Six decades after India’s independence, the Chakmas have turned into refugees within and without. Bengali settlers in Bangladesh displaced them from their original home — the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They now survive in segregated groups under trying circumstances in Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Even as the Chakmas continue their struggle for a homeland and an identity, policy-makers in New Delhi continue to look at the community with suspicion.

Before Independence, the British had followed a policy of exclusion in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in order to exploit the natural resources of the region, thereby isolating the Chakmas from national politics. After Independence, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were awarded to East Pakistan, much against the wishes of the Chakmas, who wanted to integrate into India. In 1964, the Pakistan president, Ayub Khan, abolished an earlier regulation preventing settlement of plains people (Bengalis) in the hills. Consequently, Bengali Muslims were encouraged to settle in the area to counter the Chakmas who were thought to be pro-India.

After the creation of Bangladesh, the Chakmas continued to struggle under an oppressive regime. The Awami League government, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, advocated a Bangladesh for Bengalis only. This alienated the Chakmas further and pushed them on to the path of violence. In 1976, the Shanti Bahini, the armed wing of the Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, attacked the Bangladeshi army. The ensuing violence forced over 56,000 Chakmas to seek refuge in the Indian state of Tripura.

Not wanted

However, this was not the first time that Chakmas had been forced to flee to India. In the early Sixties, a dam built in the hill districts in East Pakistan displaced nearly 18,000 Chakma families. They were the first batch of Chakmas who migrated to India in search of a new life. Eventually, they ended up in refugee camps in the Changlang, Tirap and Papumpare districts of Arunachal Pradesh, where they remained largely forgotten by the administration. Despite a Supreme Court order in 1996, the Chakmas were denied the right to vote. The Arunachalis feared that if the Chakmas were given voting rights, they would end up controlling politics in the state in the future .

In neighbouring Mizoram, the Chakmas, some of whom were regarded as Congress-backers, were granted an autonomous district council in 1972. The Mizos resented the move and lent their support to a militant campaign that sought to intimidate the Chakmas. As a result, members of the community were assaulted, their houses torched and their names struck off the electoral lists. They were also pushed to the Myanmar-Bangla border

A hostile indigenous population is not the only problem that the Chakmas face. The hilly terrain makes it impossible to provide adequate healthcare facilities in the region. The absence of infrastructure, education and a common language are some of the other problems that have stalled the uplift of this community. For instance, Mizo health workers do not understand the Chakma language while only a few Chakmas are conversant in the Mizo language. Moreover, most of the Chakmas lack the training to become health workers. Primary schools and other educational institutions are few and far between.

The conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts was largely a struggle for militarization and Islamization of this particular region. Ironically, a decision taken nearly 60 years ago continues to torment a small community on either side of the Indo-Bangladesh border. Unfortunately, for the Chakmas, military oppression in their home country has forced the community to flee and seek refuge in an alien land.