Tragedy of the Hills: Indigenous People and Land Rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

The indigenous population of the CHT in Bangladesh holds a national identity since they have been living here for centuries. The ownership of land is confined here within a mechanism of dual principle which the state employs in the name of ensuring fairness. The British colonial rule, the Pakistani regime and the Bangladesh regime through military government the state have applied the most deadly means to displace the indigenous people from their land with a view to subjugate them. Manipulating the cultural identity and history of the indigenous people, making them victims of repressive laws, confiscating their land for military purposes and for migrant settlers, sending the military to control them and creating conflict among the communities through shameful mechanisms, are examples of some of the policies that the different states has used. So addressing the issue of land rights has become a matter of urgency within the field of development in the context of 21st century Bangladesh.

Md.Ashrafuzzaman,Assistant Professor,Department of Anthropology, University of Chittagong,Bangladesh,(BSS&MSS in Anthropology,CU),(MBA,SU, Chittagong,Bangladesh),(MSc in Development Studies,Lund University,Se).Co-AuthorDr.Ulf Johansson Dahre, Associate Professor, Department of Social Anthropoloy, Lund University,Se.