The interim government of Bangladesh, under the stewardship of Professor Muhammad Yunus, has taken an alarming and profoundly undemocratic step by banning the Awami League and threatening media outlets for broadcasting statements from its leader, Sheikh Hasina. This reckless act not only strikes at the very foundations of our democratic order but also seeks to erase the central role of a political party that has been inseparably bound to the nation’s history since its birth.

Government Overstepped Authority

The Awami League is not a mere political organization; it is the movement that galvanized our people during the liberation struggle of 1971, a party woven into the very fabric of our national identity. To outlaw it from the political sphere is to disenfranchise millions of citizens who identify with its ideology, leadership, and legacy. In arrogating to itself the power to decide which voices may be heard, the Yunus-led interim regime—lacking any electoral mandate—has dangerously overstepped its authority.
The supporters of the Awami League are citizens of this republic, endowed with the same rights and freedoms as any other. To criminalize their party and suppress their voices is a flagrant violation of their most basic democratic entitlements. Instead of dedicating itself to substantive reforms—curbing corruption, dismantling exploitation, or fulfilling the emancipatory promise of the July uprising—this administration has chosen the regressive path of political persecution.

This course of action is nothing less than a betrayal of the revolution’s spirit. The July movement did not call for censorship or authoritarian decrees; it demanded a polity in which citizens are free to choose their leaders and to hold them accountable through inclusive, participatory, and credible elections. Only such elections—not prohibitions, intimidation, or censorship—can legitimately determine Bangladesh’s political future.

Lessons from History

History warns us of the dangers of silencing opposition. In January 2015, following a call for protests by Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the BNP, the High Court imposed a ban on publishing or broadcasting his speeches across all media platforms. That prohibition, enacted through a writ petition, endured nearly a decade until August 2024, when the court finally lifted the restrictions. The ban was rightly condemned as an affront to democratic norms and a violation of international standards of free expression.

Now, nearly ten years later, the interim government appears determined to repeat that mistake. By threatening punitive action against journalists and media houses for the simple act of reporting the words of a political leader, the Yunus administration endangers not only the press but the very possibility of informed public discourse. A democracy cannot survive without a free press. If the media is silenced or reduced to a megaphone of state propaganda, citizens will be denied truth, deprived of debate, and left vulnerable to manipulation.

Democracy needs Inclusivity

Bangladesh now stands at a perilous crossroads. Either the nation allows this unelected regime to continue dismantling democratic institutions, silencing dissent, and rewriting history—or its citizens rise to reclaim their rights. Democracy cannot endure without inclusivity, without freedom of expression, and without the equal participation of all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, in shaping the nation’s destiny.
The hour demands courage. Citizens must demand the restoration of their fundamental rights and insist on a truly free, fair, and inclusive electoral process. Only by uniting against authoritarianism can we preserve Bangladesh’s founding ideals: a republic built on democracy, equality, and the sovereign will of its people.

(The author is a lawyer who practises in Bangladesh Supreme Court as also a writer and political analyst. Views expressed are personal. She can be contacted at  tasmiah.nuhiya.ahmed@gmail.com )