11/07/2025
EXCERPT FROM THE JUDGMENT OF WRIT PETITION challenging 15th Amendment of the Constitution, pronounced by Mrs. Justice Farah Mahbub and Mr. Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury, wherein FOUNDER of Bangladesh IP Forum Barrister HAMIDUL MISHBAH undertook to defend inclusion of “SECULARISM” in our Constitution
“Mr. A B M Hamidul Mishbah, a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and the Founder of Bangladesh Intellectual Property Forum, having aptitude in the areas of intellectual property and technology has been impleaded as intervener in the instant writ petition. He, however, supports inclusion of the word “secularism” in the Constitution
he goes on to submit that the principle "secularism" separates religion from state governance. It ensures that laws, policies and initiatives taken for the welfare of public remain impartial, inclusive, and grounded on the principles of equality, human rights, common values, and justice...
Secularism ensures no religion is privileged or discriminated against by the State, protects minorities from marginalization and allows individuals the freedom to practice, change, or reject religion without state interference.
…By separating religion from the country's governance system, he argues, secularism ensures neutrality which creates a strong sense of shared national belonging within citizens' minds regardless of their faith.
…the desire of a population who belongs to and shares the same ethnic group, culture, language, etc. to form and exists in an independent country, is the core element of "nationalism". Eliminating one of the four principles of the fundamental state policies, i.e. "secularism" from the Constitution will make the rest of the three fall flat.
…In the age of frontier technologies, as he submits, like artificial intelligence (Al), robotics and big data, non-secular policies risk embedding religious biases in technological systems result in inequities and unfairness. In China, biased Al surveillance disproportionately targets Uyghur Muslims, thus, perpetrates discrimination.
he goes to argue that non-secularism can hinder intellectual property, creative expressions, and technological progress by imposing religious or ideological restrictions.
the 1971 liberation war was not only about political independence but also about rejecting the religious division enthused by Pakistan's two-nation theory.
Bangladesh was established as a secular country to provide a platform for its religiously diverse population, i.e. Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims, to live in harmony and pluralism.
whether it is the Liberation War of 1971, the movement of 1990, or of 2024, the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for independence, freedom, and human dignity remind us of the invaluable nature of unity, human rights, equality and justice in our society. The lives we lost stood in harmony for a shared purpose. Their legacies must live in our actions, guiding us to carry forward their cause, ensuring it leads us towards unity, not division.
