Chittagong Hill Tracts
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The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise an area of 13,180 km2 in south-eastern Bangladesh, and borders India and Myanmar (Burma). It is divided into three districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban.
Population
The population is between 1 million and 1.5 million. About 60% of the population are followers of Theravada Buddhism, most of whom belong to one of the tribal groups. The remainder are followers of Animism, Islam and Christianity.
The local tribes, collectively known as the Jumma, include the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tenchungya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Murung, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, and Khumi.
History
The Chittagong Hill Tracts were once known as Korpos Mohol, the name used until 1860. As of 2 December 1997, it is an autonumous region divided into three districts, namely, Chengmi [Hagracuri (Khagrachari) Hill District], Gongkabor (Rangamati Hill District), and Arvumi (Bandarban Hill District).
During the 1970s and 80s, there were attempts by the Government to resettle the area with Bangladeshi people, a tendency prevelant in most sub-continental governments of the day including India and Pakistan. These attempts were resisted by the tribals, who formed a guerilla force called Shanti Bahini. As a result of the tribal resistence movement, successive governments turned the Hill Tracts into a militarised zone.
The Bangladeshi army have been accused of numerious human rights violations within the Hilll Tracts, and their personnel have been accused of killings, rape, and abduction. Amongst these, the disappearance of Chakma political activist Kalpana Chakma in 1996 attracted widespread condemnation.
Following years of unrest, a agreement was formed between the Government of Bangladesh and the tribal leaders which granted a limited level of autonomy to the elected council of the three hill districts.
The 1996 Peace Treaty signed between the then Sheikh Hasina Government and the Jana Shanghati Shamiti or Shanti Bahini has been opposed by the opposition parties as well as a fraction of the tribal rebels. Opposition parties of the time argued the autonomy granted in the treaty ignored the Bengali settlers. The successive Khaleda Zia government promised to implement the peace treaty, despite their opposition to it during the previous government's term.
