44 years of our Constitution

This day 44 years ago the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was adopted. It was one of the finest documents to be framed, which promised a secular and egalitarian society based on justice, equal rights and opportunities for all. Regrettably, the dreams of the founding fathers enshrined in the Constitution have remained largely unfilled. Regrettably too, sixteen amendments have been incorporated in it by the various regimes, yet, most of them were done without taking much, if any, public interest into account. 
While some of these amendments were done by military dictatorships, others too were done under partisan considerations by the party in office. Hence, the aim behind the framing of the Constitution, which was to serve the people through better governance in the light of the four guiding principles, has in the main remained unmet. 
A stark example of this is the Thirteenth Amendment that introduced the system of caretaker government and its revocation by the Fifteenth Amendment. The irony is that both the amendments were the result of the demand of the same party. It demonstrates the abject disregard for public interest when parliamentary majority is misused to strike out an act by the party that was instrumental in framing it in the first place. Meanwhile, conflicting aspects within the Constitution, because of the various amendments that had been hurriedly added to it, also remain an unresolved issue. 
The people too have remained generally unaware of their rights and obligations accorded to them by the Constitution, particularly in the absence of any awareness campaign by the state and also because of the failure of the civil society in educating and informing the public.
It is unfortunate that we have failed to collectively understand the significance of our Constitution and give it its due importance. It is time for us all set that right.