the chittagong hill tracts in bangladesh integrational crisis between center and periphery

8/3/2019 The Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh Integrational Crisis Between Center and Periphery

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The Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh: Integrational Crisis between Center and PeripheryAuthor(s): Syed Nazmul IslamReviewed work(s):Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 21, No. 12 (Dec., 1981), pp. 1211-1222Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2643880 .

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THECHITTAGONG ILLTRACTSINBANGLADESH:NTEGRATIONALRISISBETWEENCENTERANDPERIPHERYSyed NazmulIslam*

SINCE JANUARY 1976, the law enforcement agencies indifferent parts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh have comeunder repeated attacks by the so-called Shanti Bahini (Peace Corps).'In these attacks with sophisticated modern weapons, a dozen law en-forcement personnel have either been killed or seriously wounded.Naturally, this causes the government of Bangladesh serious concernand arouses the interest of researchers who specialize in the study ofpolitical development.The immediate steps taken by the government have been two-fold:the law enforcement authority has been strengthened, and the gov-ernment convened a convention2 to which most of the influential triballeaders were invited with the aim of inducing them to persuade thedissident militant groups to reach a peaceful solution to the problem.Regardless of the success or failure of the government's venture in thisconnection, the important point for researchers in political develop-ment to consider is that the cause of militant action by anomic groups inthis district is still unknown. This article will examine the primarysources of this violence and the factors that have led to the emergenceof the militant "Shanti Bahini" as a dissident force demanding fullautonomy for the Chittagong Hill Tracts.3This type of crisis is not unknown in new nations burdened byethnic or racial conflicts and primordial sentiments. In the political

* In the period of 1976-1978, I worked as a research fellow for the Project "TribalLeadership and Political Integration" under the auspices of the Faculty of Social Sciences,University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh. During that period I toured the CHTextensively and interviewed more than one hundred tribal people, leaders, administra-tive officers, employees of the government, and semi-government organizations for thepurpose of collecting data for the project. I used some of these data and information inthis article. Therefore, I am very thankful to R. I. Chowdhury, Chief Director of theproject and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Chittagong, for hispermission to use these data and information for further scholarly research.1211

? 1981 by The Regents of the University of California0004-4687/81/121211+ 12$00.50


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1212 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981development literature the malintegration of ethnically diversesocieties is usually recognized as the major problem for their leader-ship. National integration has become a favorite theme of writers on thepolitics of new states.Bangladesh emerged as a nation state on December 16, 1971 byseceding from the uncontiguous union of Pakistan. Unlike manyemergent nations of Asia and Africa, Bangladesh has most of the fac-tors needed to become an integrated nation state. The only exception isthe Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), one of the 19 districts ofBangladesh. With less than 1% of the population of Bangladesh, thisdistrict contains a traditional society with divergent religions, lan-guages, and primordial sentiment that stand in the way of nationalintegration.4The two imperatives facing the leadership of every emerging na-tion are, first, the creation of national identity and, second, the demandfor raising the standard of living through economic development.5Soon after independence, the new leadership of Bangladesh realizedthe intensity of the first problem-i.e., national integration. This isevident from the adoption of nationalism as one of the four basic prin-ciples of state policy,6 which was bitterly criticized by the lone memberof parliament from the tribal area, Manabendra Narayan Larma.7 InJanuary 1975, Bangladesh switched to a one party presidential form ofgovernment from a multiparty parliamentary government, and Larmawent underground soon after this constitutional change. After 1975pro-autonomy dissidents in CHT demonstrated increasing militancy bystorming police stations, looting market places, and attacking ferryboats on Lake Kaptai.This militant activism symbolized the reaction of aspiring triballeaders to attempts by the national leadership to integrate a culturallydivergent CHT with an otherwise culturally homogeneous society. Theimpediments to this integration process can be categorized into twotypes: first, the givens18 or preexisting cultural factors, namely, differ-ences in social structure, ethnicity, language, religion and customs; andsecond, induced factors, which include both developmental programsand the consequences of these programs.The Givens

Social Structure: Like many other countries of Asia, Bangladeshhas faced the crises of national identity in the CHT, whose social struc-ture differs markedly from that of the other 18 districts of the nation.Geographically, the district of CHT belongs to the hilly region thatbranches off from the Himalayan ranges to the south through Assamand Tripura to Arakan in Burma. The historical development of thishill region has been different from that of the low lying alluvial plains ofBangladesh. For some time it was under the Sultans of Bengal. TheMughals conquered it from the Arakanese in 1666 and it remained inMughal possession until 1760 when it was ceded to the East India


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THECHITTAGONGILLTRACTS NBANGLADESH 1213Company. It became a territorial part of East Pakistan with the inde-pendence of Pakistan. The district ceased to be a tribal area with agazette notification of the Pakistan government issued on January 10,1964.9 Despite the fact that over the centuries this border region hasexperienced a succession of invasions and ruling dynasties,10 thepeople of the district have enjoyed a high degree of autonomy withrespect to their internal administration in every phase of the differentdynasties. This, in turn, has contributed very much to the developmentof tribal solidarity. Consequently, the present administrative structureof CHT is a dyarchy-tribal administration and a civil administrationthat reflects the persistence of the tribal structure. In terms of civiladministration of the central government of Bangladesh, the district isunder the jurisdiction of a Deputy Commissioner (district adminis-trator) and is subdivided into three subdivisions (corresponding to thetribal circles) administered by three Subdivisional Officers. The DeputyCommissioner is the administrator, executive, and judge (sometimes)of the district. The Subdivisional Officers assist the Deputy Commis-sioner in administering the district. Each of the three subdivisions againis subdivided into several Thana or Police Stations. The Police Officerin Charge is the administrator of each Thana, being responsible forpreventing violation of laws and crime.However, in terms of tribal administration, the CHT is divided intothree circles with a chief or raja as the head of each circle. This positionis a hereditary institution. The raja is the ultimate authority in tribal andsocial affairs, and is the symbol of the unity and integrity of the peopleof his circle. Functionally, he is the administrator, judge, and lawmakerin tribal affairs. Disobedience of his orders or failure to show him duedeference is tantamount to a grave social offense. He also does muchfor his people. He must keep himself aware of "weal and woe" of thepeople of his circle. He listens patiently and is accessible to all who havecomplaints. Occasionally, he presides over religious performances.Apart from maintaining law and order in his circle, he maintains effec-tive liaison and good neighborliness with tribes of his adjoining circles.With respect to relations with the central government, he repre-sents his tribes at the national level. He is the link between tribal peopleand the district administration. The chief is the principal member ofthe Advisory Council to the Deputy Commissioner, providing all help,information, and advice to the Deputy Commissioner for the properadministration and development of his circle. He collects revenue forthe government through the headmen.The administrative set-up of tribal affairs is based on a three-tieredstructure, the circle, the mouza, and para, in descending order. Thechief is on the top and below him is a headman for each mouza, which iscomposed of several villages or para. The headman is the link between amouza and the chief. The headman is selected by the chief and en-dorsed by the Deputy Commissioner, who never vetoes the chiefsselection. The post of headman is hereditary. He collects land revenueand tax for jhum farming (a type of slash and burn agriculture used inthe hills) from the people of his area. Whereas he shares a portion of


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1214 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981jhum tax with the chief, he deposits the entire amount of land revenueto the chief who, in turn, deposits it to the district administration. Theheadman is the lieutenant of the chief and executes the chief's ordersand maintains peace and discipline in his mouza. He performs somejudicial functions in minor cases.The lowest position in the hierarchy of tribal administration is thatof karbari, also a hereditary post. He is the formal leader of the villageor para. He maintains peace and order in the locality and represents hispara to his superiors.For the preservation of long-standing traditions of tribal structure,the government of Pakistan adopted the following basic principles forthe administration of the district onJune 30, 1967. These principles areapplied by the Bangladesh district administration as well."

(1) No middlemanwouldbe allowedbetweenthe representativesof thegovernment and the tribalpeople. All lawyersand attorneysweredirectedto refrainfrom playingfoul with mattersbetween two hill-men in the court.(2) The maximumsimplification f legalprocedureshouldbe observed.In other words, the hillmen should not be overburdenedwith ex-penses in the process of adjudication.(3) Administrationof justice should be quick and expeditious.(4) Noninterference in triballaws, customs, and norms that regulatetriballife.

Thus, with these principles, the government restrained the district ad-ministration from interfering in tribal social affairs other than legalmatters, which require the interference of administrative authority.While the codified laws of the land are applicable to the rest of thecountry, they are considered to be unsuitable for the primitive hill man.The persistence and working of this dyarchy in the CHT reinforces thetribal people's allegiance to the tribal chiefs rather than to the centralgovernment.

Ethnicity:The present population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts is508,199,12 of whom 90% belong to twelve distinct tribes. The fourmajor tribes are the Chakma, the Marma, the Tipras (which are domi-nant in the Rangamati, Ramgarh, and Banderban circles, respectively),and the Mros, which are allied to the Marma. Though there is a differ-ence of opinion regarding the origin of some major tribes (Chakmna,Tipra), taking every argument into account, it appears that they are ofthe same origin."3 They have close links with hill peoples of the vastregion that extends from Tibet to Indochina, but these tribesmen areethnically different from the settled population in Bangladesh.14 Dif-ferences of ethnicity contribute to an integrational crisis in many coun-tries in Asia.

Language: Each tribe living in CHT speaks its own dialect andlanguage. The mother tongue of the Chakmas is a perverted form of


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THE CHITTAGONGHILLTRACTS IN BANGLADESH 1215the Bengali language written in Burmese characters; the Marmas speakArakanese, a dialect of Burmese; the Tipras, a language of their ownakin to Kachari. The rest of the tribes speak different Assami Burmesetongues of their own.'5 Among the dialects of different tribes, theChakma dialect comes nearest to Bengali, yet it is quite different fromthe Bengali language, the mother tongue of almost all the Bangladeshi.It has been argued that language has sometimes been held to bethe essential basis of national conflicts.

The reasons why a unilingual state is stable and multilingual state unsta-ble are quite obvious. A state is built on fellow feeling. To state briefly it isa feeling of a corporate sentiment of oneness which makes those who arecharged with it feel that they are kith and kin. This feeling is a doubleedged feeling. It is at once a feeling of "consciousness of kind" which onthe other hand, binds together those who have it so strongly that it over-rides all difference arising out of economic conflicts or social gradationsand, on the other, severs them from those who are not of their kind. It is alonging not to belong to any other group.16

Since all the tribes of the CHT speak different languages from the restof the unilingual Bangladeshi, a sense of tribal solidarity is created thatimpedes the course of national identity in this area.Religion: Another hallmark of crisis of national identity in thisregion is the difference between the religion of the tribal people and thedominant Muslim religion of the people of the rest of Bangladesh. Thereligion of the major tribes of CHT is Buddhism. Most of the minortribes are animistic in religion. The partition of India into two states,India and Pakistan, is the most outstanding example of the impact ofreligion on national integrity. Although the factor of different religionsis not in itself sufficiently formidable to induce the tribal people to

demand a separate homeland for themselves, the differences can con-tribute to undermining the forces for national integration in this re-gion, as in the cases of the Muslim Arakanese in Buddhist Burma, theAmbonese in Islamic Indonesia, the Islamic Moros in the ChristianPhilippines, and the Sikhs in Indian Punjab.17Custom: Nothing could be farther from the truth than to picturethe inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts as primitives, if one meansby that term survivors of some prehistoric age in their pristine purity.

Nonetheless, the hillmen are quite different from the people of theplains. Tribal affiliation plays a great role in their lives. Their socialorganization, marriage customs, death and birth rites, food, techniquesof agriculture, and other social customs differ markedly from those ofthe rest of Bangladesh.18 Differences in custom form a basis for a cer-tain amount of national disunity almost everywhere.Induced Factors

The KarnafuliProject and Its Impact: It is held by some writers that


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1216 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981in traditional areas any new investment policies must be evaluated andimplemented with caution, keeping in view the prospective purposethey would serve for both the region and the nation. As Myron Weinerwrites, "Once the state takes on new investment responsibilities-whether for roads and post offices or for steel mills and power dams-questions of equity are posed by the regions' tribes [and] linguisticgroups which make up plural societies.'"The Karnafuli multipurpose project, begun in 1957 and com-pleted in 1962, has contributed considerably to the enhancement oftribal solidarity. The project, which was constructed to accelerateeconomic development in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), had seriouseffects on the economy and life patterns of the people in this region.The dam submerged an area of approximately 400 square miles, in-cluding 125 mouzas and the major portion of the district headquartersat Rangamati. The submerged area includes 54,000 acres of settled,cultivable land-i.e., about 40% and 90% of the total acreage of thedistrict and Rangamati subdivision, respectively. About 10,000 plowingfamilies and 8,000 jhumiya families totaling more than 100,000 per-sons have been affected by the flooding.20 After a fairly vigoroussearch, it was possible to settle the displaced persons in about 20,000acres of flat cultivable land of somewhat inferior quality. Compared tothe original 54,000 acres, this meant a net loss of 34,000 acres of land.Of 18,000 families, 11,761 have been rehabilitated so far. The averageland holding of the 10,000 families having permanent rights to land inthe reservoir bed was estimated at six acres per family, but the newsettlements in the non-submerged and de-reserved areas providedthem with scarcely two acres of land per family on average.2' The damnot only submerged a large amount of cultivable land, but also causedirreparable damage to the jhum pattern of cultivation22 and createdserious unemployment problems for the tribal people.

Job Opportunities and the Influx of Non-tribals into the Area: Al-though the government is trying to solve the unemployment problemby encouraging the tribal people to take up other occupations such asfishing, horticulture, etc., the response has not been encouraging. Thereason is twofold: (1) the circumstantial disadvantages, and (2) thehillmen's lack of professional skills. However, the creation of job av-enues has caused a massive influx of non-tribals into the area, which isone of the main reasons for the revolt that has occurred. The massiveinflux of non-locals can be gauged from Table 1. While in 1951 thetribal population in the CHT totaled 261,538 and the number of non-locals was 26,150 (approximately 91% and 9%, respectively), by 1974the population figures were 449,315 and 58,884, respectively. Thegrowth rate of non-tribal people was significantly greater than that oftribal people-125.1% vs. 71.7%. Now, let us turn to the main pointand examine how the tribal people are being exploited by the non-locals in different job avenues.


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THE CHITTAGONGHILLTRACTS IN BANGLADESH 1217

TABLE 1: Tribal and Non-Tribal Population of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the 1951-1974periodPopulation1951 1974 Percentage Increase

Tribal People 261,538 449,315 71.7Nontribal People 26,150 58,884 125.1

SOURCE: 1951 Census of Pakistan and author's interview with Subdivisional PublicRelation Officer, Rangamati, CHT.

Currently, there are about 3000 registered fishermen23 on the lakecreated by the dam. The local people comprised only 20-25% of thetotal number,24 and those who are engaged in fishing come from thatgroup who were uprooted by the submergence of their land. They areextremely poor and live at a subsistence level. Their economic diffi-culties become more acute when the fish catch is very low because manyunscrupulous non-local businessmen lend money to the local fisher-men on the condition that they supply fish to the former when harvestsare good at very much lower rates than the existing market rate.Moreover, the commercial supply of fish is completely regulated andcontrolled by the non-locals, which has caused considerable indigna-tion among the tribal people.Another supplementary occupation encouraged by the govern-ment is horticulture, with pineapple as the main product. Recentlymany displaced tribal people undertook the production of this fruitbecause it can be produced in the hills with minimum labor. But in thisalso the tribal people are exploited by the non-local money lenders andbusinessmen who buy fruit at very nominal prices when the pineappleplants are in bloom and no other cash crops are ready forharvesting-i.e., a period of economic hardship for the tribal people.The fruit would bring a much higher price at harvest time, but eventhen the wholesale buyers control the price. Thus, the locals have to selltheir fruit at the low prices fixed by the non-local businessman. Thisproblem has been created because government-sponsored buyingcenters are lacking.25To minimize the dependency of the tribal peopleon the money lenders, the government adopted a policy of giving ag-ricultural loans to the pineapple growers at a nominal rate of interest.Nevertheless, some officials of the loan-granting agencies indulge incorrupt practices, which further discourage the tribal people fromtaking such loans and builds hatred towards such officials.26The explosive rate of population growth has led to a growinglandlessness among Bangladesh agriculturalists. Because of the rela-tively lower price of hill lands, many fortune seekers settle down in thisdistrict. Although the 1900 Manual of the CHT restricts the purchaseof land by non-locals, some people have bought land in this area bypromising to give the seller high prices. In most cases, the tribal people


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1218 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981have been deceived with regard to the prices promised during thenegotiation of the purchase.27The CHT is basically agrarian, and almost all the people of the areaare agriculturalists. Previously, the hillmen produced all their dailynecessities by themselves and commercial transactions played a veryinsignificant role in their economic life. The tribal people are thereforeunaccustomed to business as a profession. The submergence of vastareas by the lake water deprived the majority of the tribal people ofproduction of many daily commodities and made them dependentupon external supplies to fulfill their needs. This has resulted in aheavy influx of non-local fortune seekers and unscrupulous tradersinto the area.

Several categories of people came to the CHT-tourists,businessmen, traders, or settlers-none of which is welcomed by thetribals. The lake created by the dam is large and picturesque, so thetowns of Kaptai and Rangamati have become tourist attractions. Thetourists, people with a wider and more liberal outlook towards life,come to visit and have fun, but are alleged to have corrupted the tribalculture and way of life.28 And the outsiders who come to make theirfortune exploit the tribal people. Therefore, outsiders in general arenever welcomed no matter what the purpose of their visit.GovernmentPolicies and the TribalPeople'sIncreased Awareness of Differences

Taking the general backwardness of the tribal area into accountand the sacrifices its inhabitants have made for the good of the rest ofthe country, the central government has undertaken many develop-ment projects designed to compensate the area. The projects includedthe improvement of the transport and communication systems, thespread of education, and the provision of such modern amenities of lifeas hospitals and markets. Since the undertaking of these programs, thenumber of primary schools increased from 222 in 1962 to 842 in 1976.There was only one college in the district in 1965; now there are four,including one technical college. With the introduction of a moderneducation system and expansion of education facilities to the tribalpeople, the number of literate persons has risen from 49,280 in 1961 to77,851 in 1974.29To enhance the tribal people's economic development and also toincrease local participation in development activities, the governmentcreated the Chittagong Hill Tract Development Board at Rangamati in1976. The consultative body of the Board is comprised of three tribalchiefs, representatives of most of the headmen, and other elite of thearea. Since its inception, the Board has undertaken 25 projects of dif-ferent types, the work on which is progressing rapidly with the partici-pation of the local people. With the intention of showing the people thedevelopmental activities that are taking place all over the country aswell as in the tribal area, radio and television sets have been provided bythe Board to the different Community Centers.30 Modernization plans


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THE CHITTAGONGHILLTRACTS IN BANGLADESH 1219undertaken by the government (after the construction of the project),such as the increase of literacy, improvement of communication, localparticipation in developmental projects, and the provision of modernaudiovisual mass media, helped the tribal people to gain a clear under-standing of the differences between their area and the rest of the coun-try. This growing awareness enhanced tribal solidarity. As Welch haspointed out, the dilemma of modernization is that social change andparticipation may lead to an expansion of communal solidarity, ratherthan an integration of diverse groups.31

CurrentCrisis-The Emergence of Shanti Bahini: The immediatecause of the emergence of a militant dissident group was the rebelliousoutburst of aspiring non-traditional tribal leaders to the efforts by thenational leadership to integrate culturally the divergent CHT with therest of Bangladesh. The majority of these leaders came from theChakma tribe, who had been severely affected by the construction ofthe Karnafuli Hydro Electric Project.32 The Chakmas, however, werealso the principal recipients of the government's rehabilitation benefits,particularly the educational facilities extended to the affected tribalpeople. Consequently, at the end of the 1960s, a group of moderneducated youths, capable of providing leadership to the tribal people,emerged in the area. This educated class was, in fact, the instrument forthe articulation of "anti-non-locals sentiment" among the Chakmapeople. Nevertheless, a pro-autonomist dissident group did not emergein the 1960s because during that period there was no influx ofplainsmen into the area to concern the tribal people. Moreover, RajaTridib Roy, Chief of the Chakma tribe, was pro-Pakistani in his politicaloutlook, and was also the symbol of integrity and cohesion of theChakma tribe. Both these factors prevented the growth of a pro-autonomist dissident group among the Chakmas.

However, when Bangladesh came into being in 1971, Tridib Royremained in and subsequently opted for Pakistan, leaving the Chakmatribe without a chief until 1978.33 The tribal people became perplexed;their solidarity was threatened, and under these circumstances the neweducated class was able to obtain a significant hold on tribal leadership.Thus, in 1973 when a parliamentary election was called in Bangladesh,the new leadership was successful in mobilizing tribal public opinionand got their leader, Manabendra Narayan Larma, elected to theBangladesh Parliament. In parliament, the central leadership by agreat majority of votes had a resolution passed declaring Bangladesh aunilingual and unicultural nation state. Larma was infuriated, and de-manded that the tribal status of his area be restored, but his demandwent unheeded. In 1975, Bangladesh switched over to one-party presi-dential rule and disbanded parliamentary government as well as exist-ing political parties (except the ruling Awami League), and Larma wentunderground soon after. Since then, the pro-autonomist group, theShanti Bahini, has emerged and demonstrated increasing insurgency.The Shanti Bahini is a militant group armed with sophisticated


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1220 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981modern weapons. It has been reported that Larma is providing theleadership of the Shanti Bahini, which is composed of roughly two tothree thousand guerrilla members.34 Although the membership cameoverwhelmingly from the dissatisfied educated Chakma youths, it hasbeen assumed that some armed collaborators of Pakistan's defeatedarmy in Bangladeshjoined the group. Moreover, collaboration with theMizo dissident group from the adjoining Indian state of Mizoram andthe Karen secessionist group from Burma is a strong possibility. Withthe active cooperation of these two groups, the Shanti Bahini seem tohave obtained an arms supply.35 The main tactics of the Shanti Bahiniare ambush and sabotage of the movements of Bangladesh police, lawenforcement personnel, and the armed forces. At times they de-monstrate their militancy by storming police stations, looting marketplaces, and attacking ferry boats on the lake. Although Shanti Bahini isa pro-autonomist dissident group, they sometimes demand the com-plete secession of the CHT from the union of Bangladesh and theformation of an independent state with the cooperation of other seces-sionist groups from neighboring countries who are engaged in similarstruggles. It is on this point that the Shanti Bahini does not seem toobtain support from the other dominant tribes, particularly theMarina. In fact, the Marma tribe feels that if the CHT secedes fromBangladesh and forms a separate independent state under the leader-ship of the Chakma elite, the Marma would be exploited and domi-nated by the Chakmas.36Whatever may be the radical points of the Shanti Bahini's objec-tives, the main reasons for tribal resentment are the heavy influx ofoutsiders into the area, which is generally believed to jeopardize theireconomic and cultural entity. Therefore, the popular slogan of theShanti Bahini personnel has become: "Bangalira Hill Tracts Charopaharee jatir upar julam bandha kara"(The Banglees quit Hill Tractsand stop exploitation of the hill people).Conclusion

To sum up, it may be held that the recent disturbances sparked bymilitant dissidents in the name of Shanti Bahini are the results of ac-cumulated grievances as well as the reaction of aspiring tribal leaders toattempts by the national leadership to integrate the culturally divergentCHT with the otherwise culturally homogeneous society ofBangladesh. At the same time, one may point to the insignificance ofthis secessionist tendency of the tribal people in view of their low per-centage of the total population.This argument is partially true. Al-though it is unfeasible for the tribal people to secede from Bangladeshand form a separate homeland for themselves, still in recent times theinsurgencies of tribal peoples in many countries of Asia (e.g., the Mizotribesmen in India, the Karen in Burma, the Moros in the Philippines)have caused the central government serious concern. The recent up-surge in Assam in India has alarmed the government in Dacca because


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THECHITTAGONGILL RACTS NBANGLADESH 1221it may push them into a complicated situation. First, some Indian politi-cians have remarked that "Bangladesh was somehow involved in theAssamese troubles,"37and this sort of feeling may induce Indian lead-ers to an act of retribution by instigating the CHT tribal people to amassive insurgency against the Dacca government. Second, the tribalpeople of the CHT may derive inspiration from the Assamese. Al-though the Assamese are not tribal people, their insurgency bearssimilarities to that of the CHT people in the sense that the rebelliousupheaval of both peoples was sparked by the heavy influx of non-localsinto their areas.However, Bangladesh, having been overburdened by manysocioeconomic problems, cannot afford the luxury of keeping the CHTeconomically unintegrated with the rest of Bangladesh. The CHT'svast natural resources, electricity, paper, fish, timber, and horticulturalproduce contribute enormously to the nation's economic development.This economic integration must be accompanied by social and politicalintegration in order to avoid charges of internal colonialism by thetribal people. This venture of social and political integration, however,should in no way be allowed to clash with traditional values, which canbe utilized conscientiously to hasten modernization and politicalsocialization. Transforming a sentiment of group loyalty into a fact ofnational integration is extremely difficult but not impossible.38SYED NAZMUL ISLAM is Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Chit-tagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh, and is currently on study leave and enrolled in thePh.D. program in Political Science, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NewYork.

NOTES1. Although Bangladesh experienced the problem of integration in a somewhatmild form in this hilly region intermittently after independence, the activism of dissidentmilitant forces has recently been intensified. See Michael T. Kaufman, "Migration SparksBangladesh Tribal Revolt," in theNew YorkTimes,Tuesday,July 29, 1980, p. A3. See also,TheKhabar (The News) Dacca (Bangladesh), July 27, 1980, p. 1.2. On July 23, 1976, the deputy commissioner of CHT called a convention of theheadmen (karbari),and other influential leaders in the local cinema hall to induce thelocal leaders to persuade the dissident militant groups. See The Daily Ittefaq (Dacca,Bangladesh), July 26, 1976.3. The inhabitants of the area reported that the Shanti Bahini, after their militant

exercise, chanted slogans in favor of full autonomy for the CHR and also demanded thatall non-locals quit CHT immediately.4. S. N. Islam, "The Karnafuli Project: Its Impacton theTribal Population,"PublicAdministration Dacca University, Bangladesh) 3:2 (Summer 1978), p. 28.5. C. Geertz, "The Integrative Revolution," in Geertz, Old Societies n New States(London: The Free Press, 1963), p. 108.6. The Constitution of Bangladesh embodies four "basicprinciples of state policy":Democracy, Nationalism, Socialism, and Trust in Almighty Allah.7. Manabendra Narayan Larma, member of the then Parliament of Bangladeshfrom the CHT, challenged the idea of Bangladesh nationalism when the new leadershipincluded it on the basis of one language, one culture, and one ethnicity, arguing that the


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1222 ASIAN SURVEY, Vol. XXI, No. 12, December 1981Chittagong Hill Tracts, his constituency, had ethnicity, culture, traditions, and languagedifferent from those of Bangladesh. See Bangladesh, Proceedingsof the ConstituentAssem-bly, Dacca, 1974.8. Geertz, "The Integrative Revolution," p. 109.

9. M. Ishaque (ed.), Bangladesh District Gazetteers:ChittagongHill Tracts (Dacca:Bangladesh Government Press, 1971), Preface.10. Ibid., p. 25.11. Author's interview with a Bangladesh district administrator who was a memberof the Bangladesh government's team that negotiated with the Shanti Bahini. He ex-pressed his desire to remain anonymous.12. Islam, "The Karnafuli Project," p. 29.13. A. Sattar, In the Sylvan Shadows (Dacca: Saquib Brothers, 1971), p. 271.14. Bessaignet, The.Tribesmenf CHT, (Dacca: Asiatic Society of Pakistan, 1958), p. 5.15. Ishaque, Bangladesh Gazeteers:CHT, pp. 201-203.16. Geertz, "The Integrative Revolution," p. 110.17. Ibid., p. 113.18. Ishaque, Bangladesh Gazeteers:CHT, p. 46.19. Myron Weiner, "Political Integration and Political Development," in Claude E.Welch, Jr. (ed.), Political Modernization:A Reader (Belmont, California, 1967), p. 154.20. Islam, "The Karnafuli Project," p. 31.21. Ibid., p. 32.22. Jhum cultivation is usually done on the ridge and creep of the hills and theinterval period between two farmings is 7 to 10 years. Hence, there is no record of howmuch jhum land lies under water. The only figure available in this respect is that 8000jhumiya families have been affected.23. Many of these fishermen were from the Ganges delta and settled in the CHT

after being displaced from their original area by the devastating cyclone of East Pakistan'scoastal area on November 12, 1970.24. The local hillmen were never accustomed to fishing until the creation of the lake(which has become a vast habitat for different kinds of fish), so many lack the proper skills.The 20-25% include many fake local fishermen who take advantage of the government'spolicy of providing fishing materials free to the tribal people. With the intention ofprocuring these costly materials free of charge and subsequently selling them to thenon-local fishermen, many fake local fishermen registered themselves with the FisheriesDevelopment Corporation. Information provided by F. D. C., Rangamati, Bangladesh.25. S. A. Imam, ChittagongHill Tracts at a Glance (Rangamati, Bangladesh: CHTDevelopment Board, 1976), p. 35.26. Author's interview with tribal people.27. Ibid.28. Author's interview with tribal people.29. Imam, CHT at a Glance, Appendix 1.30. Ibid., p. 12, appendix X, and p. 14.31. C. E. Welch, "The Comparative Study of Political Modernization," in Welch(ed.), Political Modernization:A Reader, p. 10.32. About 90% of the Chakma people were affected by the dam, and a similarpercentage of Chakma people were displaced from the original settlement.33. In 1978 Debashis Roy, the son of Raja Tridib Roy, became 18 years old and wascrowned as the Chief of the Chakma tribe. However, since Raja Debashis Roy is very

young, many tribal people think that he cannot properly maintain tribal solidarity andcohesion as his predecessors did.34. Michael T. Kaufman, "Migration Sparked Bangladesh Tribal Revolt"; also, au-thor's interview with a Bangladesh district administrator.35. Ibid.36. Author's interview with Marma chief.37. Michael T. Kaufman, "Migration Sparked Bangladesh Tribal Revolt."38. C. E. Welch, "The Comparative Study of Political Modernization," p. 11.

the chittagong hill tracts in bangladesh integrational crisis between center and periphery

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