Over 100,000 people lost their homes to a dam the government built. The promised compensation was never paid. This is the story Bangladesh rarely tells about its own indigenous communities.
Bangladesh is home to over 54 indigenous communities — including the Chakma, Garo, Santal, Marma, and Khasi peoples. They have lived on this land for centuries, fought for this country’s freedom, and watched their homes disappear beneath floodwaters. Today, they remain among the country’s most marginalised groups, still waiting for the constitutional recognition they were promised.
History
Each of the tribes’ histories is differentiated from the others. Where the Chakma people migrated to Bangladesh in the 15th Century, the Marmas were part of the Kingdom of Mrauk U, Myanmar, until the Bengal Sultanate conquered it. The princely state of Tripura was merged with India in 1949.
The Manipuri-Burma war led to the migration of Manipuris to Bangladesh in the 16th century. All the other ethnic groups have the same history, whether they migrated or they were a part of an agreement.
Kaptai Lake: The lake of tears
Kaptai Lake stands as one of the clearest reminders of how deeply these communities have suffered. In 1956, the construction of the hydroelectric plant led to the installation of a 745-foot-long dam featuring 16 gates. Because of the waterlogging created by the Kaptai Dam, farmland of 54,000 acres in the Rangamati district was submerged.
This happened under the jurisdiction of the government of East Pakistan. In this water, the Chakma lost their kingdom, and about 18,000 families with a total of almost 100 thousand Jummo people were also displaced from their ancestral homes.
Because of this Dam, today the Chakma Royal Palace and Kingdom, along with the birthplace of religious teacher Venerable Bana Bhante. This is not where it ends, the rehabilitation program was much crueler. The American master plan allotted $60 million for a full comprehensive economic rehabilitation of evictees of the Kaptai Dam.
In a publication of the Far Eastern Economic Review in 1980, it was amply stated that the government set $31 million aside for rehabilitation. Only $2.6 million had actually been spent.
The unpleasant truth was revealed as an inhuman act when the East Pakistan government detained the indigenous leader, Manoberno Narain Larma for protesting in 1963 for 2 years.
After Bangladesh’s Independence in 1971, it took almost 2 decades for the government to realize there were still thousands of migrants in India. Thus, in 1997, after the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, all of them returned to Bangladesh except some four thousand families.
This video exhibits the situation after the CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) peace accord.
1971 War
“Aale hu disham le Swadinakada”
A common myth still circulates today is that the Chakma community turned against Bengalis during the Liberation War, as their king, Tridiv Roy, chose the side of Pakistan.
This myth gets uprooted in front of KK Roy, Manabendra Larma, Gautam Dewan, Kakon Bibi, and many more freedom fighters. Awami League candidate KK Roy went to Agartala to join the war, in meantime Manabendra Larma shepherded students and youths in support of the Liberation War.
Besides, some 20–22 government officials from indigenous communities, including Bimalendu Dewan, Ananda Banshi Chakma, and Kripasukh Chakma, crossed over to India and joined the war after receiving training.
The only freedom fighter from the indigenous communities to have been given the Bir Bikram Gallantry Award was Ukya Ching Marma.
He hailed from the Marma group of Khagrachhari and was stationed at the Hatibandha border outpost in Lalmonirhat under the Rangpur Wing of the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) during the Liberation War.
When the war began, he fought in the Sahebganj Sub-Sector under Sector 6.
Kaket Hennyata, also known as Kakon Bibi, the pride of Khasias, played the role of a Guerrilla and Spy for the freedom fighters under the Bashtola sub-sector of Sector-5.
While spying, she was captured by Razakars. She was then tortured and sexually assaulted. Finally, she was released after she convinced them that she was searching for her Punjabi husband.
In 1996, she was honored with the Bir Pratik gallantry award for her bravery during the 1971 war.
Acknowledgement after 1971?
This video exhibits the historic win for Bangladesh in the war against Pakistan.
Londoni.co later explored what happened to indigenous fighters once the war was over. The struggles they had fought hand in hand, and inspired and organized other members of their community to participate in the war.
They wrote: They did not view the fight as something concerning the Bengalis exclusively, but one which was aimed at liberating the people of Bangladesh, of which they were a member. It was their fight too.
However, this ‘freedom’ had a high cost for them too. They lost their land and property and suffered repression.
Freedom fighter, Chin Sangma of Dharati Village, said, “I also took part in battles on behalf of Kaderia Bahini, and after freeing Tangail from the Pakistani forces on December 11, I stayed at Bindubasini High School camp. Later, I surrendered my arms to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the school ground and returned to my village. Now at 70, I have to work as a day labourer for Tk 70 to Tk 80 per day for living. I joined the Liberation War with the hope of eradicating oppression and immoral practices, but we, the indigenous people, are facing oppression and torture. We did not fight for such a country.”
The majority (Muslim-Bengali) population of Bangladesh, in the adivashis’ opinion, has failed to recognize and value the country’s variety in terms of culture and religion, leading to prejudice, conflict, and poverty.
But even though they, like other Bengalis, took part in the Liberation War, they have not yet received their constitutional rights.
The drama also depicts the unimaginable pains endured by ethnic groups who are victimized by the ruthless treatment of the landlord’s family members. Even the ethnic people are driven off their native lands by the strong forces.
Struggles and challenges:
The CHT Manual Act was passed in 1900. The document, which was created to safeguard the traditions and cultures of racial and ethnic minorities, is also known as the Hill Tracts Manual or the 1900 Regulations.
This video provides an overview of the prolonged conflicts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and highlights ongoing debates about development funding in the region.
The CHT Accord of 1997 was a constructive agreement between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Bangladesh intended to resolve key issues and points of contention.
It set up a special administrative system in the region (Bangladesh, n.d.). The decision was again revised on 21 July 2011 in the Prime Minister’s office for CHT Affairs.
Research done by tbsnews proclaimed that the Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutions Act 2010 is committed to the protection and development of the language, culture, literature, and heritage of the ethnic minority groups of the country.
But unhappily, we have not yet seen a comprehensive initiative on the issue of safeguarding and expanding the literature and languages of ethnic minorities.
Additionally, the schools’ facilities and staff are inadequate. It also makes high dropout rates more likely. Furthermore, their access to higher employment sectors was limited by the low literacy rate. They are now facing other Bengali-majority cities, thus bound with cultural shock.
The ethnic communities of Bangladesh fought for a free country. The laws exist. The accords have been signed. What has not followed is the political will to implement them. Even after seven decades, the story of its indigenous communities will remain one of sacrifice without recognition.
