Guwahati, Jan 15: The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI), a New Delhi-based advocacy group, has lauded a significant decision by the interim government of Bangladesh to categorize the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as a “foreign affairs issue.” The move is marked by the issuance of a formal notification to reconstitute the CHT Accord Implementation & Monitoring Committee, appointing Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hussain as convenor alongside Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, President of the Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS), and Suddatta Chakma, chairman of the Task Force for Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Returnee Refugees from India.
The historic 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord was signed between the insurgent JSS and the Bangladesh Army, aiming to resolve long-standing tensions and bring peace to the indigenous-majority region.
Suhas Chakma, founder of CDFI, hailed this development as a crucial step, stating, “This historic shift by the Bangladesh government to recognize the Chittagong Hill Tracts as a foreign affairs subject is welcome. Despite having a 98.5% non-Muslim population, the region was controversially awarded to Pakistan in 1947, against the principles of the Indian Independence Act. The indigenous people raised Indian flags on August 15, 1947, only to be forcibly transferred to Pakistan on August 17.”
Highlighting the challenges faced by the indigenous population, Chakma emphasized the prolonged military occupation and demographic changes imposed by the Bangladesh government, “The government acts as an occupying authority, deploying one-third of its army in the region. From 1979 to 1983, approximately 400,000 plain settlers from the Muslim majority were implanted, reminiscent of Israeli settlements in Occupied Arab territories. This strategy led to mass displacement, forcing over 70,000 indigenous people to seek refuge in India, with thousands killed during the insurgency from 1975 to 1997.”
Despite the 1997 accord, Chakma noted that key provisions remain unimplemented, including the withdrawal of military camps, restitution of illegally occupied lands, adequate rehabilitation of returnee refugees, and the holding of elections in the regional councils of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The reconstitution of the CHT Accord Implementation Committee has sparked renewed hope among advocates for indigenous rights and peace in the region. However, tangible action on long-standing grievances remains critical to building lasting trust and harmony.
