Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said all people living within Bangladesh’s territory are Bangladeshi citizens, arguing that the country’s constitutional framework does not recognize a separate indigenous identity.
“Bangladesh has no indigenous groups; everyone is a resident of Bangladesh. The rights and opportunities of every citizen are equally protected under the Constitution,” he said.
The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable titled “Indigenous Identity Is Irrelevant for Bangladesh,” organized by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Research Foundation (CHTRF) at the ballroom of Crowne Plaza Dhaka Gulshan in Dhaka.
Salahuddin said all citizens living within Bangladesh’s geographical boundaries enjoy equal citizenship rights.
He also said political parties and stakeholders had agreed in the July National Charter to define the identity of the people of Bangladesh as “Bangladeshi,” describing the consensus as a basis for protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The minister, however, said the state remained committed to protecting and preserving the religious, social and cultural heritage of small ethnic groups, tribes and other communities.
He said special measures and quota systems were in place to bring disadvantaged communities, women and children into the mainstream, adding that such measures had a constitutional basis.
Citing several multilingual and multi-ethnic neighboring countries, Salahuddin said they had adopted policies aimed at integrating disadvantaged communities into the mainstream through special facilities rather than granting separate state recognition to an “indigenous” identity.
UNDRIP
On the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Salahuddin said Bangladesh had abstained from voting when the declaration was adopted on September 13, 2007.
He also said UNDRIP and International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 were not applicable to Bangladesh and that the country was not a party to them.
CHTRF Chairman Mehadi Hasan Palash chaired the roundtable. Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan and Cultural Affairs State Minister Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam attended as special guests.
Among others, MP Nilufer Chowdhury Moni, BNP Joint Secretary General and Mymensingh District Council Administrator Emran Saleh Prince, Prime Minister’s Political Assistant Rashed Khan, BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Prof Sukomal Barua, NCP Chief Organizer (Northern Region) Sarjis Alam, former interim government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Lt Gen (retd) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Maj Gen (retd) Fazle Elahi Akbar, Protidiner Bangladesh Editor Maruf Kamal Khan and Manarat International University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Abdur Rob spoke at the event.
