BAKSAL

The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (), abbreviated as BaKSAL, was the sole legal ruling party of Bangladesh from January to August 1975. The party comprised politicians from the Awami League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the National Awami Party (Muzaffar), Bangladesh National League and Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti. The party advocated for democratic socialism as a part of reforms under the theory of the Second Revolution, which BaKSAL worked to achieve the objectives of.

The party was founded on 25 January 1975 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following the Fourth Amendment to the constitution. A presidential order also outlawed all political parties other than BaKSAL, creating a state of emergency and obligating other parties to join the front. BaKSAL was dissolved after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975.

Background

Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a landslide victory in the 1973 general election. However, Mujibur had difficulties with fighting corruption in his own government and the increase in leftism caused by the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. In the face of growing unrest, on 28 December 1974, Rahman declared a state of emergency. On 25 January 1975, he pushed the Fourth Amendment to the constitution through Jatiya Sangsad, which was passed in the Parliament unanimously. It dissolved all political parties, including the ruling party, the Awami League, and gave Rahman the exclusive authority to form BaKSAL, which would become the "national party" of Bangladesh.

Formation

BaKSAL was formed on 24 February 1975. All MPs and political parties were required to join the party; any MP who missed a parliamentary session, abstained, or failed to vote with the party would lose their seat. As a result, most Awami League politicians and others from different parties joined BaKSAL; however, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Proletarian Party of East Bengal, Communist Party of East Bengal (Marxist–Leninist), East Pakistan Communist Party, and Bangladesh Communist Party (Leninist) did not join. Civilian government employees, professionals, and trade union leaders were also compelled to join the party.

President Mujibur Rahman, BaKSAL's chairman, appointed a fifteen-member executive committee, a 120-member central committee, and five front organizations, namely, Jatiya Krishak League, Jatiya Sramik League, Jatiya Mahila League, Jatiya Juba League, and Jatiya Chhatra League for peasants, workers, women, youth, and students, respectively, for the party. All members of the executive committee and central committee were appointed as ministers.

Executive committee

# Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Chairman)
# Syed Nazrul Islam (Vice-Chairman)
# Muhammad Mansur Ali (Secretary General)
# Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman
# Abdul Mannan
# Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
# Abdul Malek Ukil
# Professor M. Yousuf Ali
# Manaranjan Dhar
# Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury
# Sheikh Abdul Aziz
# Mohiuddin Ahmed
# Gazi Golam Mostafa
# Zillur Rahman
# Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani
# Abdur Razzaq

Central Committee

# Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
# Syed Nazrul Islam
# Muhammad Mansur Ali
# Abdul Mannan
# Abdul Malik Ukil
# Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
# A.H.M Kamaruzzaman
# Kazi Linchon
# Mahmudullah
# Abdus Samad Azad
# M. Yousuf Ali
# Phani Bhushan Majumder
# Kamal Hossain
# Muhammad Sohrab Hossain
# Abdur Rab Serniabat
# Manaranjan Dhar
# Abdul Matin
# Asaduzzanan
# Md Korban Ali
# Dr. Azizul Rahman Mallik
# Dr. Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury
# Tofael Ahmed
# Shah Moazzam Hossain
# Abdul Momin Talukdar
# Dewan Farid Gazi
# Professor Nurul Islam Choudhry
# Taheruddin Thakur
# Moslemuddin Khan
# Professor Abu Sayeed
# Nurul Islam Manzur
# KM Obaidur Rahman
# Dr. Khitish Chandra Mandal
# Reazuddin Ahmad
# M. Baitullah
# Rahul Quddus (Secretary)
# Zillur Rahman
# Mohiuddin Ahmad MP
# Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani
# Abdur Razzaq
# Sheikh Shahidul Islam
# Anwar Choudhry
# Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury
# Taslima Abed
# Abdur Rahim
# Abdul Awal
# Lutfur Rahman
# A.K. Muzibur Rahman
# Dr. Mofiz Choudhry
# Dr. Alauddin Ahammad
# Dr. Ahsanul Haq
# Raushan Ali
# Azizur Rahman Akkas
# Sheikh Abdul Aziz
# Salahuddin Yusuf
# Michael Sushil Adhikari
# Kazi Abdul Hakim
# Mollah Jalaluddin
# Shamsuddin Mollah
# Gour Chandra Bala
# Gazi Ghulam Mustafa
# Shamsul Haq
# Shamsuzzoha
# Rafiqueuddin Bhuiya
# Syed Ahmad
# Shamsur Rahman Khan Shahjahan
# Nurul Haq
# Kazi Zahirul Qayyum
# Capt.(Retd) Sujjat Ali
# M.R. Siddiqui
# MA Wahab
# Chittaranjan Sutar,
# Sayeda Razia Banu
# Ataur Rahman Khan
# Khandakar Muhammad Illyas
# Mong Pru Saire
# Professor Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury
# Ataur Rahman
# Pir Habibur Rahman
# Syed Altaf Hossain
# Muhammad Farhad
# Matia Chowdhury
# Hazi Danesh
# Taufiq Inam (Secretary)
# Nurul Islam (Secretary)
# Fayezuddin Ahmed (Secretary)
# Mahbubur Rahman (Secretary)
# Abdul Khaleque
# Muzibul Haq (Secretary)
# Abdur Rahim (Secretary)
# Moinul Islam (Secretary)
# Sayeeduzzaman (Secretary)
# Anisuzzaman (Secretary)
# Dr. A. Sattar (Secretary)
# M.A Samad (Secretary)
# Abu Tahir (Secretary)
# Al Hossaini (Secretary)
# Dr Tajul Hossain (Secretary)
# Motiur Rahman. Chairman of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh
# Maj. Gen K.M. Safiullah
# Air Vice Marshal Abdul Karim Khandker
# Commodore M.H. Khan
# Maj Gen. Khalilur Rahman
# A.K. Naziruddin Ahmed
# Dr. Abdul Matin Chowdhury
# Dr. Mazharul Islam
# Dr. Sramul Haq
# Badal Ghosh
# ATM Syed Hossain
# Nurul Islam
# Dr. Nilima Ibrahim
# Dr. Nurul Islam PG Hospital
# Obaidul Huq Editor Observer
# Anwar Hossain Manju Editor Ittefaq
# Mizanur Rahman Editor Bangladesh Press International
# Manawarul Islam
# Abu Thaer Bhuiyan
# Auritro Shayel
# Brig. A. N. M. Nuruzzaman DG Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini
# Kamruzzaman teachers Association
# Dr. Mazhar Ali Kadri

Activities

Regulations originating from BaKSAL included the promulgation of the Newspaper Ordinance (June 1975; Annulment of Declaration), Under which, the declarations of all but four state-owned newspapers, the '' Dainik Bangla'', '' Bangladesh Observer'', ''The Daily Ittefaq'', and '' Bangladesh Times,'' were annulled and banned.

In another effort to decentralize authority, 61 district governors were appointed with training for governorship — a new development in the history of Bangladesh. Local elections were also peaceful and free.

Legacy

In the 1974 ''Far Eastern Economic Review,'' Lawrence Lifschultz wrote how Bangladeshis thought that "the corruption and malpractices and plunder of national wealth" were "unprecedented" during Mujibur's governance.

Though BaKSAL was dissolved in 1975, another party participated in the 1986 and 1991 general elections in the same name; in 1986, the party's symbol was boat, while it was bicycle in 1991. The party acted independently until the 1990s, when almost all of its party leaders left the organization to join the Awami League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baksal

1975 disestablishments in Bangladesh
1975 establishments in Bangladesh
History of the Awami League
Defunct left-wing political party alliances
Defunct political party alliances in Bangladesh
Parties of one-party systems
Political parties disestablished in 1975
Political parties established in 1975
Popular fronts
Political career of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Socialist parties in Bangladesh