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Constitution of Bangladesh

Constitution of Bangladesh

The constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of country.

The contents of the constitution in brief

History

Following the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which continued for nine months, Bangladesh became independent on December 16, 1971. After the independence, the first constituent assembly was formed by the lawmakers who were previously elected in Pakistan National Assembly for East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh; and in East Pakistan provincial assembly in the Pakistani election held in 1970. The constitution of Bangladesh was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 4 November, 1972. It came into effect from 16 December, 1972, on the first anniversary of the victory day of the Liberation War.

Article

The constitution is divided into 11 parts, which are further subdivided into 153 articles. In addition, there are 4 schedules.

Preamble

The preamble of the constitution says, “We, the people of Bangladesh, having proclaimed our Independence on the 26th day of March, 1971 and through 2[a historic war for national independence], established the independent, sovereign People's Republic of Bangladesh;

3 [Pledging that the high ideals of absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah, nationalism, democracy and socialism meaning economic and social justice, which inspired our heroic people to dedicate themselves to, and our brave martyrs to sacrifice their lives in the war for national independence, shall be fundamental principles of the Constitution;]

Further pledging that it shall be a fundamental aim of the State to realise through the democratic process to socialist society, free from exploitation-a society in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice, political, economic and social, will be secured for all citizens;

Affirming that it is our sacred duty to safeguard, protect and defend this Constitution and to maintain its supremacy as the embodiment of the will of the people of Bangladesh so that we may prosper in freedom and may make our full contribution towards international peace and co-operation in keeping with the progressive aspirations of mankind;

In our Constituent Assembly, this eighteenth day of Kartick, 1379 B.S corresponding to the fourth day of November, 1972 A.D., do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.”

Part I: The Republic

This section defines the nature of the country, its state religion and other national issues. According to it, the country is Republic to be known as the People's Republic of Bangladesh. And it is a unitary republic consisting of the territories of the former East Pakistan and also included territories (some enclaves exchanged with India). The state language is Bangla (Bengali) and the national anthem is the first ten line of the song “Amar Shonar Bangla” written by Poet Rabindranath Tagore, who won Noble Price in Literature in 1913. The national flag is a red circle representing the sun on a green background, representing the ever green landscape of the country. The national emblem is the national flower Shapla (nympoea-nouchali) resting on water, having on each side and ear of paddy and being surmounted by three connected leaves of jute with two stars on each side of the leaves. The capital of the country is Dhaka. The city of Dhaka first became capital of the country in 1608. The citizens are to be known as Bangladeshi.

Finally, Part I asserts that all power belong to the people and the constitution, being the supreme law of the country, will supersede any other laws and regulations.

Part II: Fundamental principles of state policy

This part describes the fundamental principles. The constitution has 4 basic principles: Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah, Nationalism, Democracy and Socialism (meaning economic and social justice for all).

Article 9, 10, and 11 of Part II declares the rights of the people. Article 9 provides guidelines for quotas for the underrepresented communities, women, and peasants. Article 10 states the equal rights of women. Article 11 states that Bangladesh would be a democracy, with guaranteed human rights. Article 13, 14, 15, and 16 deal with principal of ownership, emancipation of workers and peasants, provision of basic necessities, and rural development. Article 17 states that the basic education will be free and compulsory for all children. The remaining articles (18-25) provide various guarantees for public health and morality, equality of opportunity, work as a right and duty, duties of citizens and of public servants, separation of Judiciary from the executive, national culture, national monuments, and promotion of international peace, security and solidarity, respectively.

Part III: Fundamental rights

Laws inconsistent with fundamental rights to be void

(1) All existing law inconsistent with the provisions of this Part shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, become void on the commencement of this Constitution.

(2) The State shall not make any law inconsistent with any provisions of this Part, and any law so made shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.

(3) Nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this Constitution made under article 142.

Equality before law

This part states that all Bangladeshi citizens regardless of race, religion etc. are equal before the judiciary system of Bangladesh.

The full text of the constitution

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