| dc.description.abstract | The 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh Deprive constitution – dressed in the pretense
of people power, and false facade to legitimate this so-called republic born out of a
crushing liberation war with Pakistan (in 1971) that led to victory but at the same time
forsaken and ruined by its political elites.
Based on the concepts of nationalism, democracy, secularism and socialism; the
document aimed to designate a society that was just and fair and would be governed by
rule of law. As the supreme legal charter of the new country, it perceived of a
democratic polity where sovereignty would vest in ‘the people’, unencumbered by the
legacy of colonization and authoritarianism. The pledge to secularism, explicated in the
preamble above all else, was part of a larger vision of plurality that sanctioned citizens
who subscribed to different religions living as equals without government sponsorship
or religious hierarchy.
But the constitution’s passage has been neither fixed nor uncontested, over the decades.
Its original character has been radically transformed by a succession of constitutional
amendments––many adopted under tumultuous political conditions—notably. In 1988,
the Eighth Amendment enshrining Islam as the state religion was a defining moment in
Bangladesh’s constitutional history.
This amendment elicited extensive debate on the dilution of secularism, a cornerstone
of state identity. Meanwhile, the repeated recourses to the military, political polarization
and incremental concentration of executive power are whittling away, at least
conceptually, at the democratic safeguards being constructed in 1972.
But even with these deviations, the Constitution remains as the foundation of
Bangladesh’s political and legal system. But whether the curriculum is still useful and
effective today has been heavily questioned. The tension between democratic principles
and authoritarian style, again most evident in the uneven powers of the executive,
legislature and judiciary, has revealed weaknesses in the constitutional design.
Article 70, which prohibits members of parliament from voting against party lines, has
effectively repressed legislative autonomy and hence democratic representation and
accountability. Similarly, the fear that judges may be seen as politicians in robes and
the fact that many begin to look at them in this way has prompted us to emphasize their
independence as it relates to constitutional justice.
This article critically examines the development of constitutionalism in Bangladesh
through an analysis of rise and interaction between secularism and Islamization,
limitation on parliamentary democracy, and assault on judicial independence. It
contends that lasting constitutional reform is needed to salvage a system of democratic
governance worthy of the name. Those reforms should seek to enhance judicial
independence, provide for more transparent and credible electoral arrangements, and
reassert the secular character of the state. All this freedom and flexibility is the only way
to make the Constitution a true democracy, justice and human rights—based on hopes
of our creators and responsible citizens changed with time. | en_US |
