AT LAMA upazila in Bandarban, different companies have been active for a long time in their attempts to grab jum lands and hill ecosystems to establish rubber gardens. One such hill is called ‘soroi hung’ — soroi hill — in the Mro language. The Lama Rubber Industries Limited exists on 400 acres of forcefully grabbed jum land and hill forest of soroi hung. The staff of this company burned down the homes of local Tripura and Mro people. They spilled poison in the stream so that the indigenous peoples in the area have to leave. The state is yet to ensure justice for Adivasi peoples. We cannot in any way think of inclusive state refors after the July uprising, demanding thousands of unresolved questions of Indigenous peoples not only in the soroi hill but across the country.
The sal forest at Madhupur is one of the oldest forests of deciduous trees. The state has been doing injustice to this ancient forest since 1950. In 2003, forest department tried to surround it by raising bricks walls. Local Mandi (Garo) and Koch communities struggled to save it. Piren Snal was martyred when the police and forest guards opened fire. Bhimpur in Naogaon was ravaged as a consequence of land grabbing. Alfred Soren became a martyr trying to save Santal village. Kalpana Chakma was abducted from the hill. Shishilia Snal was riddled with bullets because she was collecting fallen sal leaves. In Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, Santal lands were grabbed by the sugar mill authorities. In a movement to save their land, Shyamal Hembrom, Ramesh Tudu and Mangal Mardi were martyred. Rabi Mardi and Abhinath Mardi committed suicide in Godagari, Rajhshahi, for not getting irrigation water for their land from the Barind Multi-purpose Development Authority. Betel leaf jums and gardens of Khasi punjis (villages) were destroyed to make way for tea gardens at Nahar, Bonakhola, Agar, Kakrachhara and Jhimai in Moulvibazar. The injustice, however, does not stop only at land grabs, evictions and persecution; the state’s representation of indigenous peoples is extremely racist and colonial in its entirety.
From textbooks to museums, even in the so-called creative industries, the life and cultures of indigenous peoples are represented as ‘passive objects’, as the ‘other’. The state derives an aggressive pleasure from designating ‘rice, ants and alcohol’ as the main foods of the Santal people. Development projects, gardens of invasive species of trees, commercial tourism, resorts, eco parks, corporate excavations and surveillance of security forces have ruined indigenous lives and livelihoods time and again. The state rarely brought to trial the murders, rapes, persecutions, attacks and land possessions carried out on indigenous peoples. The state continues to impose its hegemonic Bengali nationalism on indigenous people. Indigenous people cannot even call themselves by their self-determination. The state somewhat forbids it as the 15th amendment, indigenous peoples in Bangladesh have been referred to as ‘tribal’ or ‘ethnic minorities’. In 2014, the information ministry issued a circular to the media ordering the restriction. The state decided on a discriminatory identity for indigenous people and imposed it on them. In the form of the mass uprising in blood-printed July, revolutionary students and the mass have raised questions against the fascist regime.
We are now in the process of transforming the state into one free of all discriminations. Under fascist policing, indigenous people have to contend with ‘Bengali authoritarianism’. Those who question the state for its totalitarian tendencies almost always forget to put themselves in the indigenous people’s shoes. State reforms must include indigenous peoples with their self-determined narratives. A just and inclusive transformation of the state can only happen when all the unresolved issues of indigenous lives are resolved. The July uprising was ubiquitous. The blood of Abu Sayed, Riya Gope and Liton Chandra Hembrom were shed during the turmoil. The post-mass uprising reforms and transformations cannot be ethnically exclusionary, racist and cannot reinforce Bengali authoritarianism yet again. Rather, equality, dignity and justice for all people have to be ensured in the process of transformation by dismantling the notion of Bengali authoritarianism altogether. Indigenous communities have high hopes for the interim government that came into being as a result of the mass uprising. The honourable chief adviser and many other advisers of the interim cabinet have been active in the past in demanding the rights of indigenous people, they have always used the word ‘adivasi’. We, therefore, want the interim government to actively put in efforts to resolve all the grave injustices that the indigenous people suffered in the past and are still suffering.
Ìý
I
WHY does the authoritarian system not want to recognise the Indigenous identity? We are yet to receive any explanation or analysis regarding this from the state. This behaviour of the proprietary state is discriminatory, but it is not entirely ‘unconstitutional’, because the constitution of the state itself denies the self-determination of indigenous peoples. The state, rather, uses terms of identity that are not present in the constitution in naming its projects, institutions and programmes. The 15th amendment to the constitution of Bangladesh mentions that… ‘the State shall take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and tradition of the tribal, minor races, ethnic sects and communities.’ There is no mention of the phrase ‘Adivasi’ in the constitution. While it includes ‘ethnic sects’, it does not include ‘small ethnic communities’. The phrase widely used by the government is, however, ‘small ethnic communities.’ There are many public cultural organisations and projects, even a law, that use this specific phrase. According to the `Small Ethnic Communities Cultural Institutions Act 2010’. Ethnic minority communities refer to different indigenous communities — people of small ethnic communities and class — mentioned in the schedule of the act. One of the main objectives and goals of the National Education Policy 2010 is ‘to promote and develop the languages and cultures of the indigenous and small ethnic groups.’ Although the phrase ‘Adivasi’ has been used in official documents, programmes, statements and proclamations, the state itself has forbidden the use of the phrase on multiple occasions.
The Adivasi identity was buried and ‘Bengali’ was made the identity of all in the constitution, which was drafted at the Madhupur sal forest the land of indigenous peoples. In 1972, Manabendra Narayan Larma, the then member of parliament protested against it and boycotted the parliament. The state gave the direction to use ‘tribal’ instead of ‘indigenous.’ State issued notification asking not to use ‘indigenous’ in practice several times. Even state released another notification for not using ‘indigenous’ on television talk shows. Indigenous peoples are not a ‘sub-group’ within a larger group of people with their self-ethnic identity. In fact, Bengalis and indigenous peoples both fall in the category of an ethnic group or ethnicity. So, there is no question that the authoritarian state perpetuates extreme discrimination when it comes to the question of the identity of indigenous peoples.
Constitutionally recognising the indigenous identity should, therefore, be one of the priorities in the process of reforming the state. The indigenous people of Bangladesh uniformly use the phrase ‘Adivasi’ to identify themselves, and this use was also recorded in documents dating back to the British colonial period. The phrase ‘Adivasi’ is on a par with the United Nations definition of ‘indigenous peoples.’ The state must recognise the Adivasi identity. It should amend clause 23A of the constitution and consider rewriting it as the following: ‘…the State shall take steps to protect, develop and promote the unique local culture, mother tongues, natural resources and customary social systems rights of the Adivasis.’
Ìý
II
‘ADIVASI or indigenous’ and ‘native resident’ are not the same. While a native resident of a place can be non-indigenous, indigenous people are also not always the original inhabitants of a place. In this geographical region, people of different ethnicities, including Bengalis, used the phrase ‘indigenous’ to characterise the region’s distinctive cultural identity long before nation states were even formed. Indigenous peoples are those whose societies are governed by their own customary system, language and beliefs, both before and after the formation of nation states. The use of the term ‘Adivasi’ in Bangladesh has a long history. In 1944, Paharpur Adivasi High School was established near the Paharpur Buddhist Vihara in Badalgachi, Naogaon. There are many such instances: Mohespur Adivasi High School in Bochaganj, Dinajpur; Babela Kona Adivasi High School in Sreebardi, Sherpur; Khaichala Adivasi Govt High School in Raiganj, Sirajpur; Shadhona Adivasi Govt Primary School in Kaharol, Dinajpur; Bottoli Adivasi Govt Primary School in Godagari, Rajshahi; Sonadighi Adivasi Govt. Primary School in Dhamoirhat, Naogaon. No organisation, group or agency made the decision to name these institutions and used the identity `adivasi’. Rather, their names included the word ‘adivasi’ (indigenous) as a result of the social awareness and reality of each locality. This naming trend or respect the self-determination of sub-altern raised the fundamental cultural issue of pluralism and inclusivity in society.
When the Pakistani administration tried to take over the sal forest at Madhupur in 1962, the indigenous peoples in the area prepared a statement where they declared, ‘…We are the Adivasi people of Madhupur tract.’ Jogadal Adivasi School and College, in Dhamoirhat, Naogaon, was established in 1972, in independent Bangladesh. ‘Adivasi’ appears in Salbon Er Raja, published in 1984, by Abul Khair Muslehuddin. It is high time the arbitrary narrative that ‘there are no indigenous peoples in Bangladesh’ is changed. Indigenous peoples and Bengalis all contribute in sustaining our cultures, natural resources, agriculture and production. From anti-British movements to peasant movements, as well as in the Liberation War, indigenous peoples aslo played a crucial part and shed their blood. Bangladesh is a country with a multitude of ethnicities, religions, genders and professions. The transformation of the state has to reflect this perspective of plurality and diversity accordingly. This can happen only when the state recognises Adivasi people with dignity and ensures their unhindered participation in all decision-making and implementation processes of the state.
Ìý
IV
DEBATE is ongoing regarding the number of indigenous communities and indigenous population in Bangladesh as existing records and statistics remain dubious. In the 1984 census, the number of indigenous people was 897,828 and the number of indigenous groups was 28. In 1991, the census recorded the population to be 1,205,978 and the groups to be 29. Within nearly 10 years, the number of indigenous groups increased by one. There is no record of indigenous peoples in the 2001 census. The Population and Housing Census 2022 shows that there are 1,650,159 indigenous peoples in the country, which constitutes 1.2 per cent of the total population. However, the number of indigenous groups increased to 50 in a surprising jump in the last 30 years.
The International Mother Language Institute, in the report based on its survey on ethnic languages in Bangladesh that was concluded in 2018, says that there are 40 mother tongues in Bangladesh including indigenous communities. Among them, 14 indigenous languages — Kondo, Kharia, Koda, Soura, Mundari, Kol, Malto, Khumi, Pangkhua, Rengmitca, Sak aka Chak, Khyang, Lushai and Laleng — face extinction. Although, the national population census does not record the Koda, Rengmitca and Soura people. The state took the initiative to introduce pre-primary education programmes in five indigenous languages, which were Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Mandi (Garo) and Sadri. But there were no visible efforts to safeguard the 14 languages that face extinction. The interim government’s honourable chief adviser’s organisation, Grameen Trust, started the first pre-primary school in Bangladesh for an indigenous language. The Jatiya Adivasi Parishad operated the school, known as ‘Pari Tudur Pathshala’, for Santal children in Godagari, Rajshahi. The state, however, failed to keep the school running, and one of its teachers, Pari Tudu is now sick from the mental agony. Our expectation for the interim government is that it will prioritise the protection of the endangered indigenous languages. The more time we lose, the more languages will disappear. This is why the safeguarding of indigenous languages, cultures, crafts, literatures, production methods and way of life has to be ensured in the thorough reformation of the state that we now look forward to.
Ìý
V
I WOULD like to end this piece by putting forward certain proposals for the interim government that can be implemented at once to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. The interim government should take immediate steps to make the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission effectively operational. It should also create a separate and independent land commission for the indigenous peoples living on plain lands. Such steps should be taken without further delay to put an end to the grabbing and dispossession of indigenous land. While customary land rights have to be legally acknowledged, the state’s land tenancy laws should also be applied effectually. Indigenous peoples way of zero-carbon life, which is dependent on jum agriculture, craft and natural resources, should be given legal recognition and sustained state support. No development project can be proposed and no infrastructure can be built on indigenous land without their free prior informed consent. Indigenous communities must have an open and free access to all information and services to achieve this. Commercial tourist spots, monoculture of invasive species, development destruction, ecocide and cultural aggression — anything that threatens the life and livelihood of indigenous peoples need to be stopped.
Moreover, each and every case of murder, disappearance, rape, arson, attacks and dispossession that took place in indigenous peoples for decades must be properly investigated and the people responsible must be held accountable. An independent indigenous commission can be set up to this end. Quotas for indigenous people should be in place in public office recruitments. This will promote inclusivity and, at the same time, help indigenous peoples, who still remain worryingly under-represented in the mainstream society, to advance at all levels of society. While awards and recognitions at the state level can be introduced to encourage and promote indigenous literatures, arts and cultures, indigenous artisans who are in need should be provided with support so that they can live with dignity.
The state has imposed its authoritarianism on indigenous peoples all this time. This characteristic of the state must be questioned, and resolved, politically if we are to reform the state. In recent times, when hundreds of graffiti are being painted all over the country to raise questions, they are being erased in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Indigenous peoples must be able to exercise the freedom of their identity, expression and culture. In the 1960s, about 100,000 indigenous peoples were forced out, and their homes and jum lands drowned as the Kaptai hydroelectric power plant project was being implemented in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Are they still going to stay drowned amid all the talk of state reforms in the aftermath of the July uprising? I hope the Gen-Z or new generation of indigenous and Bengali student-mass will raise their voices in unity against the injustices that have been buried and drowned until now. I am sure they will.
Ìý
Pavel Partha is a writer and researcher.