National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam clarified the party’s position on the Liberation War, religion, women’s rights, and several other key issues.
Opposing both religious extremism and rigid secularist ideologies, he said, “The Liberation War is one of the fundamental pillars of the state of Bangladesh.”
In a Facebook post titled ‘NCP’s Perspectives on Several Issues’, he stated that the party’s journey is rooted in the ideals of equality, justice, and human dignity stemming from the Liberation War, as well as the aspiration for a discrimination-free and democratic state system inspired by the 2024 mass uprising.
He added that the party also draws its political and historical foundation from the people of Bengal’s long struggle against colonialism and elitism.
In the post, the NCP leader outlined the party’s stance on various issues, stating that it respects citizens’ religious beliefs and spiritual sentiments.
He said that the majority religion of the people is Islam—its ethics and humanism, as well as the language, culture, and lifestyle of Bengali Muslims, are valued by the NCP. The party will ensure the protection of the religious, cultural, and civic rights of minority religious and ethnic communities. NCP believes the state should preserve the religious and cultural integrity of every community, he wrote in the Facebook post.
According to the post, the NCP stands firmly against Islamophobia and communalism and does not support religious extremism or fanaticism. “NCP does not consider either secularist or theocratic ideologies as ideals; rather, its goal is to build an inclusive democratic state through the practice of religious coexistence, harmony, and mutual responsibility and empathy,” he said.
About women’s empowerment, he said that the NCP will take concrete steps to ensure women’s education, health, safety, leadership, and employment. Under family law, NCP will work to realise women’s rightful share of property.
On national identity, he said, “NCP embraces a civilisational national identity instead of one based on nation, religion, or tribe. NCP will develop a national culture by embracing the civilisational identity of the Bengal delta, a confluence of many languages and cultures.”
Regarding foreign policy, the NCP has taken a strong stance against Indian regional dominance.
Nahid writes, “Indian hegemonism and Hindutva in South Asia pose a cultural and geopolitical threat to Bangladesh. NCP will adopt a firm political stance against these hegemonic tendencies. NCP believes Bangladesh should expand strategic relations with other states based on justice, dignity, civilisation, and national interest.”
He also mentioned that his party envisions the creation of a new economic zone in the Bay of Bengal region, centred around Bangladesh.
“NCP aims to build an inequality-free, justice-based, corruption-free socio-economic system that resembles a welfare state. Education, public health, agriculture, climate, urban management, labour rights, and employment will be the key policy areas for NCP,” he said.
Nahid also cleared his party’s stance against authoritarian rule. “NCP believes that to build a truly democratic state system, restructuring of the state, institutional reform, and the drafting of a new constitution are necessary. Replacing the fascist system with a new political arrangement is NCP’s foremost political duty,” he said.
