The constitution of Bangladesh was finalised amid joy and celebration on this day in 1972. After nine months of discussions and debates at the constituent assembly, agreement was reached on the national charter on the fourth of November. The constitution, however, came into effect on 16 December 1972, exactly a year after Bangladesh's victory in the Liberation War.

This supreme law of the country essentially lays down the blueprint of the state, the rules that the government must follow and, perhaps most importantly, enumerates the rights of the citizens. It stipulates the inalienable fundamental rights and the basic needs of the people and the basic principles of the state.

Although the now-toppled Awami League regime declared November 4 as "National Constitution Day" in 2022, none of the past administrations observed it with any notable reverence. The current government even revoked its status as a national day a few months after taking office.

This year's constitution day comes against the backdrop of months of intense negotiations over constitutional reforms, with consensus still elusive. The constitution was drafted immediately after the Liberation War. This time too, the reforms under discussion -- the most significant in the 53 years the constitution has been in force -- follow a bloody uprising.

It is this document, a contract of sorts between the people and the government, that differentiates a monarchy from a democracy. And the beauty of this charter lies in its adaptability. Since it is seldom perfect, the constitution has the ability to adapt to the needs of the times. Bangladesh's constitution has gone through 17 amendments itself. But some of these were hardly in the interest of the people and they did not bode well for the republic.

Only two and a half years after Bangladesh's constitution was adopted, the fourth amendment transformed the democratic constitution into a one-party system on January 25, 1975. The parliamentary system was changed into a presidential one where the president was vested with sweeping powers and it was made mandatory for all MPs to join the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) or lose their seats.

The 14th amendment on May 16, 2004, was an attempt to extend the retirement age of judges and thereby influence the position of the then head of the caretaker government, which eventually led to two-year state of emergency in 2007-08 when a military controlled caretaker government was at the helm.

The 15th amendment on July 3, 2011, abolished the provision for a caretaker government to oversee elections and virtually paved the path to a series of questionable elections that eventually led to the July uprising.

There have been other amendments, the fifth and the eighth, that were necessary to ensure continuity of the constitution since both were means to legitimise the martial law regimes of Ziaur Rahman and Hussein Mohammad Ershad. The constitutional amendments in their own way also recount history of the country and helps gain understanding of the events of those times.

One must also look back to the events that preceded the Bangladeshi constitution to truly appreciate the efforts and commitment behind it. After independence from British rule in 1947, one of the expectations of the people of both Pakistan and India was that they would have a new constitution. India managed to draft one within two and a half years (on November 26, 1949).

Pakistan took nine years (until March 23, 1956) to produce its first constitution. Within just two and a half years, however, Ayub Khan's military dictatorship suspended it on October 7, 1958. Under the second military ruler, Yahya Khan, a legal framework order (LFO) was issued, and the 1970 general election was held with two clear objectives: first, that the elected representatives would frame a constitution within 120 days in the constituent assembly; and second, that they themselves would govern the state under that new constitution. But the Pakistani junta did not allow that to happen either.

After independence, Bangladesh succeeded in drafting a constitution within nine months -- a task Pakistan had failed to accomplish in 24 years. Fifty-three years on, this constitution day finds us confronting divisive questions over reforms, many of which aim to undo changes that undermined public interest in favour of those in power. Yet that, too, is a testament to the strength of the document. Through vibrant discussion and impassioned debate, the constitution should, as always, continue to evolve, adapt, and embody the aspirations of the people.