Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said no community or population group living in Bangladesh needs to be identified as a “minority.” Rather than religion or any other divide, he said, every person in this country will enjoy equal rights and security on the basis of citizenship. “Our foremost identity should be that we are all Bangladeshi,” he said.
He made the remarks as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the “Historic Central Janmashtami Procession,” organized by the Mahanagar Sarbojonin Puja Committee and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad to mark “Central Janmashtami Festival 1433,” held Friday afternoon at the Dhakeshwari National Temple grounds at Palashi intersection in the capital.
Expressing a commitment to building a non-communal Bangladesh, the minister said: “Our leader has said in clear terms — ‘Bangladesh first.’ And if it’s Bangladesh first, then each of us is ‘Bangladeshi first.’ Our religious, social or ethnic identity comes after that. The government’s core policy in running the state is Bangladesh for everyone.”
Criticizing the past political system, the home minister said: “Those who in the past believed, and sought political advantage from the idea, that Sanatan followers were a ‘vote bank’ for a particular party — the conscious people of this country have completely shattered that false notion and manufactured myth.”
He said: “Since the current government took office, over the past six months, religious freedom and rituals for people of all faiths across the country have been ensured.”
He also said: “The people are the judge, and you have already delivered your verdict. Going forward too, you will continue to play a united role in strengthening democracy and standing against all forms of evil forces and extremism.”
Highlighting the importance of the constitution and religious rights, the minister said: “Under Bangladesh’s constitution, the state is obligated to ensure every citizen’s religious freedom. In the spirit of the constitution, no discrimination can be made on the basis of religion.”
He said: “Full security and freedom have been given to the places of worship of all faiths and those responsible for them. The government does not want to confine this to the pages of the constitution alone — it is committed to ensuring this equality and harmony in practice as well.”
Calling for a change in the language used, the home minister added: “We commonly use the term ‘communal harmony.’ But I believe the word ‘communal’ is no longer necessary. From today, we should say — we will maintain religious and social harmony, coexistence and peace. This positive practice will make society even better.”
At the rally and procession, chaired by Mahanagar Sarbojonin Puja Committee president Gopal Chandra Debnath, the inaugural address was delivered by Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator and freedom fighter Md. Abdus Salam.
Speaking as guests of honor at the event were Bijon Kanti Sarkar, the prime minister’s special assistant on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and ethnic minority affairs (with state minister rank), and Hamidur Rahman, member of parliament for Dhaka-7. Others who spoke included Tapan Chandra Majumder, vice chairman of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust; Jayanta Kumar Kundu, joint organizing secretary (Khulna Division) of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) national executive committee; and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad president Basudeb Dhar and general secretary Santosh Sharma.
The event was moderated by Mahanagar Sarbojonin Puja Committee general secretary Shuvashish Kumar Biswas (Sadhan).
At the start of the event, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator and freedom fighter Md. Abdus Salam formally inaugurated the procession by lighting an auspicious lamp.
The Janmashtami procession began at Palashi intersection (the Dhakeshwari National Temple grounds) and ended at Bahadur Park.