**5.3.1 State induced military led mass migration**

Immediately after the change in 1975 through the assassination of the Father of the Nation and his family, the new Government took more drastic step to militarize the whole CHTs declaring the region a politically special sensitive zone. The Government assumed full military control in CHTs ignoring the local civil administration. In order to earn more control over the region and balance between indigenous and non - indigenous population, the Government adopted a policy of State induced military led migration of non-indigenous poor and destitute folks of other part of Bangladesh to the CHTs without consulting the indigenous people of the CHTs. The establishment of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB) in 1976 for the CHTs development deeply strengthened military occupation and military infrastructure in the CHTs furthermore. The CHTDB was formed and administered by the military command and the military was in charge of implementing all development activities in the CHTs.

A close examination of the CHTDB development projects reveals that more than 80% of the CHTDB development budgets were spent on building military infrastructure through construction of military camps, roads and bridges, office buildings, sports complexes, mosques, cluster villages for Pahari and *Bangali* settlers (Bhikkhu, 2007). All the respondents, key informants and groups discussion opined that the strategy of the new Government after 1975 deploying military administration in the CHTs extended the magnitude of conflicts. During this military led administration, counterinsurgency operations were started throughout the CHTs that ruined the scope for accommodation and co-existence of both the hill people and migrated *Bangali* people in the CHTs (B.H. Chowdhury, 2002). Within two years of the new Government (after 1975) more than 80,000 armed forces were deployed in the CHTs for the cause of 'development and security reasons'. In fact, armed forces facilitated the transmigration of non-indigenous *Bangalis* by displacing the *Paharis* (Uddin, 2008).

This military led huge migration changed the population structure and composition in the CHTs. It is found that 1.74% non-indigenous people of the CHTs in 1872 increased to 9.09% in 1951, 19.41% in 1974 and 60% in the current decades (Bhikkhu, 2007; CHTDF, 2009; Uddin, 2008). Fig. 3 shows the pattern of the increase of the non-indigenous people into the CHTs. Actually, as of the advice of the British Government during 1860s, the Circle chiefs brought *Bangali* cultivators to work on this region in order to teach low land farming to the Chakmas and other indigenous races. At that time only the three Circle chiefs were

 5 The military wing of the PCJSS formed in 1972 in order to preserve the rights of the indigenous people. '*Shanti*' and '*Bahini*' are two Bengali term meaning peace and armed force respectively.

permitted to own land and the *Bangali* immigrants became sharecroppers. Even knowing that the CHTs land is not arable and life would be very risky, landless floating people accepted migration in order to get a piece of land and a house of their own, along with other financial and food grains support of the Government (Uddin, 2008). During 1979 - 1984 about half a million non-indigenous people have been settled into the CHTs. Bhikkhu (2007) reported that during late 1970s to the early 1980s, more than 400,000 muslims from various plain districts of Bangladesh were systematically migrated to the CHTs under Government sponsored military led settlement programs. It was found that 92% of the respondents and 100%of the key informants viewed this huge migration as demographic invasion or more specifically '*islamization*' of the CHTs. They think that this has been done to diminish their political clout in the muslim dominated Bangladesh. So this State sponsored migration has made the Jumma people a minority in their own homeland. Talukdar (2005) in his study suggested that if this conflict goes on without any resolution, the Jumma people will soon find themselves in a situation of going for unconstitutional struggle.

Source: Talukdar, 2005; Uddin, 2010

192 Sustainable Forest Management – Case Studies

the influx of the non-Jummas into the CHTs (Chowdhury, 2006). The Government rejected these demands and urged the indigenous people to become Bangali, ignoring their ethnic identities (Chowdhury, 2002). This has been considered as the starting point of new conflict of the Jummas with Bangladesh Government. The Jumma people rejected the imposition of Bengali nationalism. According to the summarized result of the focus group discussion and key informant interview, the failure of the Government to recognize the identity of hill people and their political and economic marginalization led them to form an indigenous people's organisation called 'Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhiti Samiti (PCJSS)' in 1972. A military wing called *Shanti Bahini*5 was added to PCJSS in the same year (Mohsin, 1997).

Immediately after the change in 1975 through the assassination of the Father of the Nation and his family, the new Government took more drastic step to militarize the whole CHTs declaring the region a politically special sensitive zone. The Government assumed full military control in CHTs ignoring the local civil administration. In order to earn more control over the region and balance between indigenous and non - indigenous population, the Government adopted a policy of State induced military led migration of non-indigenous poor and destitute folks of other part of Bangladesh to the CHTs without consulting the indigenous people of the CHTs. The establishment of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB) in 1976 for the CHTs development deeply strengthened military occupation and military infrastructure in the CHTs furthermore. The CHTDB was formed and administered by the military command and the military was in charge of implementing all

A close examination of the CHTDB development projects reveals that more than 80% of the CHTDB development budgets were spent on building military infrastructure through construction of military camps, roads and bridges, office buildings, sports complexes, mosques, cluster villages for Pahari and *Bangali* settlers (Bhikkhu, 2007). All the respondents, key informants and groups discussion opined that the strategy of the new Government after 1975 deploying military administration in the CHTs extended the magnitude of conflicts. During this military led administration, counterinsurgency operations were started throughout the CHTs that ruined the scope for accommodation and co-existence of both the hill people and migrated *Bangali* people in the CHTs (B.H. Chowdhury, 2002). Within two years of the new Government (after 1975) more than 80,000 armed forces were deployed in the CHTs for the cause of 'development and security reasons'. In fact, armed forces facilitated the transmigration of non-indigenous *Bangalis* by

This military led huge migration changed the population structure and composition in the CHTs. It is found that 1.74% non-indigenous people of the CHTs in 1872 increased to 9.09% in 1951, 19.41% in 1974 and 60% in the current decades (Bhikkhu, 2007; CHTDF, 2009; Uddin, 2008). Fig. 3 shows the pattern of the increase of the non-indigenous people into the CHTs. Actually, as of the advice of the British Government during 1860s, the Circle chiefs brought *Bangali* cultivators to work on this region in order to teach low land farming to the Chakmas and other indigenous races. At that time only the three Circle chiefs were

5 The military wing of the PCJSS formed in 1972 in order to preserve the rights of the indigenous people.

'*Shanti*' and '*Bahini*' are two Bengali term meaning peace and armed force respectively.

**5.3.1 State induced military led mass migration** 

development activities in the CHTs.

displacing the *Paharis* (Uddin, 2008).

Fig. 3. Change in population composition in the CHTs
