Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said all citizens living in Bangladesh share one basic identity in geographical and constitutional terms — Bangladeshi.

“There is no indigenous group here. We are all residents of Bangladesh. According to the Constitution, the rights and privileges of every citizen of the country are equally protected,” he said while speaking at a round-table discussion titled “Indigenous Identity is Irrelevant for Bangladesh” organised by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Research Foundation at a city hotel.

Salahuddin said all citizens living within the geographical boundaries of Bangladesh enjoy equal civil rights.

He said all political parties and stakeholders unanimously agreed in the July National Charter-2025 that the identity of people from all walks of life living in Bangladesh will be Bangladeshi.

“This national unity and political commitment are the main foundation for protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country,” the minister said.

Highlighting constitutional protection for disadvantaged communities, he said the state is fully committed to protecting, developing and preserving the religious, social and cultural heritage of small ethnic groups, tribes and various communities.

Salahuddin said the state has maintained special facilities and quota systems for the welfare of disadvantaged communities, women and children to ensure their inclusion in the mainstream, which is also recognised in the Constitution.

Citing examples of various neighbouring multilingual and multinational states, he said though hundreds of languages are spoken in some of those countries, separate indigenous entities have not been given state recognition. “Rather, disadvantaged communities have been brought into the mainstream through various facilities,” he said.

The minister also said Bangladesh has taken a clear position from the beginning regarding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted on September 13, 2007.

He said Bangladesh abstained from voting on the declaration and that many influential countries also opposed it.

Salahuddin further said the declaration and ILO Convention 169 do not apply to Bangladesh and that Bangladesh is not a party to the convention.

The event was chaired by Chittagong Hill Tracts Research Foundation Chairman Mehadi Hassan Palash.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon and State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmood Khyom spoke as special guests.