KM Masum Billah

About 53 years after independence, we have to look back at the past days! We have to see how much we have achieved as a nation, how much we have fallen behind! Considering the infrastructural development, it may be said that we have progressed a bit, but only considering the structure and social development, the matter is not quite the same, we have to see how much we have been able to protect our constitution! Especially in the 2nd part of our constitution, the principles of state management are mentioned.

Fundamental principles of our constitution have been formed by giving priority to four issues. The four principles mentioned in Articles 8-12 of the Constitution are nationalism, socialism and anti-exploitation, democracy and human rights, secularism and religious freedom. Article 8(2) of the Constitution states that "The principles set forth in this section shall be the basis of the governance of Bangladesh, shall be applied by the State in making laws, shall guide the interpretation of this Constitution and other laws of Bangladesh and shall be the basis of the actions of the State and its citizens, provided that these principles Through the courtsshall not be enforceable.” That is, the country should be governed based on these four principles.So we have to consider whether the country is being run on the principles of the constitution after so many years of independence?

Democracy literally means "rule by the people", the most acceptable and universally accepted definition of democracy was given by Abraham Lincoln, according to him "democratic government is the participation of the people, by the people and for the people"! Bangladesh is constitutionally a democratic country but democracy has stumbled here time and again.

Unelected governments have been in power several times since independence, ranging from military rule. Not only that, the means of gaining power in a democratic way is the acceptable election, has not that transparent and acceptable election been obstructed again and again? Especially under the previous Awami government, several national elections and local governance elections have given rise to big questions! In addition, 153 MPs were elected unopposed in 2014. Civil society including Dr. Kamal Hussain called it "undemocratic".

In the democratic electoral system, 153 unelected (elected unopposed) MPs participated in Parliament for five years! In this way, the common people could not choose their representatives through the election, and the voting rights of the common people have been violated! Few elections under the non-party government are relatively acceptable, but no election under the party government has been without controversy! Probably not, and it can be said that despite being a constitutional institution, the Election Commission could never work independently under a party government.

Opposition parties play a major role in a democratic system ranging from protesting against decisions taken against the people to purifying the government through constructive criticism of the government. However, as a result of the policy of suppressing contrary opinions, a strong opposition party was not formed, especially in the last several elections, there was no such strong opposition party.

In this case, the previous government and other parties cannot avoid their responsibility. This had an impact on the common people and apart from a strong opposition, the parliament also lost its life. Before the fifteenth amendment of the constitution, the non-partisan caretaker government provision in the constitution was said to be a relatively good system to the general public, but the provision was canceled from the constitution in 2010 on the grounds that it was 'not democratic' during the previous government's tenure and that the 'supreme court had ruled against that provision'.

However, it cannot be said at this moment whether the caretaker government will return, but in the light of the experience of the past days, it can be said that there is no alternative to a non-partisan caretaker government to maintain the neutrality of the Election Commission and the interim government so that no government can make the Election Commission their own tool during the transition Must play a role.

Also there is no option to fill the Election Commission. Along with democracy, Article 11 of the Constitution mentions human rights. Although various human rights indicators say that we are in the middle position, the cases of violation of humanity have come before us again and again. Especially from the post-war period, we see human rights violations due to the attempts to suppress dissent, the repression policy of the government party towards the opposition parties, or the disappearance murders and the discussed Aynaghor during the last government period. Extrajudicial killings have also generated much discussion in recent years. so Bangladesh's security forces have faced constant criticism from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for human rights violations. RAB, police and other forces have also been accused of violating human rights by engaging in controversial activities while following the government's orders.

Bangladesh is constitutionally a secular state, but its state religion is Islam. This article of the constitution says that the state religion of Bangladesh is Islam but people of all religions including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians will have equal opportunities. Although Bangladesh is a non-communal state, communalism has raised its head in various issues.

Especially some political parties are capitalizing on this communalism and trying to take advantage of it from time to time. However, the history of the subcontinent shows that the seeds of communalism that were sown here at the time of partition have sometimes affected the countries of the subcontinent. However, there is no history of any major communal riots or any major persecution of minorities in this long journey to independence. People of all religions of this country are peacefully coexisting. This is definitely a good thing for us. However, apart from religious neutrality, religious freedom is also mentioned in the same paragraph. In this case, except for some issues, the people of this country as a whole have the freedom to practice their own religion, which has existed since independence till today.

The main feature of socialism is to ensure equitable distribution of wealth so that class discrimination and class exploitation are eliminated in society. But a big question remains here. Is the essence of socialism compatible with our country? The answer is of course no, when those in power have been more exploiters of colonial ideology than representatives of the common people.

Not only that, the mindset of the elected representatives or a class of people was greedy for wealth! As a result, the inequality between rich and poor has increased in the society, more rich people have been created in the country, on the contrary, most of the people have suffered. In a socialist economy, all economic decisions are taken according to the plans of the central authority, so there is no possibility of unemployment and inflation in this economy. But the context of our country is different. Unemployment is one of the major obstacles in our country. As a result, a large number of youth society is not useful for the welfare of the country! If we consider the various inequalities in the society starting from rich and poor discrimination, rulers becoming exploitative, or unemployment, it will be seen that the socialism mentioned in our constitution is written only on paper! So it can be said that the basic foundation of socialism and the actual situation of our country are very contradictory.

We now have an opportunity to reflect on these inconsistencies. If the constitution is kept only on paper, the original spirit of freedom will never be realized. We need to restore our faith in the principles of the Constitution. Besides, steps should be taken to ensure that the constitutional institutions cannot be used by any party government for their own interests in the future. The principles of the constitution should be given the highest priority and Bangladesh should be taken forward.

The writer is a Columnist & Banker, Janata Bank Plc, Chowrasta Branch, Patuakhali.