The constitutions of Bangladesh and India have largely contributed to world politics and jurisprudence, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami says.

India has emerged from 200 years of experience, and the independence of the judiciary was one of the critical parts of its history, the envoy said.

"The constitution demands interpretation in the light of the spirit of the constitution-makers," Doraiswami said.

He suggested that the provisions of the constitution should be made understandable to everyone as the young people should understand why there is a constitution and how it matters to them.

To understand the goals and purpose of the constitution one has to read its preamble, Doraiswami added.

The envoy was addressing the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) Lecture Series programme titled "Nation Building and the Constitution: A Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh and Indian Experiences" in the capital Friday as the guest of honour.

The programme coincided with the celebration of the Constitution Day of India.

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, who also spoke at the programme, said: "Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman believed in the concepts of nationalism, socialism, democracy and most importantly secularism that had been introduced as the fundamental principles of the country's constitution."

Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and chairman of BILIA, presided over the programme. Professor Dr Mizanur Rahman, director of BILIA, welcomed the participants.

Professor Dr Sarkar Ali Akkas, dean of the Faculty of Law, Jagannath University, who delivered the keynote presentation, said: "The concept of nation-building signifies the process of developing a nation through collective, united and systematic efforts."

"It is a process of uniting the people of the state into a well-functioning, good governing, well-dignified and unified nation."

Bangabandhu provided the political leadership for the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Professor Akkas said.

"From January 10, 1972, to till the day of his assassination on August 15, 1975, a major policy decision was undertaken or a new service initiated or a new institution was built almost every day."

The ninth episode of the BILIA Lecture Series was organised on the occasion of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence.

The keynote paper presentation of Professor Akkas was followed by the panel discussion of Barrister Tania Amir, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and Dr Arghya Sengupta, research director of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, India.