President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that propaganda is being spread at home and abroad claiming that communal harmony is deteriorating in Bangladesh. He said some opportunistic groups were trying to create division and instability, but the people of Bangladesh were responding to such propaganda by practising their respective religions.

The president made the remarks after visiting Dhakeshwari National Temple in the capital on Saturday (October 17).

He said Bangladesh was a country of communal harmony, where people of different faiths shared a remarkable bond through literature and the arts. Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists had long been practising their respective religions in the country. Despite various claims at home and abroad that communal harmony was being undermined, he said, people were responding by observing their religious traditions peacefully.

Reminding everyone of their constitutional rights, the president said, “Your slogan is ‘Religion is personal, festivals are for everyone.’ We would like to add to it: ‘Religion is personal, the state belongs to everyone.’ The state is duty-bound to protect the civil rights guaranteed to you by the Constitution.”

Referring to the determination to build a secular Bangladesh forged through the united struggle of 1971, he said they had not abandoned that commitment and were prepared to make any sacrifice to protect the country.

“We never want to take an extreme position on any issue. We are not extremists. We must continue this tradition at all times,” he said.

The president also said the prime minister had instructed not only the government but also leaders and activists of his own party to ensure that Durga Puja celebrations took place without disruption.

Speaking about the country’s ongoing political transition, he said Bangladesh was moving from a deeply undemocratic situation towards a democratic system of governance. Elections had been held, parliament had been formed, and work had begun to implement commitments made by different political parties through the signing of the July Charter concerning constitutional changes. He described this as a reality.

During the event, the president quoted several lines from the poem *Dushshomoy* by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

“We will not fold our wings either. We will fly and certainly reach the shore. We will surely get there. We will certainly establish the Bangladesh we dream of—a secular, peaceful and loving country,” he said.

The president extended his Sharadiya greetings to everyone on the occasion of Durga Puja, saying the government was deeply committed to fulfilling the legitimate demands of the Hindu community.