THE interim government formed a 7-member Constitutional Reform Commission on October 7, 2024, led by Professor Ali Riaz, to review and evaluate the existing constitution of Bangladesh and to recommend necessary amendments. This commission submitted its recommendations to the chief adviser, professor Muhammad Yunus, on January 15, 2025. The full report of the recommendations made by the Constitutional Reform Commission was made public on February 8, 2025. Upon reviewing this report, it was observed that the Commission has recommended extensive and fundamental changes to the existing constitution, including its preamble and basic principles. Notably, the Commission has suggested removing secularism from the constitution while simultaneously proposing to retain Islam as the state religion.
Although these recommendations currently stand only as proposals, they will be finalised based on discussions with political parties and national consensus. Nevertheless, these recommendations will serve as the main foundation for dialogue and in building consensus. Therefore, it is necessary to review and analyse these recommendations. I will limit my discussion on the recommendation to remove secularism.
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Secularism and its relevance
SECULARISM means that the state does not give special status to any religion, and state laws and policies are not based on religious principles. Secularism is intrinsically linked to the spirit of Bangladesh鈥檚 Liberation War and independence struggle. The Constitution of Bangladesh in 1972 included secularism as one of its fundamental principles. However, during military rule in 1977, secularism was removed and replaced with 鈥榓bsolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah.鈥� In 1988, Islam was recognised as the state religion. Later, in 2011, the principle of secularism was reinstated in the constitution, although Islam remained the state religion.
The State of Pakistan was created based on the two-nation theory 鈥� a separate state for the Muslim population. The communal nature of the Pakistani state and its discriminatory behaviour towards religious minorities angered the majority population of East Pakistan. During the 1971 Liberation War, people of all religions, castes, and ethnicities fought together against the Pakistani occupation forces with the aim of establishing a non-communal and inclusive state and society. Therefore, removing secularism means abandoning the spirit of the Liberation War. Furthermore, one of the state鈥檚 primary responsibilities is to protect the rights of religious minorities. Secularism in the constitution acts as a legal safeguard for religious minorities. Many countries鈥� constitutions provide legal protection for religious minorities; even our neighbouring countries, India and Nepal, have such legal protections in their constitutions. Removing secularism would destroy the fundamental structure of the constitution.
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Pre-constitutional concept of secularism
THE weak argument for removing secularism is that there was no mention of secularism in any pre-constitutional documents, such as the 1970 Legal Framework Order, the 1970 election manifesto of the Awami League, or the draft constitution of Pakistan proposed by the Awami League in 1971. Any mass uprising or revolution is a dynamic process through which people鈥檚 thoughts, consciousness, and aspirations evolve. A bloody revolution like the Liberation War brought people of all religions and castes together and fostered their consciousness, as clearly stated in professor Rehman Sobhan鈥檚 speech. According to professor Sobhan, after the 1969 mass uprising, the demands for regional autonomy, democracy, social justice, and secularism in East Pakistan were united in a broader movement. This statement by professor Sobhan is supported by professor Ali Riaz鈥檚 PhD research. In his research book published in 1993 by the University of Hawaii, professor Riaz mentions that, consistent with the spirit of the independence struggle, the Awami League proclaimed the high ideals of nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism as fundamental principles in the constitution.
As a result, secularism became an integral part of the spirit of the Liberation War. Professor Asif Nazrul mentions in several of his speeches that there were extensive discussions on secularism in the Constituent Assembly, and the most vigorous arguments in favour of secularism were made by Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed, a leader of the right-wing faction of the Awami League.
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Pre-independence concept of secularism
IN FACT, right after the creation of the State of Pakistan, in 1950, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani demanded secularism. During the movement of 1950, he raised two demands: one was the right of self-determination for the Bengali nation, and the other was secularism 鈥� keeping the state separate from religion. This was reflected in the removal of the word 鈥淢uslim鈥� from the Awami Muslim League鈥檚 name in 1955. The concept of secularism existed in Bangladesh even before the creation of Pakistan. Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq said at the All India Muslim League Conference in 1918 that there was no difference in the exploitation and oppression by Hindu landlords and Muslim landlords, Hindu moneylenders, and Muslim moneylenders. All poor farmers, regardless of being Hindu or Muslim, were similarly victims of exploitation and oppression. Therefore, the issue of exploitation of Muslim farmers was not communal; at its root were the zamindari (landlord) and mahajani (moneylender) systems. Hence, both Hindu and Muslim communities should reject communalism and work towards abolishing the zamindari and mahajani systems.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, realised the importance of secularism immediately after the creation of Pakistan. In the first session of the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, he firmly stated that Pakistan would be a state where every citizen, irrespective of religion or caste, would enjoy equal rights and freedom. He clearly declared, 鈥榊ou are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques, or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste 鈥� it is no concern of the State.鈥� State decisions would be made on political grounds, not religious ones. However, after Jinnah鈥檚 death, the then leaders of Pakistan deviated from his ideals and integrated religion intstatete governance.
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Pluralism and secularism
ANOTHER argument for removing secularism as a fundamental principle of the state is that 鈥榮ecularism is not consistent with the concept of a pluralistic society in Bangladesh and is essentially anti-democratic鈥�. Pluralism is a modern concept that is relatively new to the culture and politics of Bangladesh, and its essence is still not understood by many. However, secularism and pluralism are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary. Secularism ensures the freedom for followers of all religions to practice their respective faiths freely, which in turn supports the coexistence of all religious believers and aids pluralism. In many countries, such as Canada, France, and the United States, secularism and democracy coexist. Furthermore, secularism is a fundamental human right, while pluralism is an ideal, a desired goal. We certainly aspire to achieve pluralism, but not at the cost of fundamental human rights like religious freedom.
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Inherent contradictions in justifying the removal of secularism
ONE of the major self-contradictions in this report is that it recommends removing secularism on one hand, while on the other hand, it suggests retaining the current constitutional provision of the state religion, i.e., Islam. It also recommends including 鈥楤ismillahir Rahmanir Rahim / In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful鈥� in the preamble of the constitution. They propose removing secularism under the guise of pluralism while simultaneously recommending a state religion, which contradicts the Commission鈥檚 stated principles of pluralism and equality and goes against democratic values. Notably, professor Riaz, in his book on the political history of Bangladesh, described the inclusion of 鈥楤ismillahir Rahmanir Rahim鈥� in the constitution through the Fifth Amendment in 1977 as 鈥樷�業slamisation of the constitution and the State鈥� and described it as a severe blow to secular politics in Bangladesh and a pathway for the rise of religious forces in politics.
Professor Riaz was a staunch critic of the Eighth Amendment to the constitution during H M Ershad鈥檚 regime, which declared Islam as the state religion. Naturally, the question arises as to why there is such self-contradiction in the Reform Commission鈥檚 recommendations on secularism. From the above discussion, it is clear that the arguments for removing secularism from the constitution are extremely weak, self-contradictory, and contrary to the spirit of the anti-discrimination student movement and the July 2024 mass uprising. Just like the Liberation War, the July 2024 mass uprising also saw people of various religions and beliefs unite against the autocratic government with the goal of establishing a non-discriminatory state. The introduction of Islam as the state religion has profoundly affected the character of Bangladesh鈥檚 constitution and created a division between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a multi-religious and multi-cultural country, where, besides Muslims, the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and indigenous communities reside. The recommendation to remove secularism from the constitution could increase divisions among political parties, weakening national unity and negatively affecting social harmony.
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Golam Rosul is a professor and the chairperson of the Department of Economics at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology.