Adivasi

The Khasis of Bangladesh

by Clare Greenwood

from Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum - 2001

Face eviction in the name of Development

One of the common features suffered by all adivasis of Bangladesh is the grabbing of their ancestral lands- sometimes by brutal force from local influential or powerful people, sometimes in the name of 'development".

The khasi hills are located in Moulvi Bazar (Sylhet) in the Northeast of Bangladesh and are home to over one thousand khasi and garo families. It is an area of great beauty- of rich dense forest and hills, which look down onto the plains of Bangladesh below. It is also home to the famous waterfalls of Madhabkunda and Murai Chari.

The khasis are one of the country's adivasi (indigenous) nations have been living in these hills for centuries. They depend on the forest for their livelihood- they walk into the hills each day for an hour or more to collect the betel leaves and nuts, which they then sell. They have always lived in coexistence with their surrounding environment. Without these hills and forest, the khasi people would not want to live.

The government of Bangladesh now plans to develop this area as an Eco-Park' for tourism and for the preservation of the environment and rare forest. A four-year project is planned, which will involve the levelling of hills for construction of roads, office buildings and schools.

This major Government project was developed without the involvement or consultation of the people it will effect most. Garo and khasi families were not informed about the plans of the Government. While forest officials maintain that the project has been designed so that no single adivasi family will be dislocated, the garo and khiasi families fear the worst.

Since 1974, the khasi people have been paying land tax to the Bangladesh Government to the

total of 20 lakh (2 million) Taka. In spite of this huge amount paid, they have been given no permanent lease of the land. Instead, they are awarded continuously renewed short-term leases from the Government. Some families also had title documents to their own land. Now their future remains uncertain.

A team of local and Dhaka-based journalists, NGO workers and former land Registry Officer visited the area in November 2000 to listen to the problems of the khasi and garo families living in the area. Many of the khasi punjis (villages) were visited, and a meeting was held with all the khasi montri (headman). Following this visit much has been written about the plight of this people- The Daily Star, Bhorer Kagoj, and janakantha newspapers have all recently published articles. Without the assistance and support of these journalists, the khasi people could not share their stories with the majority population of Bangladesh.

The khasi and other adivasi peoples of the area are now themselves taking action to stand up against the Government's plan. They are organising themselves to raise awareness among the people of Bangladesh, and are planning to take legal action against the Government. They are requesting to know the justification for such a high level of taxation over the past 25 years, and why they are now asked to pay yet more within a very short deadline. The Government has given them no assistance in return- there are no Government facilities in the area, no health centres, schools, or electricity and communication between many of the punjis is by foot. It will be the first time that such an action has been taken up against Government authorities. While we can wait to see the results of their actions, the lives and future of the khasis of Bangladesh is at risk.

Cultural rights of Adivasi peoples and the indigenous roots of Bengali culture

by Devasish Roy*

from Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum - 2001

Very few will perhaps disagree with me when I say that Bangladesh is blessed with a rich cultural heritage. The richness of Bengali literature, music, and other art forms for example, easily springs to our minds. The vibrancy of Bengali culture Is felt everywhere in the country, not the least, of course, because the vast majority of the population of this country is Bengali-speaking. But the cultural heritage of Bangladesh has been enriched by the languages, traditions, literature, and arts and crafts of various other peoples as well, those whose mother tongue is not Bengali. I will refer to these peoples as Adivasi and include both the "hill" peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the Adivasi and other so-called 'tribal" peoples in other parts of the country. Yet, the more visible aspects of mainstream' cultural practices in Bangladesh today are scarcely reflective of this pluri­cultural heritage. Moreover, the indigenous (and plebeian) roots of Bengali culture too seem to be patent]y overshadowed by traditions that originate, or are supposed to originate, from foreign countries.

Let us take the case of the ethnic origin of the Bengali-speaking people of this country. Many Bengali speaking people take pride in an external origin from the west: that they are descended from conquerors or other immigrants from the Arab-speaking countries, or from Iran, or from Northern India, and so forth. No doubt, many people can indeed trace their ancestry from the aforesaid places, but I am sure that far more claim such ancestry than is perhaps warranted by reliable historical evidence. And why is this? Some of my friends suggest that this is so because it is felt that to be able to relate to these cultures gives one a sense of superiority over others since these cultures are supposed to be more civilised than, say cultures that have roots in present-day Bangladesh or in regions to the immediate north, east and southeast of Bangladesh - which are somehow looked upon as 'inferior' or 'less civilised". Thus we see that many take pride in being

tall, of fair or pale complexion, and of having sharp features, supposedly denoting signs or western origins. Similarly, That is why a rauga bou, a bride that is fairor pale in complexion, Is so sought after. (Whatever happened to Tagore's Krasihnakoli, one may wonder.) And of course, if she also has an aquiline' nose (Bengali: baanishir moto nakh) and large eyes (dagor dagor chokhe) and other her elements of 'sharp' features. all the better. On the other hand if someone -especially a woman - is dark-skinned and has features that are closer to those races which are known to some classical (physical) anthropologists as Austroloid, Mongoloid and Dravidian, than that woman will not generally be considered as beautiful as one who has features of races regarded as Indo-Aryan.

But of course, there are many who do not feel inferior of their non-western origins in regarding themselves agree with such a view. and I think that their number is growing. I shall come to that later. Let us first try to understand why certain elements of indigenous cultural heritage are under-valued.

I think that this hangover of an inferiority complex concerning our indigenous roots or origins from our nearby regions (except those to the west), is due mainly to two factors' One is the continuing dominance of writings of historiographers that was, and still is, clearly influenced by official versions of histories written during colonial times. And the second factor is the dominance of what I shall call the patrician or elitist conceptions of history, which can be, and often are, related to the first factor. Such a perspective of history obviously has tremendous influence on various aspects of cultural practices of today. The official versions of our histories have been written largely by the former political elite of the country, whose ancestry was rooted in a foreign country to the west of Bangladesh, or at least supposedly so. Bearing this in mind, it is not at all surprising to note a recurring theme in such writings: a series of invasions from abroad, of the establishment of ruling dynasties from foreign countries, and of the patronage of the language, culture, music, history, traditions and so forth of the people or nation who ruled our country at any given period in history. Let us take the case of the British writers of the colonial period, for example. The British were a conquering nation, and they therefore had a political interest in portraying the history of this subcontinent with an emphasis on the series of invasions by foreigners so that they could say that they were only one among many other foreign invading nations of the past.

In the process the indigenous elements of our cultural history, among others - which was perhaps considered to be too 'plebeian' for our cultural and literary elite (not to mention some of our political leaders as well) - carne to be cast aside to the peripheries outside of the mainstream avenues into the realm of specialised subjects like sociology or anthropology. And here too, the more serious pieces of research work seem to have been done by Europeans, and not Bangladeshi or other South Asian writers. Among the few notable exceptions, we can perhaps recall Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, who has written so eloquently about the Kiratas, who are regarded as the ancestors of the Ahoms and other mongoloid peoples of Bangladesh and the surrounding regions to its west, east and southeast. Another example that springs to my mind is Mahasweta Devi, who has written, and still writes, about the Adivasis of South Asia.

Yet, there are so many aspects of what I shall call Adivasi culture that deserve to be acknowledged: the historical role of these peoples in the struggles against oppressive governments, their contribution to the national economy (past and present), their contribution to the language, arts and crafts of the country and so forth. In fact the heritage of many of these adivasi or indigenous peoples has not only enriched the multi-cultural heritage of our country as a whole but even the culture and heritage of the Bengali-speaking peoples Let me cite a few examples.

Apart from the few people who can genuinely trace their ancestry (or a part of it) from countries to the west of Bangladesh, most Bengali-speaking people both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal in India are known to have traces of adivasi peoples in their ancestry. Classical anthropologists say that the majority of the members of the Bengali race are either of Austro-Mongoloid or Mongolo-Dravidian origin. If this is true, then the average Bengali may well have traces of one or other of such peoples as the Santal, Munda, Oraon, Garo and Rakhine arnong others from the Adivasi groups. Let us also look at the origin 0£ Bengali words. Words that are classed as of Desi or native origin are all those that are not derived from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic or from modern European languages. No doubt some of these words may be of Prokritic origin. having links with Sanskrit and other Indo-

European groups of languages, but many other Desi words are clearly originated from many Adivasi languages such as Santali. Yet, these facts are seldom acknowledged other than by a handful of linguists and anthropologists. Let us also look at other contributions of the Adivasi peoples to the national heritage. Few perhaps know that one of the most important sources of raw material for the world-famous Bengal muslin was hill cotton from the greater Mymensingh area and from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Of course, on the other hand, the Adivasi or indigenous peoples too have accepted many elements from the language and culture of the Bengali people, the Santal, Chakma, Rajbangshi and Tripura, being prime examples. Over the centuries many of these peoples no doubt inter-married amongst themselves and with the Bengali people, or with their ancestors, as there is surely no 'pure" race in Bangladesh, as anywhere else in the world. But given the overwhelming influence of our national educational curricula and media of today, although cultural intercourse is no doubt a two-way affair, there is little doubt as to which direction the flow is stronger.

What I have said above might suggest that all our cultural, literary and other leaders have been unduly influenced by elitist and colonialist conceptions of history and culture, but that is not so. Therefore, let me try to make amends by giving justice where it is due. Of course, we also have positive examples of the sort that I have suggested is desirable. We can recall with justified pride, the Bengali Language Movement of the 1950s, for example. And in fact, the Language Movement was to influence the political struggle of the people of Bangladesh in the 1960s as well, leading eventually to the freedom struggle of 1971.

Independence in 1971 led to the adoption of a national constitution that sought to emancipate the toiling masses and to protect the rights of the peasants, workers and the "backward" [sic] section of our citizens. The Constitution also sought to protect and promote the cultural heritage of the people". But at the same time, the Constitution speaks about our "national" culture and language, and gives to Bengali the status of a "state" language. The primacy provided to the Bengali language, culture and heritage is unmistakably clear. Of course, such a development is not at all surprising - or many would say unwarranted - given the nature of this struggle and the sacrifices that were made to resist chauvinistic attempts in the 1940s and 50s to impose Urdu as the sole state language of Pakistan. But today we have an independent country where the Bengali­ speaking people form the overwhelming majority of not only those who are placed at the highest echelons of government, but are also leading the major civil society organisations, and leading the major civic movements for human rights and democracy across the country. Let us therefore pause now and reflect on the situation of those peoples whose mother tongue is not Bengali, and who too played their due role in the anti-British ­colonial movement and in the independence movement of 1971. What of their language. culture and heritage? Since members of these peoples play only a peripheral role in the governance of the country, is it not their culture and heritage which is far more threatened than the language and culture of the more than 120 million Bengali-speaking people of this country? I think we need to reflect deeply and consider whether justice has been given to the Adivasi peoples in the Constitution. The declaration of Islam as the state religion has added to the feelings of insecurity of the Adivasis. Of course, nor national constitution has many worthy provisions, but I humbly suggest that it does not afford adequate protection to the language and culture of the Adivasi peoples of the country.

Let us now look at the culture-related provisions of the recent political accord on the Chittagong Hill Tracts that was signed in 1997. This agreement, and subsequent legislation consequent upon it, has expressly or impliedly recognised (although not constitutionally) that the Hill Tracts is a "tribal" [sic] area and that there is a need to protect and promote the language, culture, etc. these "tribal" [sic] peoples. Of course, this agreement has many defects and shortcomings, e.g., the absence of any constitutional arrangements, the representative rights of women and some of the less numerous indigenous groups, and the use of the word "tribal", among other things. But it does address the matter of Adivasi cultural rights to some extent, and I would like to hope that it will provide a measure of recognition to - and hopefully, protection of - the cultural rights of the hill peoples of the region. But what about the adivasi peoples in other parts of the country? Do they also not deserve at least similar protective measures? Moreover, we also have to consider the question of how far this agreement will be implemented to actually help protect and promote the culture of the hill peoples of this region.

Although legal reforms - constitutional or otherwise - are no doubt necessary in any attempt to protect and promote the cultural rights of Adivasi peoples, in order to effect substantial changes, such legislation will have to be supplanted by pragmatic administrative measures. Moreover, we also need to be aware of the shortcomings of perspectives that are so reductionist that they look upon "culture" in isolation from social, economic political issues. This is especially so when we consider Adivasi societies that are not only socially, economically and politically marginalised, but those whose traditions are rooted witb access to, and control over, land and other natural resources. To give an example, we might spend millions of dollars to establish "cultural" institutes and academies for the Mru people in the Hill Tracts, but if we take away their land and give it to industrialists and entrepreneurs - or even to a government entity like the Forest Department - to use them for raising industry-oriented plantations, we will not only uproot the subsistence base of these forest-dwelling peoples, we will taking away many things which form the basis of their religion, culture and traditions. Many such programmes were started against the wishes of the people of the areas concerned and led to their displacement and impoverisation. And in fact, such developments have occurred in the Hill Tracts in the last few decades and seem to be far from over. But adequate measures are yet to be taken to undo some of these wrongs. Recently, newspaper reports suggest that the government is considering the construction of a multi-purpose dam in Bandarban district. Surely, we do not want to create another fiasco like Kaptai in 1960, which caused the exodus of tens of thousands of refugees to India, for example?

Of course, the Adivasi peoples do have friends among the majority community, but discriminatory attitudes are still widespread. We should try to avoid the two extremes of either looking upon Adivasis as "primitive" and looking at them with "romanticised" notions that see them as "children of nature". No doubt many find Adivasi culture to be "exotic" or "simple" and "frozen in time". Actually, if one were to live among these peoples for a considerable length of time, I am sure that many of their traits would not appear to be either exotic or simple or "primitive". These peoples too have dynamism in their societies, which are far from "static", as many seem to believe. Many of their traditions and practices may then appear to be based upon sheer common sense and rational considerations. And if we are truly respectful

of these peoples and their cultures, we would do well to do more than just admire their "colourful" dresses, songs and dances and keep them as aesthetic "exhibits" for foreign and local tourists, or worse still, merely emphasise on preserving their artifacts and other material objects to be preserved and exhibited in museums and ethnological centres. These peoples are a living part of Bangladeshi society. They have differences as well as similarities with the Bengali people. We should strive to promote the things that bind the Bengali people and these peoples together, but not by trying to make them pseudo Bengalis.

But all is not lost, I think. Let me cite an example related to the classical concept of "beauty" mentioned earlier. If we look at some of the actresses and women models on Bangladesh television, for example, we see many who don't fulfill the criteria of the classical concept of an Indo-Aryan "beauty" (I apologise that I only mention women in this context). Many of these artistes do not have pale skin, or sharp features or long wavy tresses. One well-known Bengali poet of Bangladesh once told me that he was proud to have discovered that his ancestors were adivasis or aboriginals, Santals, in fact. I wish we had more people like him: not people who are necessarily of Santali "stock", but people who are not ashamed of a family lineage that cannot be traced to a western origin. The same also goes for the Bengali language and other aspects of our "national" [sic] culture.

If we are to really take effective measures to protect the multi-cultural heritage of Bangladesh, I feel that we should start by considering amendments to the national constitution to both recognise the cultural identities of the Adivasi peoples and to adopt measures to protect and promote them. To label the adivasi peoples as members of a "backward" [sic] section of citizens is not only disrespectful towards them but it also totally disregards their cultural identities, since "backwardness" connotes a disadvantaged situation with regard to social and economic opportunities only. And surely, the Adivasi peoples' unique identities contain many other features than just their marginal and peripheral situation with regard to social and economic justice. Labeling the Hill Tracts unrest as an "economic" problem did not bear any fruits in bringing peace, as we all know. Recognising the Adivasi peoples in the Constitution will not threaten the integrity of the country; rather, their recognition is more than likely to make them feel a far more "integral" part of Bangladeshi society. And when I say "integration", I mean it in the sense of a positive and substantive role in "mainstream" activities, by keeping their cultural integrity intact, and not my assimilating themselves in an artificial manner. But even if constitutional amendments do take place in the foreseeable future, they must be supplanted with adequate administrative and other measures from a holistic perspective that also gives due regard to the political, social and economic rights of these peoples by providing them a measure of self-government, as appropriate for the various regions of the country.

Prejudicial perspectives play a large role in denying their due cultural and other rights to the Adivasi peoples. And discriminatory nomenclature too plays its role in influencing prejudicial attitudes. The words "tribe" and "tribal", which gained currency among European anthropologists of the 19th century during the heyday of British colonial expansionism, suggested a hierarchical categorisation of nations and peoples based on their level of "civilisational" advancement. with the "tribal" peoples occupying the bottom-most rung of this ladder. These terms necessarily conjure up visions of "uncivilised" and "primitive" peoples, which should therefore no longer be used to refer to peoples that do not accept such nomenclature. I understand that the Bengali equivalent of "tribe" came to be used only after this sub­continent was colonised by European nations. Hitherto there was no Bengali word that distinguished between so-called "tribal" and other peoples. To my knowledge, none of the languages of the Adivasi groups of this country contain any synonym of tribe or tribal. We should therefore avoid the use of this word, both in order to avoid discriminatory practices and to respect the self-determination of the peoples concerned - who reject this appellation when applied to them.

In any event we can take other attempts as well to attempt to remove these tendencies, at least partly. by following - to the extent that is appropriate to our country - the themes set by the International Covenant on Economic. Social and Cultural Rights (ICFSCR). the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CFRD ) and the (which recognizes the right to self-determination of all peoples). the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the ILO Convention on lndigenous and Tribal Populations (Convention 107 of 1957). all of which have been ratified by the Government of Bangladesh. The ICECSR, among others, acknowledges the all "peoples" have the right to self-determination. among other things. The CFRD advocates measures outlawing discrimination based on race, and has in fact influenced various provisions of our national constitution. Convention 107 recognises the individual and collective land rights of indigenous -tribal people- and their right to use their mother tongue. A few small measures could start a trend in the right direction by: (a) taking step to remove discriminatory and incorrect portrayal of Adivasi people and their culture in the national educational curricula. (b) by including write-ups on Adivasi peoples and their culture in a respectful and accurate manner in the national curricula; (c) by providing autonomy to "Tribal" [sic] Cultural Institutes and Academies with adequate funding; (d) by providing necessary training to all government functionaries dealing with policies and programmes that affect the lives and cultures of the peoples concerned; and most importantly; and (e) by promoting their social and economic welfare by recognising their land and resource rights and by giving them a meaningful say in governance at various levels.

I have mentioned that the 1997 Accord on the Hill Tracts has at least partly recognised the need to protect the cultural integrity of the hill peoples of the region. But if the global trend of profit-oriented economic processes are allowed to envelope the economy of the Hill Tracts in an unrestricted manner then there is little doubt that the peripheral and marginalised situation of the hill peoples. especially those living in the "remoter" areas. is bound to deteriorate further. This is because the vast majority of the hill people are economically and socially marginalised. Have little or no access to much capital and have little entrepreneurial experience. It should also be borne in mind that some of the hill peoples of numerically small indigenous groups of the hill region have not been provided adequate and direct representation in the CHT self-government system. Even apart from political representation, if measures are not undertaken to provide them a real say in the governance of the region and in the "development" process. then in the foreseeable future these peoples and their communities may well wither away or migrate to our neighbouring countries (as it has happened in the past). This is as true for the hill Tracts as for the other Adivasi populated regions of the country.

Let me now turn to issues concerning Adivasi women. Although women from most Adivasi or hill peoples of the country face less discrimination with regard to social issues than in the lowlands of the country, they are still a long way away from achieving social and economic justice and in being politically empowered. This is important both for the sake of justice, and because of the fact that in the case of cultural matters, women have in many instances upheld and protected our cultural heritages far more than our menfolk. This applies both to the Adivasi women and to women from the numerically majority peoples and communities of the country.

Although I have painted quite a dreary picture, I would like to end with a positive note. Let us recall with justifiable pride that the Bengali people of this country have set a unique example in the world by successfully protecting their language and culture from foreign aggression as has been recently recognised by the United Nations. No people will perhaps better understand the pains of cultural aggression than them. Therefore, let us hope that cultural activists from the Adivasi peoples will gradually gain more support from the enlightened leaders from the mainstream Bengali community in their just struggle for cultural rights. And that will not only bring all our different peoples a little closer to each other, it is also likely to deepen our sense of pride in the indigenous roots of the cultural heritage of this country, including that of the Bengali-speaking majority.

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*Raja Devasish Roy

Circle Chief Chkama Circle, CHT, Bangladesh

The cultural world of the Adivasi of Bangladesh

Mizanur Rahman

Mr. Mizanur Rahman is a journalist and writer. His works on cultural heritage of different peoples of Bangladesh is widely appreciated.

The Article has been collected from "Bangladesh: Land Forest and Forest People", Published by Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In the beginning, for hundreds of thousands of years, forests and mountains nurtured human life. Civilization gradually lured many humans to concrete jungles. Today, we, the civilized people have coined terms such as adim or 'primitive', adivasi or 'aboriginal', and upajati or 'tribal' to define the various peoples who continue to cling to the natural life in forests or mountains. Such labeling, no doubt, satisfies our so called 'civilized' ego. The peoples so defined, strongly object to being referred to as 'tribals' or 'aboriginal' or 'clans'.

They want to be recognized as separate 'nations' or 'peoples.' Ethnic groups of eastern Bangladesh call themselves 'hilly people' just as the Santals want to be known as 'Santal' only. Following the International Year of the Indigenous Peoples 1993, the ethnic people choose to be recognized as the! Adivasi' or 'Indigenous Peoples.'

The hilly peoples of Bangladesh live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Moulavibazar, whereas the Santals are seen in the northern districts of Dinajpur, Naogaon, Thakurgaon, Panchagar, etc. The Adivasis of the northern districts are divided into different ethnic groups such as, Santals, Oraon, Mundari, Mahali, Munija, Turi, Monipuri, Garo, Coch, Pahari. Of them Santals are the oldest and largest among the plains ethnic groups, numbering 2,02,162 (1991 Population Census). The Santals belong to the Austroaslatic language group and enjoy a rich heritage. Oppression by the Bengali village leaders are forcing Bangladeshi Santals to migrate to illdia in large numbers. Those who are staying back, are being lured into Christianity by the Christian missionaries.

The Santals are being forced to leave the forest, seeking means of livelihood. Forest is their natural home and it is the forest which brings harmony to the Santallife.

Adivasi scholar Anathbandhu Chatterjee points out that the Adivasi life is intrinsically linked with the forest. The forest in fact symbolizes the Adivasi life. Physical labor, community spirit and equality constitute the ethics around which the Adivasi life centers. These traditions are shared by Adivasi men and women alike. In the Adivasi society, emancipation of women is not required to be granted by anyone. The freedom is there as the most natural thing. The Adivasi woman is as free as the forest around her. She is a mother; at the same time she works as hard as the hardworking man.

For the Adivasi, labor and truth have the same meaning.

The main weapon that the Santal Adivasi uses for hunting and self-protection, is the bow and arrow. Made of locally available materials this weapon symbolizes the creation for them. The strong, curved bamboo stem of the bow, with tapering triangular ends symbolizes the male. The elastic string attached to it is the female.

A myth has it that at the beginning of creation, the string urged the stem to curve like a halfmoon so that she could join him. She told him their union would bring about creation. The male then bent down to the string and the bow was complete. The arrows shot from the bow similarly symbolize children. The female thus is given an equal place in the process of creation.

First came dance, then came songs and drums and eventually there developed a musical culture which has remained a part of the Adivasilife throughout the ages. The 'primitive' societies believe that dance has been derived from the animals.

The Chenchoa Adivasis of Assam believe that human beings learned dance from a pair of monkeys. Dance for them is not just a form of expression of joy, but it is essentially an offering or prayer to the creator. Ask any Monipuri in Moulavibazar and you'd hear the following myth: This earth was created by joint efforts of nine Laibung Thu or Gods and seven Lainura or Goddesses. In the beginning there was only water, deep and all enveloping. Then the Goddesses started dancing on the water. Fascinated, the nine Gods congratulated them by throwing handfuls of earth from the heaven. The earth fell into the water in the rhythm with the dance. Accumulated, this earth formed this world.

Ever since, the Monipuris regard dance to be divine and pure. Learning to dance is an obligation for every Monipuri boy or girl. The Monipuri dance is recognized as a classical dance form. Rabindranath Tagore introduced this dance to the world. Dancing is a ritual that must be performed in any religious or social ceremony of the Vaishnava Monipuri. The Monipuri dance reached its height in the 18th century, during the reign of King Chingang Khonuba. The king himself was a skilled dancer and introduced a few new dances such as Basantarush, Kuncharush, Bhaddi Pareng etc. The Monipuri dance has found different expressions. One learning this dance has to master at least 40 basic steppings / rhythms. There are more than fifty forms in the Monipuri dance. In the Mukhabodi dance, the dancer tries to express a woman's responses to Krishna flute. The Monipuri today is taught in special dance schools or temples. The costumes for the dances are an art form on their own. For the Laihara Uba dance, they wear Fanek which is a dress depicting ancient designs of lotus and bees. The male dancers dress as the male characters of Mahabharata. The Monipuris are very fond of all six forms of Rush dance. This is performed at night. Along with it, in daytime they perform the Rakhal Nritya or 'shepherd' dance. The story goes that when Arjuna was staying in Monipur, his companion Krishna would play on the flute at night and Radha would come out of her house to join him in dance. Every year, the Monipuris of Bangladesh would celebrate that night in dancing and singing. The dancer's hair is tied in a top knot which is covered with a golden and silver threaded (zari) head gear. The face is covered with a white vail. The blouse is of deep green with a deep green long skirt decorated with glitters and glasses. The border of the skirt is held with a wide stiff rim. This dress is called Kumin. Silver and golden sashes stream over the shoulders. Then there are the glittering ornaments. Ancient folk songs accompany the dances. The hill people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts also have a rich musical culture. There too, dances are essential religious and social rituals. In fact, ancient peoples all over the world hold the same significance for dance. As Hav lock Ellis wrote in his book 'The Dance of Life': "What do you dance? When a man belonging to one branch of the great Bantu division of mankind met a member of another, said livingstone, that was the question he asked. What a man danced, that was his tribe, his Social Customs, his religion, for as an anthropologist has put it, a Savage does not preach his religion, he dances it." Though strongly object to the term 'savage' one cannot but agree with the observation.

The Chakma is the largest hill tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Their main dance is the Jum dance. Though their dances mainly center around the Mahamuni Fair, there are dances for all agricultural activities. The Buddhist religious ceremonies are also celebrated through dancing. The Chakmas have rich tradition of ballads and songs. Among these are: Radhamon Dhonupadi ballad, ChadigangChhara ballad, Banabera ballad, Fulpara ballad, Lakshmipara ballad, Chandbir Baramash, Kipabir Baromash, Meabir Baromash and Tanyabir Baromash. The Chakma language once had its own script called Ojhapata in which Chakma religious books such as Aghortara, lodishastra, Bhedtatwa, Tahnik Shastra, and others were written. During the British rule, the Bible was also published in Ojhapata script. Nowadays Chakma is written in BangIa script. The Chakma script is still being used by the village Ojha or shamans. The Chakma literature has a long tradition and is rich with myths, folklores, rhymes, riddles and proverbs. The Rangamati Tribal Cultural Center has published a collection Chakma Rupkahini by Bankimkrishna Dewan which gives us a glimpse of the Chakma folk literature. Gojen Lama written by Shadhak Shivacharan is a unique specimen of Chakma literature of the middle ages. The book is a tribute to the Creator. The modem era in Chakmaliterature began with poems of Chunilal Dewan, poet and painter, who was also the first Chakma lyricist.

The Marma people also have a tradition of dancing. The Marma women perform a dance drama/musical show called Pankho which depicts the life of Buddha and other mythological tales. Their singing is accompanied by traditional instruments such as Peha, Bung, Petla, Dugma and also western instruments like violin, clarionet, guitar and mandelin. They have folk songs as well as modem songs. The Tipra jum dance is linked with religious and agricultural rituals. Singing and dancing hold a special significance during the jum (slash-and-burn) cultivation particularly at the time of sowing. This dance is called Maikai which means the dance of sowing paddy. The harvesting is marked by a big festival of dancing and singing, called Mamita.

The Tipras have their new year's festival which lasts for the last week of the old year. The dance which is offered to Shiva or the God Goraya as a gesture of welcoming the New Year, is called the Garaya or herbai dance. The dancers go from house to house and perform this dance during the days of the festival. The dance is enacted through mimes. The new year's days are very sacred not only to the Tipras, but also to Chakmas, Marmas and Rakhains. The Deidak clan of the Tipra ethnic group has a death ritual of singing and dancing before the dead person. The song tells of lost hopes. The matriarchal Garo people also known as Mandi (human person) too perform many dances as religious rituals. There are separate dances for occasions like wedding, harvesting, sowing, funeral and many others. The Mandi have a rich tradition of folk songs too. The folk songs of all the different hill people are emotionally rich and aesthetically excellent. Unlike the classic Monipuri dance, the Chittagong Hill Tracts' dances are marked by magic and frequent body movements. Faced with poverty, want, hunger and oppression, the age old religious and democratic solidarity of the Santal society is gradually breaking up. The brave people who once established villages, clearing out forests, are helpless today. Their songs tell of the lost hopes.

Tome Bimal Hasda of Birganj symbolizes the Santal today. Why did Bimal leave his village? "Because of poverty. The little land that we had was usurped by the moneylender.

" Santal folk songs tell of this oppression:

"We prepare lands

By clearing out forests,

The moneylender

Snatches away that land,

The santal is 'murkha' (ignorant, illiterate),

So lands are lost."

Many Santals today are being driven away to cities in search of livelihood. Hard-working, honest, illiterate and poor, the Santals sell their labor in exchange for sustenance. In the land which originally belonged to them, they live unwanted, uncared for. But the Santals are fully conscious of their heritage. Goaded into it they can burst out in revolt, as they did in 1855 during the British rule. Thirty thousand Santals joined in that revolt and the British law could hardly curb them. The Santals fought with bows and arrows while the government forces used firearms. Ten thousand Santals were killed but in the end the British had to abolish slavery of the Santals and to establish a separate administrative area for them - the Santal Pargana.

The Santals of Bangladesh consider themselves to be Bengalis. As they wrote in an issue of the Santal language periodical 'Hariar Sakam' or 'Sabujpatra' in 1375 (BangIa): "The Santali is the oldest language of the Bengal. Thousands of years ago when the Aryans had not come to this land, our ancestors made this land livable. It thrills us to think that thousands of years ago when the full moon rose, they were our ancestors who leaving their huts gathered at the bank of a river or on the outskirts of a forest in this Bangladesh, singing, dancing, wearing flowered wreaths!

The language they sang was Santali. We are proud to think of that language and we are not proud to be Santalis but to be Bengalis." The word Banga, which is the original root word for Bangladesh, Bengal or Bangladesh is derived from the Santali language. In Santali 'Bangah' meant Lord Protector, the Supreme God. So Bangladeshis their God granted shekter. Some scholars, however, say Bangla came from Santali Bang plus La – which means a huge plainland.

Like the hill people, the Santals too regard dancing as divine. They believe, human beings learned to dance from four gods: Marang Buru, Johar Era, Mareko and Gosain. They too have separate dances for separate occasions. Through dance they pray for rain, through dance they celebrate the spring season, through dance they usher in the harvesting.

The Santal Jhumur dance has found a place among the Bangalis too. It is called Jhumur because the dancers have strings of bells (Ghungur) tied to their ankles. This perhaps is the only Santal dance which is performed purely for entertainment. There are six forms of Jhumur dance; of them the most entertaining is the Bhaduria which is danced in praise of the monsoon. This dance is included in Hindu-Muslim folk culture of some areas. The Santals are gradually becoming conscious of their own language. They are realizing that not only for literature, they need this language to express their social and political demands. Consider this song originally written in Santali: "Do not take up other peoples' tongue. Speak your mother's tongue because that is the sweetest and the tongue of your father is like crystal clear water." The people who are so conscious of their own language, have the potential to protest against all sorts of oppression.

We must not forget the call given out by the Santals in 1855:

"Listen, oh, listen,

you People of Dhanjur,

The drum beats

The tomtom beats,

Sido Kanhu, Chand Bhairo

Revolt revolt

Revolt revolt

Let us go quickly let us go quickly

Let us go quickly let us go quickly

Let us go quickly

let us go quickly."

Before I conclude, I would like to put forward a question to the government: what the government is doing to preserve the culture of the hilly and Adivasi peoples? It remains a fact that their very existence is at stake today. The farmers are facing a glum future. The restriction on jum cultivation, the failure of different development projects and commercialization of forest land are baffling the Adivasi and hilly farmers. Their picturesque huts have become mere shacks today. (In Bandarban, the huge building for the local council and other administrative structures mock the poverty stricken huts of the hilly peoples). The denuded forests, the ripped apart nature stand witness to the destruction of these peoples. If all government efforts to safeguard the culture of the hill people are like the Tribal Cultural Institute of Bandarban, we have reasons to be skeptical. This institute has achieved nothing but some colored photographs of some festivals of the hill people. The dances and songs that the institute simulates do not reflect the true traditions of the adivasi peoples. Even the costumes are distorted.

Our request to the government: Please do not devastate the culture of these peoples in the name of reserving it. The government activities must take account of the real culture of these peoples.

Why Eco-park on Khasi and Garo Ancestral Land?

by San Jeebdrong

from Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum - 2001

Bangladesh is not only the country of 'Bangalees' as propaganda has been made everywhere. It is true that most of its one hundred and twenty million people identify themselves as Bangalees. From time immemorial more than 45 indigenous communities live in the country. They are known as Adivasis. Adivasi means originally "inhabitant."' The population of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh is more than 2 million.

lndigenous peoples of Bangladesh are descendants of the original inhabitants of their lands and areas and are strikingly diverse in their culture, religion and patterns of social and economic organization. It is very sad that Bangladesh government does not recognise their social and cultural institution at all.

For centuries, indigenous peoples are among the must disadvantaged groups in the country. The Bangladesh Government has yet no policy for the development of indigenous peoples. Neither does it recognise "Adivasis" as indigenous peoples. Today their special relationship to the land and forest - an elemental symbiosis crucial to their survival - has been threatened by cummunal state and politicians and so called development projects. This Eco-Park has become as a threat to evict 1000 Khasi and Garo families from their ancestral homeland. Since last year indigenous peoples have been struggling to stop this Eco-Park on Khasi-Garo ancestral land. Their main demand is that Government can establish this Eco-Park in the Government's reserve forest area not on the land of indigenous peoples.

On 22nd February 2001, Anil Yang Yung, a Khasi Headman from Kulaura, Moulvi Bazar district of Bangladesh came to Dhaka to attend a hunger strike in protest at establishment of an Eco-Park on his ancestral homeland. During the hunger strike at the Central Saheed Minar Anti Yang Yung addressed the people:

"We are the children of the forest. we were born here and grew up here. We have been living here for hundred years. Cultivating of betel leaf is our main lovelihood. We will not leave this forest: we cannot survive if we are evicted from the forest in the name of this Eco-Park. The graves of our ancestors lie in this forestland. We cannot leave them. This forest is sacred to us. We preserve trees and they protect us. We love the trees. Our betel leaves cannot survive without these trees. If we lose this forest, we will loose our life and our ancestors. Taking away our land is plucking out our life because we draw our life from this forest. We were born in this forest and we want to die here. I humbly request our government to let our lands remain under our own care. We still look after them and preserve them."

However the Environment and Forest Ministry has not responded to this humane appeal of Khasi headman and apparently his request falls on deaf ears.

Background of the Eco-Park Project

The Bangladesh Government plans to establish an Eco-Park in Moulvibazar district, which will take up more than 1.500 acres of Adivasi (indigenous peoples) ancestral land for tourism.

This plan was initiated by the Government in July 2000 without any consent of indigenous peoples who have been living in the area for centuries. Neither did Bangladesh Government consult with the indigenous people. The Government did not even mention the villages of Khasi and Garo people in their project proposal, instead considering them almost illegal inhabitants of the forest.

Seven indigenous hill villages will be affected: 1,000 Khasi and Garo families face forceful eviction from the homelands where they have been living for thousand of years. They have preserved the trees and protected the forest. They have also been planting betel leaf, in addition to valuable seasonal fruit trees on the land. They have not destroyed the big trees because they need these for planting betel leaf. It is known that they are the original inhabitants of this forest.

We, the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh started a democratic movement against this Eco-Park. We demanded to the government that our land should be excluded from this Eco-Park. Many intellectuals, university professors, writers, journalists, politicians, culture activists have supported us and have participated in our programmes. We have organised protest rallies, public gatherings press conferences, published leaflets and held a hunger strike against the government's plan; and we have received excellent press and media coverage of our programmes.

Having observed our activities, the Environment and Forest Ministry formed a Committee on 4 January 2001 to verify the demand of Khasi and Garo people and to judge whether they will be evicted or not. The committee consisted of six members, none of whom were Adivasis. We protested against this committee and requested the government to include Khasi and Garo

representation in the committee; they did not respond to our request. On 15 March 2001 the Convener of this committee requested the Khasi and Garo Headmen to attend a meeting with him at the Environment and Forest Minister's office. three Headmen were present in the meeting. However, they became frustrated that the convener, instead of listening to them, only tried to put pressure on them.

Now, we the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh, consider this proposed Eco-Park problem of all Adivasis. It is not only the problem of the Garo and Khasi people living in the Moulvibazar area; we consider it an issue of our very existence in the country. The National Forum of lndigenous Peoples in Bangladesh together with many indigenous organisations is campaigning against this Eco-Park. Our slogan is "Stop the Eco-Park on Khasi and Garo ancestral land".

As part of our democratic movement we met on two occasions with Mr. Kalporanjan Chakma, the Minister to Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs, and submitted an appeal to him. In this appeal we requested the government to exclude the land of the Khasi and Garo from the Eco-Park. He assured us that he would look into this matter seriously and agreed that the Eco-Park should not be established on the lands of Khasi and Garo people. During the meeting he added that he would discuss this matter with the honourable Prime Minister Sheik Hasina. Subsequently we sent copies of that appeal to the Environment and Forest Ministry and respective divisions of the Government.

The CHT Minister sent a letter to the Prime Minister on 21 December 2000 with reference of the planned Eco-Park. On 26 December 2000 the APS of the Prime Minister sent a letter to the Secretary of Environment and Forest Ministry to consider the appeal of Khasi and Garo people.

On 2 March 2001 we met again Dr. S A Malek, the Politicai Adviser to the Prime Minister at his office. He also assured us that the indigenous people Will not face such injustice, and he indicated his interest to visit the villages of Khasi and Garo people if necessary. The leading daily newspaper, the Daily Star published the following statement on 3 March, "Tribal leaders from Khasi and Garo hills met Dr. S A Malek, political adviser to the prime minister yesterday in a bid to persuade the government to cancel building an eco-park there. The leaders said that the government has thousands of acres of reserve forestland in the hills of Patharia and Longia, next to the place where 'Eco-Park' is being developed now. Then instead of building the 'Eco-Park' in Patharia and Longia hills why target the Khasi and Garo lands?"

Dr. S A Malek also assured the Adivasi leaders that they would maintain fairness in the decision regarding the construction and development of the park. However, in reality he did not do anything in favour of indigenous people.

Then on 31 March 2001, the leaders of indigenous peoples of Bangladesh met at a national meeting in Dhaka, which was called and convened by the CHT Jano Sanghati Samity Leader and Chairman of CHT Regional Council, Mr. Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (Santu Larma). More than one hundred Adivasi leaders were present at the meeting. During this meeting the leaders formed a national Adivasi organisation 'Bangladesh Adivasi Forum'.

This committee formulated demands to the Government regarding the halting of further plans to establish an Eco-Park on the lands of indigenous peoples.

On 4 April 2001, the Convener of National Adivasi Forum Mr. Santu Larma met with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her residence. At that time Santu Larma requested the Prime Minister to consider the demand of Khasi and Garo people about the Eco-Park. He told the Prime Minister that the indigenous peoples do not want an Eco-Park on their ancestral land. He added that the Government could easily establish an Eco-Park on government's reserve forest area. Then Prime Minister told Mr. Larma that the indigenous peoples will not be evicted but they will be the part of Eco-Park. Mr. Santu Larma surprised to hear such words: "How is it possible! They are human beings. They will stay in the park for tourism as a showcase.'

The Prime Minister told Mr. Larma that She would talk to the Environment and Forest Minister later; it has not yet been done.

Despite our continued protests, the Environment and Forest Minister inaugurated the Eco-Park on 15 April 2001; at the same time thousands of indigenous people showed the Minister the 'black flag' as the symbol of their protest. The day was Easter Sunday, a key religious day for the Khasi and Garo people. However, they spent that day in the protest rally in the forest.

Again on 5 May 2001, we organised a big public gathering in Dhaka to halt the plan to establish an Eco-Park. Thousands of people attended. Many intellectuals, writers, poet, artists, professors, journalists attended the meeting and they made speeches in favour of our demand. The Great Poet of the country Shamsur Rahman has supported our programme and he said, 'The Khasi and Garo people are innocent. They are the chidren of the forest and they have the highest right to the forest. The Government should rethink about this Eco-Park and their land should be kept outside the Eco-Park.'

Our demand

We, more than 2 million indigenous peoples from 45 communities in Bangladesh, are still struggling against this Eco-Park plan of our Government. We are not against an Eco-Park. However, it should be established in the reserve

forest area of the government, not on our ancestral land. We have tried to convince the government that this Eco-park plan is against the law of ILO convention 107. In the Article 11 it is stated: "The right of ownership, collective or individual, of the members of the populations concerned over the lands, which these populations traditionally occupy, shall be recognised." And in the Article 12 it is said, "The populations concerned shall not be removed without their free consent from their habitual territories." But the Government has not responded to our appeal. Again on 30 May 2001, the leaders of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum (Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum) visited Khasi and Garo villages at Muraichhara, Moulvibazar district. Thousand of indigenous peoples gathered there at the bottom of the Khasi hills and made protest against this Eco-Park project. The leaders have requested the government to consider the demands of Khasi and Garo people living in the Eco-Park area. The leaders said that government should recognise the human tragedy brought about in the past by unrelenting oppression of these peoples. If we fail in our movement, more than 1,000 Khasi and Garo families will be evicted from their homeland. Finally, we are getting prepared to file a writ against this Eco-Park plan in the High Court. In the meantime, we will continue our peaceful movement.

The Garos

The Garos live in the northern part of the country close to Indian border. Majority of the Garos live in Meghalaya, India. Some of them live in Tripura, Koch Bihar, Assam and Mizoram. Garos total population in India is more than one million. In Bangladesh, according to the 1991 census the total number of Garos is 64,280, but the people themselves claim that this number is an underestimation. Garos themselves often mention that their population is one hundred twenty thousand. They belong to matrilineal society. For centuries, they have been facing the severe effects of government policies, land grabbing, forceful migration, human rights violation and even divide and rule policy. Since 1947, the Garos migrated from their homeland to India at least 6 times for safety of life. They faced several communal riots supported by the government itself. Now, hundreds of Garo villages were completely disappeared. They became minority in their own land. Land was the source of life and livelihood of Garos. But land was taken by outsiders. After lose of land, the Garo people are migrating to the towns and cities for job. In the city, they face many problems as strangers. Their distinct culture, traditions and way of life are at risk in this way.

The Khasi

The Khasis are the most important matriarchal indigenous community in Bangladesh. For centuries they have lived in the hills and forest area of Sylhet district. Cultivating betel leaf is their main livelihood. They speak in Austric Language. According to the census of 1991, the Khasi population is 13.412. But they claim that this census was under estimation. More than 30,000 Khasis live in Bangladesh. The majority of Khasis live in India. In the Khasi Mongoloid society women enjoy special position as the guardian and preserver of the family and have certain rights over the house and property sanctioned by customs and religious traditions. Now the life of Khasi people became uncertain and threatened to be evicted from their ancestral homeland.

Adivasi rights in Bangladesh: where have they in the last two decades?

by Devasish Roy

January 1, 2005 heralded the beginning of the Second International Decade for Indigenous Peoples. This was deemed necessary because the first decade was clearly inadequate to deal with the legacies of colonialism, racism and other ills perpetrated upon indigenous peoples over the centuries. The main theme of the First Decade from 1995 to 2004 was "Partnership in Action". The decade was preceded by the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, 1993, whose theme was "A New Partnership".

The major targets of the first international decade

When the International Indigenous Year was declared, it was hoped that a new and respectful partnership would emerge between indigenous peoples, states, the United Nations (UN) system and other sections of society. Similarly, it was hoped that the Decade would foster more effective mechanisms to protect indigenous peoples' rights. In particular, three specific targets were set for the Decade, two of which have since been fulfilled. One of these was the appointment of a special UN Rapporteur on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People. Professor Dr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen of Mexico has been appointed to this office. The other fulfilled target of the Decade was the establishment of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which reports annually to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and provides expert advice to ECOSOC and to the UN specialized agencies. The third major aim of the Decade was for the UN to adopt a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which remains to be fulfilled.

Bawm, Chak, Chakma, Khumi, Khyang, Lushai, Marma, Mro, Pangkhua, Tanchangya and Tripura, who are also known as Pahari or Jumma or as "tribals" [sic]. The word Adivasi is more in currency in central and north-western Bangladesh to refer to the Barman, Koch, Munda, Oraon, Santal, and Rajbangshi, among others.

Then there are the other so-called "tribal" peoples in north-central, north-eastern and southern Bangladesh, including the Garo (Mandi), Hajong, Khasi and Rakhaing.

None of these peoples accepts the term "tribal", or its Bengali equivalent, "upajati", on account of its pejorative connotations.

The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 ("EBSAT ACT, 1950") uses the terms "aboriginal tribes and castes" to refer to the Adivasis of the plains. The CHT Regulation of 1900 uses the term "indigenous hillman" to refer to the adivasis of the CHT. Similar wording has been used in the national Budget Act of 1995 (Act 12 of 1995).

Land alienation and the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950

The overall situation of Adivasis in Bangladesh is far from good, as is even admitted by ruling coalition leaders. Ask a Santal or Oraon and she will tell you about the land alienation or social discrimination she suffers from. The Rakhaing of the south are on record for petitioning the current and previous prime ministers regarding land alienation, with little redress to date. This is so despite the restrictions contained in the constitutionally-protected EBSAT ACT, 1950, regarding transfer of aboriginal lands to non-aboriginals. Theoretically, an aggrieved aboriginal could go to court, but the impecuniosity of the dispossessed prevents any action to obtain legal redress. There are no viable alternatives to suo moto state action to implement this law.

National park, Eco Park and the human 'Denizens'

The Garo in Madhupur are far from happy. A "National Park" has been created on their traditional land, with a concrete wall that attempts to keep them away. A local leader, Piren Snal, who led a peaceful protest against the wall, had to give his life for his people. Go westwards towards Sylhet, the Khasi will tell you about the "Eco Park" created on their land, from which they are threatened with eviction. Just about a week ago, many Khasis were threatened with eviction by Forest Department personnel and Bengali villagers. The Khasis are not willing to be relegated to a status of human 'denizens' for the benefit of city-based visitors to the so-called Eco Park. Until the 1980s, many Khasi hamlets or punjis held formal leases from the Forest Department. Not any more, I am told.

Land alienation & denial of Self-Determination

Compared to the plains, the self-government rights of the indigenous peoples of the CHT are more secure, at least by law. However, you will find many Marma, Tripura or Chakma complain about not having their alienated lands restored. They may also complain about militarisation and human rights violations. Ask a Tanchangya, and he will tell you about the non-acknowledgment of their people's self-determination right. Other members of the smaller indigenous groups may complain of inadequate representation in the district and regional councils. Yet others may say that the 1997 Accord cannot adequately safeguard the CHT peoples' rights. And I have not said how the situation varies between men and women. In general, the situation of Adivasi women is worse than their men because they suffer as members of a disadvantaged minority and indigenous group, and also as women, even among their own people. I shall hopefully write more about these issues in future.

Indigenous peoples in Bangladesh and the UN year and decade

On 9 August, 1993, the Bangladeshi indigenous peoples celebrated the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, even though the government had ignored the event. They demanded constitutional recognition of their cultural integrity and political status. Leading members of Bangladeshi civil society, including the greatest living Bengali poet, Shamsur Rahman, extended their solidarity to the indigenous cause. The impact of the international events was thus felt within the country in various ways. Firstly, the UN events led to the forging of greater unity among the country's indigenous peoples. Secondly, it instilled a greater sense of pride in the indigenous identity. Thirdly, it led to the growing currency of the terms "indigenous" and "Adivasi", which has also facilitated intra-indigenous unity.

Indigenous identity and Bangladeshi political leaders

At United Nations fora, representatives of the Bangladesh Government have occasionally declared that there are no 'indigenous' people in Bangladesh, merely "tribals", or that all Bangladeshis, including Bengalis, are indigenous. The position is somewhat similar to that of the Government of India's, which too prefers "tribals" to 'indigenous'. However, barring some exceptions, the growing trend over the years has been to provide greater respect towards this identity. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have sent messages of goodwill to the Adivasis on Indigenous People's Day in previous years, addressing them as "Adivasi". More recently, the draft national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper ("PRSP") has used the terms "indigenous/Adivasi" in the Bangladeshi context. History cannot be denied. The Bangladeshi indigenous peoples were living in and sustainably managing large parts of the country long before other ethnic groups settled in these areas. In any case, it is not the primordial basis of their identity that is important, but the fact that indigenous peoples have historically been denied a role in state-formation and state-building. International Treaty law and Customary International law on human rights and indigenous peoples' rights seek to reduce the unbalance, and do away with some of the legacies of these historical wrongs and inequities, including through affirmative action or protective discrimination.

There may be differences between the two, but the gaps can definitely be narrowed down. Greater devolution of authority to the hill councils, and direct representation of the plains Adivasis in the Special Affairs Division that deals with Adivasi issues for the plains - would accelerate development in the long-neglected Adivasi areas.

That would instil a stronger sense of "Bangladeshiness" than to continue to keep them excluded from governance and development. Certain sections of the government occasionally react in a frenzied manner to Adivasi protests against the violation of their rights. It is a norm of healthy and democratic societies for such complaints to be made. This happens also in the case of other countries, and the Government of Bangladesh should not feel that people who so complain are acting against the interest of the state.

The Adivasis of the country seek peace and stability in their areas and in the whole country. In the CHT, the indigenous people have suffered much during the 20-year conflict and will not easily support any further violence in the region. Whatever violence there is, can hopefully be ended, through the joint efforts of all concerned. The indigenous peoples of the region are more than ready to co-operate with all sections of Bangladeshi civil society to bring forth a truly just peace in the region.

Democracy and Self-Determination

The long-term interest of any state is to foster contentment, peace and development. And that is possible only by respecting true self-determination. The right of self-determination should not only be equated with the creation of a new state. Bangladesh has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 1 of both covenants reads: "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." This right cannot be denied to indigenous peoples, including those in Bangladesh.

Speaking about self-determination, the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Dr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, had this to say, among others: "The link between self-determination and democracy must be strengthened in theory and in practice. The violence we see around us is not generated by the drive for self-determination, but by its denial. The denial of self-determination, not its pursuit, is what leads to upheavals and conflicts. And the denial of self-determination is essentially incompatible with true democracy".

The author is the Chief of the Chakma and an ex-officio adviser to the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs.

Ethnic communities of Bangladesh

Kibriaul Khaleque

From "Bangladesh - Land Forest and Forest People" - SEHD

Introduction

The importance of local people's participation in the development programmes is now being increasingly emphasized in the policy papers of both the government of the less developed countries as well as by the f oreign donor agencies that support the development programmes. Accordingly, the policy planners at both levels have realized the need f or including the ethnic communities in the development projects designed for the areas where these people live. The growing concern over an equitable distribution of the benefits of development programmes among ali the people of a country has also led the policy planners to think about the ethnic groups. Indeed, these people deserve their share in the fruits of development programmes.

Like other less developed countries, the need for involvement of the ethnic communities in the development programmes, particularly in the programmes designed for the areas where these people live, has been recognized by the policy planners in Bangladesh. For the proper planning and implementation of development programmes, it is important to know who belong to the ethnic communities, where they live, and under what social and economie condition they live. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information about these peoples of Bangladesh. Shortage of anthropologists specially trained in ethnic studies, lack of government initiatives, lack of resources for conducting research, and similar other reasons might have been responsible for an inadequate number of studies on the ethnic groups of Bangladesh.

In order to get even some basic information about the ethnic communities, one has to rely on the scattered sources which are often difficult to get hold of. This paper is a modest attempt to put together some basic information from the scattered and sporadic sources. The information I gathered through my own field research on the Garo community of Madhupur Garh forest, and through my visits to some other ethnic areas of Bangladesh is also incorporated in this paper.

This paper is the revised version of an earlier article of mine (Khaleque 1987). Based on the comments received from the critics of the earlier version, some information have been revised, modified, and amplified in the present version. In addition, the present version contains updated demographic data on the 'tribal population' (as they were referred to in the Census Report) of Bangladesh based on the most recent Government Census Reports and also ethnographic information from the most recent sources.

A few small ethnic groups that belong to the category "ex-tribal" were not mentioned in the previous version. These groups have lost their distinct identities, languages, cultures, and traditions. They are integrated into the mainstream Bengali society and culture. Nevertheless, being small ethnic groups they deserve their share in the fruits of development projects. So, the name of these groups have been mentioned in the present version.

By "ethnic communities" or "ethnic groups," a reference has been made to those people whose linguistic and/or cultural background is different from the linguistic and cultural background of the mainstream population of Bangladesh. It may be noted that most anthropologists now use the term "ethnic group" or "ethnic community" instead of using the term "tribe" or "tribal group." The people belonging to ethnic groups often do not like the use of the term "tribe" or "tribal group" to refer to them, particularly in those situations where these terms are used in a derogatory sense. The term " Adivasi" or "indigenous people" is sometimes used to mean the people who are otherwise referred to as "tribals." But the use of this term is often confusing, particularly in those cases where it is hard to establish whether the group in question is the indigenous people of the area they inhabit or they migrated to that area from somewhere else. To avoid this kind of confusion and also to avoid the term "tribe" or "tribal group," the different groups of people covered in this paper have been referred to as "ethnic communities" or "ethnic groups."

A Brief Review of Literature

The earliest sources on the ethnic communities of Bangladesh consist of a few books written by some British Government officials during the period between the middle of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century. These classical sources include: Dalton (1872), Gait (1895), Gurdon (1907), Hodson (1908), Hunter (1876), Hutchinson (1906), Lewin (1869; 1870; 1873), Playfair (1909), Riebeck (1885), Risley (1891), and Smart (1866). It may be noted that after the establishment of political and military control over the ethnic areas, the British Government made attempts to find the best possible ways to deal with the ethnic communities. Information on the ethnic communities and their socio-cultural life were, therefore, collected and the findings were documented in the above books as well as in other government publications. These books were intended more for administrative purposes than for academic research. Nevertheless, these are good ethnographic accounts of that time and have so far remained the main sources of information on the ethnic communities of Bangladesh.

Except for the ethnographic accounts on the ethnic communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area, all the other books relate mainly to the ethnic communities of the Indian part of the northern and north-eastern borders of Bangladesh. People belonging to the same ethnic group also live in the Bangladesh part of the border and have more or less the same basic social organization and culture as their Indian counterpart. As such, the books written on those who live in the Indian territory relate only to a certain extent to those who live in the present-day Bangladesh territory.

However, the ethnic communities living in the Bangladesh part have always had some differences in certain aspects of their life. But these differences had not been documented in the above-mentioned books. It is important to note that a good number of studies were done on the ethnic communities living in the Indian part of the northern borders of Bangladesh (for an example of only one ethnic group, see the Bibliography in Khaleque 1982), but nearly nothing was done on those living in the Bangladesh part.

Census Reports and District Gazetteers compiled during the British rule contain valuable information about the ethnic communities and hence these documents may be regarded as good sources. Such official documents had been updated in the subsequent period. But except for a continuation of the old tradition of preparing these documents, no significant research had been done in the post-British period. The government documents prepared during the Pakistani rule (1947-1971) contain very few new information. These were basically a reproduction of the older sources. The same is the case with the only book, Pakistaner Upajati (1963), published by the Pakistan Government.

Besides the above sources, we find a few books and articles published during the middle of the 20th century. These sources contain the findings of a few foreign anthropologists who did field research or at least had visited the ethnic areas during this period. Thus mention may be made of the works of Bernot (1957; 1958; 1964), Bessaignet (1958; 1960), Brauns (1973), Kauffman (1962), Levi-Strauss (1952a; 1952b), and Sopher (1963; 1964). Most of these studies were concerned with the ethnic communities of the CHT and a very few on the ethnic groups living in the northern borders of Bangladesh.

Among the recent sources, there are a few books written by a Bangladeshi amateur writer (see Sattar 1971; 1975; 1978). The facts presented in these books are based either on the classical sources, or on hearsay, and/or the superficial knowledge gained by the author through his occasional visits to the ethnic areas. The author has neither any background in anthropology or sociology (cf. Maloney 1984:9), nor does he have any training in research methodology. As a result, the contents of these books suffer from many shortcomings.

To show the nature of shortcomings, let us consider a few examples from one of the books written by this author. He writes, "There are many other tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts which lack this culture dynamism. Consequently, they are lost in the wilderness of pre-civilized cult, belief and customs. They have not been able to evolve any kind of culture" (Sattar 1971:325). To an anthropologist or to a sociologist, a society without culture is an impossibility. Every society has a culture if the concept of culture is taken as it is defined in anthropology and sociology. Hence, the above expression made by this author is not acceptable in anthropology or sociology.

Maloney (1984:9) has criticized similar expressions in the same book of the above author. He remarked that Sattar refers to ethnic languages as "dialects," and to their religions as "superstitious beliefs" and "irrational practices" (1971:13,17,135, 225). Ethnic languages are not "dialects" of the Bengali langua'ge as Sattar thought. These are distinct languages that belong to different branches of various language families (see below). Similarly, Mey (1984:333) has criticized Sattar (1971) for describing the ethnic groups as "wild and crude" (Sattar 1971:193). The use of such value-laden words to describe the ethnic communities or their religion is not acceptable in anthropology. Examples of similar views expressed by this author in the book mentioned above as well as in other books can be multiplied. Nevertheless, the books written by this author maybe regarded as the pioneering efforts of a Bangladeshi writer to record certain information about the ethnic communities.

A recent book, Tribal Cultures of Bangladesh (Qureshi 1984) maybe regarded as a good source. Some of the articles in this book had been contributed by professional anthropologists, some by students of anthropology or sociology who were engaged in

research on ethnic communities at the time of writing their article, while some articles by persons well-informed in ethnic affairs. However, this book also contains a few articles writtenby amateur writers. The quality of information presented by those writers is the same as that of the information in the writings of the amateur writer mentioned earlier.

Recent data, and in some cases, an analysis of the nature and trends of social change among the ethnic communities of Bangladesh maybe found in various articles published in different local and foreign journals. Among the most recent journal articles written by professional anthropologists and social scientists, we may include: Bertocci (1984), Islam (1981), Jahangir (1979), Khaleque (1983a, 1983b, 1984, 1985, 1988), Mey (1978), Montu (1980), and Zaman (1982). There are also some mimeographs (see for example, Chowdhury 1979), and theses and dissertations (Khaleque 1982, 1992; Rahman 1985) which contain valuable recent data on some ethnic communities.

The most recently published ethnographic accounts on specific ethnic communities of Bangladesh that I came across are: The Paharias by Gomes (1988) and Bangladesher Garo Sampradai (in Bengali) by Jengcham (1994). The former is based on the author's research among the Paharia people, while the latter is based on the author's observation of his own society and culture.

Number of Ethnic Communities

The beginning sentence of the earlier version of this paper was: "People belonging to more than two dozens ethnic communities live in Bangladesh." An American anthropologist (Burling 1988), a critic of that version, remarked: "why not you tell us exactly how many ethnic groups are there in Bangladesh?" Let me begin this section with my response to the above remark.

The number of ethnic communities has been variously mentioned in the written sources. In the different articles published in Tribal Cultures of Bangladesh (Qureshi 1984), for example, the number of ethnic communities has been mentioned as 12 (Bertocci 1984:346 and 358 Footnote 4; based on 1951 Census data as summarized by Bessaignet 1958:1), 15 (Samad 1984:54; based on 1974 Census Report), 28 and 31 (Urao 1984:129 and Qureshi 1984:XV, respectively; no source has been mentioned — both are perhaps based on personal estimates), and 46 (Maloney 1984:8-22, based on his own distribution of the ethnic communities by language category). Being puzzled by such a wide variation in the number of ethnic groups, i.e. from 12 to 46 groups, I decided to keep the number vague in the earlier version of this paper by saying "more than two dozens." I left the responsibility of finding the exact number with the readers who would pursue their interest further.

According to the most recent government official statistics (Census Report, 1991), the number of ethnic communities is 29. The information found in the available literature and the spatial distribution given in the 1991 Census Report But if the two cases where the same tribe has been listed as two separate ethnic communities are taken into consideration, the number of ethnic communities would be 27. It suggests that such mistakes were committed in the following cases:

The Tipra and Tripura have been listed as two separate groups, but they are, in fact, the same people. These groups are most commonly mentioned in the literature under the name Tipra but they are variously regarded as Tipra and Tripura by their Bengali neighbours in different areas. Similarly, the Bongshi and Rajbongshi, who are really the same people, have been listed in the Census Report as two separate ethnic communities. In this case, the people prefer to identify themselves as Rajbongshi but their Bengali neighbors call them Bongshi. In the literature, the name of this ethnic group is most commonly spelt as Rajbansi.

Listing the different names of the same tribe in different areas as separate ethnic communities, as found in the Census Report, has contributed to the already-existing confusion about the number of ethnic communities. Clearly, the census enumerators were not aware of the facts that the same ethnic group is known by different

names. The reasons for such variations in name are different in different situations. Two examples are already given above. Let us consider other cases to show the nature of distortion in the names of ethnic groups in different situations.

The people who call themselves Marma are called Mog or Mogh by the Bengali. The name Mogh is often used by the Bengali people in a derogatory sense, so the people who are called Mogh prefer to identify themselves as Marma. Again, the same people are known as Rakhaine in Patuakhali area. In this case, the people who live in that area also prefer not to identify themselves by the name Mogh for the same reason described above. But they use a different name perhaps to distinguish themselves from those in the Chittagong area (cf. Khan 1984).

The variation in the English spelling of the name of certain ethnic groups is another source of confusion. It is sometimes hard to decide whether the different spellings of the name of any ethnic community constitute the same people or they are different ethnic communities. For example, the name of the ethnic community most commonly spelt "Oraon" has been spelt "Urang" in the 1991 Census Report. Looking at the geographical areas given in the Census Report against the name "Urang," I figured out that "Urang" must be "Oraon," but one may easily think that these two are different groups. The same is perhaps true in the case of the "Khyang" and "khyen." These two groups were mentioned by Maloney (1984:12) as two separate ethnic communities, but as one ethnic group in other sources, including the government census reports.

It is interesting to note that the name of the ethnic community most commonly spelt as "Koch" has been spelt as such on one page of Table 11.17 in the 1991 Census Report, and "Coach" on the following page, which is a continuation of the same Table. Although two different forms of spelling have been used, they were not treated as two separate ethnic communities. They were mentioned on the same column, although on two different pages, and one population figure has been given for this ethnic group. It might have been a typing error, but the spelling of the name of this ethnic community with two different letters "C" and "K" and an extra letter "a" in the case of spelling "Coach" indicates something else. During my field research among the Garo of Tangail and Mymensingh Districts, I learnt that "Koch" (who live in the same area) is variously pronounced by the local people as Koch, Koach, and Kuch. In other areas, the pronunciation may be a little different. I think the variations in the spelling is a reflection of variations in the pronunciation of the name of this ethnic community.

The divisions or branches of certain ethnic communities have been listed as separate ethnic groups by Maloney (1984) in his list of ethnic communities by their language category. He also mentioned the ex-tribal groups as tribes. Which groups constitute the branches of other larger ethnic communities and which groups are the ex-tribal peoples have been mentioned by Maloney (1984). But there is no such notes in the Census Report.

Treating the branches of a major ethnic group as separate ethnic groups is perhaps the result of an exact report of what people said. When the people belonging to any ethnic communities were asked about their group affiliation, they perhaps gave the main ethnic group's branch name which they belong to. Such divisions or sub-divisions of large ethnic communities often result from population increase and other social, economic, and political changes.

There is no point in giving a separate name to a group based on the name of the division of a main ethnic group when the people in both the branch and main ethnic group speak the same language and share the same culture and traditions. Even if the branch group live in a different geographical area, they might still be identified with the main group and could be listed under the same name. Nevertheless, if the people in branch groups wish to identify themselves by the name they chose for their branch, then they should perhaps be recorded accordingly. None of the available sources says anything about how these branches came to be known as separate ethnic communities: was it the people's wishes to have them recorded under the branch names or was it the decision of the census enumerators or ethnographers to use the branch names as separate ethnic groups?

The inclusion of the ex-tribal groups in the list of tribes also creates confusion. If these groups are included in the discussion of a paper, then there should be a clear note stating that they are "ex-tribal," as it has been done here. Otherwise, the confusion about the number of ethnic communities will remain as it is.

To keep consistency with the most recent population data, I have listed the different ethnic communities in Table 1 according to the list given in the 1991 Census Report. However, I have altered the English spelling of the names of certain ethnic communities given in the 1991 Census Report to maintain a uniformity with the English spelling most commonly found in the existing literature. The different forms of the English spelling found in the Census Report and in some of the other sources have been mentioned in parentheses against the name of the ethnic communities.

In a few cases, the names of certain ethnic groups were found only in the 1991 Census Report. No such name, nor even a similar sounding name with a different spelling, was found in any other literature. These cases have been indicated by a note — "found only in the 1991 Census Report" — in parenthesis at the end of the names of those ethnic communities.

The ethnic groups that constitute the branches or divisions of other major ethnic communities have been indicated in Table 1 by providing the names of the major ethnic groups in parentheses at the end of the names of those ethnic communities. Information about the possible splitting of major ethnic communities into branches and divisions was found in some of the available literature (see for example, Maloney 1984; Khan 1984).

For reasons given earlier, the population data given in the 1991 Census Report for the ethnic groups Tipra and Tripura were added together and the sum was given as the population size ofthe Tipra in Table 1. Likewise, the data for the Bongshi and Rajbongshi were added together and their sum was given as the population size of Rajbansi.

Religion

The Marma, Chakma, and Tanchangya are Buddhists and there are a few Buddhists among the other small ethnic groups of the CHT. Most people in the smaller ethnic communities of the interior parts of the CHT were animists. Some of these animists have been converted to Christianity by the Christian missionaries working in this area. Thus many of the Bawms, Lushai, and Pankho are now converted Christians. A process of Christianization is presently going on among these as well as other ethnic communities like the Mrongs and Mros.

The Garos have had their traditional religion, which is a form of animism. But the majority of them have been converted to Christianity. The Koch, Hajong, Pathor, and Manipuri are Hinduized ethnic communities. The Santals retained their traditional religion, which is based on belief in spirit (animism). However, they have been influenced by Hinduism and some of them have been converted to Christianity.

A process of Christianization has been going on in the ethnic areas since the British period. Before Christianization, however, most of the ethnic groups of the northern and north-eastern borders had been influenced by Hinduism, while those in the CHT by Buddhism. The rate of Islamization is very insignificant compared to that of Christianization. There are a few converted Muslims among the Rajbansis and also among the Garos, but their number is very insignificant in both cases.

Descent System and Kinship Organization

Except for the Garo and Khasi, all the ethnic communities of Bangladesh are patrilineal, i.e. they reckon descent from father's side. Property is transmitted in most cases from father to son (patrilineal inheritance), although in some cases the daughters also inherit their parents' property. The pattern of marital residence is patrilocal (wife comes at marriage to live in her husband's group) in all these patrilineal ethnic communities.

The Garo and Khasi are matrilineal, i.e they reckon descent from mother's side. The system of property inheritance in these two ethnic communities is also matrilineal (daughters inherit their mother's property). Unlike the patrilineal ethnic communities, the pattern of marital residence among the Garo

and Khasi is matrilocal (husband comes at marriage to live in his wife's group). There are certain indications which suggest matrilineal and matrilocal trends among the Marma. Remnants of matrilocal residence pattern may be discovered among the Marmas living in Arakan, but not in the case of those living in the CHT (see Levi-Strauss 1952a:51). A moiety structure is found among the Garo, and to some extent, among the Bawm, while all the other ethnic communities have a clan system. A clan exogamy is practised by nearly all the ethnic communities.

Occupation and Economy

Almost all the ethnic communities are mainly agriculturists. The ethnic peoples in the north-western districts have long been engaged in settled wet rice cultivation, although most of them have other secondary occupations like trading, crafts, weaving, and so on. Among the ethnic .groups of Sylhet District, the main occupation of the Khasis is agriculture (main agricultural product is the betel leaf, known as Khasia Pan; their agricultural products are lemon, pineapple, jackfruit, etc.). The Manipuri are basically craftsmen (carpenter and jeweller). Gathering and selling f uelwood is the primary occupation of the Pathors.

In the CHT, all the ridge-top living ethnic communities have traditionally been engaged in shifting cultivation, known as jum. The valley-inhabiting groups of this area (mainly the Marma and Chakma) were also shifting cultivators in the past. But due to the government prohibition on shifting cultivation, most of these people had to give it up and adopt settled plough cultivation for growing wet rice.

Although the Marma and Chakma had adopted settled plough cultivation, some of them are now compelled to practise shifting cultivation mainly due to the shortage of land in the valley. Such a shortage of suitable land for plough cultivation had resulted largely from the construction of Kaptai dam for the Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Project. The creation of a lake (reservoir) by constructing a dam caused the submergence of 50,000 acres of settled, cultivated land. This area constitute about 40 per cent of the district's total arable land. The people who were affected by the creation of this reservoir have not been adequately rehabilitated. So they have to find land in the hill-top for shifting cultivation.

But as the government Jhum Control Board keeps a check on migration from one hill to another, it is now becoming increasingly difficult for these people to support themselves. Some of the valley-inhabiting groups and a few ridge-top living ethnic communities have recently established fruit gardens (pineapple and orange), which now serve as an alternative means for their subsistence (for details of economic changes in the CHT, see the articles written by Bertocci, Jahangir, Mey, and Zaman in Qureshi 1984).

Like the ethnic communities of the CHT, the Garo of Tangail, Mymensingh and Jamalpur Districts were also shifting cultivators, but government prohibition made it imperative for them to adopt wet rice cultivation. The Garo people also found other new means of subsistence. Some of them have converted their previous jum fields to pineapple gardens, and pineapple eventually became the main source of their livelihood.

Most of the ethnic groups lived in the past in a subsistence economy, but a market economy emerged in the process of their integration into the mainstream society. Both external and internal factors had been responsible for such a shift in economy. The external factors are: the imposition of external political control (see below), settlement of non-tribal outsiders in the ethnic areas, external market forces, and so on. And the internal factors are: the adoption of wet rice cultivation, knowledge of the outside world, changes in property relations, introduction of modern education, changes in the attitude towards life, ideas of value, exploitation for money, importance of financial investment, return, and profit, and so on (see Khaleque 1982; 1983 a for an analysis of the economic changes in the case of Garo society).

Political Life

Centralized political authority and territorial form of organization were absent in most ethnic communities. The ethnic group as a whole, in nearly every case, was a kind of loose political unit having no significant organizational function, although ethnic affiliation had always played a certain role in their life. Every tribal village with a traditional headman was a kind of independent political unit. In most cases, the village founder or his descendants used to be the village headman, who usually had no formal authority over other villagers. The role of such a headman was to maintain peace and order in his society, organize economic activities of the villagers, and in some cases, to perform certain rituals.

However, a centralized political authority and a hierarchical administrative organization was superimposed on the ethnic people in order to.integrate them into the wider administration of the country. After establishing political and military control over the ethnic areas the British rulers appointed revenue collectors for collecting revenue from the ethnic communities. These revenue collectors used to retain a part of the collected revenue for themselves and passed the remainder to the government. Sub-collectors were employed in turn by the collectors and the function of collecting revenues from the village communities was usually delegated to the village headmen.

The village headmen were appointed from the village leaders who seemed to be efficient for revenue collection, not necessarily from the traditional headmen. In some cases, however, the traditional headmen were also included. The village headmen who were given the responsibility of revenue collection had acquired a dominant position in their society. In most cases, they became the real administrators of their respective ethnic group. This is particularly true in the CHT areas.

Generally, the revenue collectors in the ethnic areas were the Bengali (mainly Hindu) zamindars, but in the CHT, they were appointed from among the ethnic people themselves. The whole area of the CHT was divided into three revenue "circles" and a "Raja" or "Chief" was appointed in each of them. The "circle" was, in its turn, sub-divided into "mouza," each of which consisted of several villages. One headman at both "mouza" and village level was appointed for revenue collection. Thus the ethnic communities of the CHT who were previously organized along kinship lines were subjected to a territorial system of administration.

The system of administration introduced in the British period had been continued during the Pakistani rule. The ethnic communities were incorporated into the broader framework of the national political system in 1960 when the institution of Basic Democracies was introduced in the then Pakistan. After the liberation of Bangladesh, the institution of Basic Democracies was replaced with a system of Union Parishad, which represent the local level civil administration in the ethnic areas. The revenue administration is no longer performed by village headmen, except in the case of the CHT, where the chiefs of ethnic groups and their subordinate headmen still perform this function.

Acculturation and Conflict

A process of acculturation has long been going on among the ethnic communities of Bangladesh due to their symbiotic economic relationship with the mainstream Bengali society and also due to their integration into the wider political system. Except for the ethnic groups living in the interior part of the CHT, all the others have adopted many of the Bengali cultural traits. The Hinduized ethnic communities have long lost their traditional ways of life. Many of the small ethnic groups have been so much amalgamated that they even lost their ethnic identities. This is particularly true in the case of the ex-tribal groups. However, the larger groups like the Chakma, Marma, Garo, and some others have still maintained their distinct identities, although they have also adopted many traits of Bengali culture.

Although the ethnic communities have been maintaining political and economic relations with the mainstream Bengali people, some of them do not appreciate the government policy towards the ethnic communities. They consider such policies to be the means for economic and political suppression by the government authorities. According to them, the government policy has an inherent element of discrimination against the ethnic communities and is aimed at the disintegration of their socio-cultural life. It is not hard to find cases of conflict and tension in the ethnic areas and ethnic peoples' reactions against certain Government policy (see Khaleque 1982; and the various articles on the CHT area in Qureshi 1984).

Conclusion and Recommendation

The information presented in this paper is too general and hence not enough for a real understanding of the ethnic situation in Bangladesh. More research is needed for a comprehensive ethnology of all the ethnic communities of Bangladesh. Instead of depending on the information collected long time ago or on the existing unreliable information gathered by amateur writers, systematic research programmes should be undertaken. Since very little research, or in some cases none at all, has been done on some of the ethnic groups of Bangladesh, they could offer a good prospect for the professional anthropologists. The ethnic communities dealt with, to a considerable extent, in the earlier books are also worth studying now in order to discern the changes that have taken place since the time they were last studied. Most of the ethnic groups are changing very rapidly and many of their culture traits are likely to disappear in the near future. In order to understand the nature of changes in the ethnic communities of Bangladesh, systematic research should be conducted without further delay.

Studies relating to the origin of the various ethnic groups, their linguistic affinities, kinship and social organization, inter-cultural symbiosis, religious syncretism, nature and trends of political, economic and other changes, and so on, could be of much value from both an academic as well as from a pragmatic point of view. These information along with an exact location and population size in each of the ethnic communities would be of great help for administrative purposes and policy formulations. Systematic empirical research should be the basis for formulating sound policy towards the ethnic communities. Policies formulated on the basis of anthropological research and their proper implementation might help reduce the tension that is going on in some ethnic areas of Bangladesh.

Notes

1. I conducted studies through participant-observation method in three different research phases: between September 1979 and May 1980 (for M.A. degree in anthropology from Australian National University, Australia); June to October 1983 (for writing a research monograph); and between October 1990 and July 1991 (for Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University, USA).

2. After receiving M.A. degree in anthropology from Australian National University in 1983,1 visited some tribal areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet. I did not carry out any systematic research on any of the tribal groups in those areas, as I did on the Garo. However, as a result of my interest in tribes of Bangladesh and my training in anthropological research method, I could not help taking some notes during my visit to those areas.

Forest and Forest People of Bangladesh

by Philip Gain

From "Bangladesh - Land Forest and Forest People" - SEHD

Human beings and forests are closely related with each other from the very beginning of human history. And the relationship of the forest people with forests is much more intimate, reciprocal and spiritual. Life and culture of the forest communities center around forests and forest ecology. They collect from forest what they need for sustenance and protect it for their own interest. They are the "children of the forest" in true sense. Their values and cultures are very much attached with forest and land. These values and cultures are different from those of urban civilization. A conflict exists between the forest culture and urban culture. While the one protects nature, land and valuable traditional knowledge that come down to generations, the other tends only to consume. To the forest people civilization and culture are inexorably connected with land, ecology and nature.

At the spring time of setting environmental agenda, problems associated with forest, forest people - also known as indigenous people, native, tribal, Adivasi, etc. - and forest culture are hotly debated at both global and national levels. There is no denial of the fact that we have lost much of our forest and myriad number of biological resources. The most valuable thing we have lost is knowledge that have been transferred by the forest communities or indigenous peoples from generation to generation for thousands of years. The forest communities are nowadays faced with difficulties that have pushed them to the frontiers. Urban civilization and market economy have drastically diminished the forest resources throughout the world. And with forest resources shrinking, the indigenous values and cultures have also been severely threatened.

Problems created from deforestation, afforestation activities funded by multilateral development banks (MDBs), participation in the Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP), unwise settlement of people with little knowledge about forest culture on forest land, etc. have been the causes of major concerns in the recent time.

Struggle of the Indigenous Peoples for cultural and political rights

by Brother Jarlath D'Souza

From "Bangladesh - Land Forest and Forest People" - SEHD

Introduction

During our preliminary survey in 1996 the issue of both ongoing and past landloss came up as a likely central cause for pauperization in the Santal community at large extent. We also realized that we had to pay close attention to the links between discrimination as an ethnic minority (including access to state provided resources) and land loss. We became increasingly concerned about a couple of important research questions :

Is it possible to estimate the landloss from the British Period until presently?

What are the main causes of landloss, have these changed throughout the last 50 years?

Is it possible to estimate the relative amounts of legal sale versus illegal transfers?

Are really always Santals the victims and Bengalis the culprits?

Is there any difference in land loss amongst Christian and non Christian Santals?

How much land can still be prevented sold to non Santals and possibly how?

Research strategy, methods and constraints

We decided to conduct a fairly comprehensive survey throughout our research area. The survey form was developed in collaboration between Bleie, Kisku and the local resource person Mr. Rubia Toppo, who was earlier working for CARITAS Legal Aid Project. Toppo an experienced farmer, community leader and social worker was of valuable help in both designing the land survey form and during the subsequent training in survey methods and tools.

The survey form was developed to enable very detailed recording for two periods; 1947-1972 and 1972-1997, specifying what we found to be appropriate and well defined categories of land transfers; amount of Mortgaged Land (to Bengali/Santal, when, reason), Enemy Property (amount, when, to whom, reason), Land Sold with Permission (amount, to Bengali/Santal, when, reason), Other Landloss (amount, to Bengali/Santals, when, reason) amount of Khas Land (when), amount of Forest Land (when, reason). The form also contained tables for recording of land purchase between 1971-1997 and for redeemed mortgaged land within this period from Bengalis and Santals. A Commentary Sheet was attached allowing for more detailed information than allowed in the tables.

To reduce errors in the interview situation and in the filling out of forms the coordinator developed a detailed Instruction Sheet spelling out the research questions and how to fill into the tables and the commentary sheet. The instruction sheet was planned to accompany all research teams during field trials and the survey.

The trials and the first round of the survey was conducted by all teams between July and late September 1997. We conducted then a quality control on an occasional selection of 50 of the 700 submitted forms.

There are of course several sources of errors here at different stages in the process of design, survey taking, recording and computerization of the data. Let us briefly describe some of the major sources of errors. The first critical stage is in the translation of the draft form and instruction sheet from English to Bengali. By two ways cross checking we found some errors in translation of categories also two columns had been left altogether. These errors were not discovered before a first set of survey forms had been printed and circulated to two of the teams. The teams who had already received these forms had to correct the errors manually. The other teams got the corrected forms.

The field trials were conducted under close supervision, aided also by the Instruction Sheet. Here another logistical failure resulted in that two of the teams were not supplied with the instruction aid. It seems though that this has not significantly hampered the field trials. During trials considerable attention was paid to presentation of purpose of the land survey, search for reliable informants, modes of posing the questions, note taking, cross checking methods in the interview situation and after during full recording of survey interviews.

The quality control conduced on a selection of the submitted forms in September 1997 revealed that in spite of the efforts made in training and trials some serious shortcomings were found in the test materials. One major problem was completely lacking and very incomplete data for the period 1947-1972. The major reasons reported by the supervisors were: time pressure which made the VS prioritize the period 1972-1997, since more reliable and comprehensive information was available and frequent absence of elderly informants at the time of the survey interview. Another detected major problem was inaccurate or partly unreadable filling out of forms, which could create new errors during computerization of the data.

After difficult discussions we decided to reject the submitted forms and go for a second round of survey taking. This decision was at first felt very discouraging by all the teams. We decided to learn as much as possible from this failure. We decided to use much time in the upcoming training on reviewing the shortcomings in the survey and find ways to ensure more complete and accurate recording in the second round. The decision to redo the land survey also had consequences for the progress of other pending research work for the rest of 1997 as well as financial consequences. These were gradually sorted out and a new round of survey taking was conducted in early December, but for a reduced sample (399 households compared to 700 in the first round). The data collected in this second round were significantly more complete and accurate. Tabulation of the survey and computerization was done in January, and February 1998 by a professional statistician. We have not been able to detect any major errors in this phase.

In addition to these errors we have detected other related to our research questions and the resulting definition of time intervals. We have found it virtually impossible for us to document even roughly the amount of land lost during the period 1947-1997. The problems are immense, both due to unavailability of reliable elderly informants and to memory lapse among quite a few of those elders we were able to interview. Another major problem hindering any comparison of reliable quantitative data on full land loss (through legal or illegal means) between 1947 and 1972 is created by the major changes in the land laws within that period. This would have made it problematic to compare the legal landholding situation in 1947 and 1972, even if information on tenancy forms and the amounts of transfers had been available. We present below our findings about different forms of land transfers, their relative importance and the major underlying causes.

The period 1947-1972

In 1947 the Santals, like other adibasis, held various kinds of tenurial rights under Zamindars who were the owners. The adibasi inhabited areas had sub feudal systems with the Zamindars and sub zamindars. They in turn rented the land to ryots with occupancy rights. These ryots had to pay rent either to the sub Zamindar or to the state directly.

Besides ryots, there were other tenure holders such as jotadars who often did not had the right to claim a substantial portion of the produce besides different kinds of land tax, some of which were in turn paid by the Zamindars to the government. The Zamindars subleased land to sub zamindars and jotadars who leased their lands to cultivators on different terms.

When the was abolished in 1952, many Santals and other adibasis did not get their tenurial rights converted into legal ownership to the land. There are many reasons for this. There different tenurial rights. Some were much more legally complicated than others, some granting the cultivator residency rights and security against eviction, others granting no residence rights and hardly any protection against eviction. At that time nearly all Santals were illiterate, which of course also meant that they were effectively legally illiterate, both in terms of knowledge of the legal intricacies as well as in terms of ability to directly examine, write and make use of written legal documents. The tenurial arrangements sometimes varied in the same hamlet. In other places the systems varied from village to village. We can still say today that one reason why significant differences arise between Santali communities in current land ownership was a community's ability to get their tenurial rights converted into ownership rights in the early 1950s. Tragically, many who did ensure control over a huge property have lost most or all of their land over the last 45 years.

We cannot give any approximate numbers on how much of the land previously cultivated by Santals was granted full ownership rights in comparison to how much land they hand cultivated on tenurial terms, which for several reasons did not get registration. A number of testimonies, which are also supported by earlier research (Bleie 1995), indicate that many unsuccessfully tried to gain ownership rights in 1952. Many others relinquished this legal opportunity due to ignorance and indecisiveness. It seems that many Santals trusted that they would be able to maintain tenurial rights to land on a sharecropping basis and that such cultivation rights would ensure their livelihood for the foreseeable future.

Instead of cultivating the land, they leased it to under tenants who had to make cash payments in advance for getting the land on lease. Moreover, the ordinary ryots could have sub tenant korfa ryots who had different rights. One category held occupancy rights and could not easily be driven off their land. Another category had very weak cultivation/lessee rights. Another type of cultivator was adhi ryots, who were sharecroppers who had to pay a sizable portion to the landowner. Protesting the unreasonably high portion claimed by the landowners, many adhilborga cultivators including, many adibasis rose against their landlords in be Rajshahi area in the early 1940s. A number of Santals from Rajshahi were in the forefront of this movement (known as the Tebhaga) and were mercilessly killed by the armed police.

The rather sweeping changes in legal land ownership in East Bengal the early 1950s were preceded by other losses of land control which were the result of communal tensions stiffed up in the wake of independence in 1947, which resulted the partition of Greater Bengal. In the violence which rapidly escalated, many Bengali Hindus felt their lives were directly threatened in the new Muslim East Pakistan. They hastily sold off all unmovable property or simply fled, leaving their homes and properties largely unattended or in care of adibasi tenants. Many of the big Hindu landlords who left had offered various kinds of patronage to the adibasis. When the adibasis observed that their own patrons were leaving, they felt more insecure in an already volatile situation. Their fears were not unfounded. The Muslim Bengalis knew of course about long­standing Hindu adibasi patron client relationships in their own communities. Also, many Muslims had observed the "Hinduized" religious practices of many adibasis and suspected that the adibasis were staunch Hindu loyalists. In the years which followed the partition, many Santals fled from their homes and their villages after both direct violent attacks (including also rapes) and other forms of threats from local Bengali Muslims. Many Santals who fled collected in refugee camps set up by the mission stations or took shelter in the homes of relatives in West Bengal and Assam. Some of the refugees settled in India, while many others returned to East Pakistan after a couple of months. Returning home, many found their land occupied. Many of them were not able to claim back their land.

The injustices committed against adibasis in these parts of East Bengal after Partition and Independence are documented and investigated. Future studies should collect documentation of the scale of forced right of adibasis, scale and forms of atrocities (by whom) and the amounts of land loss that resulted from the exodus.

What then have we found through our survey are main causes of land loss? And is it possible to come forward with any estimates on land losses in the period between 1952 and 1971? Since our information is indeed incomplete and not very reliable, we can at the most suggest some major tendencies.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, many Santals who had lost land in 1952 or who had not claimed their ownership rights continued share cropping the land of Bengali landowners. These were then mostly Muslims, due to the exodus of the wealthy land owning Hindus. There was in this period a fair number (it is impossible to suggest any meaningful numbers on this) wealthy Santals. Communal tensions burst periodically in the open in 1956/57,1962, and during the war between India and Pakistan in 1965 reminding the Santal villagers of their vulnerability as a small minority whose loyalties were easily questioned by their Muslim neighbours.

Our survey contains a very limited number (12 of 399 households) of mortgage cases from this period. Our numbers undoubtedly suffer from some under reporting, but perhaps not very significantly so. We know that mortgage arrangements were much less important in this period than they later became in the post liberation period.

In the same period we have registered 22 instances (out of 399) of "other land loss" to Bengalis via various illegal means. We have learnt that in many of these instances the occupation was often enforced through various kinds of physical threats and direct assaults. Some of the cases are reported to have occurred due to faked land records. In some instances, the Santal brought his case to the court. Due to lack of proper judicial support and often corruption, most Santal litigations we have recorded were lost.

In the same period we have recorded 10 cases of land loss to other Santals. In 3 of these the land transfers had illegal elements, such as the use of threats and land occupation. In the other recorded cases the stated reasons were the need for a considerable amount of money (prompted by accumulated debt, medical expenses etc.). As per our record about 207 acres went to Bengalis and 22 acres to Santals. The relative proportion of land under this category which went to Bengalis compared to Santals is approximately 10 to 1.

The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act (EBSATA) of 1950 should restrict transfers of adibasi land to non adibasi. Yet it opened land for such sale in case of "serious reasons", which had to be certified by the District Commissioner. In our survey we have recorded 26 cases of such legal transfers. Interestingly, in all the instances the land was sold to non adibasi, which implies that the transfers officially met the requirements of "serious reasons" as set in the Act. It is notable that most of this land was not sold to private Bengalis. It was expropriated by the government for the establishment of government farms. Of the recorded 124 acres sold by permission of EBSATA, as much as 106 acres were expropriated by the government against negligible compensation rates. Most of our recording of legal sales stems from our surveyed hamlets in Galbanda District. We have come to learn from for various informants from this survey area that much the fertile land of the huge sugar cane farm in Mahimaganj (Rangpur Zila) was previously owned and tilled by local adibasis. Their descendants are currently poorly paid day labourers on the land once owned by their parents and grandparents. The juridical basis for this government appropriation should in our view again be looked into.

We have recorded 4 instances of Santals who had their land declared as government khas land. Again we can safely assume based on various testimonies by leaders that this number is underreported. In some of these cases taxes had not been paid, in other instances the Santal tillers were ignorant about how to document legally a land claim on the basis of their long standing cultivation rights to the land.

The period 1972-1997

In the early years after the liberation war, the Santals of our surveyed households held according to our survey result 137,593 decimals of land. This amount might be somewhat under reported: we have found there is a tendency amongst informants to underestimate size of landholdings held more than a decade back. When compared with the survey data on total landholdings in 1997, 83,454 decimals, we get a fairly reliable indication about land loss in the period from early 1972 until late 1997.

A key question for us is: through which mechanisms and trajectories was this land lost? And are there any significant differences in trajectories (relative land loss by economic position, religious affiliation, by districts etc.)?

We consider that we have enough evidence from key informant interviews, focus group discussions and the household land survey to argue that mortgage is very often the first act that often becomes an irreversible step towards complete land loss by illegal or legal means. It is one indication of this "law of land loss", that our data indicates that out of the recorded total land given out on various kinds of mortgage terms, which is 16,361 decimals, only 2,678 decimals was reported redeemed in the same period (1972-1997), which is no more than around 15 per cent. We can also fairly safely assume that the amount of mortgaged land is seriously under reported compared to the data on redeemed land.

We could have ideally minimized this error by having requested to see land registration documents, including deeds. However, we decided not to ask for deeds, since people for good reasons become very suspicious. We had in other word to weight better reliability in terms of land ownership data against the perceived risks of jeopardizing the trust we had been able to build between the villagers and us.

Out of the recorded "instances" in the period 1972-1997, 19 occurred in the 1970s, 23 in the 1980s and as many as 119 in the 1990s. Methodologically speaking we have to be aware of the following errors behind these numerical results. It is realistic to assume that memory lapse also have intervened here, the actual amount of redeemed land might be way below 10 per cent. We have strong indications of that much of the land reported mortgaged during the 1970s and 1980s was sold illegally or legally. This previously mortgaged land thus reappears in our data on "land sold legally" and as "other land loss". Some of the land, though, was obviously redeemed, but not much. We did not register in our survey case by case whether the mortgage finally resulted in sale of the land (and by legal or illegal means), and can therefor not state exactly how much was sold later.

We have calculated that a total of 11 per cent of the reported landholdings owned by the surveyed population in 1972 was mortgaged out during the period 1972-1997. Of this 11 per cent, 3 per cent was mortgaged by Santals and 8 per cent by Bengalis. Particularly policy relevant are our findings about the frequency of mortgages, the amount of current mortgages and to whom it is leased (to Santals or Bengalis). A substantial quantity of this land (again we have no figures for the exact amount) has probably already been lost. More importantly, some of this land is still leased out on mortgage terms and it should still possible to regain full control over much of it if an appropriate programme combining social motivation, legal literacy and technical advice could be launched. It is important to note that a considerable portion of this mortgaged land is controlled by Santals.

Before proceeding in our discussion of the role of mortgages in land loss and possible land retrieval, let us look at our aggregate figures on the relative importance of all the defined categories of land transfers which are categorized as enemy land, forest land, kash land, sold with permission (the EBSAT Act) and lastly other land loss (illegally or without full formalities).

While the total amount seized as enemy land was minor (3 percent of the total land holding in 1972), it is important to stress that such seizure occurred in a limited number of hamlets (13 of 60) of our particularly for the more distant period, the 1970s and the early 1980s. The actual numbers must have been much higher than what we have been able to record, might be as much as the double. Even with this in mind it might seem that the frequency and amount of mortgagees were relatively high, but stable in the 1970s and the 1980s, but rose to new heights in the 1990s. Another methodological problem is that the recordings are not individual transfers as such. The same plot of land are in some cases mortgaged out two or more times. Thus some of the recorded "transfers" from 1980s are second or more transfers of the same plot. This duplication error is however countervailed by what we think are a quite large under reporting from the period 1970s and early 1980s.

There are about obvious reasons for caution while analysing this figure. Considerable land was sold in this period, less was bought in. As remarked already, this figure does not reflect that the same plots are frequently mortgaged out more than once in this period. 11 per cent of land owned in 1972 was mortgaged out between 1972 and 1997.

These hamlets are not clustered in any particular administrative unit. Most seizures occurred in the 1970s, 15 of 19 recorded cases. 3 occurred in the 1980s and 1 as late as 1995 in Dhanjuri. Most of the cases from the 1970s occurred in 1971-2 right after the end of the Liberation War. In most instances the Santals had fled to India under the already described circumstances and found their properties sized and controlled by Bengalis upon their return. There are also cases of Santals who did not leave but still some neighbours were able to succeed through forgery and threats in get the land confiscated.

We have only registered one single case (from Phoolbanda) of seizure as government protected forest. Land loss via governmental proclamation of the land as Khas land also played a rather marginal role. Less than 3 percent of the land owned in 1972 was lost this way. The most frequent reason was unpaid land tax.

"Other land loss" is a heterogeneous category of both illegal and legal yet not fully formalized land transfers to other Santals. In total, other land loss accounted for as much as 27 per cent of the land in the hands of Santals in 1972. Of the 37,740 decimals sold, 17,593 went to Santals and 20,147 to Bengalis. We have considerable information about the (il)legalities and actual circumstances under which these transfers took place. The transfer to Bengalis were illegal and have never been submitted for approval under the EBSAT Act. The numbers of total instances of transfer are 61 to Bengalis and 53 to Santals. Of the 61 registered transfers to Bengali, as many as 25 are specifically reported to have involved faked records/court cases (by Bengali) or occupation by force. Another 20 illegal transfers occurred under circumstances not reported to have involved force and legal pressure. Most often the Santals have taken high interest private loans to finance particular investments (purchase of cattle or marriage celebration) or acute medical expenses. If we analyze the circumstances for transfer to Santals, it appears that use of illegal means such as faked records threats and court cases is much less than in the case of Bengalis. In only 7 out of 53 registered instances have such means been reported. In most instances it seems that loans for consumption or investment could not be repaid. These lands were eventually given as repayment for long accumulated debt. It is nevertheless important to note that our data demonstrate that relations between Santals are not untinged with exploitation.

An important question remains: what are the main reasons for this massive transfer of agricultural land? We have attempted in our survey to record reasons for each and every transfer of land on mortgage terms. We have not computerized any frequency profile on the recorded reasons due to variations in degree of specificity in the answers given by our respondents. Sometimes also our village researchers have interpreted responses and stated them in a diffuse manner. For example, factors such as "poverty" are very general, while reasons such as "sickness expenses", "coverage of marriage expenses", "getting cash for new land purchase", "need for cash due to a crop failure (often drought)" or "machine purchase" state concretely what at least a major portion of the realized money was used for.

We consider many of these stated reasons to convey some of the main cause effect factors in a vicious poverty cycle that has trapped many Santals and still traps those Santals who still own some agricultural land.

Other factors are more hidden, and are generally not stated by the landowners themselves. Obviously very few indeed state that much was lost due to their massive and regular alcohol use, which affected their sense of judgement and ability to care for their property, heavy alcohol use is often one factor which starts off pauperization, including land loss. In other instances heavy alcohol use enters into a cause‑effect chain, where it exacerbates poverty. The critical driving forces are: disproportionate use of household resources on alcohol instead of meeting basic reproductive needs or for investments; inattention to agricultural work and management of property. Mortgaging land as a response to acute cash needs: food, sickness etc. is frequently followed by new debt accumulation due to chronical income deficits, which also make impossible retrieval of the land. After some time, when there, is some urgent new need for a substantial amount of cash, the land is ultimately sold. The pauperization process over time might in many cases partially be accentuated by conventional pauperization related factors (low income, lack of access to common property resources, inheritance laws), cultural factors (the value of leisure and collective consumption, where drinking is central), and social discrimination due to an extreme minority situation. Social discrimination is evident in non‑optional reliance on Bengali patrons and intermediaries, since very few Santals get access to such intermediary roles. Fully realizing the marginality and powerlessness of the Santals, Bengalis can, largely unsanctioned, use various methods of cheating and harassment to acquire control over land owned by Santals.

The role of Santal chiefs in approving and certifying land sale under the ESAST Act deserve more scrutiny. We have documentation that it has been common to accept bribes and to certify transfer (to the District Commissioner), knowing that the actual buyer is a Bengali rather than a Santal as commonly stated on the deed.

In the trajectories of previously wealthy households the reinforcing combinations of excessive alcohol use, poor land management and careless use of mortgage to realize acute cash needs have resulted in gradual land loss. The final outcome of many of the trajectories is extreme deprivation.

Let us consider in more depth the common trajectories for wealthy Santal farmers who were affluent landowners 25-40 years back. It is important to understand that Santal cultural notions of abundance and affiliation to the land impact on early land loss. Santals' notions of wealth and affluence are based on the assertion that the wealth of the land should cater for the cultivator's daily needs and also enable them distribute wealth in the forms of beer, and food, thereby realizing the cherished Santali ideal of hospitality. The peasant household deems it undesirable and harvest more than what is required for these basic consumption needs. The owners will consider how to relieve themselves of the surplus land by sharecropping out some portion of it, by less intensive farming or by letting some land fallow.

There are some different frequent steps in the next phase of the trajectory. One step, with a less disastrous outcome, is that moderate land loss and minimal fragmentation through inheritance (only one or two heirs in two successive generations) result in the household still owning and controlling some land. Let us say that the households of two brothers and coheirs now control each bighas of what was only a joint 30 bigha property. Some land might be on mortgage due to capital needs for purchasing some, new land. In another frequent outcome the combination of circumstances occurring over a 10-20 year period are massive due to land litigation, other debt accumulation due to high recurrent living expenditures, eventually resulting in a series of mortgages ending in land sale. The accumulated outcome is a current asset situation where out of a 5-10 bigha land, only 2-3 bighas are actually cultivated by the household.

Are the Christians better off than the Adi Santals?

Distribution of surveyed households by landholding categories

* Bangladesh Statistical Pocket Book, Agii-Census, 1994

We have designed the Table which shows the distribution profiles by landholding categories resulting from our PSS Survey (1997), BNELC's Survey (1997) and the National Agri-Census (1994). A comparison of the BNELC with the Agri-Census shows that on average the Lutheran Christian Santals (members of BNELQ) are generally worse off compared to the average Bengali. Particularly striking and worrying is the considerably larger proportion of marginal farmers, small holders who own between 0.1-0.5 acres (57 per cent against 38 per cent). If comparing cultivatable land 53 per cent of Santals from BNELC have no such land, compared to 27 per cent of the Bengali.

Our survey results have to be compared with the other two studies with caution, since we have included homestead land. While any exact comparison thus is impossible, an approximate comparison is still of interest. Our survey shows that 8 per cent of the households have no land, 27 per cent own between 0.1-0.5 acres and another 14 per cent hold between 0.5-1.0 acres. A significant portion of these marginal and small holders are agricultural landless. We feel confident that the number of agricultural landlessness is really somewhere in between the numbers found among BNELC families (53 percent) and Bengalis (27 per cent). It must not be forgotten that we are here talking about formal ownership rights. We have found that a sizeable portion of the households have mortgaged out most or all of their agricultural land.

The rather surprisingly large portion of surveyed households who hold 1.0 acres or more land (if compared to the two other studies) has similarly to be adjusted, granted our inclusion of homestead land. We hold it justified to assume that the proportion of our surveyed population who own 1.0 acres or more lies close to the national average (39 per cent) and thus above the 25 per cent found in BNELC's Survey.

This difference is fairly significant and deserves commenting. The most obvious explanation is religious affiliation; since our survey contains a more representative selection of Santals it appears as if Lutheran Christian Santals for some reason are poorer in terms of landholding, and apparently must have lost more land in the past.

Such an assertion runs no doubt contrary to common sense for two reasons. Firstly, Lutheran Santals have a larger proportion of literates and indeed of adults with higher education than our survey population. Secondly, Lutheran Santals are members of a modern church institution. We may presume that BNELC have been assisting its members with political and juridical support in cases of land disputes. The first presumption builds on a chain of assumptions; that literates are automatically legal literates and thus able to manage their landed property better than legally non-literate people. The second presumption asserts that the Church actually intervenes on behalf of its members, either via its development wing or directly by. legal services.

It seems to us that both these chains of assumptions - on the face of them logical - do not hold what they may promise.

Judging our evidence there might not a clear direct cause-effect relation between literacy and size of landholding. Households with some literate and even well-educated members are at least nearly or perhaps as prone to use land as collateral for loans as households without formally educated members. Households with formally educated members seem also to be nearly as prone as others to cheating/pressure and ultimately to land loss.

Scrutinizing the other chain of assumptions, we have found that BNELC has not really been actively supporting church members involved in land disputes. We also find that the development wing (BNELC-DF) has put little emphasis on legal assistance and strategies for retrieval of mortgaged land.

Among a number of collected cases documenting land loss among, BNELC-members, this story from Rameshorpur (Adampur Circle) illuminates a precarious situation:

Mr. D.M. Murmu was a middle class farmer who together with many of his villagers became Christian in BNELC. Mr. Murmu also became the leader of the new congregation. Some of his sons got education and were later employed by BNELC-DF. Later on, W. Murmu faced harassments and threats from a Bengali Muslim neighbour. Part of his good land became occupied. His crops were destroyed by cows and goats let loose on purpose by the Muslim; it is clear that religion is a significant factor and we have disaggregated (by Christian and Adi Santals) our landholding profile and our data on quantities of mortgaged land and land sold with permission between 1972-1997.

Examining the distribution profile of Christians and Adi Santals we find that more Adi Santals than Christians are fully landless, or marginal landowners (0.1-0.5 acres). 11.2 percent and 28.9 percent of the Adi Santals belong to these categories, whereas 5.2 per cent and 25.5 per cent of the Christians. Christians and Adi Santals are nearly equally represented in the category poor farmers (0.5-1.1 acres), with 13.2 and 14.4 per cent respectively. Among small farmers there is a relatively larger representation of Adi Santals, 19.8 per cent versus 14.4. Among medium farming we find 18.7 per cent of the Adi Santals and 19.3 per cent of the Christians, a minor difference in other words. Among the farmers (surplus farmers) about equal proportions of Christians and Adi Santals falls within this category, 10.4 versus 10.2 per cent.

Among the rich farmers the proportion of Christians who fall in the group are significantly over the proportion of Adi Santals, the numbers are 6.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

If we look at the relative per cent wise proportions within each of landholding categories the picture becomes even more imbalanced (in favour of the Christians) in the landholding categories - No land, marginal farmer and rich farmers. Let us now attempt to analyze this evidence of the impact of religion on landholding situation.

All our registered rich farmers are from Dinajpur or Thakurgaon. Out of the totally 17 registered rich farmers 14 are Christians and 4 are ADI Santals. By studying our basic descriptive household data we have identified the denominational status of these really wealthy (in terms of land) farmers. Out of the 14 Christians, 10 are Catholics, 3 are Lutherans and 2 belong to other denominations. This predominance of Catholics among the new remaining really affluent, Santali farmers, may indicate that they have had greater access to legal advice and other institutional backing. This seems very necessary, as many as 5 of the 14 households report of having lost land after cheating and forceful pressure. As many as 10 of the 14 have sold land (in the period between 1971-1997) with permission. Very importantly, most of the surveyed households state as their reasons cow purchase, tax payment dues, crop failure and educational costs. These stated reasons are telling that rich in land does not necessary mean rich in liquid capital to pay running household expenses. The causes these farmers told us demonstrate that there is too little access to institutional credit among the affluent Santals. Apart from this many signal a certain distrust in the available credit institutions. Wealthy Santals farmers often resort to sale of land instead. It is noteworthy that nearly all have also purchased land in the period 1971-1997. Most of the land was bought from other Santals. All these findings are relevant for future strategies for land management and land retrieval.

The finding that Adi Santals are over represented among the landless and marginal farmers might indicate that the Christians' higher literacy rate might be one causal factor. But there are other factors too. At least as important is our finding that Christians have had some better access into non-agricultural income sources, which may have prevented those households from mortgaging and selling out as rapidly as many of the Adi Santals.

Lastly we like to again remind that the above examined data documents legally owned landholding, not actually controlled landholding. Our data documents that out of the total land area owned by our surveyed population in 1997, somewhere between 15-20 per cent is currently mortgaged out. This land is under acute risk of being sold by illegal or illegal means, if mot massive a well-conceived and massive effort is made for land retrieval.

Adivasi in India

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