Nahid Islam, the convener of the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), today explained the party's position on several key issues via his verified Facebook page.
Islam stated that the National Citizen Party's journey is founded on the Liberation War, upholding its ideals of equality, justice, and human dignity, as well as the aspiration for a discrimination-free and democratic state system from the mass uprising of '24. He added that the NCP also takes the continuum of the anti-colonial and anti-Brahminical struggles of the Hindus, Muslims, and Dalits of Bengal as its political and historical basis.
Nahid Islam said that the NCP respects the religious beliefs and spiritual feelings of citizens. He highlighted that the NCP values Islam, the religion of the majority, for its ethics and humanity, as well as the language, culture, and lifestyle of Bengali Muslims. The NCP is committed to ensuring the protection of the religious, cultural, and civic rights of minority religious and ethnic communities.
He further stated that the NCP believes the state should protect the religious and cultural integrity of every community. The party opposes Islamophobia and communalism and does not support religious extremism or fanaticism. The NCP does not consider either secularism or theocracy as its ideal. Instead, the NCP's goal is to build an inclusive democratic state through the practice of religious coexistence, harmony, and empathy.
Nahid Islam also articulated that the NCP embraces a civilizational national identity instead of one based on race, religion, or lineage. The NCP aims to build a national culture that embodies the civilizational identity of the Bengal Delta, a melting pot of many languages and cultures.
He emphasized that the dignity and empowerment of women are among the core principles of the NCP. The party will take specific steps to ensure women's education, health, safety, leadership, and employment. The NCP will work to secure women's just rights to property under family law.
Calling Indian hegemony and Hindutva in South Asia a cultural and geopolitical threat to Bangladesh, Nahid Islam said the NCP will take a strong political stance against this hegemonic tendency. The NCP believes Bangladesh should enhance strategic relations with other states based on fairness, dignity, civilization, and national interest.
He stated that the NCP will build a non-discriminatory, justice-based, and corruption-free socio-economic system akin to a welfare state. Education, public health, agriculture, climate, urban management, labor rights, and employment will be the principal policy areas for the NCP. The NCP has a vision of creating a new economic zone centered around Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal region.
Nahid Islam said the NCP believes that reforming the state structure, reforming institutions, and enacting a new constitution are essential to build a truly democratic state system. He concluded by stating that the foremost political duty of the NCP is to abolish the fascist system and establish a new political arrangement, with the first step towards this being fundamental state reforms and the formation of a new constitution.
