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Saturday, August 9, 2008

[mukto-mona] Issues Of Dispute And The Contemporary Developments In Chittagong

Issues Of Dispute And The Contemporary Developments In Chittagong
Hill Tracts

"Opinion"

Wednesday May 21 2008 18:27:23 PM BDT

By Abid Bahar

Chittagong Hills Tracts is located in the South Eastern part of
Bangladesh. The population of the land in 1991 census account was 50%
Bengalis (45% Muslims) and 50% the various other 11 tribal groups of
racially Mongoloid origin. The population size of the tribals and
Bengalis combined together is close to a million. The tribal groups
are Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tanchangya, Mro, Lushai, Khumi, Chak,
Khyang, Bawm and Pankhua. According to the Census of 1991, the total
population of Chakma was 239,417, it is the largest, the most
privileged among the tribal groups.

"Bangladesh has a hundred gates open for entrance but not one for
departure" -Bernier.

Starting from the 60's, among the tribals, influenced by the radical
Marxist ideology, some Chakma leadership began to aspire to separate
the Hill Tracts from Bangladesh and some other relatively moderate
leadership among them demanded autonomy. While the goal of creating
an independent tribal country out of the geographically small
Bangladesh, the tribals of half a million heterogeneous population
remained an unrealistic ambition, however, some other external
factors such as the NGO connections, missionary activists, and Indian
RAW trained Shanti Bahini made some leadership to its romancing with
revolution. Some of these developments were also possible mainly
through the fundamentalist Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Porished of
Bangladesh aligned with the BJP of India.

The post 9/11 developments in Islamphobia in outside Bangladesh
worked in the tribal's favour that the tribals mostly as Buddhists
show theoir fight is against the perceived "Bangladesh's Islamic
fundamentalist government." The tribal's international lobbying and
sucessful identification as an indigenous group also brought positive
results from world's indigenous movements in different countries.
There is also the Arakanese Mogh (Rakhine) xenophobic organization
the ANC's Theraveda Buddhist leadership whose head quarter is in New
Delhi but works from Bangladesh are also active in Kiangs in tribal
areas training the tribals with arms. These contemporary developments
made great changes in the radicalization of the tribal populace.
Despite these advantages in the tribal's favor, the tribal leadership
remained ignorant of a major issue; the rule of the game in politics
that is based on the population size, which is lacking in the
tribal's favor.


Historical background

It is a known fact that the genuine Chakma discontent began with the
Kaptai dam by the government of Pakistan. The effect of the dam was
the displacement of mainly the Chakma population from the affected
area. However, during the 70's when Bengali people united together
against Pakistani rule in East Bengal, surprisingly the relatively
then the backward Chakma leadership inspired the Chakma population
and the other tribes to support Pakistan. This is as if one step
backward thinking for them.

In 1970, Manobendro Larma formed the Rangamati Communist Party. It
was so unfortunate that under his leadership he even formed anti
Bengali Shanti Bahini and some tribes even helped the Pakistan army
to locate Bengali liberation forces hiding in the hills and massacred
them. Shanti bahini ever since killed many innocent Bengalis during
the 70's and early 80's anarchy in Bangladesh.To show his loyalty to
Pakistan, Tridiv Roy, the supreme Chakma leader even remained in
Pakistan, later on to help the tribals, he even became the Pakistani
ambassador to Burma. However, for their collaboration with the enemy,
unlike the Biharis, the liberal Bengali leadership didn't brand the
tribals as Pakistani collaborators or war criminals and on record
didn't take any revenge against them but accepted them as their
fellow citizens.

In 1974 Supported India: Two Steps Backward

The radical anti-Bangladesh tribal leadership appears to be primarily
a result of the small Marxist Chakma tribal leadership's romancing
with revolution. It is true, after the liberation, the first Prime
Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of
Bengali nationalism as one of the pillars of Bangladesh's ideology
annoyed the Chakma Marxist leadership. Sheikh Mujib pumped up in his
Bengali prejudice said, "Forget your ethnicity, be Bengali." Larma
genuinely declared that they could be Bangladeshis not Bengalis.
Manobendra Larma, a radical and romantic Chakma himself (later on
killed by a fellow Chakma,) reacting to Mujib's comment quickly
changed the side of Mujib, formed Parbotto Chattgram Jnohanhiti
Samity and its armed wing Gono Mukto Fouz (popularly known as Shanti
Bahini.) He also sought Indian help and fought against Bangladesh to
liberate Chittagong Hill Tracts. However, after Mujib's fall,
President Zia's declaration of Bangladeshi's nationalism and the
equal citizenship privileges to the tribals didn't satisfy the
radical leadeship to come to terms with Bengalis. The Chakma Marxist
leadership's romancing with revolution continued.

Radicalized by the RAW: More Steps Backward

In 1975, after Mujib' death encouraged by the Indian RAW, the Chakma
leadership radicalized themselves further and the other tribes so
much so that extremist elements among them with Indian military
trainning and reinforcements often crossed the Bangladesh border to
attack the Bangladesh army and the civilian population. In 1982,
Priti Kumar Chakma formed Juma Sanghati Samity and as a quick fix
even asked the tribals to join Chittagong Hill Tracts with the Indian
union. He crossed the border into India. India fighting its own war
against its own rebels in the North West first gave him and his
followers' assilum. Indian help in material and manpower, propaganda
suuport is one of the main sources of their ongoing activities. This
became evident in 1991 when Animesh Dewan, an armed Chakma captured
by Bangladesh army confessed that India had given 300 G.3 rifles to
the insurgents during 1989.

Hindu- Buddhist Connection

The romanticization of the tribes went a long way through through the
religious connections. The tribals except the Tripurans follow
Theraveda Buddhissm; a more Burmese Sri Lankan and Cambodian type
fundamentalist Buddhist version.The Bikkus see Chittagong Hill Tracts
as part of Arakan and the Asian Burma. These seemingly nonviolent
Buddhist temple's Chakma Bikkus are now in the fore front of Chakma
leadership. They identify Bengalis as the followers of the
socalled "violent Islam." Islamphobia against their fellow Bengali
citizens became a new ideology of hate among the temple worshipers.
In the name of "Peace campaign Group", "Purvanchal Buddhist Bhikkhu
Sangha," a good number of these leaders took their shelter in India
and involved in the incitement of the tribals for anti Bengali
action.

The daily report of hundreds of murder, rape and destruction of
property by Bangladesh army is regularly reported to the press by
these groups surprisingly not from Chittaging Hill Tracts but from
New Delhi and often without mentioning the source of their
information. The common themes of these reports indicate that Hill
Tract's problem is mainly due to the "Islamic fundamentalist backed
government of Bangladesh." It is not that there have not been human
rights violations in Chittagong Hill Tracts, but these radical Chakma
intellectuals and Bikku radical elements when lobby on the
international donor agencies and foreign governments against
Bangladesh are exaggerated and politically motivated.

To facilate the tribals lobbying, India helped the PCJSS activists to
travel to different countries with travel documents. The lobbyists
contacted Amnesty International, the anti Slavery society, and the
International Working group on Indigenous Affairs. India helped the
lobbyists to be present their case at the UN but nothing happened.

The Tribal Marxist lobbysts have another side to their story.
Romancing with revolution, the Chakma intellectuals make
revolutionary statements in international seminars and conferences
about the great "Chakma" sufferings, sometimes mention the existance
of a mythical Chakma kingdom that ruled the entire Chittagong Hill
Tracts and that the tribes are an indigenous people. On some other
occasions, the lobbyists were seen to face Bangladeshi experts on
Hill Tracts, when question the authenticity of their indigenous
claims and the sources of their information they fail to produce. In
this type of propaganda at home and abroad, these tribals' leaders
appear to make their own career out of such exploitation. However,
the negative effects of such activities are of two fold: (a) they
radicalize the tribals against the Bengali population; (b) they help
to cover up the reality of the situation in the Hill Tracts. In this
direction, the real victims of the process seem to be the
Bangladeshis; both tribal and the nontribals who should see
themselves only as Bangladeshi citizens.

In a parallel situation in Burma, in 1947 the Rohingyas for their
support to join Pakistan, eversince were seen as suspect and have
been exterminated and finally in Burma's 1982 constitution were even
declared by the Burmese military government as being the non citizens
of Burma. Fortunately in the democratic and forward looking
Bangladesh, situations like that didn't take place. However, it seems
clear that the largely "opportunist" Chakma leadership who also form
the majority of the militant Shanti Bahini, in their present pro-
Indian radical activities take advantage of the liberal democratic
process in Bangladesh.


Contemporary Developments in Identity Formation

(a) As mentioned above, tribals are divided into many groups, with
differences in religion, culture, and historical backgrounds. They
are also located in seperate regions of the Hill Tracts. For the
differences among themselves, in the past it was difficult for them
to come up with a united front. However, things have changed lately,
to give a common name to the region, during the 80's and the 90's the
Chakma leadership enthuasiastically named the Chittagong Hill Tracts
in short as the "CHT." It seems that that didn't go far enough.

Lately, they have been working on another concept and wanted to call
themselves as the "Jummas" of the "Jummaland." This new name and
replacing the "Chittagong Hill Tracts" for "Jumaland" doesn't seem to
make sense to the people of Chittagong Hill Tracts as a whole because
firstly, most Chittagonians and Bengalis of Chittagong Hill Tracts
that comprise more than 50% of the population are not the Hill
cultivators or the Jumas. In this endeavour, this initiative tends to
deny the human rights of the Bengali people of Chittagong Hill
Tracts. In addition to this, even a large number of the Tribal
intellectuals now live neither in hill cultivation nor live in the
hills to be called with this new name. For Chakmas themselves call
this latter group as the "babus"meaning they live in the urban
centre's of Rangamati, Khagrachari, Ramgor, Bandorban, Cox's Bazarar
and in Chittagong and Dhaka. Considering these difficulties, the
traditional name Chittagong Hill Tracts is back again as the only
acceptable name for most of its people.

(b) In their drive to to receive international sympathy, the Chakmas
leadership also identified the tribals in general as
Bangladesh's "indigenous people" and aligned themselves in movements
with the world's indigenous population. Contrary to the claims
however, historical records show that none of the tribes of
Chittagong Hill Tracts are indigenous to the land. Even Chakma
intellectual' works like Aditya Dewan, Sugata Chakma's and works done
by Western scholars show that most the tribes of Chittagong Hill
Tracts migrated from Burma through Arakan. Only the Monipuri tribe
arrived from the Tripura state of India. This is also recorded in
Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts Gazettiers even with historic
dates of arrival recorded even by the British.

The Moghul record shows that the Chakmas had migrated from Arakan
during the late Sultani period in the 15th century. They first
settled in southern Chittagong, lived among Chittagonian people and
learned Chittagonian and slowly migrated northword. Not long ago they
lived in the plain land of Rangunia of northern Chittagong before
they finally settled in their present location. Chakma historian's
works show that Mogh pirates from Arakan pushed the Chakmas to the
hills where they are presently settled. There is a Chakma proverb
that says, "Ghore thakle Moghe Pai, Baire gaele Bagae Khai." If we
staye home, Moghs would enslave us, if we go out, tigres will eat us.
Marmas ( Baare Ma, the great Burma) that live in Banderbon and Feni
and in Barisal are the decendents of the Arakani Moghs. The other
wave of Moghs, driven out of Arakan by the Burmese during the British
period in 1784 settled mainly in Cox's Bazar area and in Barishal
district are now known as the Rakines (Rakhine is a newly coined name
for the Moghs of Arakan, Bangladeshi Moghs also adapted the name).
Denying the existing historical facts, the radical Chakma leadership
make claim that the tribes are indigenous people of the Hill Tracts.
In order to prove their point propaganda materials such as books,
flyers, with titles as, "Horrors in the Chittagong Hill
Tracts," "Indigenous people's plight," "Juma Suffering" etc. were
being distributed internationally. It seems that in their successful
propaganda, internationally they could project themselves as the
victims of Bangladesh's "genocide on the indigenous people."

Adoption of Alphabets

Historically speaking, none of the tribes had any written language
and didn't have alphabets. However, their romancing with revolution,
there has been the other interesting recent developments quietly
taking place in Chittagong Hill Tracts. To show their growing
assertiveness as a distinctive people, lately they have adopted new
alphabets and introduced the letters to their children. In imitation
of the Indian Tripura alphabets, recently, Tripura alphabets were
introduced to the Tipura tribal children of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The ceremony was conducted in Khagrachari. In addition to this, the
Chakmas adopted Khamer (Cambodian script) and the Moghs adopted
Arakani script (Marma alphabet). These are new developments quietly
initiated mainly by the radical leadership among the tribes.

Lately, some Chakmas in imitation of the Burmese pronunciation even
seem to style themselves as "Changma," not the traditional name
Chakma. A small tribe of the Hill Tracts known as the Tanchingyas
about 2000 in number is not behind these developments. Lately, its
leaders have changed their name from the official Tanchingya (a
Bengali given name to this tribe when arrived from Arakan, the
Tanchingyas to now "Tanga." They generally live in houses built
on "tall stilts" (Chungs). The name "Tong-Chang-Gya, is similar to
the Ro-hin- Gya, (Mro-haung-gya) meaning refugees from Mrohaung of
Arakan. The name Tanchingya, now "Tang- ya," are the new letters
borrowed from the Burmese language dictionary.

The other developments are in the direction of changing the ancient
Chittagonian Bengali Hill Tracts names into Burmese sounding names;
Khagrachari is now called by the tribals as "Chengmi," Rangamati
for "Gongkabor" and Bandarban for "Arvumi." These changes have been
done in imitation of Thai and Burmese names and in the pretext of
practicing their right to a "limited autonomy."

The name of places in remote Chittagong Hill Tracts such as Bor kol =
Borkol, Ghagra Chori =Khagrachori, Ranga mati= Rangamati, Bandor
bon=Bandarbon, Ram gor= Ramgor, Theker (difficult) Pahar (mountain),
Dum Dummia Bazar etc in the remote areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts
are neither Arakani, nor Burmese nor even Cambodian names. These are
Bengali names given by Bengali people that lived in the Hill Tracts
before the tribes arrived. Historical records show that Bengali
people have been in Chittagong Hill Tracts for over 4,000 years.

In their outward looking identity formation, the above trend of
Changing Bengali names shows that the tribals are depriving its
native Chittagonians their rights and they are neither integrating
nor assimilating as Bangladeshis. They seem to be imitating the
culture of the countries from where their ancestors were driven out
centuries ago. Analysts claim that this trend could be a result of
extremists among the tribals who detaste anything "Bengali"
or "Muslim."

While the above analysis shows the Chakma leadership's with its less
than 250 thousand Chakma population keeps romancing with revolution,
several questions in the academia as well as in the media surface
repeatedly:

(1) Questions abound about how the tribals could be indigenous when
at the same time their own history shows that they had migrated from
Arakan of Burma through southern Chittagong as late as during the
British period. Historical facts show that Bengalis lived in
Chittagong Hill Tracts long before the tribals settled in the
region. "The evidence of paleolithic civilization in Bangladesh
region (shows)... stone implement in Rangamati and a hand axe in the
hilly tip of Feni district. They are likely to be 10,000 to 15,000
years old. New stone age in the region lasted from 3,000 B C to 1,500
B C. Neolithic tools comparable to Assam group were found at
Sitakunda in Chittagong.

The Bengali population generally question, historically, if their
ancestors of the tribals were the settlers then why do they have to
mislead the uninformed people both locally and internationally? It is
true; in the absence of enough research works on the tribal's
international agencies are accepting the tribal's fictious indigenous
claim as being true. The misrepresentation in the process helps
deprive the human rights of the Chittagonian Bengalis in their rights
to own land.

(2) There are also the questions that the tribes are only less than
half a million in number, presently live among another more than half
a million Bengalis in Chittagong Hill Tracts. The total Bengali
population is150 million in the low lands. With such a small tribal
population size of less than 1% of Bangladesh's total population
size, how could they realisticallt become independent. In that
scenerio, some estimate that if it is not a pure case of Chakm
leader's old fashioned Marxist romance of class struggle between the
Benglis vs. the tribals, and India playing its own geopolitical card
against Bangladesh for its own interest, and the Arakani xenophobic
Moghs fraternity with the tribals in the kiangs to misled tribals, it
got to be surely a game the leadership is playing to help develop
mistrust among the tribal and Bengali Bangladeshis.

(3) The other questions asked are about the adoption of alphabets
that, when the population size of different tribal groups are as low
as even few thousands, if it is not a matter of romancing for
independence, why the tribal leadership have to introduce the
racially origin outside Bangladesh alphabets and introduce it to
their children by some NGO called the Zabarang Kalayan Samit etc.
Bangladesh government is aware of these changes. Realistically
speaking; children of tribes of such small numbers should be learning
the important languages of the country to get better jobs for
survival, than fight a revolution with a people of 144 million
strong. Contrary to this trend in Bangladesh, in Burma, minorities
not only learn the main language Burmese to get jobs, and to blend
in, they keep a Burmese names as well. In Burma, the Rohingya Muslims
for example are required to carry ID cards and voluntarily keep a
Burmese Buddhist name. In Mizooram of the "democratic" India, Mizoos
require to carry permit to move from one place to another.
Fortunately, that is not required as a norm in the democratic
Bangladesh. Under the circumstances, in comparison, the democratic
government of Bangladesh shows its reasonable tradition of tolerance.

(4) The other questions asked repeatedly are that realistically how
is it possible for the Chakmas leadership with an insignificant
tribal population size of half a million, vastly different from each
other calling Chittagong Hill Tracts as the Jummaland to become
independent when in contrast, the huge geographical areas across the
border in India such as Assam, Tripura, Mizooram, and in the Western
India, Punjab and Kashmir etc, and in Burma, Shan territory, Chin,
Kachine etc. where vast number of homogeneous people live failed to
become independent. Compared to those, it seems Chakma's case shows a
case of pure romanticism by its opportunist leadership and a self
defeatist movement that can only create suffering through mutual
distrust.

(5) The net outcome of Chakma leadership and its impact seems to have
helped develop mistrust among Bangladeshis. Under the circumstances,
people wonder how even the arrangement of a complete tribal autonomy
would work. This is because, both Bengalis and the tribals live in
mutually exclusive areas, autonomy for tribals only will be unjust
for the Bengali population. To solve similar problems of unrest, in
Indian Kashmir and in Assam, and also in Mizooram, Indian government
built cantonments near each tribal settlement called "ideal village"
where movement of people are tightly controlled. To deal with the
radical elements in those provinces, India resort to population
resettlement in troubled areas. It seems that the present trend in
Chakma leadership's excessive romanticization and armed struggle and
anti Bangladesh campaign at home and abroad only complicated the
situation.

Sucessive Bangladesh governments have been trying to accommodate the
tribal leadership by giving them limited tribal autonomy. The recent
goodwill gesture from the care-taker government in its withdrawl of
24 temporary army camps are also steps in right direction. However,
such gestures should have reciprocal in removing the armed Buddhist
monks from kiangs, places of religious devotion.

Bernier once said "Bangladesh has a hundred gates open for entrance
but not one for departure" In this land, historically "Chakmas and
others have been given shelter as refugees by Bengalis out of
humanitarian concern over the generations." The above trend of Chakma
leadership's anti Bangladesh campaign, seeking foreign help in
terrorism and creating trouble in the internal matters of Bangladesh,
shows strong signs of tribal leadership crisis.

While many Chakma leaders still remained disillusioned, but lately
many Chakma and other tribal leaders began to come to senses and
question whether the tribal groups should follow the "romancing with
revolution" approach by certain Chakma leadership when it has proven
itself "unrealistic," "backward looking," and "violent." These
extremist Chakmas with Indian guns even didn't dare to "kill their
own leaders," and failed to bring a lasting compromise among
themselves as well with Bengalis.

The common indicator for the crisis in tribal leadership seems to
indicate the state of the backward-looking Chakma leadership at home
and in abroad as well as mentioned above the presence of an
unrealistic Marxist leadership that remained far behind reality with
the pace of Bangladesh's overall development. It is imperative that
Chakma leadership should come to its senses and instead of working as
the tool of anti- Bangladesh foreign forces and creating a divide
between the Bengalis and the tribals; should make efforts to receive
the benefits of the equal citizenship of Bangladesh that they
rightfully deserve.

It is true that the integrity of Bangladesh is vital for Bangladesh's
survival. History tells us that, in the past a lapse during the late
Sultani period and early Sher Shah Sur dynasty led Chittagong and the
lower Bengal to be occupied by Mogh and Portuguese pirates resulting
in enslavement of the masses. The suffering continued until the
Moghul conquest of Chittagong.

Realistically then, for Bangladesh's prosperity and for the common
good, it is important and beneficial for all Bangladeshis (tribal and
the nontribal alike) should work together than the extremist Chakma's
Islamophobic and xenophobic incitement against the Bengalis in
Chittagong Hill Tracts.

For the sake of establishing the rule of law, Bangladesh government
had the record of hanging the IslamicBangla Bhai terrorists. For the
sake of Bangladesh's integrity, Bangladesh army and the police should
be present in every corner of Bangladesh including in the Hill
Tracts. Considering the mistrust already created by the Chakma
leadership, some settlements in remote border areas of the Hill
Tracts especially with Bangladesh's border with Burma and India
should be done to check both the armed militacy on the part of the
terrorists of all kinds that make profits from transborder traffiking.

The Chakma leadership believe that historically they are a martial
race.(8) But in a democratic society where the state demands its
citizens to follow the rule of law, the old fashioned Chakma
leadership's romantic method of solving problems through violence
shouldn't be the norm. For mutual benefit of the tribal and nontribal
Bangladeshis, it is important that the Chakma tribal leaders should
be realistic in its goals and help the other tribal and non tribal
citizens to enjoy their equal citizenship rights. Buddha Ratana
Bhikkhu from Hill Tracts says, in the Hill Tracts, presently "local
NGOs, about 40 in number have been working in the field of education,
capacity building, health & nutrition, water and sanitation,
community empowerment, advocacy and lobby, micro-credit and
indigenous rights etc. through partnerships with international,
national and regional donors, and UN bodies." The above initiatives
seem to be encouraging. But external led initiatives especially by
NGOs should be carefully regulated by the government of Bangladesh.

References
Aditya Kumar Dewan, Class and Ethnicity in the Hills of Bangladesh
(Montreal, Canada: An Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, McGill
University, 1990).

Sugata Chakma: The Tribes and Culture of Chittagong Hill Tracts:
(Rangamati: 1993.)

Joinal Abedin, Tribal Settlers of Chittagong Hill Tracts. NFB,
December 08 2006; For a definition of aboriginal see OXFORD Advanced
Learner's Dictionary' 'aboriginal' refers to "a member of race of
people who are the original people living in a country, especially in
Australia/Canada." (Sixth Edition, Edited by Salley Wehmeier: OXFORD
University Press: 2001-2003).

ROOTS: BANGLADESH TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY, published by the Ministry of
Information, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

During the late 70's I worked in a project initiated by R. I.
Chowdhury, et.al Tribal Leadership and Political Integration: A Case
Study of Chakma and Mong of Chittagong Hill Tracts (Chittagong:
University of Chittagong, 1979). During the liberation war, on my way
to the Mizooram of India, I had walked on foot with my fellow
travellers and lived among the tribals of Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Buddha Ratana Bhikkhu.Indigenous people are struggling for
recognition and development activities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
(CHT) region,
Bangladesh. NFB, December 06 2006 Prajnalankar Bhikkhu writes from
India from the following address:

Peace Campaign Group (PCG)
RZ-I-91/211, West Sagarpur, New Delhi-110046, India
Tel: + 91-11-2 539 8383
Telefax: + 91-11-2 539 4277
E-mail: pcgoffice@yahoo.co.in, pcgonline@gmail.com

The News Today; also in the NFB, "Bid to fuel fresh unrest in CHT:
The terrorists have chosen religious sentiment as the latest weapon,"
May 15 2008

S.P. Talukder. The Chakmas: Life and Struggle. (New Delhi: Gian
Publishers, 1988) p. 11-16.
Abid Bahar
Canada,
abidbahar@yahoo.com


Indigenous


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