President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today (18 October) greeted the Hindu community, visiting the Dhakeshwari National Temple, coinciding with their biggest religious festival, Durga Puja.
"There is a maxim which says 'religion belongs to individuals while the festival belongs to all'," he said during the interaction with the followers of the country's second-largest religious minority faith.
The President said, aligning with the maxim, "I want to add - religion belongs to individuals; the state belongs to all".
He said equal rights of people across religious divides derive from the State and the Constitution and therefore "we must always state firmly that we will protect the rights which the Constitution provided us".
The Hindu community leaders extended him a warm reception on his arrival this afternoon when they escorted him to the Puja mandap.
He also watched a cultural programme staged on the occasion.
President Alamgir said Bangladesh is an extraordinary example of interfaith harmony as People of different religions lived together in this territory for ages and instances of this extraordinary harmony were reflected in the country's literature, culture and arts.
"Unfortunately, efforts are made to undermine this harmony in various ways at home and abroad through widespread propaganda," President Alamgir said.
He sought an intensified social vigilance against efforts to crack the harmony in different ways for parochial or vested interests.
"People in the country grew up together in harmony even before the country's independence and "we fought shoulder to shoulder during the 1971 (Liberation War) and spoke of building a non-communal Bangladesh," he said.
"We remain committed to that, and we are prepared to pay any price to protect the harmony," the President said.
President Alamgir said he firmly hoped that the Puja would be completed peacefully and safely at any cost, and assured the followers of the Sanatan faith of appropriate cooperation in meeting their various demands.
"I wish you all a happy Sharadiya Durga Puja," he said.
President Allamgir urged all to maintain communal harmony, saying, "People of Bangladesh are not extremists; we never opted for extremism on any issue, and we must continue our tradition".
The President said people of all communities in Bangladesh had proved they could adhere to their respective religions properly.
He said Bangladesh was currently going through a transition "as we have begun moving from a terrible undemocratic situation towards a democratic state (and) we all have to take this work forward with patience".
The President called for resolving national problems through consensus since "an election has been held which was accepted by all", while political leaders made various pledges to amend the Constitution and work to fulfil them began with the signing of the July Charter.
Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Ethnic affairs Bijon Kanti Sarkar, Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council President Basudeb Dhar, General Secretary Santosh Sharma, and Sarbajanin Puja Celebration Council President Gopal Chandra Debnath spoke at the event.