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.
The Chakma people or Changhma people, 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.
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.
A. B. M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury was a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He was the Mayor of Chittagong, the second-largest city in Bangladesh, for three consecutive terms.
Bandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others being Rangamati District and Khagrachhari District. Bandarban district (4,479 km2) is not only the most remote district of the country, but also the least populous. There is an army contingent at Bandarban Cantonment.
Khagrachari is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board was a government agency established in 1978 by the then-President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman in response to the rise of the Shanti Bahini insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of eastern Bangladesh. Currently Supradip Chakma, is the Chairman of this development board.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict was a political and armed conflict between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti and its armed wing, the Shanti Bahini, over the issue of autonomy and the land rights of Jumma people, mainly for Chakma people and the other indigenous of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Shanti Bahini launched an insurgency against government forces in 1977, when the country was under military rule, and the conflict continued for twenty years until the government and the PCJSS signed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in 1997.
Bangladesh has experienced terrorism in the past conducted by a number of different organisations. In the past, both ISIL and other terrorist organisations had claimed to be active in the country. However, the Bangladeshi government believes that they mainly operated through local affiliates, before being neutralised by security forces.
The Chakma Circle, also known as the Chakma Raj, is one of three hereditary chiefdoms in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The Chakma Circle encompasses parts of Rangamati Hill District and Dighinala and Rajasthali Upazilas in neighbouring Khagrachari District and Bandarban District respectively. The chiefdom's members are of Chakma descent.
Zahur Ahmad Chowdhury was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
Dipankar Talukdar is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the former State Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. He is a member of Parliament representing Rangamati.
Kalparanjan Chakma was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. He helped negotiate the release of two Danes and a Briton kidnapped by Shanti Bahini members in Chittagong Hill Tracts.
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.
Bandarban Hill District Council is the regional government body responsible for the administration of Bandarban Hill District in Bangladesh. Kyaw Shwe Hla is the chairman of the council.
Kujendra Lal Tripura is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent member of parliament for Khagrachhari District. He is the chairman of the Taskforce on Tribal Refugees. He is serving as Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs since 2024.
The Bohmong Circle is one of three hereditary chiefdoms in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Bohmong Circle encompasses parts of Bandarban District. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as ragraisa. Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the south during a migration wave from the Kingdom of Mrauk U between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, the Mong Circle, settled in the northwest and are known as phalansa (ဖလံသား).
Major Rafiqul IslamBir Uttam is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Jatiya Sangsad member from Chandpur-5 constituency.
Bandarban is a constituency of the Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh, represented, since 1996 June, by Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing of the Awami League.
