Why the Indigenous Jumma peoples took arms in CHT

--John Tripura

During the 1971 liberation period around 300,000 Bangladeshi women were raped, tortured,
murdered and sexually harassed by the Pakistani occupation army with the support of Bihari and
Razakar militias. And after nine months of war of independence with Pakistan, Bangladesh
emerged as an independent state on 16 December 1971. Soon after the Pakistani army withdrew
from Bangladesh, the Mukti Bahini (liberation forces of Bangladesh) went on rampage against
the indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

On 15 February 1972, a delegation of the indigenous people led by M.N. Larma, called on Prime
Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and submitted a written memorandum with 4 point charter of
demands consisting of-

1. Autonomy for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including its own legislature;
2. Retention of Regulation 1900 in the Constitution of Bangladesh
3. Continuation of circle chief’s offices; and
4. A constitutional provision restricting the amendment of Regulation 1900 and imposing a
ban on the influx of the non‐hill people.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has rejected the demands and he has advised the Hill
delegate’s leaders to forget their ethnicity and to merge with the Bengali Nationalism. But Mr.
Manabendra N. Larma said that, “I am a Chakma… A Chakma can never be a Bengali. I am a
citizen of Bangladesh-Bangladeshi. You are also Bangladeshi but your national identity is
Bengali… they (Indigenous Peoples) can never be Bengalis…”

And after series of debate and dialogues with the Bangladesh government the Hill leaders failed
to make understand them. Finally, in March 1972, Mr. Manabendra N. Larma decided to
formed a regional political party along with Birendra Kishore Roaza platform for the deprive
CHT Jumma people known as Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS, CHT
United People Party). Manabendra N. Larma became Secretary and Birendra Kishore Roaza
was the first and founding president of PCJSS.
Later a military wing Shanti Bahini (the peace force) was added to it. Here we can say that, due
to inequality the revolution has started in CHT, so we can define as “inequality is the main
reason of any revolution”.

However, by naturally the indigenous peoples are quite shy and peace loving fellows. But this
innocent indigenous Jumma peoples were bound to turn them-self into a revolutionaries for
protecting their land, identity and for self-determinations. And from 1972 the CHT has slowly
turned into “State of War” with the Bangladesh government on demanding the reorganization of
identity as Jumma, basic human rights and to establish the self-determinations of indigenous
Jumma peoples in CHT. And during the “State of War” thousands of indigenous Jumma people
being exploited, tortured, raped, killed, killed after rape, arson at Jumma villages and looted by
the Bengali settlers with the help of Bangladesh Army’s. Not only this, huge rages of atrocities
been carried out in CHT like, abductions, communal attacks and so call genocide in a wide
ranges by the Bengali settles and Bangladesh Army’s. Nearly above one and a half lac of
indigenous Jumma people were fled to India as refugee to save their life, and also have lost their
ancestral lands during the insurgency period also due to forcefully evicted by the law enforce
agencies. In 1986 India has established six refugee camps to cope with the influx of hill people
who refused to be returned to Bangladesh.

During the military regimes of General Zi-ur-Rahaman in 1975-1981 and during the General H
M Areshad from 1982-1990 pursued the policy of Islamic nationalism in CHT.

On the other hand due to some agreed and immature leaders the party faced a major setback in
1983 and split into two groups - Lamba (long) and Badi (short). The Lamba Group was led by
the M N Larma brothers Jyoti Rindra Bodhi Prio Larma (Shanto Larma) sought to achieve the
right to self-determination through a protracted guerilla war. On the other hand, the Badi group
was led by Priti Kumar Chakma and Bhabatosh Dewan opposed this line and advocated that the
party should sever the CHT from Bangladesh. During this international conspiracy and mental
ideological conflict the party’s founding President M.N. Larma has lost his life and this barbarian
and the brutal act was carried out by the Priti group (Badi). The indigenous Jumma people have
lost the great leader. And this civil war was finally ended by the surrender of Badi group to the
Bangladesh government in 1985.

And after around two decades of arms conflict in CHT it has come into end by signing a peace
agreement between the Bangladesh government and the indigenous Jumma peoples
representative political party PCJSS in 1997 of 2 December. What happen after the signing this
illusive and historic agreement of the CHT Accord?

In December 1998 another conspiracy has been taken place to divide the PCJSS and the Jumma
people. And in that conspiracy few of the greedy and immature leaders were in trap and have
founded a new political party “United Peoples Democratic Front or UPDF” on 26 December. A
central convening committee headed by Prasit Bikash Khisah was formed the UPDF to divide
the CHT people. And since the inception of this political organization they have carried out
different kinds of atrocities by under the shelter of Bangladesh Army’s in CHT. And in present
this political group is standing as a pillar against the full implementation of the CHT Accord.
They technically say’s that, they are not a part of Prti Group (Badi) but if we look in a practical
view they are not apart from the Priti group. And if we see their demand, views and the
behaviors of these political groups is immature. What we see in present situation in CHT they
have divided the peoples at a critical moment and that is really hard to recover in CHT and not to
be forgotten.

However, I would like to request all the regional political groups to be united again, instead of
walking in a separate and devious way; the regional political parties should walk together for the
future generations. The political parties in CHT should believed each other’s and that to be a true
struggler leader, one must suppress many of the personal feelings that make one like a separate
or individual rather than part of a mass movement. Because one is fighting of many peoples, not
the glory of one individual but for all. It is also not avoidable that sometime due to personal
grudges or from the disappointments, and was thinking not of advancement of the struggle, but
of their own feelings, of jealousy or revenge gets separated from the mass struggles. But still the
CHT indigenous Jumma peoples believed that the regional political parties will be united again
and it is still possible.
After the British period we cannot see none of the government in Bangladesh since its
independent has taken any decisive steps to protect and to promote the indigenous peoples rights
in the face of potential threats, till now rather they always created the conflicts between the own
peoples. On the other hand we should not forget that, the Bangladesh government with the
collusion with other Islamist organizations had been working to accomplish the CHT to be a
monolithic Islamic State. The women need to be empowered politically, because when the
women began to take an active part in any struggle there is no power to stop from achieving any
kind of freedom or success in this mother earth. However, I would like to request the Bangladesh
government to fully implement the remaining unimplemented CHT Accord as soon as possible,
or I am very much pessimistic that the history will pull back the CHT indigenous Jumma peoples
to turn back as before. The government should understand the indigenous Jumma peoples from
CHT do not want a separate land, but they want their respect as other citizens of the country,
their basic human rights and their self-determinations.

Written by:
John Tripura
Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defender
E-mail: tripurajohn@gmail.com
Cell: 01921 790758