Chakma people

The Chakmas

Total population
0.7 million
Regions with significant populations
Mostly in Bangladesh and India Bangladesh : Chittagong Hill Tracts area. India : Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura
Languages
Changhma or Chakma
Religion
Theravada Buddhism

The Chakmas ( Chakma or ), also known as the Changhma (চাংমা), are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or Gozas. A tribal group called Tongchangya (তঞ্চংগ্যা) are also considered to be a branch of the Chakma people. Both tribes speak the same language, have the same customs and culture, and profess the same religion, Theravada Buddhism.

Chakmas are Tibeto-Burman, and are thus closely related to tribes in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Chakmas are believed to be originally from Arakan who later on moved to Bangladesh, settling in the Cox's Bazar District, the Korpos Mohol area, and in the Indian states of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura.

The Arakanese referred to the Chakmas as Saks or Theks. In 1546, when the king of Arakan, Meng Beng, was engaged in a battle with the Burmese, the Sak king appeared from the north and attacked Arakan, and occupied the Ramu of Cox's Bazar, the then territory of the kingdom of Arakan.^[1]

"Chacomas" can be seen on the extreme top left and Arracam (present Rakhine State of Myanmar) can be seen on the extreme right.

Diego de Astor, a Portuguese, drew a map of Bengal, which was published as Descripção do Reino de Bengalla in the book Quarta decada da Asia(Fourth decade of Asia) by João de Barros in 1615.^[2] The map shows a place called "Chacomas" on the eastern bank of the river Karnaphuli, suggesting that this is where the Chakmas used to live at that time. The Arakan king Meng Rajagri (1593–1612) conquered this land, and in a 1607 letter to a Portuguese merchant, Philip de Brito Nicote addressed himself as the highest and most powerful king of Arakan, of Chacomas and of Bengal.^[3]

Defeated by the Arakanese, the Chakmas entered the present Chittagong Hill Tracts and made Alekyangdong, present-day Alikadam, their capital. From Alekyangdong they went north and settled in the present-day Rangunia, Rauzan, and Fatikchari upazillas of Chittagong District.

In 1666, Shaista Khan, who was then Mughal Governor of Bengal, defeated the Arakanese, conquered Chittagong, and renamed it Islamabad.^[4] However, in the early days the Mughal supremacy was confined only to the plain areas of chittagong, and the Chakmas remained practically unaffected. After a few years, when a dispute developed between the Mughals and the Chakmas, the Mughals demanded tribute from the Chakmas for trading with Chittagong.^[5]

In 1713, peace was established, and soon a stable relationship developed between the Chakmas and the Mughals; the latter never demanded complete subjugation from the former. The Mughals also rewarded the Chakma king Sukdev, who established a new capital in his own name, in an area is still known as Sukbilash . There are still ruins of the royal palace & other establishments. Subsequently the capital was shifted to Rajanagar.

The East India Company Period

Three years after the Battle of Plassey, Mir Qasim the new Nawab of Murshidabad rewarded the British East India Company with Chittagong, Burdwan and Midnapur. On 5 January 1761 the company representative Harry Verlest took over charges of Chittagong from Subedar Mohammad Reza Khan. But the Chakma king Sher Doulat Khan who was practically independent through nominally paid tribute to the Mughals, didn't accept the hegemony of the Company and their demand of taxes at enhanced rate. A protracted war started and it continued up hi to 1787. The East India Company launched four offensives against the Chakmas in 1770, 1780, 1782 and 1785. In 1785 the Company started peace negotiations with the then Chakma king Jan Baksh Khan, son of Sher Doulat Khan. Later in 1787 the king accepted the sovereignty of the Company and agreed to pay 500 maunds of cotton annually. The peace agreement or treaty was signed at Kolkata.^[6]

The main provisions of the treaty between the Governor General Lord Cornwallis and the Chakma king were as following

• The East India Company recognised Jan Baksh Khan as the Raja of the Chakmas.
• It was agreed that the collection of revenue was the responsibility of the Raja.
• The British Government would preserve the tribal autonomy and migration from the plains would be restricted.
• Jan Baksh Khan was bound by the treaty to maintain peace in his territory.
• British troops would remain in the Chakma territory not to terrify the Chakmas but to protect the land from the inroads of the fierce tribes.^[7]

In 1829, Halhed then Commissioner of Chittagong reaffirmed that

“

The hill tribes were not British subjects but merely tributaries and we recognized no right on our part to interfere with their internal arrangements. The near neighbourhood of a powerful & stable government naturally brought the Chief by degree under control and every leading chief paid to the Chittagong collector a certain tribute or yearly gifts. These sums were at first fluctuating in amount but gradually were brought to specific and fixed limit, eventually taking the shape not as tribute but as revenue to the state

”

.^[8]

Jan Baksh Khan shifted his Capital to a new place naming it Rajanagar, near present day Rangunia. After Jan Baksh's death in 1800,his son Tabbar Khan became king;but he died shortly. In 1802 Tabbar Khan's younger brother Jabbar Khan became King & ruled for ten years. After his death,his son Dharam Baksh Khan became king in 1812. He ruled up to 1832. After his death in 1832 without any male issue, there was chaos and the government appointed Suklal Dewan as the Manager. In the meantime Rani Kalindi,widow of Dharam Baksh Khan applied to the government to allow her to run the state affairs. The government accepted her application & in 1844 issued an order to that effect.^[9] In 1846 the annual revenue payable to the Company was refixed at 11,803.00Rs.

After the great Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British Government assumed direct control of the administration of India from the East India Company along with Chittagong Hill Tracts, which was not yet formally separated from Chittagong. But the territorial jurisdiction of the Chakma Raja was fixed by a proclamation dated 6th Shraavana 1170M.S(1763 AD) by the Company as All the hills from the Feni river to the Sangoo and from Nizampur Road in Chittagong to the hills of Kooki Raja.^[10]

After Rani Kalindi's death in 1873, her grandson Harish Chandra became the Chakma Raja and was vested with the title Roy Bahadur.

The British Government Period

After the war with the English, the Chakmas became very weak militarily.

Since then the Kukis, who were independent tribes living further eastward used to make frequent murderous raids on the British subjects in Cacher, Noakhali, Comilla and other neighbouring tracts under Rani Kalindi. They raided Chittagong Hill Tracts and the neighbouring tracts in 1847, 1848, 1859 and 1860.^[11] As a consequence with a view to paying the necessary attention to the areas of the front areas experiencing repeated raids and to protecting the people from the aggression of the independent tribes living further east but primarily to occupy the Chakma land, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal recommended the removal of the hill tracts from the regulation district and the appointment of Superintendent over the tribes. Both these recommendations were adopted by an act XXII 1860AD which came into effect from 18 August of that year.^[11] Thus Hill Tracts were separated from Chittagong and a superintendent was appointed for Chittagong Hill Tracts and its headquarters was established at Chandraghona. The hills in his charge were henceforth known by the name of the Hill Tracts of Chittagong. For the next few years attention was directed to the preservation of peace of the frontier. In 1869 headquarters was shifted to Rangamati. Earlier the official designation of the post of superintendent was changed to Deputy Commissioner and full control of all matters pertaining to both revenue and justice throughout the Hill Tracts was vested in his office.

With the prevailing frontier situation in the British government put pressure on the Chakma chief to shift his capital to Rangamati and ultimately in 1874 it was shifted to Rangamati from Rajanagar. At that time cotton was heavily grown in Chittagong Hill Tracts and it was much important to the British for their mills. Hence effective control of Chittagong Hill Tracts was also important for them.

In 1881 the government decided to divide Chittagong Hill Tracts into three circles and the rulers were designated as chiefs.^[12] The circles are

• Chakma Circle
• Bohmong Circle
• Mong Circle

Each circle was headed by a chief. Chakma circle was headed by a Chakma, Bohmong circle by a Bohmong and the Mong circle by a Mong. The Chakma circle was centrally located and inhabited mainly by the Chakmas, the Bohmong circle was under the subjection of the Bohmong chief of Arakanese extraction/origin and the Mong circle was also inhabited by the Arakanese speaking clans with a sprinkling of Tripura immigrants and headed by another ruler of Arakanese extraction. The reason of this division was that the British government was not in favour of the strong power of the Chakma Chief who held control over these hilly tribes. Further the government was feeling increasingly concerned about the political and administrative affairs of these tracts. Hence they aimed firstly to lay the foundation of administration in a restricted manner with the following basic objectives^[12] –

• To keep supervision on the rule of the Chakma chief and also to curtail some of his powers.
• To protect the British subjects from the Kuki menace
• To preserve peace in the frontier areas so that peace prevailed in Chittagong Hill Tracts and cotton could be grown and made available for their mills.

After the creation of a separate district and also three circles, the Kuki menace to Chittagong Hill Tracts and other adjoining areas did not stop. The Shendus, another ferocious tribe made occasional raids in the Hill Tracts between 1865 and 1888 and killed many people including massacre of Lt.Steward and his survey party. In 1872, 1890 military offensives were launched simultaneously into Lushai Hills from Chittagong and Burma in collaboration with the governments of Bengal, Assam and Burma and the whole of Kookie land was brought under British control.

On 1 April 1900, the South and the North Lushai Hills (then a part of Chittagong Hill Tracts) were merged to form a district of Assam province with headquarters at Aizawl.^[13] Lushai hills are now the present day Mizoram state of India. Due to revision of the boundaries, the Chakma chief had to forge some of his lands as also the subjects.

Later the British through the Deputy Commissioner took over absolute power in Chittagong Hill Tracts including the Chakma circle after implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts manual. Chittagong Hill Tracts was again declared as an Excluded Area under the British India act of 1935.^[14]

Modern times

Like in India in Mizoram & Tripura State, the Chakmas have lived in the modern state of Bangladesh much before it gained its independence. However, recent migrations of ethnic Bengalis into traditionally Chakma regions of Bangladesh have raised tensions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Successive governments have dealt forcefully with Chakma uprisings, and finally ended the conflict with The 1997 Peace Treaty. This forcefull dealing and the construction of Kaptai Dam by then East Pakistan government in Chakma areas submerged cultivable lands and displaced thousands, resulted in the migration of a large population of Chakmas into Diyun the state of Arunachal Pradesh of the present Indian Union. The Chakmas now have representations in the Mizoram General Assembly, Tipura Legislative Assembly^[15] and Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council.^[16] The only seat of political power and identity is the Chakma Autonomous District Council in India, though it covers only 35% of the Chakmas living in Mizoram State in India.

Religion

The vast majority of the Chakma are followers of Theravada Buddhism, a religion that they have been practising for centuries. Of late, reports surfaced that several foreign and local missionaries have been trying to convert the Chakmas to Christianity without success^{[citation needed]}. This created resentment and upset among some Chakmas.^[17][18]

Language

Main Article Chakma language.

Originally speaking a language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family, some of the Chakmas have been influenced by neighboring Chittagonian, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language closely related to Bengali. Many linguists now consider the modern Chakma language (known as Changma Vaj or Changma Kodha) part of the Southeastern Bengali branch of Eastern Indo-Aryan language. Changma Vaj is written in its own script, the Chakma script, also known as Ojhopath.Chakma language is written in an alphabet which allowing for its cursive form, is almost identical with the Khmer and the Lanna(Chiangmai) characters, which was formerly in use in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and southern parts of Burma.

Culture

The Chakma's are a people with their own culture, folklore, literature and traditions. The Chakma women wear an ankle length cloth around the waist which is also called Finon and also a Hadi wrapped above the waist as well as silver ornaments. The Finon and the Hadi are colourfully hand weaved with various designs. The design is first embroidered on a piece of cloth known as Alaam.

Chakma Septs or Goza

The Chakmas or Changmhas have only forty gozas or septs. They are :

1. Anghu or Amhoo
2. Baburo
3. Boga
4. Bongsha or Wangjha
5. Borbwa or Borwa
6. Bar Bungo
7. Guro/Chigon Bungo
8. Bor Chege
9. Chege (Rwa Chege, Bhwa Chege, Bannya Chege,)
10. Mhulheema Chege
11. Khyang Chege/Khyangya or Khyangjoy
12. Chadonga or Chadogo
13. Chekkoba or Chekkaba
14. Dachchya or Dhachchya
15. Dhamei or Dhavenga
16. Haia or Hoia
17. Hedoga
18. Bor Kambhe or Bor Kammhei
19. Guro Kambhe or Chigon Kammhei
20. Kudugo
21. Kurho Khuttya or Kurho Kuttya
22. Kngha
23. Larmha
24. Lakchara
25. Lebha
26. Mhulheema
27. Pwa
28. Bor Phaksa
29. Guro Phaksa or Chigon Phaksa
30. Pugho or Pumha
31. Phema
32. Padugo
33. Pittingya or Pittinghya
34. Pedangchhuri or Pedangsari
35. Rangi
36. Tonnya
37. Phedungsa Tonnya
38. Puran Teyha
39. Nwa Teyha, and
40. Uchchari.

It is further to state that there is no letter of English F. Hence, Ph should be used for writing a Changmha word

Biju the three day long festival is the main cultural festival of Chakma People and marks the end of the Bengali calendar. It's celebrated with singing, dancing, drinking and general merriment on the thirteenth of April every year. The first day of Biju is called PHOOL BIZU," and the second day is called "MOOL BIZU". The second day is the main day of Bizu. The last day is called "Gajya Pajjya Din(The day of relaxation)." The day is a public holiday in [Chawngte - C, Mizoram, Chittagong Hill Tracts. "Bizu" is the main festival of Chakma people.

References

1. ^ Sir Arthur P.Phayre, Chief Commissioner of Burma. History of Burma. p. 79. 
2. ^ BNP catalog
3. ^ Sugata Chakma. Parbattya Chattagramer Upajati O Sangskriti. pp. 19–20. 
4. ^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-407-1, p.230
5. ^ Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 23. 
6. ^ Government of Bangladesh. The District Gazetteer of Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 35. 
7. ^ Dr. Suniti Bhushan Kanungo, Professor of History, University of Chittagong. Chakma Resistance to British Domination 1772-1798. p. 52. 
8. ^ S.P Talukder. The Chakmas: Life & Struggle. p. 36. 
9. ^ Biraj Mohan Dewan. Chakma Jatir Itibritto. p. 195. 
10. ^ S.P Talukder. The Chakmas: Life & Struggle. p. 35. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 29. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 30. 
13. ^ The Weekly Kagoj, 9 May 1995
14. ^ Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 35. 
15. ^ http://www.tripura.nic.in/
16. ^ http://www.ttaadc.nic.in/council.htm
17. ^ Crosswalk.com - Bangladesh Church Burned as Four Faiths Clash
18. ^ Baptist Militants kill Five Chakma Tribesmen

External links

• Interview with the Chakma King
• Stateless Chakma refugees in India
• Banglapedia entry of the Chakma
• Photos of the Chakma people
• Encyclopedia Britannica article
• Jumma Peoples Network UK - Contains latest news and resources on Chakma and other Jumma people of CHT, Bangladesh