ASIA/BANGLADESH - The country is heading towards elections. The Archbishop of Dhaka: the important thing is to build a democratic, secular and inclusive nation

Friday, 7 March 2025 human rights religious minorities pluralism politics elections

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2025-03-07
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Dhaka (Agenzia Fides) – While Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim executive of Bangladesh, mentions the possibility of “new elections” – still without a confirmed date but scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025 – the political landscape of the country is undergoing significant changes following the recent student revolts. The National Citizens Party (NCP) emerged from the student movement that pushed for the dismissal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Its founder, Nahid Islam, 27, said that the new political party represents the desire of young people to “have a say in the construction of a new democratic Bangladesh.” One of the main objectives of the NCP will be to rewrite the Constitution, considering that the current one - drafted after independence in 1971 and modified on several occasions, also under Hasina's mandate - has lost credibility. "Our Constitution has become ineffective and people have lost all faith in it," he explained, proposing the convening of a Constituent Assembly to make way for a "Second Republic." "We want to propose a vision that embraces a tolerant Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and indigenous beliefs, in total harmony between religions," said the 27-year-old leader with a degree in sociology who, together with a group of classmates from the University of Dhaka, took the lead of the student movement last summer and was then involved in Yunus' interim government as Adviser for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. His party's vision, he clarified, is not sectarian: "Islam is the majority religion in Bangladesh and we are sensitive to that, we are sensitive to those values, but we do not want to create any extremist party or any pro-Islamic party. This is very clear." These are issues that weigh heavily on Bangladeshi politics today and were reiterated at a recent meeting at the Dhaka Archbishopric, where Archbishop Bejoy N. D'Cruze, OMI, president of the Bangladesh Bishops' Conference, met with Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, general secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), another historic party on the political scene.
Archbishop D'Cruze expressed hope that the BNP could help "build a secular, developed and inclusive nation in which no one is left behind," and called for the inclusion of Christian representatives among the party's members. Mirza Fakhrul reiterated his party's commitment to secularism, referring to Bangladesh's liberation war against Pakistan in 1971 as the basis for a pluralistic society. "In 1971 we fought for a non-sectarian spirit. If elected, we will uphold that vision, ensuring peace for all faiths and indigenous communities," he said, as the proclamations began on the eve of the elections. The dialogue took place at a time of fragile political transition, following the crisis unleashed in July 2024 with the abolition, by order of the Supreme Court, of a controversial system of quotas for public sector employment in force since 2018. The measure sparked a protest movement initially led by students, which evolved into a national revolt harshly repressed by the security forces. Growing popular outrage at police violence culminated in the dismissal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and exile in India. Since then, the interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been working on organizing new elections. In this context, the newly created National Citizens' Party (NCP) has burst onto the political scene, launched on February 28 during a student demonstration in Dhaka. In its manifesto, the party claims to aspire to a “systemic reform” with the aim of “establishing a new political order through popular participation.” The National Citizens Party defines itself as “a democratic, egalitarian and truly representative force of the people,” which seeks to respond to decades of unfulfilled aspirations, placing democracy, human dignity and social justice as fundamental pillars of the State. The new party is positioned in opposition to the attempts of Islamic parties to transform Bangladesh into an Islamic State. In this sense, various Islamist groups and organizations have begun to align their efforts, with Jamaat-e-Islami aspiring to lead the movement. Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi, secretary general of the Hefazat-e-Islam group, said in this regard: “If the people of Bangladesh want it, an Islamic State will be founded here. Our efforts are directed towards this goal. We must work together to achieve it.” (PA/FC) (Agenzia Fides, 7/3/2025)