Should socialism be redefined as social justice and social democracy in the Bangladesh Constitution?

The need to amend the Preamble and Article 10

Social policy in Bangladesh’s constitutional law can be traced to the Proclamation of Independence in 1971. The text of the proclamation reads as follows:-

We the elected representatives of the people of Bangladesh, as honour bound by the mandate given to us by the people of Bangladesh whose will is supreme duly constituted ourselves into a Constituent Assembly, and having held mutual consultations, and in order to ensure for the people of Bangladesh equality, human dignity and social justice

One of the first decisions of post-liberation Bangladesh was to enact the Abandoned Properties Order, which allowed the government to take over properties and assets of West Pakistani capitalists who were no longer welcome in the country. Prior to 1971, industrial and commercial assets were dominated by a handful of 25 West Pakistani families across both East and West Pakistan. There was widespread popular resentment in both wings against the oligopoly of these powerful families.

The Abandoned Properties Order also allowed claimants to seek a return of their property. Due process was laid out to ensure a lawful transfer of properties. While the Abandoned Properties Order marked the beginning of socialism, it was essentially a post-war legislation aimed at perceived enemy industrial and financial assets.

On 26 March 1972, the government nationalized all major banks, insurance companies and industrial assets. An estimated 90% of industrial assets and 85% of banking and insurance assets were nationalized. At the time, Bangladesh lacked a strong Bengali capitalist class because most of these assets were owned by West Pakistanis. The Dhaka Stock Exchange remained closed through the entire period of Awami League rule from 1972 to 1975.

Constituent Assembly and Bangladesh Constitution

On 4 September 1972, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman told the Constituent Assembly that he wanted four fundamental principles in the Constitution, including nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism. He explained that socialism was a response to the economic exploitation of East Pakistan and referred to the industrial and commercial dominance of West Pakistani capitalists.

Socialism became one of the four fundamental principles of the Bangladesh Constitution. There are three specific references to socialism in the entire Constitution, including in the second and third paragraphs of the preamble, and Article 10. The current preamble reads as follows:-

Pledging that the high ideals of nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism, which inspired our heroic people to dedicate themselves to, and our brave martyrs to sacrifice their lives in, the national liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution

Further pledging that it shall be a fundamental aim of the State to realise through the democratic process a 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

Article 10 under Part II of the Fundamental Principles of State Policy reads as follows:-

10. Socialism and freedom from exploitation

A socialist economic system shall be established with a view to ensuring the attainment of a just and egalitarian society, free from the exploitation of man by man.

The above has been the original text of the Constitution when it was enacted in 1972. It was restored to the original form by the 15th Amendment in 2011. Between 1977 and 2011, a different text existed due to changes enacted under martial law.

Socialism meaning economic and social justice (1977 - 2011)

On 23 April 1977, in one of his first acts as President and Chief Martial Law Administrator, Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman issued the Proclamation (Amendment) Order 1977. This proclamation notably deleted secularism and redefined socialism with the convoluted term “socialism meaning economic and social justice”. The preamble and Article 10 were changed by the proclamation. Article 12 was all together omitted from the text of the Constitution. The martial law era changes, including the convoluted term on social policy, read as follows:-

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 national liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution

It is noteworthy that Ziaur Rahman did not hold any public consultations before arbitrarily amending the Constitution through a martial law order. The martial law order was validated by the 5th Amendment in the second parliament in 1979. In the case of Bangladesh Italian Marble Works in 2005, the High Court Division found martial law to be illegal and declared the 5th Amendment to be void. In 2011, the 15th Amendment implemented the decision laid out in Bangladesh Italian Marble Works.

Interpretation of the preamble and fundamental principles

In Registrar, University of Dacca vs. Sajjad Hussain (1982) 34 DLR (AD) 1, the preamble’s reference to the “historic struggle for national liberation” was construed as a continued, ongoing revolution in line with communist ideology. Mahmudul Islam in his book Constitutional Law of Bangladesh writes the following:-

the Constitution of Bangladesh clearly envisages a traditional democratic process and its language cannot be construed with reference to a radically different political philosophy merely because of the use of the words ‘socialist society’ in the preamble.

The fundamental principles of state policy are not enforceable as laws, but are merely principles to guide government policy and the drafting of laws and regulations. Mahmudul Islam writes the following:-

These principles of State policy have special value as they are described in art.8(2) as a guide to the interpretation of the Constitution and the laws of Bangladesh. The courts shall have to construe the provisions of the Constitution and the laws in conformity with these principles.

Redefining socialism

In the British parliament in 1971, the first government of Bangladesh was described as ‘overwhelmingly liberal social democrats’ by the British MP Bruce Douglas-Mann. Moreover, the Proclamation of Independence in 1971 referred to ‘social justice’ instead of socialism. When socialism was written into the Constitution, all the main political parties in Bangladesh were supporters of socialism. The Awami League’s opposition came from Jashod and NAP, both of which were stridently more socialist than the Awami League itself. After a period of one party socialism under BAKSAL in 1975, Bangladesh began to shift towards the market economy under the military-backed regimes of of Ziaur Rahman and H. M. Ershad. For example, the Grameen Bank was founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in 1983 to promote microcredit and private enterprise, resulting in a significant expansion of the rural economy.

The private sector makes up 80% of Bangladesh’s economy, yet socialism is considered a fundamental principle of state policy. Today, most political parties in Bangladesh do not subscribe to the socialist ideology. The BNP and Jatiya Party do not subscribe to socialism in their respective party charters. Therefore, the term ‘socialism’ does not reflect the values of a vast segment of the population.

The Awami League itself cannot subscribe to a socialist ideology in the old fashion. In March 2024, an interview of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was published in Whiteboard magazine, in which there was a clear reference to ‘social democracy’ to describe the policies of the Awami League.

The return to parliamentary democracy after the end of the Cold War should have marked a break with socialism. Economic reforms were launched by the BNP’s finance minister Saifur Rahman. During the fifth parliament in 1991, an All Party Select Committee had a chance to redefine social policy in the Constitution, but didn’t do so. When the Awami League was elected in 1996, the party embraced the market economy and continued with privatization. The seventh parliament also continued with economic liberalization, including in banking and telecoms. In 2011, the Awami League chose to revert to the 1972 text on socialism instead of redefining the term further to reflect reality, which is the vibrant market economy in Bangladesh.

2024 Bangladesh Revolution

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement resulted in the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. In the wake of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government taking power in Bangladesh, the debate on constitutional reform has been reignited. There have been calls to totally rewrite the Constitution, and even to enact a new constitution.

The term ‘socialism’ carries authoritarian baggage because most socialist states in the world have been deeply authoritarian. As the revolutionary events of 2024 show, the people of Bangladesh yearn for a more democratic government with the periodic and peaceful transfer of power. The Constitution should reflect social policy and should provide a spirit to craft social policy. The French Republic in its own constitution describes itself as “an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic”. There is nothing wrong with a reference to social policy.

Indeed, the state religion of Islam supports the concept of social justice. The concept of social justice and welfare is intrinsic to Islamic governance and a central plank for many Islamic parties in the world. Hence, a reference to social policy is justified.

Proposed reforms

The current text of the preamble can be reworded in the following way:-

Pledging that the high ideals of nationalism, social justice, democracy and secularism, which inspired our heroic people to dedicate themselves to, and our brave martyrs to sacrifice their lives in, the national liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution;

Further pledging that it shall be a fundamental aim of the State to realise through the democratic process a social democratic 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

The current title and text of Article 10 can be reworded in the following way:-

10. Social democracy and freedom from exploitation

A social democratic economic system shall be established with a view to ensuring the attainment of a just and egalitarian society, free from the exploitation of man by man.

Footnotes

Constitutional Law of Bangladesh by Mahmudul Islam

Era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by Moudud Ahmed

Interview with Sheikh Hasina (Whiteboard, March 2024)

Proclamation, Banglapedia

Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Proclamation of Independence 1971