Political glorification of awami league in Sheikh Hasina’s religious festival speeches: a critical discourse and rhetorical analysis

Abstract

This study examines political discourse based on how religious festival speeches are utilized in the mobilization of politics to establish and legitimize authority in Bangladesh, with a focus on a sample of two speeches given by a former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, specifically on the occasions of Eid-Ul-Fitr and Durga Puja. It reflects on how language can be strategically integrated in religious speeches to make governance appear morally correct and socially necessary through the transcribed speeches, which are available on publicly available broadcast channels. Using a qualitative approach, the study applies Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), following Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework, alongside Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to analyze how language, persuasion, and ideology interact in political communication. The research has concluded that the purpose of religious festival speeches is not so much a purpose of celebratory message, but of an established location of political self-authentication, which entrenches the political domination of the party in the process of recreating national identity in the atmosphere of emotional resonance and cultural ambiance.