Seminar held in Agartala Press Club on critical condition facing tribals in Chittagong hill-tracts of Bangladesh

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, December 2, 2025

As announced earlier, a seminar was held in Agartala Press Club under the auspices of the ‘Champion for Humanity Protection’ that always highlights the deepening existential crisis faced by the tribal population in the troubletorn Chittagong hill-tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. Since the early eighties of the last century the tribals in Chittagong hill-tracts , mainly the Chakmas and Mogs, who constituted 97.5% of the population during partition of the country in 1947 have been facing an existential crisis because of the repression of the military and depredations of the resettled Muslims from the plainlands. The successive regimes in Bangladesh have by a mischievous policy resettled huge number of Muslims in the hill-tracts in order to demolish the rationale behind their demand for autonomy . As a result the tribal population in the hill-tracts has dipped to below 50% in their centuries old homeland and many of the indigenous people continue to sneak into bordering Indian territories.

It is to flag the pitiable plight of the tribals in CHT and their bleak future that the seminar was held and there was an animated discussion . While the president of the ‘Champion for Humanity Prortection’ and veteran journalist Niranjan Chakma presided over the proceeding, the others who delivered speeches included Dr Chandra Sekhar Kar, Dt Shyamal Chakma, Nayan Jyoti Tripura, leading social activist Bipangshu Chakma and several others.

All the speakers highlighted the sharply deteriorating condition of the tribals in the Chittagong hill-tracts , falure of successi ve regimes in Bangladesh to implement in letter and spirit the peace accord signed by erstwhile Awami League government in December 1997 and conspiracies of the Islamic fundamentalist elements emboldened by the incumbent illegitimate government. A number of speakers stressed the need for strong intervention from the government of India as well as from the United Nations Organisation (UNO) to save the lives , properties and honour of the tribals in CHT which has been their original homeland over the past many centuries.

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