontent continued to grow in 1987, and became severe in 1990 with the participation of all the major student organizations, including the student wings of the two leading parties, the Awami League and the BNP. Civil society groups, particularly professional associations, actively joined the movement for the restoration of democracy. Faced with the public uprising, Ershad resigned and a neutral Caretaker Government was formed under the then Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, and thus for the first time a government was changed in independent Bangladesh through popular uprising. The general election was held in 1991 under the caretaker government.

First BNP Government of Begum Khaleda Zia(1991-1996)

After the 1991 election, BNP under Begum Khaleda Zia as the Prime Minister formed the government with the support of Jamaat –e-Islami, another leading political party in Bangladesh. Both the BNP and the Awami League worked together in parliament, and a constitutional amendment was passed reintroducing the parliamentary form of government. During the Khaleda Zia government notable progress was achieved in the field of education through the introduction of free and compulsory primary education and adoption of food for education program, among other things.

Awami League/Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001)

After the BNP government’s term was over, the Awami League won parliamentary elections and formed the government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina articulated the need for national consensus and took initiative to form an all-party government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasized good governance and formed several commissions. Formed with government and non-government members, the commissions reviewed several sectors including education, local government, health, and civil administration to suggest reform measures. As a result, new industrial and health policies, among others, were approved. In a major move, the constitutional indemnity protecting the killers of Sheikh Mujib and other Awami League leaders in 1975 was revoked and judicial inquiry and trials were started against the killers under the common law of Bangladesh.

Second Begum Khaleda BNP Government (2001-2006)

In the election held on 1 October 2001, the BNP-led Four Party Alliance won 214 parliamentary seats out of 300. Khaleda Zia was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. However, Khaleda Zia's second term was plagued by rising religious militancy, terrorism, continued spiraling of corruption (noted by successive damning reports by Transparency International), a rise in alleged attacks on minority groups (such as Hindus and Ahmadiyas as documented by the US State Department and Amnesty International) and an increasingly explosive political environment.

Caretaker Government (2007-2009)

After much confusion and turmoil that continued for months towards the end of the BNP term, a caretaker government was formed with the support of the military in January 2007. A state of emergency was declared and Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, a former Governor of the central bank, took charge as the Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government. The Caretaker Government with the support of the armed forces started arresting corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, with her two sons Tariq Rahman and Aarafat Rahman Koko, were arrested after corruption charges were brought against them. In February 2007 alone 15 top politicians were arrested; at the end of the year over 100 politicians were arrested. The major agenda of the Caretaker Government was to remove corruption from the political and other sectors of the country, and to hold a free and fair election by the end of 2008.

Awami League/Sheikh Hasina (2009 - present ) 

On December 29, 2008 Bangladesh held its general election. The two main parties in the election were the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were freed by the high court before the elections and were able to once again lead their parties. The Awami League and its coalition won in a landslide victory winning 263 of 300 parliamentary seats. Although Khaleda Zia rejected the results, both Bangladeshi and international observers reported that the election process and results were largely free and fair.