**5.1 British period and Indigenous people of the study areas (1757-1947)**

Indigenous people of the CHTs locally known as *Jumma*1 people were independent before the British colonial period. Bengal region2 was ruled by the British from 1757 to 1947. The CHTs areas being an important source of raw materials (e.g., timber and cotton) drew the attention of the British ruler (Huq, 2000). Although there was a sharp physiological and cultural gap between the *Pahari*3 and *Bangali*4, geographically the CHTs were close to the Bengal region. After occupation, the British annexed the CHTs with Bengal in 1860 as an autonomous administrative district known as 'The Chittagong Hill Tracts' within undivided British Bengal. Few non-indigenous Bangali people co-existed with the indigenous population of the CHTs as original people of the areas. Non-indigenous Bengali people shared only about 1.74% of the total population in the CHTs in 1872 (CHTDF, 2009).

In 1900 Act, British Government kept special regulation to protect the Jumma people from economic exploitation by non-indigenous people, preserve their traditional socio-cultural and political institutions and also ensure their traditional laws and common ownership of land. This 1900 Act safeguarded the Pahari people prohibiting migration and land ownership to non-indigenous people in the CHTs (Asian Cultural Forum on Development [ACFOD], 1997). Respondent's survey could not provide much information about this period (only 3 respondents were able to discuss a little about this period) because of their age and lack of knowledge on the old history. Nine out of the twelve key informants were able to discuss the CHTs during British period. However, we had an effective discussion in all the three group discussions about this period. The result of the discussion as well the available literature concluded that the Jumma people had very peaceful life during this period. Clear felling followed by artificial regeneration was the only management system for the CHTs keeping revenue earning as the major concern of the British Government. This management system even opposed to biodiversity and wildlife conservation did not create any negative concern because of the abundance of huge forests and natural resources in the CHTs.

<sup>1</sup> refers to indigenous people or the original population of the CHTs. Jumma people means the groups of people who live on shifting cultivation. Shifting cultivation in its local term is known as Jhum cultivation.

<sup>2</sup> refers to the Bengali speaking part of the undivided part of India.

<sup>3</sup> Indigenous people or the original population of the CHTs. The CHTs are hilly region. Hill in Bengali term means Pahar. So Pahari means the inhabitants of the hill. They also sometimes addressed as Adivasi (original population of the region).

<sup>4</sup> People who speak Bengali as their first language.
