The Jumma People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts" – Shapan Adnan and Ranajit Dastidar

 পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রামের জুম্মা জনগোষ্ঠীর সাংস্কৃতিক ঐতিহ্য, সংগ্রাম, এবং ভূমি অধিকার নিয়ে আলোচনা।

"The Jumma People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts" বইটি শপান আদনান এবং রণজিৎ দস্তিদার কর্তৃক রচিত একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ গ্রন্থ, যা বাংলাদেশের চট্টগ্রাম পাহাড়ি অঞ্চলের জুম্মা জনগোষ্ঠীর জীবন, সংস্কৃতি এবং তাদের ইতিহাস নিয়ে আলোকপাত করে। এই বইটি মূলত এই অঞ্চলের জাতিগত এবং সামাজিক জটিলতা তুলে ধরে।

বইটির মূল বিষয়বস্তু হলো চট্টগ্রাম পাহাড়ি এলাকার জুম্মা জনগণের ভূমি অধিকার, সামাজিক ও সাংস্কৃতিক পরিস্থিতি এবং বাংলাদেশের কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারের সঙ্গে তাদের সম্পর্কের ইতিহাস। বইটিতে এই জনগোষ্ঠীর উপর উপনিবেশিক শাসন এবং স্বাধীনতার পর বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রের ভূমিকা নিয়ে আলোচনা করা হয়েছে।

এতে আরো আলোচিত হয়েছে:

• জুম্মা জনগণের সামাজিক কাঠামো এবং সাংস্কৃতিক ঐতিহ্য।
• পাহাড়ি অঞ্চলের ভূমি অধিকার এবং বসতি স্থাপন নিয়ে সংঘাত।
• ১৯৪৭ সালের ভারত বিভাগের পর থেকে শুরু হওয়া তাদের রাজনৈতিক সংগ্রাম।
• বাংলাদেশ সেনাবাহিনীর ভূমিকা এবং পাহাড়ি জনগণের প্রতি সরকারের নীতি।

এই বইটি গবেষক, মানবাধিকারকর্মী, এবং নীতিনির্ধারকদের জন্য একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ দলিল, যা চট্টগ্রাম পাহাড়ি এলাকার জুম্মা জনগোষ্ঠীর অধিকারের লড়াই এবং সংকট তুলে ধরে।

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"The Jumma People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts" offers a thorough examination of the conflicts and socio-political background of the native Jumma communities in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Shapan Adnan and Ranajit Dastidar explore the distinct cultural identity, economic subsistence, and political activism of these native communities in opposition to decades of marginalisation and government-enforced oppression.

The indigenous people of the CHT are referred to as "Jummas." They are a unique ethnic group that includes the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Mro, and several other clans. The book focuses on the difficulties that these people have historically encountered from outside influences, such as the government of British colonial India, Pakistani governance, and eventually the government of Bangladesh. The writers investigate the causes of identity conflicts, relocation, and land dispossession.

Key Themes:

1.Cultural Identity: The book emphasises how crucial it is to protect the Jumma people's unique cultural heritage, languages, and customs. It investigates the ways in which these communities have remained true to themselves in the face of outside influences.

2.Land Dispossession: The book makes a significant point about the Jumma people's forced relocation and land grabs. Due to the policies of the Bangladeshi government to resettle Bengalis in the CHT, this process accelerated, resulting in a major shift in the indigenous tribes' demographics and a loss of land.

3.Armed Opposition and Struggle: The writers explore the Jumma people's armed opposition to persecution, emphasising the rise of rebel factions such as the Shanti Bahini. These organisations fought for autonomy and the acknowledgement of their rights by engaging in armed conflict with governmental forces. The peace negotiations and ensuing ceasefire agreements—most notably, the 1997 CHT Accord—are also covered in the book.

4.State Oppression and Militarisation: A critical analysis is conducted of the state's role in sustaining conflict in the Central Highlands through militarisation and resource exploitation. The book looks at how militarisation impacted the Jumma people's everyday lives as well as their political autonomy. It also looks at how this led to human rights breaches such violence against women and relocation.

5. Autonomy Struggles: Even after ratifying the CHT Accord in 1997, the Jumma people still have difficulties achieving complete autonomy. The book talks about how the accord hasn't been fully implemented and how the Jumma communities are still being marginalised in society and politics, which prevents them from attaining self-determination.

Report: The Jumma people face a variety of intricate political, economic, and social difficulties. Adnan and Dastidar provide a thorough, historically accurate, and sympathetic description of these issues. Their combination of academic analysis, firsthand accounts, and historical documents gives readers a thorough grasp of how indigenous populations in Bangladesh are still marginalised.

According to the writers, structural injustices and the intentional land grabs and cultural erasing programs of past administrations are far more to blame for the strife in the Central Highlands than just ethnic animosity. These problems have been demonstrated to have been made worse by the resettlement of Bengalis in the CHT under governmental schemes, which uprooted the native population from their ancestral lands and threatened their traditional ways of life.

The book also discusses the need for a more inclusive, decentralised government structure that enables indigenous peoples to exercise sovereignty over their land, resources, and traditional practices, as well as the larger implications of indigenous struggles in the framework of human rights. The 1997 CHT Peace Accord is examined as an important but insufficient step towards ending the conflict. The authors contend that permanent peace would not materialise in the absence of total implementation and sincere political will.

Critical Analysis: This book's multifaceted approach, which combines historical, economic, and cultural viewpoints to give a comprehensive picture of the Jumma people's situation, is one of its strongest points. The writers do a good job of relating the regional struggles of the Jumma villages to international debates around decolonisation, land rights, and Indigenous rights.

Though the book offers a thorough analysis, some readers might find it difficult to sift through the many layers of political and historical context due to its rich informational content. Furthermore, Jumma life's other facets, like its rich cultural traditions and contributions to society outside of politics, may be obscured by the intense attention on the insurgency.

In conclusion, "The Jumma People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts" makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of the intricacies of South Asian state policies, indigenous resistance, and ethnic strife. It provides light on a historically marginalised minority and insights into the continued difficulties they have in pursuing rights and autonomy. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in post-colonial state-building, indigenous rights, and ethnic conflict.