chittagongsocio-economic situation of the indigenous people in the chittagong hill tracts (cht) of...

7/28/2019 ChittagongSocio-economic Situation of the Indigenous People in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh

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Socio-economic Situation o the Indigenous

People in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) o

Bangladesh

Dewan Mahboob Hossain

Correspondence:

Dewan Mahboob Hossain

Assistant Proessor

Department o Accounting & Inormation Systems

University o Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Email: [email protected]

1. Introduction

The socio-economic and political

situation o indigenous people have

become one o the most researched

topics among the sociologists and the

anthropologists o recent times. This

article also ocuses on these issues. This

study ocuses on the socio-economiccondition o the indigenous people

living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

(CHT) area o Bangladesh. Bangladesh

is a land o more than 45 tribal groups.

These indigenous people are living in

both plain lands and the hilly areas.

Over several years, the lives and the

rights o these indigenous people has

remained one o the most talked about

issues among researchers, journalists,

activists, politicians and the general

public as well. That is why an enormous

amount o both academic and

proessional literature has been

produced on this issue. The socio-

economic situation o the indigenous

people o the Chittagong Hill Tracts

area o Bangladesh has been analyzed

based on the available literature. As

mentioned earlier, there is an enormous

amount o published literature on this

issue; a total survey o all this literature

is both daunting and somewhat

impossible, also much is not readily

available.

Abstract

The aim o this article is to discuss

the socio-economic conditions o

the indigenous people living inthe Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) o

Bangladesh. The article rst

identies the several socio-

economic problems aced by

dierent indigenous people in

dierent parts o the world. Then

it describes the conditions o the

indigenous people living in the

CHT area o Bangladesh and tries

to give some solutions to the

problems they ace. The

descriptions and analyses o this

article are ully based on available

published literature on this topic.2.0. Indigenous People, theirCharacteristics and their

Problems

According to Macmillan English

Dictionary or Advanced Learners (2007,

770): Indigenous people lived in a place

or a very long time beore other people

came to live there. United Nations

Development Group (2008) comment-

ed that there is no hard and ast deni-

tion o indigenous people and many

agencies have tried to give

denitions o indigenous people in

their own ways and these denitions

are similar. The World Bank (1991; 1)

denes indigenous people as:

The terms indigenous peoples,

indigenous ethnic minorities, tribal

groups, and scheduled tribes describe

social groups with a social and cul-

tural identity distinct rom the dominant

society that makes them vulnerable to

being disadvantaged in the developmentprocess.

International Labor Oce (2007; 3)

identies the ollowing characteristics

o indigenous people:

ILO Convention No. 169 underlines that

these peoples include those who:

Are descended rom populationswhich inhabited the country or region

at the time o conquest, colonization or

establishment o state boundaries

Retain some or all o their own social,economic, cultural and political

institutions

In addition, most indigenous peoples:

Have strong links to their lands and

territories

Have distinct languages, knowledge

systems and belies

Form non-dominant sectors o society.

Furthermore, sel-identifcation is a

undamental criterion.

AIPP, IWGIA & Forum-Asia (2010) identi-

ed the ollowing characteristics o

indigenous people:

1.They have their own separate

language, culture, customary laws,

and social and political institutions

that are highly distinct rom those o

the main ethno-linguistic groups in

the country.2.They have sel-identication. They are

the real aboriginals or natives in the

country and the other people came

and settled in the country ater them.

3.They are not the dominant people

so they do not have the economic

and political powers o the country.

4. They are generally small in number.

According to the International Fund or

Agricultural Development (IFAD) (2011):

Indigenous peoples have rich and an-

cient cultures and view their social,


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economic, environmental and spiritual

systems as independent.

According to The World Bank (1991; 1):

Indigenous peoples can be identifed in

particular geographical areas by thepresence in varying degrees o the ollow-

ing characteristics:

(a) a close attachment to ancestral

territories and to the natural resources

in these areas;

(b) sel-identifcation and

identifcation by others as members o

a distinct cultural group;

(c) an indigenous language, oten

dierent rom the national language;

(d) presence o customary social and

political institutions; and

(e)primarily subsistence-oriented

production.

From these denitions it can be

identied that though these

indigenous people all over the world

have their own uniqueness, they are in

a disadvantageous position in many

respects. Firstly, they are less in number.As a result, their voices regarding their

rights and problems are not that strong.

Secondly, their uniqueness makes them

dissimilar to the mainstream society.

This puts them in a disadvantageous

position in the society. They remain

deprived o the general acilities that

the mainstream society enjoys. Thirdly,

their subsistence-oriented, primitive-

natured production system prohibits

their development.

According to The European

Commission (2003), indigenous people

ace several kinds o disadvantages that

create barriers in their development.

These disadvantages can be generated

rom social and individual, geographic,

cultural, economic, political and

structural barriers.

In terms osocial and individual

barriers it can be said that these people

lack basic needs like ood, clothing and

shelter. The literacy rate is generally low,

as a result, they lack skills to become

sel sucient. In some cases they ace

some psycho-social problems like drug

and alcohol abuse. In many cases, the

mainstream society in a country is also

not aectionate to them.

Geographical disadvantages also act

as impediments in their

development. In most cases, these

people live in remote and inaccessible

geographic areas that are isolated rom

the mainstream locality o the country.

A third kind o obstruction in the way o

the development o indigenous people

is Cultural disadvantage. Language

is acting as one o the main hurdles.

In many cases, these people are also

becoming victims o ethnic racism.

The ourth kind o obstacle in the path

o their development is Economic

disadvantage. The European

Commission (2003) ound that these

people are the victims o a poverty trap

and their societies suer rom a high

degree o unemployment.

The th kind o hindrance that is aced

by the indigenous people is Political

and Structural disadvantages. In away, the welare and the development

activities o the state remain highly

ocused on the mainstream locality. As

a result, the welare o the indigenous

people remains ignored in many cases.

That is why their inrastructure,

education, health care and other needs

remain unullled.

IFAD (2011) identied indigenous peo-

ple as the most vulnerable,

marginalized and disadvantagedgroups in the world. There are more

than 370 million indigenous people

living in 70 dierent countries o the

world and 70% o them live in the Asia

and Pacic region (IFAD, 2011).

The United Nations (2007) in United

Nations Declaration on the Rights o

Indigenous Peoples identied several

rights o indigenous people living in

dierent parts o the world. This dec-

laration tries to give a universal rame-

work or the survival and well being o

the indigenous people worldwide (IFAD,

2011). According to this

declaration, indigenous people should

enjoy all human rights and

undamental reedoms. They are

ree and equal to all other people

and should not be the victims o any

discrimination. They have the right or

sel determination, i.e., they are ree to

determine their political status and areree to chase their economic, social and

cultural development. In terms o local

aairs, they must be given autonomy

and they should have the right to

maintain and support their unique

political, legal, economic, social and

cultural institutions. Every indigenous

individual has the right to a nationality.

They should be allowed to revitalize

and practice their cultural traditions

and customs.

Though many o these International

Organizations are taking steps and

preparing guidelines in order to ensure

the welare o indigenous people, in

many cases, these are not maintained.

As a result, these people are suering

socially, economically and politically

worldwide. Bangladesh is not an

exception. The next section o the

article introduces the indigenous

people living in Bangladesh.

3.0. Indigenous People in

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the main terms that are

used to indicate indigenous people are:

Upojati (means sub-nation and

indicates the tribal people) and

Adibashi (equivalent to the words

indigenous or aboriginals) (Roy, 2010).

As mentioned earlier, at present, orty

ve dierent indigenous groups are

living both in the plain lands and on thehills. The highest number o indigenous

people live in the southeastern border

region o Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Indigenous people live in other areas

also. In the plain lands o Bangladesh,

indigenous people live in the north-

west (Rajshahi-Dinajpur), the north

(Mymensing-Tangail), the northeast

(Greater Sylhet), the south and the

southeast (Chittagong, Coxs Bazar and

Barisal) (Dhamai, 2006). Dhamai (2006)

mentions that the social, political,cultural and economic situations o

those indigenous people living on the

hills, is much dierent rom the

situations o the people living in plain


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lands and on the hills. The highest

number o indigenous people live in

the southeastern border region o

Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Indigenous

people live in other areas also. In the

plain lands o Bangladesh, indigenous

people live in the northwest

(Rajshahi-Dinajpur), the north(Mymensing-Tangail), the northeast

(Greater Sylhet), the south and the

southeast (Chittagong, Coxs Bazar and

Barisal) (Dhamai, 2006). Dhamai (2006)

mentions that the social, political,

cultural and economic situations o

those indigenous people living on the

hills, is much dierent rom the

situations o the people living in plain

lands. According to Asian Indigenous

Peoples Pact (2007; 7):

According to the 2001 (provisional)

Census Report, the total number o

indigenous (ocially tribal) people in

Bangladesh is about 1,772,788, which

is 1.28 percent o the total population

o the country. However, indigenous

peoples claim that the population o

indigenous peoples all over the country

is about 3 million.

The indigenous groups that live in theplain land are the Santal (30% o the

indigenous people living in the plains),

the Garo, the Hajong, the Koch, the

Manipuri, the Khasi, the Rakhain and

some others (Asian Indigenous Peoples

Pact, 2007). Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)

has eleven indigenous ethnic groups

and they are the Chakma, The Marma,

the Tripura, the Tanchangya, the Mro,

the Lushai, the Khumi, the Chak, the

Khyang, the Bawm and the Pankhua.

These people are collectively known

as the Jumma people. These peoplehave been living in these highlands or

centuries. These Jumma people settled

in this land beore the 16th century.

Later in the 19th century, the Bengali

people (the dominant ethnic group o

Bangladesh) started settling in these

highlands. Over the years, the number

o Bengali settlers increased in this area.

The population census o 2001 shows

that the number o Bengali settlers and

the number o Jumma population, have

become almost equal (Figure 1 -opposite page).

4.0. A Short Description o Chit-

tagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Area

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), situ-

ated in the southeastern part o Bang-

ladesh is the single extensive hill region

in the country. This area has its own

uniqueness because o its ethnic cultur-

al diversity and picturesque landscape.

This area covers approximately 13,184

sq km, which is around one-tenth o

the total area o the country(1). The

area covers three hilly districts namely

Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts share the

borders with Myanmar in its southeast,

Tripura (an Indian state) in the north,

Mizoram in its east and the Chittagong

district in the west. According to the

Ministry o Cabinet Aairs (1975; 1), the

Chittagong Hill Tracts is: A tangled masso hill, ravine and cli covered with dense

trees, bush and creeper jungle. According

to Dutta (2000; 5):

Historically, the land o CHT has been

inhabited by more than a dozen tribes

o Mongoloid race mostly o Arakanese

origin. From the later part o the 19th

century, Bangalees rom the plains o

Chittagong started settling on the lower

parts o the hills at the invitation o tribalRajas or introducing plough-cultiva-

tion since plough-cultivation was not

indigenous to CHT..From then onwards,

plainsmen and hillmen started living

together in CHT, although the latter

always ormed the overwhelming

majority.

Over the years, the indigenous people

living in this particular region o Bang-

ladesh have suered rom a lot o politi-

cal, economic and social problems. Inorder to ulll the main objective o this

article, the next section o this article

introduces the socio-economic situa-

tion o the people o the Chittagong Hill

Tracts o Bangladesh.

5.0. Socio-economic Situation o

Indigenous People in

Bangladesh:

Barkat et al (2009) characterized theChittagong Hill Tracts o Bangladesh as

one o the most vulnerable because o

its income and employment

opportunities, poverty, housing, health,

water, sanitation, education and inter-

community condence. Dhamai (2006)

commented that the main problems

o the indigenous people are land

dispossession (through development

and orestry projects), limited access

to education and other social services

and discrimination rom the part o thenon-indigenous people. The ollowing

subsections discuss the various aspects

o social and economic problems o

these indigenous people.

5.1. Economic Problems o the

Indigenous People in the CHT

As the CHT is a hilly area, the opportu-

nities or diverse kinds o occupation

are very limited. The scope o cultiva-

tion and agriculture is also dependentmainly on the primitive techniques and

technologies. A survey o 400 house-

holds in the CHT area, Dutta (2000; 34)

identied the ollowing as the main

occupations o the households o the

indigenous people in CHT:

i. Agriculture;

ii. Business;

iii. Service/proessional;

iv.Agricultural labor;

v.Tenant armers;

vi. Fishing.

The main occupation o these house-

holds is agriculture (64%). This is

ollowed by agricultural labor (12.5%).

Ater that comes business (8.5%),

service/proessional (7.8%), shing

(4.8%) and tenant armer (2.5%) (Figure2 - opposite page).

From this gure it can be identied that

the main attribute o the indigenous

economy in the CHT is agriculture. The

main orm o cultivation is the

Swidden/Slash and Burn cultivation. In

local indigenous language this

cultivation is called Jum. This spe-

cial orm o cultivation is common in

several hilly areas o dierent parts o

the world. The hill dwellers cut a goodamount o trees and burn them to clear

the land or cultivation. They produce

several kinds o crop on that land. The

main crops that are cultivated include

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ce, maize, millet, sesame, cotton, ginger,

ucumber, pumpkin, melon and some

thers (Karim and Mansor, 2011). This is

thousand year old cultivation tradition

nd is the main source o sustenance or

hese indigenous people. But these days

has been ound that because o the

urning o the trees, this hill area is acing

uge environmental damage. Ecology is

t risk. Moreover, the lands are becoming

inertile. Because o this burning process,

the land becomes incapable o produc-

ing crops ater this has been done a ew

times. As a result, new land must be ound

or cultivation. Again, trees o new areas

are destroyed. It results in greater environ-

mental damage. Cultivation on the hills

results in landslips that increase the silta-

tion o the nearby lakes and cause foods.

Because o the growth o population and

inertility o land these people are shiting

their occupations.

The status o entrepreneurship among

the indigenous people o CHT is poor.

Though there are many industries that arecontributing to the economy o CHT, the

control o these industries is completely

in the hands o the non-indigenous


5/9MIDDL E E A S T J OU RNA L OF B usi ness VOLUME 4, ISSUE 126

people (Asian Indigenous Peoples Pact,

2007). In research conducted by the

Asian Development Bank (2001) it was

ound that:

indigenous people ace huge barriers

in entering non-agricultural trades, which

are largely controlled by a ew amily

based cartels (water transport, bamboo/

timber trades, trucks). Only in traditional

textiles and bamboo crats are there

indigenous entrepreneurs, who are slowly

entering construction industries. But all

large contracts (roads) go to outsiders,

including the employment generated.

Pubic licensing or trade and transport

largely avors outsiders and public

servants, not local people.

These are the reasons or which it is

commonly said that the most horrible

poverty conditions prevail among the

indigenous people and most o these

people can be classied either under

the poor or the extreme poor (Asian

Indigenous Peoples Pact, 2007).

According to Mullah, Parveen and Ah-

sanullah (2007; 53):

As a poor country Bangladesh has a low

level o monthly income. Most o her peo-ple live under the poverty line. The tribal(

population) undergoes a worse case.

5.2. Problems Arising rom Land

Dispossession and Migration

Land dispossession is one o the main

problems o the indigenous people

in Bangladesh. In most o cases, lands

o these people are taken away with-

out their consent. In many cases, this

dispossession is done in the name o

development. In 1960, the then Pakistan

government built the Kaptai

hydroelectric project on the river

Karnauli and as a result the lands o in-

digenous people were fooded and they

had to migrate to other places includ-

ing Myanmar and India (Dhamai, 2006).

Later, and many times, the government

has taken land rom the indigenous

people in the name o creating reserve

orests and protected areas, building

national parks and eco parks and evenor the establishment o military bases

(Asian Indigenous Peoples Pact, 2007).

Bangladesh obtained her independ-

ence in the year 1971. The constitu-

tion o Bangladesh published in 1972,

disregarded the multi-ethnic make-up

o the country and mentioned only

Bengali nation and as a result, it ailed

to recognize the ethnic minorities

in the country (Mohsin, 2003; 23). Inresponse to this ignorance, in 1972, the

tribal people o the CHT established the

Peoples Solidarity Association and later,

in 1973, they established their armed

wing with the support o India (Mohsin,

2003; 24 and IDMC, 2009). According

to the Amnesty International Report o

2000, this confict resulted in the death

o more than 8,500 people including

civilians (IDMC, 2009).

In 1979, the Government o Bangladesh

started to settle the Bengalese rom

the plain lands to the CHT area. These

settlers orceully occupied the lands o

the indigenous people in CHT (Dhamai,

2006). According to Dhamai (2006):

A horrible legacy o violence, rape, loot,

murder, arson, abduction and orcible

conversion, sacrilege o religion and

orcible occupation o Jummas land and

property as well as gross violation o

human rights or more than two decades.Thousands o Jumma people were ousted

rom their own hearth and home. O them

about 70 thousand Jumma took shelter in

India as reugees and hundreds o

thousands in the deep orest o remote

areas within the country.

Though in 1997, the Government o

Bangladesh signed a Peace Accord,

even then human rights violations and

land-grabbing have remained a

common practice (IDMC, 2009). Asmentioned earlier the Bangladesh

Government has set up the training

institute o the army in the CHT; the

Bangladesh Army is working there to

control conficts. But the armed conficts

between army and indigenous people

remained a common

phenomenon. It is believed that the

Bangladesh Army, over and again,

carried out armed attacks and orced

relocation o indigenous people by

blaming them or helping the PeoplesSolidarity Association (IMDC, 2009). The

grievance o the indigenous people

remained unchanged as shown recently

in a report o Asian Indigenous & Tribal

peoples Network (2008) which gave the

ollowing comment:

Whether in mainland and the Chit-

tagong Hill Tracts (CHTs), the government

irrespective o the political color ollows

the dictum: we want lands but not the

indigenous peoples.

5.3. Problem o Education

Facilities

The situation o education is also vul-

nerable in the CHT region o

Bangladesh. As these indigenous

people mainly live in relatively remote

areas o the country, they lack the basic

inrastructure needed and in many

cases, they are neglected rom themainstream support o the government


The main problem with commenting on

the educational situation is that there is

lack o inormation. According to

Mullah, Parveen and Ahsanullah (2007;

51):

Despite considerable improvement in the

spread o education in Bangladesh, level

o educational attainment is still very low

amongst the Tribal people, with a strongdierential persisting between males and

emales.

It was ound that the literacy rate in

CHT is lower than the national literacy

rate and seven out o every ten women

in CHT are illiterate (Asian Indigenous

Peoples Pact, 2007). The childrens lit-

eracy rate o our indigenous groups is

depicted in Figure 3 (opposite page):

According to Mullah, Parveen and

Ahsanullah (2007; 53):

Although the number o primary schools

is adequate, they are not well managed.

They really suer rom lack o number

o teachers, let alone good teachers. The

school acilities are shanty and the

communications to the schools are not

good. The presence o teachers in their

respective schools depends upon their

willingness since they may draw theirsalaries without being there. For the

schools are oten ar rom their homes,

teachers usually do not go to school

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Figure 3

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except or the day when they have to

draw their salaries.

Another problem o education is the

language. According to Dhamai (2006),

the most important limitation o the

education system is that these

indigenous children have to study in

Bengali (the national language) which is

not their mother tongue. In many cases,

the indigenous children ace learning

diculties and thus get dropped out

(Dhamai, 2006 and Asian Indigenous

Peoples Pact, 2007). Barakat (2009; 119)

commented that the indigenous

children in CHT are in a

disadvantageous position as they have

to start school with a dierent language

and that is why, it has now become

important to introduce their local lan-

guage as a medium oinstruction. For many years, because o

armed conficts, the education o

children was hampered. In their

research, Barakat et al (2009) ound that:

As reported by the respondents, the

other reasons or discontinuation are the

ollowing: children are not welcome at

school, medium o instruction not under-

standable, helping parents, insecurity, and

lack ofnterest o child.

Chowdhury and Hossain (2010) ound

that confict had a negative impact on

the schooling o the household

members. Ater the signing o the peace

accord, the situation improved a bit

(Dutta, 2000). The extension o ormal

and inormal education programs rom

the part o the government, non-

government organizations (NGOs) and

international agencies also helped in

this development o educational

conditions o the people in the CHT.

This dissatisactory situation can also be

identied in case o higher education.

Though the Government o Bangladesh

ensures some quota or the indigenous

people in the admission systems o the

higher level educational institutions,

most o the indigenous students ail to

secure the minimum pass marks o the

admission tests and thus cannot enjoy

the benets o the quota system (Asian

Indigenous Peoples Pact, 2007).

5.4. Problem o Health Facilities

Though in Bangladesh, many health

and welare services are provided by

both governmental agencies and the

NGOs, in hill areas, these services are

not that much available like those in

the plain areas. Barakat et al (2009; 122)

comment that:

In many areas they dont avail the serv-

ice due to lack o knowledge o it. And,

in many other areas, service

providers dont visit their houses, or

they cant approach service providers

due to geographical obstacles in spite

o having sucient knowledge o it. In

other areas, service providers and

services are not available.

Sultana (2011) identied the ollowing

main health problems prevailing in the

CHT:

a. The poor health status is an

underlying actor or its very low

participation in economic

development.

b.There are government health care

centers and private clinics but in

many cases these are inaccessible as

the transports are irregular and

costly. That is why, in many cases,

these people depend on thetraditional healers.

c.The most common diseases are

malaria, diarrhoea, acute respiratory

tracts inections, malnutrition and

poor pregnancy.

d. Inant mortality is higher than the

national gure. In 2007, the child

mortality rate or the nation was 52 in

every 1000, whereas in the CHT this

was 61 in every 1000. The main reason

or this is the lack o knowledge.

e. Waterborne diseases, basic sanitation

and hygiene remain as the most

common problems in the CHT.


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In their research Barakat et al (2009)

ound that the main causes or not tak-

ing help o the health service providers

are they dont know where to go and

acility/provider is too ar.

5.5. Problem o Discriminationand Violation o Human Rights

Indigenous people ace discrimination

in dierent aspects o their lives. They

are not given a chance to get involved

in the many development decisions

even those are related to them

(Dhamai, 2006). This discrimination is

mainly practiced by the Bengalis who

are the ethnic majority in Bangladesh. It

is seen that as these indigenous people

can rarely participate in the national

decisions that aect them, they areslowly and steadily losing their

language, culture, customs and music


In many cases, the cultures o the

indigenous people are considered as

second-rate.

Though the Government o Bangladesh

has a policy to maintain a quota system

in case o the employment o the

indigenous people in governmental

jobs and admission into government

institutions, this is not operated

properly. Discrimination is also prac-

ticed in giving them business licenses.

As a result, the economic condition o

these people always remains vulner-

able.

As mentioned earlier, there is no

constitutional recognition o the

indige nous people in Bangladesh;

these people get a lower status (AsianIndigenous & Tribal Peoples Network,

2008).

The report o Asian Indigenous & Tribal

Peoples Network (2008; 2) mentions:

The government itsel grabs the lands

and also remains a mute witness to land

grabbing by mainstream Bengali

populations who use dierent methods,

including orging documents and orciblyousting indigenous people rom the

lands.

According to many, the Peace Accord o

1997 ailed to ensure the rights o the

indigenous people. The Accord includ-

ed several provisions like

demilitarization o the CHT area, giving

the lands o the original indigenous

owners back and rehabilitation o the

Jumma reugees (Asian Indigenous &Tribal Peoples Network, 2008). These

promises were not kept.

Civilian and army attacks on the

indigenous people are still a very

common phenomenon. The recent

example o this is the Sajek attack on

20th April 2008 in Rangamati district.

According to news reports, at least 500

houses were burnt down and several

people were wounded (Asian

Indigenous & Tribal Peoples Network,2008). On the 19th to 20th February

2010, the Bangladesh Army attacked

the Sajek area o Rangamati. Fourteen

villages were attacked, eight indigenous

people were killed and twenty ve were

injured in Army ring (Asian Centre or

Human Rights, 2010). It is said that at

least 1500 people were displaced in this

planned attack o the Bangladesh army

in order to help the illegal plain settlers

to take hold o the lands o indigenous

people (Asian Centre or Human Rights,2010). Extra-judicial killing, arbitrary

arrest, detention and torture are com-

mon phenomena (Asian Indigenous &

Tribal Peoples Network, 2008).

According to a report o Asian

Indigenous Peoples Pact (2007), human

rights violation are a common matter in

the case o treatment towards women.

In many cases, women are abducted,

orcibly married and converted to Islam.

A similar situation prevails in the case othe children. They are deprived o

education, health care, nutrition and

other basic needs. They become the

victims o double discrimination - as

children and as ethnic minorities. The

number o drug addicted children is

large. Drug smugglers are selling them

these drugs. These children become the

victims o torture, rape and other sexual

abuses by the security orces and the

settlers rom the plain lands.

6.0. Where is the Solution?

These days, the issue o ensuring the

rights o the indigenous people has

become one o the most talked about

issues worldwide. In most parts o the

globe, these people are considered as

the most vulnerable group. Many

international organizations and

institutes are working or the better-

ment o their existing helpless situation.

From the descriptions presented in this

article it can be easily understood that

the indigenous people in Bangladesh

are also living a very underprivileged

and pitiable lie. Though many NGOs

and International Organizations are

working very hard to get these people

out o this vulnerable condition,

improvement is very slow. It is the duty

o the Government o Bangladesh towork hard on this issue. Though the

government has a separate Ministry o

Chittagong Hill Tracts Aairs, its

activities are not visible in that way. It

has ailed to solve various problems

o the people living there. As a result,

the people remain deprived and are

getting agitated. They are protesting

against the government or ensuring

their human rights.

Sucient arrangements should be out

in place to ensure the preservation o

the cultures o these tribal

people. Their language, music and other

cultural customs and heritages should

be preserved. The Ministry o Education

along with the Ministry o Chittagong

Hill Tracts Aairs should take necessary

steps in order to ensure the education

o the indigenous children in their own

language. Textbooks should be

developed in order to ensure this.

The International Mother LanguageInstitute o Dhaka, Bangladesh can also

assist here.

The quota system applied in getting

governmental jobs and getting

admission into governmental

educational institutions should be

reormed in order to ensure that

these quotas are ully occupied by the

indigenous candidates. The indigenous

students should be encouraged to take

those disciplines that have practical

implications in the development o the

indigenous society. Administrative

positions in the CHT should be lled



MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF BUSINESS - VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4

with the indigenous people because;

these people will better understand the

needs o these areas.

The constitution o Bangladesh also

needs amendment by recognizing the

indigenous people. For many years this

drawback o the constitution remained

a matter o great grievance among

these people.

The provisions o the Peace Accord o

1997 should be implemented. As many

years have passed ater the signing o

this accord, now, it is the duty o the

Government to implement it in a proper

manner. The issue o demilitarizing,

giving back the dispossessed lands and

bringing back the displaced people areimportant issues that need to be solved.

It is only the government who can solve

these issues.

Ensuring the economic sustenance o

these people is also a big challenge.

Discrimination should not be prac-

ticed in the case o giving business

licenses to the indigenous people. As

mentioned earlier the main source o

sustenance or these indigenous people

is Jum cultivation which at this momentis being questioned because o the

huge environmental damage created

by it. Moreover, because o the inertility

o the lands, the production o Jum has

reduced a lot. Over last ew years, the

productivity o Jum has decreased up

to 50% even ater using ertilizers and

pesticides and the nutrient status o

the soil has also reduced substantially

(Karim and Mansor, 2011 and Mantel et

al, 2006). As a result, there is a short-

age o ood and the Jum cultivators areengaging in other alternative

occupations like wage labor, animal

husbandry, cultivation o annual mono

crops and extraction o and selling

orest products (Karim and Mansor,

2011). Jum cultivation needs hill cutting

and it is resulting in landslides which

is becoming responsible or foods

because o siltation in the nearby

lakes (Karim and Mansor, 2011). Karim

and Mansor (2011) gave the ollowing

recommendations or the sustenance o

Jum cultivators:

1.The tribal people could be provided

with arable lands or perorming

agriculture and they can also be

settled there.

2. Agro-orestry projects should be

introduced to these people or their

sustenance.

3.There should be cooperative eorts

or orest based activities like basket

making, cane urniture making,

honey collection etc.

4. Marketing acilities should be

ensured in order to make the

agro-orest businesses viable.

5. Village orest communities should be

created in order to protect and

develop the degraded orests.

6. Equitable distribution o wastelandsamong the tribal people is needed.

7. Finding out alternative land uses or

sustainable hill arming.

8. A proper literacy campaign is needed.

Environmental awareness should be

created among the hill dwellers. They

should be given enough agricultural

education. They should also be

provided with inormation about

proper land management. Scienticcommunities should be encouraged to

come up with research that can ensure

greater productivity o Jum with less

environmental damage. It is to be kept

in mind that Jum cannot be stopped

without making proper arrangements

or alternative occupations or these

people.

Issues o health and education should

be an important concern or the

government. Several NGOs and other

international development institutions

are already working in the CHT or the

development o the health and

education situation. Governments

may join in a partnership with them in

order to improve the situation. Either

the transportation systems should be

improved or the health and education

acilities should be established in the

remote areas so that people can avail

these acilities. More doctors and

teachers should be created rom indig-enous people so that they can work or

their survival.

7.0. Conclusion

The main objective o this article was

to discuss the socio-economic condi-

tions o the indigenous people living

in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) o

Bangladesh. This study is not an em-

pirical research. It is ully based on the

descriptions and ndings o some otherresearchers. The issue o the socio-eco-

nomic situation o the tribal people has

remained a burning question or many

years in Bangladesh. Indigenous tribal

societies are oten considered as the

storehouses o culture and knowledge.

Their colorul culture, agricultural and

medicinal knowledge have remained as

the popular issues o research or many

years. But the ndings o this study

suggest that in terms o social and

economic diculties, these indigenouspeople can be considered as the most

vulnerable groups in the country. Prop-

er government initiatives are needed to

solve these problems.

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the ocial web site o Ministry o Chit-

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