Today is the Bangladesh Constitution Day as the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh on November 4, 1972 and came into effect on December 16 in the same year, BSS reports.
After the country achieved independence following a nine month-long bloody war, a 34-member Constitution Drafting Committee was formed with Dr Kamal Hossain as its chairman on April 11 in 1972.
The draft constitution was placed as the Constitution Bill in the second session of the Assembly on October 12, 1972. Its first reading began on October 19 and continued till October 30. The second reading took place from October 31 to November 3 in the same year.
The third reading of the Constitution Bill took place in the Assembly on November 4, approving 65 amendments to the Constitution Bill and finally the Assembly adopted and enacted the Constitution on the same day with the four fundamental principles -- nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism.
Taking part in the discussion on Constitution Bill, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had said, "This Constitution has been written with the blood of the martyrs, this Constitution will remain alive as the symbol of the people's hopes and desires".
Though the original copy of the Constitution was written in English, it was simultaneously translated into Bangla. If any ambiguity is found in the meaning of Bangla and English versions, the Bangla version will be accepted in this regard.
A committee led by Dr Anisuzzaman was tasked with reviewing the Bangla version of the Constitution. Syed Ali Ahsan and Mazharul Islam were members of the committee as the language experts.
A five-member committee led by Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin was formed for decorating the Constitution. Artiste Hashem Khan, Janabul Islam, Sanjit Ray Chowdhury and Abul Barak Alvi were members of the committee.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday issued separate messages on the occasion of the Bangladesh Constitution Day.
They also greeted all citizens of the country on the occasion of the Bangladesh Constitution Day and called upon the people of the country to uphold the dignity of the Constitution in establishing democratic values and the rule of law.