Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict

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Insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Guerrilla Leader Santu Larmars Hide-out- Duduk Chora- Khagrachiri- May 5- 1994- Biplob Rahman.jpg
Shanti Bahini insurgents, photographed on 5 May 1994.
DateFirst phrase:
c. 1977 – 2 December 1997 (20 years)
Second phrase:
2017–present
Location
Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
Result

Ongoing

Belligerents
Supported by:
Flag placeholder.svg Kuki-Chin National Front
Commanders and leaders
Flag placeholder.svg Nathan Bom
Units involved
Paramilitary Forces: Law Enforcement:
Flag placeholder.svg Kuki-Chin National Army
Strength
  • 115,000–150,000 [2]
  • 3,000 [2] –15,000 [3] (Shanti Bahini)
Casualties and losses
First phrase: 6,000+ combatants killed (partial list) [5]

3,500–25,000 civilians
(Bengali settlers and tribal villagers) [3]
80,000 civilians displaced [6]

Contents

Total 30,000 Violent Deaths [6]

400+ conflict-related deaths from disease in Bangladesh (June-Aug 1995 only) [7]
7,000+ non-violent deaths among refugees in India (May 14–21, 1990 only) [7]

The Insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts refers to a political and armed conflict occured in two phrases:

The actions then carried out by the Armed Forces and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti groups resulted in casualties on both sides. [13] There were also reports of mass rapes by the paramilitary Bangladesh Ansars, though these have been disputed. [14] According to Amnesty International as of June 2013 the Bangladeshi government made "praiseworthy progress" in implementing the terms of the peace accord and in addressing the Jumma people's concerns over the return of their land. Amnesty estimate that there are currently only 900 internally displaced Jumma families. [15] [16]

Background

The origin of the conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts dates back to the British rule. The British, at the end of the 19th century, reorganized the CHT. This resulted in the recognition of three tribal chiefs (rajas) in 1860, (b) enactment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Frontier Police Regulations in 1881, authorizing a police force from among the hill peoples, and (c) enactment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulations in 1900, giving them rights and autonomy.

When Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan, widespread resentment occurred over the displacement of as many as 100,000 of the native peoples due to the construction of the Kaptai Dam in 1962. The displaced did not receive compensation from the government and many thousands fled to India.

After the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, representatives of the Chittagong Hill Tracts who was the Chakma politician Manabendra Narayan Larma sought autonomy and recognition of the rights of the peoples of the region. Larma and other Hill Tracts representatives protested the draft of the Constitution of Bangladesh. It did not recognise the ethnic identity and culture of the non-Bengali peoples of Bangladesh. The government policy recognised only the Bengali culture and the Bengali language, and designated all citizens of Bangladesh as Bengalis. In talks with a Chittagong Hill Tracts delegation led by Manabendra Narayan Larma, the country's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman expressed that the ethnic groups of the Hill Tracts as citizen of Bangladesh should have the Bengali identity which later was proven to be a false allegation. [17] [18] [19]

The migrated hill Jummas were given with special treatment, as they were the minority after independence in 1971. [20] The rebellion by the Jumma began after the 1971 independence of Bangladesh. [21]

Insurgency

M. N. Larma and others founded the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) as a united political organisation of all native peoples and tribes in 1973. The armed wing of the PCJSS, the Shanti Bahini was organised to resist government policies. The crisis aggravated during the emergency rule of Sheikh Mujib, and the successive military regimes that followed after his assassination in 1975. In 1977, the Shanti Bahini launched their first attack on a Bangladesh Army convoy. [1] [18] [22] It is alleged that the Indian government helped the Shanti Bahini set up bases across the border from Bangladesh. [23]

The Shanti Bahini divided its area of operations into zones and raised forces from the native people, who were formally trained. The Shanti Bahini led attacks on Bengali Police and Soldiers, government offices, personnel and the other Bengalis in the region. The group also attacked any native believed to be opposing it and supporting the government. [24] According to government sources between 1980 and 1991, 1,180 people were killed by the Shanti Bahini, and 582 were kidnapped. [23] [25]

400 Chakmas including Anupam Chakma absconded to India to evade the Bangladesh Army in 1989. [26] The Chakmas being the majority represented all the people of Chittagong Hill Tracts, so naturally Chakmas dominated the Shanti Bahini. [27]

G. M. Mushfiqur Rahman, a lieutenant in the Bangladesh Army posted in 1 Field Artillery Regiment of Bangladesh Army in Chittagong Hill Tracts. On September 8, 1989, he led a 17-member team of Bangladesh Army soldiers and attacked a Shanti Bahini camp. Lieutenant Rahman was injured during the clash and died on that day at 8:15 am. He was posthumously awarded with the Bir Uttom award. [28]

On 11 September 1996 the Chakma Shanti Bahini rebels reportedly abducted and killed 28 to 30 Bengali woodcutters. [29]

Detention

People living in the Hill Tracts area were often detained and tortured in custody on suspicion of being members of the Shanti Bahini or helping them. There were numerous check posts on highways and ferries in Chittagong Hill Tracts. [30]

People who are detained on suspicion are subjected to severe beating, electrocution, water boarding, hanging upside down, shoving burning cigarettes on bodies etc. Prisoners are detained in pits and trenches. The captives are then taken out for interrogation once at a time.

Recent developments

2018 Ambush

21 years after the peace treaty on 5 May 2018 unidentified gunmen ambushed and assassinated 5 people in Rangamati district, including UPDF leader Tapan Jyoti Chakma. It is suspected the attack was caused by internal conflicts between rival Chakma factions. This is the deadliest such incident involving the indigenous tribal Chakma people since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in 1997. [31] [32]

2022 travel ban

Amidst intelligence reports of insurgency buildup in the region, on October 20, 2022 Bangladesh authorities issue travel ban in Bandarban district amidst security concerns in the region. [33]

An ethnic insurgency group, the Kuki-Chin National Front, has gained a foothold in the region. RAB has launched an anti insurgency campaign, that led to 250 refugees fleeing over the border into Mizoram (India). Allegedly 2000 more civilians are hiding in the wilderness. RAB told the media that 10 militants belonging to the Kuki Chin Nation Front had been arrested in the operatin in the CHT. Ten guns, 50 rounds of bullets, 62 cases, six bombs, two cartridge belts, and a locally made pistol along with other equipment and jihadi literature were also seized during the operation, along with 1 militant killed. [34] [35]

Government reaction

A map of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Chittagong Hill Tracts locator map.svg
A map of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

At the outbreak of the insurgency, the Government of Bangladesh deployed the army to begin counter-insurgency operations. The then-President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman created a Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board under an army general to address the socio-economic needs of the region, but the entity proved unpopular and became a source of antagonism and mistrust amongst the native people against the government. The government failed to address the long-standing issue of the displacement of people, numbering an estimated 100,000 caused by the construction of the Kaptai Dam in 1962. [36] Displaced people did not receive compensation and more than 40,000 Chakma people had fled to India. [36] In the 1980s, the government began settling Bengalis in the region, causing the eviction of many natives and a significant alteration of demographics. Having constituted only 11.6% of the regional population in 1974, the number of Bengalis grew by 1991 to constitute 48.5% of the regional population.

In 1989, the government of then-president Hossain Mohammad Ershad passed the District Council Act created three tiers of local government councils to devolve powers and responsibilities to the representatives of the native peoples, but the councils were rejected and opposed by the PCJSS. [11]

Peace accord

Peace negotiations were initiated after the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1991, but little progress was made with the government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party. [37] Fresh rounds of talks began in 1996 with the newly elected prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. [37] The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on 2 December 1997. [12]

The agreement recognised the special status of the hill residents. [11] Chakma rebels were still in the Chittagong Hill Tracts as of 2002. [38]

Chakmas also live in India's Tripura State where a Tripuri separatist insurgency lasted between 1990 and 2012. [39]

Second phrase

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chittagong Hill Tracts</span> Region in southeastern Bangladesh

The Chittagong Hill Tracts, often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are a group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma). Covering 13,295 square kilometres (5,133 sq mi), they formed a single district until 1984, when they were divided into three districts: Khagrachari District, Rangamati Hill District, and Bandarban District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chakma people</span> Ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent

The Chakma people or Changhma people (Chakma:𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦), are an ethnic group from the eastern-most regions of the Indian subcontinent and Western Myanmar. They are the largest ethnic group of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh, and the largest in the Chakma Autonomous District Council of Mizoram, India. Significant Chakma populations are found in the northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanti Bahini</span> Armed wing

The Shanti Bahini was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti in Bangladesh. It is considered an insurgent group in Bangladesh. The Shanti Bahini was made out of mostly members from the Chakma tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti</span> Bangladeshi political party

The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti is a political party formed to represent the people and indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Since its inception in 1972, the PCJSS has fought for autonomy and the recognition of the ethnic identity and rights of the indigenous tribes of the Hill Tracts. Its military arm, the Shanti Bahini was used to fight government forces and Bengali settlers in the Hill Tracts. A peace accord was signed in 1997 led to the disarmament of the Shanti Bahini and enabled the PCJSS to return to mainstream politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manabendra Narayan Larma</span> Bangladeshi politician

Manabendra Narayan Larma, also known as M.N. Larma, was a Jumma Chakma politician and member of parliament of Bangladesh. A leading proponent of the rights of the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, he was the founding leader of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti and its armed wing, the Shanti Bahini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord</span>

The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was a peace agreement signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti, the political organisation that controlled the Shanti Bahini militia on 2 December 1997. The accord allowed for the recognition of the rights of the peoples and tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region and ended the decades-long insurgency between the Shanti Bahini and government forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma</span> Bangladeshi politician

Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma is a Bangladeshi Chakma politician and one of the main leaders of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS). He also headed the Shanti Bahini militia until it was disarmed in 1997. He is the brother of late Chakma parliamentarian and PCJSS founder Manabendra Narayan Larma. He is also the president of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum and Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts Welfare Association was a clandestine political organisation created in East Pakistan in December 1966 to defend the rights of the tribal people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Charu Bikash Chakma is a Bangladeshi Chakma politician who was one of the senior leaders of the political movement of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and co-founder of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti. He was an Awami League candidate in the 1970 Pakistani general election but lost to Manabendra Narayan Larma, his close friend. He met the government of independent Bangladesh in December 1971 in a failed bid to secure constitutional safeguards for indigenous people of Bangladesh. He was a leader of the Chakma Jubak Samity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumma people</span> Tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts

The Jumma people is a term usually referred to the minority tribal group of people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh, who used to claim a separate state called Jummaland. They include the Chakma, Arakanese (Rakhine), Marma, Tripuri, Tanchangya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, and Khumi.

Wadud Bhuiyan is a Bangladeshi politician. Bhuiyan was elected twice as the member of the Jatiya Sangsad from Khagrachari constituency respectively in the 6th and 8th National Parliamentary Elections. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board from 2002 to 2006. He currently holds the posts of assistant employment secretary of Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and president of the opposition party's Khagrachari local unit as well.

Rangamati Medical College (RmMC) is a public medical school located in Rangamati, Bangladesh. The college is established in 2014. It admits 51 students every year. It offers 5 years course on Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery which is directed under Chittagong Medical University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangamati Science and Technology University</span> Bangladeshi university

Rangamati Science and Technology University is a public university located in Rangamati, Bangladesh, commonly known as RMSTU. It was established in 2014.

24th Infantry Division is a formation of the Bangladesh Army, headquartered in Chittagong Cantonment, Chittagong District. It is the largest infantry division of Bangladesh Army.

Moni Swapan Dewan alias Major Rajesh is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, ethnic Chakma, and a former member of parliament from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. He is also the former deputy minister for Hill Tracts Affairs.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council is the local government body responsible for the welfare and some administrations of the Chittagong Hill Tracts districts, which include Bandarban District, Khagrachari District, and Rangamati Hill District, in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Rangamati. Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma also known as Santu Larma is the Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council. He is also the chairman of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logang Massacre</span>

The Logang massacre was the massacre of the Jumma people by the Bangladesh security forces and illegal plainsmen Bengali settlers in Logang village of Khagrachari District on 10 April 1992.

Chakma or Changma is an Indian and Bangladeshi surname that may refer to

Bhushanchhara massacre was a massacre of Bengali settlers in Bhushanchhora union of Rangamati District of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It was committed by the Shanti Bahini, the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti on 31st of May, 1984.

Nathan Lanchew Bom is a Bawm terrorist and armed secessionist leader from Chittagong Hill Tracts who has been serving as the founding president of terrorist organization Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), as well as the leader of terrorist group Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA). He founded KNF in 2017. Since then, his location remains unknown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hazarika, Sanjoy (11 June 1989). "Bangladeshi Insurgents Say India Is Supporting Them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 Dowlah, Caf (2013). "Jumma insurgency in Chittagong Hills Tracts: how serious is the threat to Bangladesh's national integration and what can be done?". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 24 (5): 775, 788–789. doi:10.1080/09592318.2013.866419. S2CID   144593890.
  3. 1 2 3 Fortna, Virginia Page (2008). Does Peacekeeping Work?: Shaping Belligerents' Choices after Civil War. Princeton University Press. pp. 53–. ISBN   978-1-4008-3773-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Talukdar, S. P. (1988). The Chakmas, life and struggle. Delhi: Gian Pub. House. p. 52. ISBN   81-212-0212-4.
  5. ↑ Bangladesh/Chakmas (1972-present)
  6. 1 2 The fragility of peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
  7. 1 2 "Chronology for Chittagong Hill Tribes in Bangladesh", refworld.org, 2004
  8. ↑ Rashiduzzaman, M. (July 1998). "Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord: Institutional Features and Strategic Concerns". Asian Survey. 38 (7). University of California Press: 653–70. doi:10.2307/2645754. JSTOR   2645754.
  9. ↑ "Bangladesh peace treaty signed". BBC News. 2 December 1997. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  10. ↑ "Chittagong marks peace anniversary". BBC News. 2 December 1998. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  11. 1 2 3 Mohsin, Amena (2012). "Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, 1997". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  12. 1 2 Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Begovich, Milica (2007). "Bangladesh (1972–1997)". In Karl R. DeRouen Jr; Uk Heo (eds.). Civil Wars of the World: Major Conflicts since World War II. Vol. I. ABC-CLIO. pp. 165–166. ISBN   978-1-85109-919-1.
  14. ↑ Jonassohn, Kurt; Karin Solveig Björnson (1998). Genocide and Gross Human Rights Violations: In Comparative Perspective. Transaction. p. 258. ISBN   1560003146.
  15. ↑ "Bangladesh: Indigenous Peoples engulfed in Chittagong Hill Tracts land conflict". Amnesty International. 12 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Erueti, Andrew (13 June 2013). "Amnesty criticises Bangladeshi government's failure to address indigenous land rights". ABC.
  17. ↑ Nagendra K. Singh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 222–223. ISBN   81-261-1390-1.
  18. 1 2 Bushra Hasina Chowdhury (2002). Building Lasting Peace: Issues of the Implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006.
  19. ↑ Shelley, Mizanur Rahman (1992). The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: The untold story. Centre for Development Research, Bangladesh. p. 129.
  20. ↑ Mohaiemen, Naeem (15 November 2012). "In Bangladesh, Stranded on the Borders of Two Bengals". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (8 July 1989). "Khagrachari Journal; Seeking Happiness High in the Hills". The New York Times.
  22. ↑ Nagendra K. Singh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 229. ISBN   81-261-1390-1.
  23. 1 2 A. Kabir (January 2005). "Bangladesh: A Critical Review of the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) Peace Accord". Working Paper No 2. The Role of Parliaments in Conflict & Post Conflict in Asia. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Kader, Rozina (2012). "Shanti Bahini". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  25. ↑ Human rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts; February 2000; Amnesty International.
  26. ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy (8 July 1989). "Under Cover of Darkness, 400 Flee to Haven in India". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (26 June 1989). "Bangladesh Tries to Dampen Ethnic Insurgency With Ballots". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ Major General (Retired) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim " Chittagong Hill Tract Peace Process and Situation Analysis (Bengali Book)
  29. ↑ "Refworld | Human Rights Situation".
  30. ↑ Bangladesh Unlawful Killings And Torture In The Chittagong Hill Tracts. United Kingdom: Amnesty International. 1986. pp. 26–30. ISBN   0862101107.
  31. ↑ "Gun attack kills 5 in Rangamati". The Daily Star. 5 May 2018.
  32. ↑ "Shooting at Naniarchar: 'Attackers came in 2 groups; target was Tapan'". The Daily Star. 6 May 2018.
  33. ↑ "Bangladesh: Authorities issue travel advisory in parts of Bandarban District, Chittagong Division, as of Oct. 20".
  34. ↑ "Kuki-Chin Refugees from Bangladesh Take Shelter in Mizoram". The Diplomat. 22 November 2022.
  35. ↑ "Kuki-Chin refugees from Bangladesh continue to pour into Mizoram to flee violence". Northeast Now. 27 November 2022.
  36. 1 2 "The construction of the Kaptai dam uproots the indigenous population (1957–1963)". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
  37. 1 2 Majumder, Shantanu (2012). "Parbatya Chattagram Jana-Samhati Samiti". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  38. ↑ Samrat (21 August 2012). "The "Imaginary Line" that Divides India and Bangladesh". The New York Times.
  39. ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy (13 August 1988). "India and Tribal Guerrillas Agree to Halt 8-Year Fight". The New York Times.
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