Redefining the spirit of Proclamation of Independence

PROCLAMATION of Independence testifies to the birth of a nation and shapes its future contour. In Bangladesh, the Proclamation is taken to be an interim constitution to explain how it filled up the vacuum till we drafted a constitution in 1972. But this document deserves immense importance, for it rationalises the constitutional basis of our Liberation War as well our country.  
The Proclamation begins with why it was made: Whereas free elections were held in Bangladesh from 7th December, 1970 to 17th January, 1971, to elect representatives for the purpose of framing a Constitution..AND Whereas General Yahya Khan summoned the elected representatives of the people to meet on the 3rd March, 1971, for the purpose of framing a Constitution, AND Whereas the Assembly so summoned was arbitrarily and illegally postponed for indefinite period, AND Whereas instead of fulfilling their promise and while still conferring with the representatives of the people of Bangladesh, Pakistan authorities declared an unjust and treacherous war….
On close perusal, we shall find remarkable similarities between the American Declaration and our Proclamation. Both speak of basic human rights, equality, protection of law, right to vote and right to self determination. The proclamation says: “In order to ensure for the people of Bangladesh equality, human dignity and social justice, declare and constitute Bangladesh to be sovereign Peoples' Republic and thereby confirm the declaration of independence already made by Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman…”
The Proclamation outlines the system of our government as a democracy where will of the people decides all: We the elected representatives of the people of Bangladesh, as honour bound by the mandate given to us by the people of Bangladesh whose will is supreme duly constituted ourselves into a Constituent Assembly…
Our Constitution has been amended numerous times since 1972, often ruining its integrity. But the proclamation can never be changed. It shall always stand as it was. It shall testify to our history, the spirit of our Liberation War, and our identity as a democratic nation. No emergency, no referendum, no ordinance can change what the Proclamation has established. So, according to an eminent professor of International Law of Dhaka University, Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh shall continue to function even if there is no constitution tomorrow: for the Proclamation will guide us as it did in 1971.
The birth of Bangladesh is the story of how stepping over constitutionality brings dire consequences, and the Proclamation is there to remind us of this very lesson when duty calls. In our current volatile political situation, we should uphold the spirit of the Proclamation of Independence and work for democratic future.  

The writer teaches American and British Constitutional Law at the Northern University Bangladesh.