The Unity Council proposes Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity as state religions alongside Islam
[The Daily Star] Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad has recommended retaining the four fundamental principles of the state in the Constitution and including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity alongside Islam as state religions.
In a set of recommendations emailed to Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed this evening, the Oikya Parishad also called for eliminating religious and ethnic discrimination from the Constitution and ensuring minority representation in parliament and constitutional bodies in proportion to their population.
Salahuddin Ahmed is the chairman of the special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments.
The recommendations were jointly signed by the Oikya Parishad's three acting presidents -- Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, former lawmaker Ushatan Talukder and Nirmal Rozario -- and acting general secretary Manindra Kumar Nath.
The Oikya Parishad said its executive committee adopted the recommendations at a meeting on October 8, after the organisation did not receive an invitation to participate in consultations with stakeholders on constitutional reforms.
“We have already observed that the special parliamentary committee formed under your leadership has begun consultations with various stakeholders to receive recommendations on constitutional amendments,” said the email addressing the home minister.
As the Oikya Parishad had not received an invitation to join the consultations, its executive committee decided to send its recommendations directly to the committee chairman for consideration, it said.
The Oikya Parishad called for retaining the Constitution’s four fundamental principles—nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism—to ensure the rule of law, fundamental human rights, and political, economic and social equality, freedom and justice.
It also recommended taking steps to remove religious and ethnic discrimination from the existing Constitution to build a non-discriminatory, humane, and democratic state.
It suggested that, if necessary, Article 2A of the Constitution, which declares Islam the state religion, should be amended to include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity alongside Islam.
In another resolution adopted at the October 8 meeting, the Oikya Parishad demanded proportional representation of religious minorities in the Jatiya Sangsad and across constitutional institutions, including the Bangladesh Election Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Public Service Commission.
