Chittagong Hill Tracts

Chattogram Hill Tracts
Sajek Valley Rangamati
Geography
Chattogram Hill Tracts Location in Bangladesh
Location	Khagrachari District, Rangamati District, Bandarban District, Bangladesh

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bengali: পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, romanized: Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are a group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east. Covering 13,295 square kilometres (5,133 sq mi), they formed a single district until 1984, when they were divided into three districts: Khagrachhari, Rangamati, and Bandarban.

Topographically, the Hill Tracts are the only extensively hilly area in Bangladesh. It is home to a variety of tribes. The Chittagong Hill Tracts were divided by the British in the 19th century into three circles, the Chakma Circle, Mong Circle and the Bohmong Circle. Today, it remains one of the least developed parts of Bangladesh.^[1]

The Chittagong Hill Tracts along with Sikkim, Ladakh, Tawang, Darjeeling, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, constitute some of the remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), the only extensive hilly area in Bangladesh, lie in the southeastern part of the country (210 25' N to 230 45' N latitude and 910 54' E to 920 50' E longitude) bordering Myanmar on the southeast, the Indian state of Tripura on the north, Mizoram on the east and Chittagong district on the west. The area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts is about 13,184 km², which is approximately one-tenth of the total area of Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hill Tracts combine three hilly districts of Bangladesh: Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban districts.^[2]

The mountainous rugged terrain with deep forests, lakes and falls gives it a different character from the rest of Bangladesh.

According to the census of 2022, the population of the Rangamati District, Khagrachhari District, Bandarban District totaled 1,842,815, of whom 920,248(49.94%) were tribal people. Population of ethnic minorities are: Chakma 454,925, Marma 209,783, Tripura 133,372, Mro 51,724, Tanchangya 42,943, Bom 12,311, Khyang 4,176, Khumi 3,341, Chak 2,725, Pankho 1,458 and Lushei 216.They differ markedly from the Bengali majority of Bangladesh in language, ethnicity and religion.The population density was roughly 140 per square kilometer.^[3]

According to 2022 census, Bengalis are the largest ethnic group in Bandarban District (58.85%), Khagrachhari District (51.07%) and second largest in Rangamati Hill District (42.42%) with almost equal to Chakma people (42.67%) .

They are largest ethnic group in Naikhongchhari Upazila (83.48%), Langadu Upazila (76.75%), Lama Upazila (76.22%), Matiranga Upazila (75.10%), Manikchhari Upazila (73.57%), Ramgarh Upazila (73.14%), Alikadam Upazila(60.64%), Bandarban Sadar Upazila (56.97%), Kaptai Upazila (55.31%), Rangamati Sadar Upazila (52.33%), Kaukhali Upazila (44.88%) and Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila (40.77%).

According to 2022 census, Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in Rangamati Hill District (42.67%) and second largest in Khagrachhari District (24.53%). Few Chakmas also live in Bandarban district(0.77%).

They are the largest ethnic group in Juraichhari Upazila (91.15%), Naniarchar Upazila(79.89%), Barkal Upazila (69.33%), Bagaichhari Upazila (66.19%), Dighinala Upazila (53.38%), Lakshmichhari Upazila(51.33%), Panchhari Upazila (44.04%) and Mahalchhari Upazila (43.52%).

According to 2022 census, Marmas are Second largest ethnic group in Bandarban District (17.49%). They are also found in Khagrachhari District (10.39%) and Rangamati Hill District (7.93%) .

They are the largest ethnic group in Rowangchhari Upazila (49.48%), Guimara Upazila (38.10%), Rajasthali Upazila (36.65%), Thanchi Upazila (31.37%) and Ruma Upazila (31.04%).

According to 2022 census, Tripuras are mainly found in Khagrachhari District (13.79%), Bandarban District (4.69%) and Rangamati Hill District(1.90%).

They are the second largest ethnic group in Matiranga Upazila (18.68%) and Ramgarh Upazila (13.28%).

According to 2022 census, Mru (Murong) are mainly found in Bandarban District(10.69%).

They are the second largest ethnic group in Alikadam Upazila(23.77%), Thanchi Upazila (23.57%) and Ruma Upazila (22%).

According to 2022 census, there are 42,943 Tanchangyas in CHT. They are mainly found in Rangamati Hill District(27,975) and Bandarban District (14,889).

They are the largest ethnic group in Belaichhari Upazila (38.77%) and second largest in Rowangchhari Upazila (14.39%).

According to 2022 census, there are 12,311 Bom in CHT. Among them, 11854(96.29%) Boms live in Bandarban District, constituting 2.46% of district's population. They also live in Belaichhari Upazila and sorrunding areas of Rangamati District.

They are third largest ethnic groups in Ruma Upazila(19.89%).

According to 2022 census, there are 4,176 Khyang in Chittagong hill tracts. Almost 60%(2502) khyang live in Bandarban district and other 40%(1670) in Rangamati district.

According to 2022 census, There are 2,725 Chak people in Chittagong Hill tract. Almost entire 2662(97.69%) Chaks live in Bandarban district and more specifically 2,329(85.29%) Chaks live in Naikhongchhari Upazila, constituting 3.05% of Upazila's population.

According to 2022 census, there are 3,291 Khumi in Chittagong hill tracts. Almost entire 3287(98.68%) khumis live in Bandarban district.

According to 2022 census, there are 1,458 Pankho in Chittagong hill tracts. Almost entire 1,398(95.88%) Phanko live in Rangamati district. They form 1.21% in Belaichhari Upazila.

According to 2022 census, there are 216 Lushei people in Chittagong hill tracts. Their population is in Rangamati district 147, Bandarban district 58 and Khagrachhari district 11.

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Islam is the largest religion in chittagong hill tracts (44.52%). But, tribes are mainly followers of Buddhism (41.74%). The percentages of Muslims are: Bandarban 52.68%, Khagrachari 46.56% and Rangamati 36.22%. Most of the Christian population is in Bandarban (9.78% of the population). Khagrachari (0.62%) and Rangamati (1.32%) have only small numbers.^[6]

According to 2022 census, Islam is the largest religion in Bandarban District(52.68%), Khagrachhari district(46.59%) and the second largest in Rangamati district(36.26%).

According to 2022 census, Buddhism is the largest religion in Rangamati Hill District (57.25%) and second largest in Khagrachhari District (35.93%) and Bandarban District(29.53%).

According to 2022 census, Hinduism is third largest religion in Khagrachhari district(16.76%), Rangamati district(5.11%) and fourth largest in Bandarban district(3.43%). Hinduism is the second largest religion in all other districts of Bangladesh except CHT.

According to 2022 census, Christianity is third largest religion in Bandarban district(9.78%), fourth largest religion in Rangamati district(1.32%) and Khagrachhari district(0.62%).

It was the warzone between the Arakan Kingdom, Chakma kingdom and the Twipra Kingdom.

In the early 13th century the Chakma people settled from Arakan (Burma) before the Mughal and Bengali people settlement, due to defeat from the Rakhine king. The Chakma are the single largest indigenous group, comprising half of the indigenous population. The Marma people are the second largest tribe. They came from Burma when Arakan was conquered by Burmese king Bodawpaya. The place was ruled by the Chakma king there was a conflict between the Chakma king and Mughals in which the Chakma king agreed to pay tribute of cotton to the Mughals.^[8]

Mughal and early British records name the region Jum Bungoo, Jum mahal or Kapas mahal.^[9][10] In 1787, the East India Company made the region its tributary after battling Chakma raja and agreeing on peace treaty.

Under British control, the British East India Company in order to suppress the Chakma queen power Kalindi Rani divided the hills into three parts. This was done in regional areas known as Chakma Circle, Mong Circle, and Bohmong Circle. The early colonial history of the Chittagong Hill Tracts is a record of recurring raids by the eastern hill indigenous (Mizo or Lushai) and of the operations undertaken by the British to repress them.^{[citation needed]}

The use of the name Chittagong for this area dates to the 1860 British annexation of the region, bringing it under the direct control of British India. Situated beyond the inland hills, Chittagong proper is a coastal area in the plains where the British were based. As colonial influence grew, "Chittagong" enlarged as well, expanding eastwards^[11] to subsume the Hill Tracts under its revenue-collection territory.^[10]

The recorded population increased from 69,607 in 1872 to 101,597 in 1881, to 107,286 in 1891, and to 124,762 in 1901. The census of 1872 was, however, very imperfect, and the actual population growth probably did not exceed what might be expected in a sparsely inhabited but fairly healthy tract.^[12]

When the 1901 census was taken there were no towns, and 211 of the villages had populations of less than 500 apiece; only one exceeded 2,000. The population density, excluding the area of uninhabited forest (1,385 square miles), was 33 persons per square mile. There was a little immigration from Chittagong, and a few persons had emigrated to Tripura. The proportion of females to every 100 males was only 90 in the district-born and 83 in the total population. That time Buddhists numbered 100,000, Hindus 50,000, and Muslims 3,000.^[13]

Tobacco cultivation is damaging the ecology of the area, with the loss of indigenous trees such as Chukrasia tabularis (Indian mahogany), and soil fertility.

Most of the farmers of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari have been losing their interest in cultivating their own indigenous crops after defaulting on loans provided by tobacco companies.^[14]

Like other mountainous areas in South and Southeast Asia, the Chittagong Hill Tracts are undergoing deforestation and land degradation arising from environmentally unsuitable activities such as tobacco cultivation in sloping land, shifting cultivation and logging.^[15] Shifting cultivation, also known as slash-and-burn agriculture or swidden cultivation, embraces a large variety of primitive forms of agriculture. It is a unique stage in the evolution from hunting and food gathering to sedentary farming. Humankind began to change its mode of life from food gatherer to food producer about 7000 B.C. by adopting shifting cultivation. Some form of shifting cultivation has been practised in most parts of the world, but more intensive forms of agriculture have subsequently replaced it.^[16]

The present shifting cultivation system with short fallow periods in the Chittagong Hill Tracts has accelerated erosion, land degradation, deforestation, and impoverishment of tribal people in CHT. If the present state of degradation is continued, most of the areas under shifting cultivation will be severely degraded^[17] and future generations will face more difficulties in eking out their livelihoods on further degraded land, although there is some scope for shifting cultivators to leave the degraded fields and move to other areas. It is estimated that on average eight hectares of land is necessary for the sustenance of a family in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. If this ratio is adopted, 1,240,000 ha land is required to sustain the present population; however, the total land available, excluding the reserve forest, is 928,000 ha. Shifting cultivation, therefore, cannot fulfill even the subsistence requirements of the people. In such a situation, either large non-farm employment opportunities need to be created or more productive land-use systems need to be developed and adopted. Given the sluggish growth of the economy, there is limited scope for generating adequate non-farming employment opportunities in the near future. It is, therefore, imperative to replace the present shifting cultivation system with more productive and sustainable land use systems to enable people to secure their livelihoods.^[18]

• Bangladesh: Militarization in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The slow demise of the region's indigenous peoples. IWGIA report 14. Copenhagen: IWGIA, Organising Committee CHT Campaign and Shimin Gaikou Centre. May 2012
• Shapan Adnan & Ranajit Dastidar."Alienation of the Lands of Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh". Dhaka: Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission & IWGIA. May 2011.
• Shelly, Mizanur Rahaman. (1992). "The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: The Untold Story". Dhaka, Bangladesh: Centre for Development Research, Bangladesh.
• "Life is not Ours: Land and Human Rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts", Bangladesh. Copenhagen, Denmark: Organizing Committee, Chittagong Hill Tracts Campaign, 1991.
• Brauns, Claus-Dieter, "The Mrus: Peaceful Hillfolk of Bangladesh", National Geographic Magazine, February 1973, Vol. 143, No. 1

• Rasul, Golam; Thapa, Gopal B. (2003). "Shifting Cultivation in the Mountains of South and Southeast Asia: Regional Patterns and Factors Influencing the Change". Land Degradation & Development. 14 (5): 495–508. Bibcode:2003LDeDe..14..495R. doi:10.1002/ldr.570. S2CID 128897922.
• Rasul, Golam; Thapa, Gopal B.; Zoebisch, Michael A. (2004). "Determinants of land-use changes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh". Applied Geography. 24 (3): 217–240. Bibcode:2004AppGe..24..217R. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2004.03.004.
• Rasul, Golam; Thapa, Gopal B. (2006). "Financial and economic suitability of agroforestry as an alternative to shifting cultivation: The case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh". Agricultural Systems. 91 (1–2): 29–50. Bibcode:2006AgSys..91...29R. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2006.01.006.
• Rasul, Golam (2007). "Political Ecology of the Degradation of Forest Commons in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh". Environmental Conservation. 34 (2): 153–163. Bibcode:2007EnvCo..34..153R. doi:10.1017/S0376892907003888. S2CID 86078323.
• Rasul, Golam; Thapa, Gopal B. (2007). "The Impact of Policy and Institutional Environment on Costs and Benefits of Sustainable Agricultural Land Uses: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh". Environmental Management. 40 (2): 272–283. Bibcode:2007EnMan..40..272R. doi:10.1007/s00267-005-0083-8. PMID 17562103. S2CID 20782180.
• Thapa, Gopal B.; Rasul, Golam (2006). "Implications of changing national policies on land use in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh". Journal of Environmental Management. 81 (4): 441–453. Bibcode:2006JEnvM..81..441T. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.12.002. PMID 16549239.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Chittagong Hill Tracts.

• Chittagong Hill Tracts mapped on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 28 December 2021 (also shown are three districts: Khagrachari, Rangamaai, and Bandarban, that make up the tracts).
• The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission
• "Chittagong Hill Tracts" – Banglapedia
• Background information, news and literature on the Chittagong Hill Tracts
• Survival International
• Ali, M. Emran; Toshiyuki Tsuchiya, "Land Rights of the Indigenous People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh: A Historical Analysis of Policy Issues". Fourth World Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1.

22°33′00″N 92°17′00″E / 22.5500°N 92.2833°E / 22.5500; 92.2833