Legal notice demands removal of 'socialism' and 'secularism' from Constitution

A demand has been raised to remove 'socialism' and 'secularism' as part of possible initiatives to reform the Constitution. A legal notice has been sent to the relevant authorities giving a 90-day deadline to take necessary constitutional and legal steps to remove these two elements from the Constitution.

Supreme Court lawyer Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun sent the notice in the public interest on Thursday, October 1. The Secretary (Public Division) of the President's Office, the Secretary of the National Parliament Secretariat, the Cabinet Secretary and the Secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs were made recipients of the notice.

Citing information published in various media, it said an initiative to reform the Constitution may be taken through the National Parliament in January 2027. It also mentioned the possibility of later putting the revised proposal to a national referendum for public approval.

The notice presented economic arguments in favour of removing 'socialism'. The notice-giver claimed that the mention of socialism in the preamble and Articles 8 and 10 of the Constitution conflicts with private ownership and private investment. In his view, in the current reality of a free-market economy, this provision could create uncertainty for foreign investment. Therefore, a demand has been made to reconsider the matter in the interest of economic growth, private ownership and protection of investment.

On the other hand, various historical and constitutional arguments have also been presented in the notice in favour of removing 'secularism'. The notice-giver stated that the compatibility of this principle with Bangladesh's history and social reality needs to be reviewed anew. Quotations from various historical documents and books have also been given in the notice in this regard.

The notice further claimed that the issue of secularism was not among the demands of the 1966 Six Points and the 1971 Liberation War. It also mentioned that the people's movement against economic discrimination, exploitation and deprivation during the then Pakistani rule played an important role behind the Liberation War. These have been presented as the notice-giver's own arguments and interpretations.

In the current Constitution, nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism are mentioned as the fundamental principles of state policy. Article 8 of the Constitution mentions these four principles. At the same time, Article 10 speaks of a socialist economic system aimed at establishing an exploitation-free just society, and Article 12 speaks of implementing the principle of secularism by eliminating communalism, the political use of religion and discrimination based on religion.

The legal notice demanded taking necessary steps to remove 'socialism' and 'secularism' through constitutional amendment and a national referendum within the stipulated 90 days. Otherwise, the notice mentioned filing a public interest writ petition in the High Court under Article 102 of the Constitution.