Bangladesh does not have any indigenous population. But some vested groups are alluring the small ethnic groups of Chattogram Hill Tracts to identify themselves as indigenous people for taking facilities. Bangladesh's small ethnic groups especially are the hill tribes.
The Chattogram Hill Tracts Peace Accord, signed on December 2, 1997 between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbattya Chattogram Jana Samhiti Samiti(PCJSS) also does not recognize the category.
The Peace Accord brought an end to the unstable situation in the region. The treaty played a crucial role in establishing stability in the Chattogram Hill Tracts, and in the document, the small ethnic groups were explicitly recognized as "Tribal People."
A high official of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs told the Daily Observer that Chattogram Hill Tracts Peace Accord PCJSS agreed that they were "Tribal People." However, after 25 years, since the signing of the most significant treaty, a small faction is now attempting to classify itself as so- called indigenous people, he added.
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the indigenous people of the world. Before and after of August 9 these vested groups are alluring the small ethnic groups of Chattragram Hill Tracts are trying to identify themselves as indigenous people, according to sources.
Lewis Henry Morgan, American anthropologist, said in his research that indigenous peoples are the first inhabitants of an area and their descendants. Ethnic groups which are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region are also the indigenous people.
Meanwhile, most other Tribal People of CHT migrated into the area between the 15th and 19th centuries. So they are not regarded as indigenous population, according to law.
An internal official memo, circulated in the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, stated "steps should be taken to publicize/broadcast in the print and electronic media that there are no Indigenous people in Bangladesh".
In 2011, the Bangladesh government enacted the "Small Ethnic Group Cultural Institute Law", an act that would classify the 40-45 non-Bengali ethnic tribes as "ethnic minorities". On the eve of enactment, the then Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni, said "Bangladesh does not have any indigenous population"; a similar claim had been made by the Bangladeshi delegates to the 9th UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues a year before.
The Chattogram Hill Tracts comprises Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts. The CHT is home to 12 ethnic groups, collectively called Jumma peoples: Chakma (the majority by numbers), Marma, Tripura, Tanchangya, Mro, Mrung/Riang, Bawm, Khami, Chak, Pangkho, Khyang and Lushai. The Mro are considered the oldest inhabitants of CHT, while most other tribes migrated into the area between the 15th and 19th centuries.
A 1928 survey committee report showed that all existing trade and sale of crops in CHT was controlled by Bengalis; a 1951 census report showed continuation of this trend - across 66 bazars (markets), only a handful of shops belonged to tribal peoples.
These bazars were established to deal with crop surpluses thanks to cultivation with plough in CHT, introduced by Bengalis and the British in the late 19th century.
The Chakma community holds the belief that, they are descendants of Buddha's Sakya clan from the Himalayan tribes.
According to Chakma oral history, they migrated from the ancient kingdom of Magadha, located in present-day Bihar state in India, to Arakan. In 1546, during a battle between the Arakanese king Min Bin and the Burmese, the Sak king attacked Northern Arakan Roma and gained control over the Chacomas of the Northern Arakan Mountains, who were previously under Arakanese rule.
Later, the Arakan King Min Razagyi reclaimed these areas and proclaimed himself as the highest and most powerful king of Arakan. Following their defeat by the Arakanese, the Chakmas migrated to their current homeland in the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
Similarly, second largest tribe of Chattogram Hill Tracts, Marma is also a migrated ethnic group, but from a distinct different location and at different time. The Marma community has ancestral ties to the Rakhine people who originally inhabited the Arakan Mountains, now part of Rakhine State in Myanmar.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Rakhine people gained a reputation for piracy, often collaborating with the Portuguese, as piracy was prevalent in the Bay of Bengal region. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Marmas migrated from their homeland to the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
This migration coincided with the Kingdom of Mrauk U's conquest of Chottrogram , leading to the establishment of Marma settlements in the Chattogram Hill Tracts . Thus, it is certain that, different tribal groups have migrated to Chattrogram Hill Tracts from various locations and at different time.
In this context, the example of the Mayan people can be drawn. The Mayan people constitute an ethno-linguistic group of indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. Presently, they reside in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The term "Maya" is a contemporary collective term used to refer to the diverse peoples of this region. However, historically, the indigenous populations did not employ this term to describe themselves. Due to the distinct traditions, cultures, and historical identities of each population, society, and ethnic group, there was no shared sense of identity or political unity among them.
