The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has proposed recognising Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity as state religions alongside Islam, while retaining the four fundamental principles of the Constitution.

The proposal was adopted at a meeting of the organisation's central executive committee on Thursday, October 8, and recommended to the Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reform.

The council said Article 2A of the Constitution, which recognises Islam as the state religion, should be amended if necessary to extend the same recognition to Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.

The proposal comes amid continuing debate over the place of religion, secularism and minority rights in Bangladesh's constitutional framework.

The council called for eliminating religious and ethnic discrimination from the Constitution to establish a democratic, humane and non-discriminatory state.

It cited the Charter of Medina and the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah as guiding principles for ensuring religious coexistence and equality.

At the same time, the organisation urged the parliamentary committee to preserve the Constitution's four fundamental state principles — nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism.

It said retaining these principles was essential to ensuring the rule of law, fundamental human rights, political and economic equality, freedom and social justice.

In a separate resolution, the council demanded representation of religious and ethnic minorities in key constitutional and public institutions, including parliament, the Election Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Commission.

It also called for parliamentary representation proportionate to minorities' share of the national population.

The Constitution currently recognises Islam as the state religion under Article 2A while also guaranteeing equal status and equal rights in the practice of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and other religions.

The council's proposal would go further by granting Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity formal recognition as state religions.

The meeting, held at the organisation's central office, was chaired by former lawmaker Ushatan Talukder.

Senior leaders, including Nirmal Rozario, Rana Dasgupta, Kajal Debnath, Subrata Chowdhury and Venerable Sunandapriya Thera, attended.