𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 | |
|---|---|
 Chakma woman in traditional attire | |
| Total population | |
| c. 750,000 to 1,000,000 (2011–2022) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Bangladesh,[1]India[1] andMyanmar | |
 Bangladesh | 483,299 (2022)[2] |
 India | 228,281 (2011)[3] |
| Mizoram | 92,850 |
| Tripura | 84,269 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 47,073 |
| Assam | 3,166 |
| West Bengal | 175 |
| Meghalaya | 159 |
| Nagaland | 156 |
 Myanmar | 43,100[4] |
| Languages | |
| Chakma | |
| Religion | |
.svg) Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Daingnet,Tanchangya | |
| Chakma topics |
|---|
|
Dialect
|
TheChakma orChanghma people (Chakma:𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦, 𑄌𑄇𑄴𑄟), are an ethnic group andnation native to theIndian subcontinent andWestern Myanmar. They are the largest indigenous group and as well as the second largest ethnic group of theChittagong Hill Tracts region of southeasternBangladesh. They also form the majority inChakma Autonomous District Council ofMizoram. Significant Chakma populations are found in thenortheast Indian states ofArunachal Pradesh,Tripura,Assam andRakhine State of Myanmar.
The Chakma possess strong ethnic affinities toTibeto-Burman-speaking groups in Northeast India. Because of alanguage shift in the past to consolidate power among the tribes, they adopted anIndo-Aryan languageChakma, which is closely related toPali and theChittagonian language, predominant near the areas in which they live.[5] Most modern Chakma people practiceTheravada Buddhism, due to 19th-century reforms and institutionalisation byQueen regnantRani Kalindi. InMyanmar, Chakma people are known asDaingnet and are one of the 135 officially recognised ethnic groups there.[citation needed] They are also referred as "Saks", " Sakmas" or "Tsakmas".
The Chakmas are divided into 31clans orgozas.[5] The community is headed by theChakma Raja, whose status as a tribal head has been historically recognised by thegovernment of British India and thegovernment of Bangladesh.
According toPamela GutmanChakma derives from theSanskrit wordśaktimāna, which means powerful and great.[6] The name was given to the Chakmas by one of the Burmese kings during theBagan Era. Burmese kings hired Chakmas as ministers, advisers, and translators of BuddhistPali texts. As employees of the king, the Chakmas wielded power in the Burmese court that was disproportionate to their number. The Burmese people still refer to Chakmas asSak (သက်) orThet, which are shortened and corrupted forms ofśaktimāna.[citation needed]
The modern linguistic study suggests that the term "Chakma" originates from two constituent words: "Tsak" and "Ma". In this context, "Tsak" is believed to be derived from "Shak" which is associated with theShakya clan, and "Ma" signifies "man" inTibeto-Burmese languages.[7] The Chakma script shows similarities toBrahmi script suggesting Chakmas may descend from the Shakya lineage.[8]
Bijak of the Chakmas says that the Chakmas were part of Buddha'sSakya clan.[9] They gradually migrated to Arakan and extended their territory to the nearby hills of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.[10]
TheArakanese people referred to the Chakmas asSaks,Theks,or Thaikhs. In 1546 CE, while the Arakanese kingMin Bin was fighting a battle with the Burmese, theSak king attacked Northern Arakan Roma and occupied the Arakanese-controlled Chacomas of the NorthernArakan Mountains.[11]
Diego de Astor created a map ofBengal, which was published asDescripção do Reino de Bengalla in the bookQuarta decada da Asia (Fourth decade of Asia) byJoão de Barros in 1615. The map shows an area namedChacomas on the eastern bank of theKarnaphuli River in what is nowChittagong Bangladesh,[12] suggesting that the Chakmas inhabited this area during the time.
The Arakan kingMin Razagyi (1593–1612) conquered the areas and styled himself as the highest and most powerful king of Arakan, Chacomas, and Bengal in a 1607 letter to Portuguese mercenaryFilipe de Brito e Nicote. After their defeat by the Arakanese, the Chakmas migrated to the present Chittagong Hill Tracts and founded their capital city Alekyangdong (present-dayAlikadam). From Alekyangdong, they continued north and settled in present-dayRangunia,Raozan, andFatikchari Upazilas of Chittagong District.[13]
In 1666, theMughal Governor of Bengal,Shaista Khan, defeated the Arakanese, conquered Chittagong, and renamed it Islamabad.[14] Mughal rule, however, was confined to the plain areas of Chittagong early on, leaving the Chakmas largely unaffected. The Mughals eventually demanded tribute from the Chakmas after a trade dispute developed between the two groups.[15]: 23
In 1713, the conflict was resolved, and a stable relationship developed between the Chakmas and the Mughals; the latter never demanded complete subjugation of the former. The Mughals also rewarded the Chakma king Shukdev Roy; he established a new capital in his name in an area still known as Shukbilash. Ruins of the royal palace and other historic buildings still exist. Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Rajanagar,Ranirhat, Rangunia Upazila, Chittagong District.[citation needed]
The Mughals signed a treaty withJallal Khan,Raja of the Chakma, in 1715. While the Mughals controlled significant amounts ofyam and cotton crops in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), the Chakma's independence from the Mughals was recognised.[citation needed]
Three years after theBattle of Plassey,Mir Qasim, the newNawab ofMurshidabad, rewarded the East India Company with Chittagong,Burdwan andMidnapur. On 5 January 1761, company representativeHarry Verelst took charge of Chittagong fromSubedar Mohammad Reza Khan, but the Chakma king Sher Doulat Khan, who was practically independent though nominally paid tribute to the Mughals, did not accept thehegemony of the company and its demand for increased taxes.[citation needed]
Encroachments on the Chittagong Hill Tracts by the British led to a protracted war between theEast India Company and the Chakmas from 1777 to 1787.[16] 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 Chakma king Jan Baksh Khan, son of Sher Doulat Khan.[citation needed] In 1787 a peace treaty was signed inCalcutta.[17] Raja Jan Baksh Khan pledged loyalty to the British in exchange for autonomy in administering Chakma territory.[16]
The main provisions of the treaty between Governor-GeneralLord Cornwallis and the Chakma king were as follows:[18]
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 neighborhood of a powerful and stable government naturally brought the chiefs 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 a specific and fixed limit, eventually taking the shape not of tribute but of revenue to the state.[19]: 36
Jan Baksh Khan shifted his capital to a new place near present-dayRangunia, naming it Rajanagar. After Jan Baksh's death in 1800, his son Tabbar Khan became king but died shortly after. In 1802, Tabbar Khan's younger brother Jabbar Khan became king and ruled for ten years. After his death, his son Dharam Baksh Khan became king in 1812 and ruled until his death in 1832. Without any male heir, the government appointed Suklal Dewan as manager.Rani Kalindi, the widow of Dharam Baksh Khan, applied to the government to allow her to run state affairs. The government accepted her application and in 1844 issued an order to that effect.[20] In 1846, the annual revenue payable to the company was reset to 11,803.00Rs.[citation needed]
After the greatSepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British government assumed direct control of the administration of India, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which were not yet formally separated from Chittagong, from the East India Company. The territorial jurisdiction of the Chakma Raja, however, was fixed by a proclamation dated 6thShraavana 1170M.S (1763 CE) by the company as "All the hills from theFeni River to the Sangoo and from Nizampur Road in Chittagong to the hills of Kooki Raja".[19]: 35
After Rani Kalindi's death in 1873, her grandson Harish Chandra became the Chakma Raja and was vested with the titleRoy Bahadur.[citation needed]
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After the war with the British, the Chakmas became very weak militarily. TheLushai used to make frequent raids on British subjects because their hunting ground was converted to tea gardens by the British inCachar,Noakhali,Comilla, and other neighbouring tracts underRani Kalindi. They raided the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the neighbouring tracts in 1847, 1848, 1859, and 1860.[15]: 29 As a consequence, with a view to paying attention to the 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 a superintendent over the tribes. Both of these recommendations were adopted by Act XXII in 1860, which came into effect on 18 August of that year.[15]: 29 The Hill Tracts were separated from Chittagong district, a superintendent was appointed for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and its headquarters were established atChandraghona. The hills in his charge were henceforth known as the Hill Tracts of the Chittagong. For the next few years, attention focused on preserving peace on the frontier. In 1869, the headquarters were shifted toRangamati. The official designation of the post of superintendent was changed to Deputy Commissioner and full control of matters about revenue and justice throughout the Hill Tracts was vested in his office.
The frontier situation put pressure on the Chakma chief to shift his capital, and in 1874, he did so, from Rajanagar to Rangamati. At that time, cotton was grown in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and was important to the British for their mills, so effective control of the Chittagong Hill Tracts was also important for them.
In 1881, the government divided the Chittagong Hill Tracts intoChakma Circle,Bohmong Circle, andMong Circle. Each circle was headed by a chief.[15]: 30 Chakma circle was headed by a Chakma, Bohmong circle by a Bohmong and the Burmese circle by aMong. The Chakma circle was centrally located and inhabited mainly by the Chakmas, the Bohmong circle was under the rule of a Bohmong chief of Arakanese extraction, and the Mong circle was also inhabited by Arakanese speaking clans with someTripura immigrants and headed by another ruler of Arakanese extraction. The division occurred because the British government was not in favour of the power of the Chakma chief, who controlled the hill tribes. Further, the government was increasingly concerned about the political and administrative affairs of the tracts. Hence, they wished to lay the foundation of administration in a restricted manner with the following objectives:[15]: 30
After the creation of a separate district and the three circles, theKuki (Lushai) threat to the Chittagong Hill Tracts and other adjoining areas did not stop. TheShendus made occasional raids in the Hill Tracts between 1865 and 1888 and killed many people, including Lt. Steward and his survey party. In 1872, 1,890 military offensives were launched simultaneously intoLushai Hills (Mizoram) from Chittagong district and Burma in collaboration with the governments of Bengal,Assam and Burma, and the whole of the CHT was brought under British control.
Autonomous police forces were created by the Hill Tract tribes in 1881. Tribals complained to Britain after the Hill Tracts experienced attempts at penetration by lowlander Bengali Muslims.[16]
On 1 April 1900, the South and the North Lushai Hills (then a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) were merged to form the district ofAssam Province with headquarters atAizawl.[21] TheLushai hills were now theMizoram state of India.
Later, the British through the Deputy Commissioner took over absolute control of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (including the Chakma circle) after the implementation of theChittagong Hill Tracts manual. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (Lushai Hills) were again designated an "Excluded Area" under theGovernment of India Act 1935.[15]: 35
Local tribes demanded an independent state for the Chittagong Hill Tract because Bengalis and the tribals did not share a religion, language, or ethnicity, and they asked for their own independent area in the 1930s when theIndian national movement was launched. DuringWorld War II, to retain Chakma loyalty in the face of Japanese advances, local British officials guaranteed the tribals that the Chittagong Hill Tracts would be split of separately in the event of Indian independence.[16]
In British India, there was a measure of security and protection afforded to the non-Muslim and non-Bengali Chittagong Hill Tract Chakmas and other tribal people.[22] Bengal and Assam did not govern the CHT during this period. Rather the CHT was a distinct administrative unit that enjoyed a large degree of self-rule.[23]
Despite the CHT being 97.2–98.5% non-Muslim, it was given to Pakistan by the Boundary Commission Chairman SirCyril Radcliffe in 1947 uponindependence.[23] Native Chakmas made up most of the officials except for some British during British India rule.[19]: 190 Pakistan received the CHT from Radcliffe after the issue of Punjab districts and the CHT revised boundaries were pushed onto him byLord Mountbatten on 17 August 1947.[24] The decision by Radcliffe to draw this boundary paved the way for future war, violence, and conflict.[25] The 1956 Pakistani Constitution, which designated the CHT as an "excluded area," kept things as they were. It was the fact that the CHT was governed under a different set of rules since 1900 in order to prevent mainlanders from acquiring ownership of the tribal land. The CHT underwent a significant change when the Pakistani armed forces overthrew the government in 1958 and renamed the protected area "Tribal Area." Finally, the 1962 Constitution was amended in 1963 to repeal the earlier designation, making the CHT accessible to all non-tribals.[26][19]: 50 As a result, Chakmas' jhum cultivation was hampered, and numerous unauthorised settlers invaded this territory. TheBangladeshi Constitution does not refer to any group (inclusive of Bengalis) as indigenous.[27]
As in India's Tripura State, the Chakmas lived in Bangladesh before it gained its independence. 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 withthe 1997 peace treaty. This force and the construction of Kaptai Dam by the then-Pakistan government in Chakma areas which submerged cultivable lands and displaced thousands resulted in the migration during 1964–1969 of a large population of Chakmas intoDiyun, Arunachal Pradesh.[28]
Many Buddhist Chakmas migrated fromEast Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to India.[29] Projects for infrastructure development negatively impacted CHT tribals starting in the 1950s.[30] These included theKaptai Dam hydro-electric project, built-in 1959–1963 by the Pakistan government, with the assistance of theUnited States Agency for International Development, to provide electricity for much of East Pakistan. The project flooded forty per cent of the farmland in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and displaced nearly 100,000 Chakmas. About sixty per cent were resettled, and forty per cent fled to India.[31] Chakmas made up 90% of the 10,000 people whose 54,000 acres of farmland were flooded in 1962 by the Karnafuli power plant and Kaptai Dam. Inept relocation and insufficient compensation were offered to the Chakmas.[30] India usedNEFA as a resettlement area for Chakma refugees.[32]
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Chakma population was estimated at 250,000 in 1964. The CHT was described as being hilly, forested, a verdant green landscape filled with fountains of water.[33] A deputy commissioner administered the Chittagong Hill Tracts Division under Pakistani rule.
Manabendra Narayan Larma requested autonomy in 1970. Tripura state had to deal with the issue of Chakma families.[34] Agriculture, employment, and education are dominated by Chakmas compared to Arunachal natives because they are more skilled and have a higher literacy rate.[35] The issue of returning Chakma refugees from India to Bangladesh was raised in 1995.[36] The hill tribes' conflict with Bangladesh caused the exodus of 50,000 Chakmas to India from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A 1992 deal between India and Bangladesh arranged that Bangladesh would take them back.[37] A March 1997 agreement between Chakma leaders and Bangladesh provided for the repatriation to Bangladesh of Chakma refugees in Tripura.[38] Both East Pakistan's partition and Bangladesh's independence caused an influx into India of Chakma refugees.[39] In the 1960s, hundreds of Muslim families from other parts of East Pakistan were resettled in the Matamuhuri Valley region of Alikadam, Feni Valley regions of Belchari and Tulanchari, and the regions of Lama, Bandarban, and Ramgarh.[40]
Tridev Roy continued to collaborate with Pakistani forces and declined to join the freedom movement of Bangladesh. Pakistani presidentYahya Khan assigned a south-east Asian diplomatic post to Tridiv Roy during the war as a reward for his collaboration. Roy chose the Pakistani side, fearing that an independent Bangladesh would likely have democratic rule and he might lose his feudal interests. Pakistan retained his support and allegiance, Roy agreed on 25 March, and in exchange British artillery would refrain from shelling the CHT capital,Rangamati.[41] Roy believed Bangladesh would not award autonomy to CHT and the Chakmas and earned the enmity of theAwami League by rejectingSheikh Mujibur Rahman's offer to stand as the Awami League candidate.[42] Autonomy was refused to the CHT tribals.[43] CHT hills people were enrolled as Mujahids andRazakars by the Pakistan army during theBangladesh Liberation War of 1971.[30]
The Bangladesh government provided financial support for thousands ofBengalis to settle in the tracts. By 1981, a third of the population of the tracts were Bengali migrants.[44][45]Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS; Chittagong Hill Tracts Peoples Solidarity Association), which was founded by Chakmas, demanded a halt to Bengali settlement, settlers returning lands to CHT natives, and autonomy.[45] On 7 January 1973,Shanti Bahini (Peace Force) was founded as the military army of PCJSS.[46] In an effort to win independence for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Shanti Bahini launched guerrilla attacks against the government.[47] Jumma guerrillas made up of Shanti Bahini forces.[48] The party heads of PCJSS are mostly Chakma because of their 59% literacy rate, which is more than other CHT tribes, so they control the PCJSS.[49]
During the war, most of the Pahadis remained passive, although theMukti Bahini enrolled some. In 1971, the Pakistan army enrolled CHT hill men. After the war, Tridev Roy maintained his allegiance to Pakistan, which he supported in the war.[50] In 1970, he served as independent in theParliament of Pakistan while serving as Raja of the Chakma.[51] The Awami League candidate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lost the election to Roy.[52] Roy was in Southeast Asia when Bangladesh came under Indian army control in December 1971. Bhutto assigned the position of Minorities Affairs Minister to Roy and he helped lobby the United Nations (UN) for Pakistan after the war. The post of ambassador and tourism was also awarded to Roy.[52] Roy represented Pakistan when it protested at the UN over Bangladesh.[53] Pakistan retained the allegiance of onlyNurul Amin and Tridiv Roy among their East Pakistan MPs.[54] Roy refused to join Bangladesh because the hill tracts were not granted autonomy and stayed on Pakistan's side despite Mujib trying to urge Tridiv to quit Pakistan.[54]
Meghalaya and Tripura were destinations of Buddhist Chakma refugees fleeing from the war started by plains-dwelling Muslim Bangladeshis settling the CHT, as well as the government of Bangladesh implementing a military police force to expel Chittagong Hill Tracts natives.[55] "The Muslim World" complained about alleged immigration from Bangladesh to Arakan by Buddhists ofMagh and Chakma background.[56]
In 1974, theGaro people were stripped of their property by the XLVI Vested and Non-President Property Act by Bangladesh and affected by the 1964 Enemy Property Ordinance.[57] Lands in CHT were taken by Bengali colonists; the hill peoples of the CHT were not afforded any cultural or ethnic recognition, and sympathy from successive Bangladesh governments, despite culture and ethnicity being used as an argument against Pakistan by Bengalis during the war.[22] A 1997 peace agreement ended the over the twenty-year-long war on autonomy between Bangladesh and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Jumma inhabitants.[58] The Chittagong Hill Tracts showed that only Bengalis were to be beneficiaries ofBengali nationalism and its "liberalism", which was aimed against the hegemony of Pakistan. Even the "pro-minority" and participant of the CHT peace agreement, the Awami League, refused to grant the status of Adibashi, declaring that according to the constitution, Bengali is the nationality and Bangladeshi is citizenship and refused to acknowledge that Bangladesh had indigenous people. Bengali nationalism is part of the BNP's ideology. Jumma nationalism was spawned from Bengali nationalism due to the hegemony exerted by the Bengalis.[59]
The rights of CHT natives were ignored when the Rangmati Kaptai Dam was built. Because the CHT Jummas were apathetic towards Bangladeshi independence, the Bengali majority regarded them as disloyal.[60] No autonomy was awarded to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the Bangladesh Constitution of 1972.[61] The Chakma conflict is both a religious and ethnic problem in Bangladesh.[62] The Chittagong Hill Tracts saw tribal Chakma leave the area due to religious and ethnic strife caused by Bangladesh'sIslamisation policy. The Chittagong Hill Tracts was colonised by NorthernBurmese and Bangladeshi Muslims.[63] The label "genocidal" has been used to describe actions by the Bangladeshi government upon the non-Islamic Chittagong Hill Tracts Jumma natives.[64]
In February 1972, the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh issued a joint statement by virtue of which the government of India decided to confer citizenship on the Chakmas under Section 5(1)(a) ofthe Citizenship Act, 1955 but the state of Arunachal Pradesh had reservations. Chakmas were thus allowed to be rehabilitated. The Election Commission of India framed guidelines to enable Chakmas to have the right to vote by having their names enrolled in the electoral rolls of the constituency where they have been settled.[65][non-primary source needed] The persecution of the ethnic tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, of which the Chakma are the predominant ethnicity, has been greatly reduced after the 1997Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord.[66][67]
The Chakmas now have representation in theMizoram Legislative Assembly,Tripura Legislative Assembly[68] andTripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.[69] The only seat of political power and identity is theChakma Autonomous District Council in India, the legitimacy of which is questioned by theMizo people. There are another 80,000 Chakmas inRakhine state, Myanmar, who are known asDaingnet people.
In September 2015, the Supreme Court of India passed a judgment directing the government of India and of Arunachal Pradesh to grant Indian citizenship rights to all of the Chakmas, holding that they cannot be discriminated against any other Indian.[65]
According to 2022 census, Chakmas are the largest ethnic group inRangamati Hill District (42.67%) and second largest inKhagrachhari District(24.53%).[70]
They are the largest ethnic group inJuraichhari 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%) andMahalchhari Upazila(43.52%).[70]
The Chakmas are people with their own culture, folklore, literature and traditions.
Traditional clothing is a significant part of almost every culture. Chakma women wearPinon hadi. Thepinon (𑄛𑄨𑄚𑄮𑄚𑄴) and thehadi (𑄈𑄘𑄨) are colourfully handwoven with various designs. The design is first embroidered on a piece of cloth known asAlam. Chakma men wear Siluhm (𑄥𑄨𑄣𑄪𑄟𑄴) & Dudi(𑄘𑄪𑄘𑄨) as their traditional outfit.
In the past, most Chakmas practisedslash-and-burn cultivation (jhum) as their main occupation. However, many Chakmas today have adopted plow cultivation and some have taken up poultry farming.[71]
Traditional temporary homes of the Chakma are calledmawnógawr. Amawnógawr is constructed withbamboo andthatch, and supported on wooden logs.[71]
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Chakmas celebrate various Buddhist festivals. The most important is Buddha Purnima[72] or internationally known asVesak. It is also known as Buddha Birthday worldwide. This is the anniversary of three important events in Buddha's life—his birth, his attainment ofenlightenment, and his death. It is observed on the full moon day of the month ofVaisakha (usually in May).
On this and other festival days, Chakmas put on their best clothes and visit the temple. There, they offer flowers to the image of Buddha, light candles, and listen to sermons from the priests. Alms (offerings) are given to the poor, and feasts are held for the priests.
The three-day festival known as Biju/Bizu or Chakma New Year,[73] celebrated with much enthusiasm. This Chakma New Year followed the same Indian calendar that shares the same date of the New Year. This Biju is also celebrated on the same date by various Buddhist countries such as MyanmarSangrai, ThailandSongkran, Cambodia, Laos, India, Bangladesh, Sinhalese New Year and a few other Asian countries. Houses are decorated with flowers, young children pay special attention to the elderly to win their blessings, visiting Buddhist monasteries, and preparing festive and traditional Chakma dishes for guests are some of the important things.
Bizu is the most important socio-religious festival of the Chakma.[74] Bizu is aBuddhist festival and public holiday in Tripura.[75][76] This festival gave birth to theBizu dance. The festival lasts for three days and begins one day before the last day of the month ofChaitra, falling in the month of April. The first day is known asPhool Bizu. On this day, household items, clothes are cleaned and washed, food items are collected to give the house a new look with the veil of different flowers.
The second day is known asMhul Bizu. This day starts with the bath in the river. People wear new clothes and make rounds of the village. Women wearpinon andhadi while men wearsilum anddudi. They also enjoy specially made vegetable curry known as "Paa Zawn Tawn", different homemade sweets like Bawraa-pyi-de, Tsaan-yei pyi-de, Khaw Ga Pyi-de, and Beng Pyi-de; and take part in different traditional sports. The day ends with the Bizu dance.
The last day, which is known asGawz che Pawz che dyin involves the performances of different socio-religious activities. In the context of its nature, some say that Bizu is a festival, which revolves around agricultural activities because it is celebrated in mid-April when the earth is just drenched with the first rain and the zhum sowing is taken up. And it is believed that with the objective of getting a rich harvest, worship of the earth was arranged, which later on took the form of a festival. However, of late it has lost its agricultural character.
It is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Vaisakha.[77] It encompasses the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and passing away (Parinirvāna) of Buddha. On the day of the worship, devotees go to the monastery withShíyong or Qi Yawng (offerings of rice, vegetable and other fruits and confectioneries). The Buddhist monks known asBhante lead the devotees for the chanting of verses composed in Pali[78] in praise of the holy triple gem:[79] the Buddha, the Dharma (his teachings), and the Sangha (his disciples). Apart from this, other practices such as lighting thousands of lamps and releasingPhanuch Batti (an auspicious lamp made of paper in the form of a balloon) are also done as and when possible.[citation needed]
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Bamboo shoots are a traditional dish for the Chakma people, and they call itBhaz-chuu-ryì.[80]Shrimp paste andfish paste are their traditional ingredients for cooking, these are called sidol.
The staple food of the Chakmas is rice, supplemented bymillet, corn (maize), vegetables, andmustard. The vegetables include yams, pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers. Vegetables and fruit gathered from the forest may be added to the diet. Fish, poultry, and meat are eaten.
Some typical Chakma dishes include fish, vegetables, and spices stuffed into a length of bamboo and cooked in a low fire; foods wrapped in banana leaves and placed beside a fire; and eggs that are aged until they get fermented.
The Chakma tend to mainly cook over an open fire. They eat many types of food (including meats) with rice being a staple, but they usually avoid beef.[71]
Gudu hara, or Ha-do-do, also known askabaddi, is a game played throughout the Chakma region. Two teams stand on either side of a central line. They take turns sending a player into opposing territory to touch as many people as they can during the space of one breath, while at the same time saying "Ha-do-do." If the player runs out of breath or is caught by their opponents, they are out. On the other hand, if the player successfully returns to their own territory, the players they have tagged must leave the game.[81]
Gyilhei hara[citation needed] is a game that can be played between two teams or two individuals. A special type of seed calledgyi-lhei is used to play the game.Gyilhei seeds are found and grown in wild forests of hills and are similar to bean seeds but bigger in size. When the time comes, the large beans dry out and the seeds known asgyilhei are ready to be collected for use in the game.
Other pastimes include Nadeng Hara, played with a spinning top; and various wrestling games. Pawti hara is a complex traditional game that is played by two teams. Due to how sophisticated its rules are, it is becoming less and less common.
The vast majority of the Chakma are followers ofTheravada Buddhism,[10] a religion that they have practised for centuries.[82] A minority of Chakmas practice Christianity.[83]
According to a 2011 census report, there are 93,411 people who follow Buddhism inMizoram, India. 7.3% are Christians, or followers of other religious beliefs.[84]
The Chakmas originally spoke a language belonging to theTibeto-Burman family, which belongs to theJingpo-Luish tree. The language was very similar to present-day Kachin and Burmese languages. But at present days, their language shares many common words or loan words from theHindi,Pali,Sanskrit, English,Assamese andBengali languages, due to long years of influence of Bengal sultanate. Many linguists now consider the modern Chakma language (known asChangma Bhaz orChangma Hawdha) part of the Eastern Indo-Aryan language group. Changma Bhaz is written in its own script, theChakma script, also known asAwzhapath/Awjhapat. Chakma is written in an alphabet that allows for its cursive form, and is almost identical to the Khmer and the Lanna (Chiangmai) characters, which was formerly in use inCambodia,Laos,Thailand and southern parts ofBurma.[85]
The Chakma are strongly related toTibeto-Burman groups inNortheast India, Southeast Asia and East Asia.[86] According to a genetic study on the population of Bangladesh in 2019, Chakma carried 52.59% YHaplogroup L, 13.79%haplogroup Q, 10.34%Haplogroup J, 6.03%haplogroup I, 4.31%Haplogroup R1a, 4.31%Haplogroup H, 3.45%Haplogroup G, 1.72%Haplogroup E and 1.72%Haplogroup N.[87]
The Chakma script shows similarities to Brahmi script, indicating cultural links. There's a theory suggesting Chakmas may descend from the Shakya lineage of ancient India.
Bijak of the Chakmas we can easily take into our considerations that the Chakmas went to Burma from India in far ancient times. As the Chakmas regard them as the desendents from the shakya clan.
{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)[title missing]The indigenous Jumma peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) consisting of Chakmas, Marmas, Tripuras, Khiyangs, Lushais, Khumis, Chaks, Murungs, Bowms and Pankoos, are not recognised by the Constitution of Bangladesh.
After the partition of India in 1947, many Bengali Buddhists have migrated from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) [to India] ... including the migration of the tribal Chakma Buddhists.
a lush green country of wooded hills, jumping fountains and quick-flowing streams ... the quarter of a million strong Chakma tribe of the idyllic Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Religious persecution, ethnic violence which had its roots in economic reasons forced the Chakmas to enter India en masse ... 50,000 Chakma refugees entered Tripura in April 1986 ... by July 1989 their number rose to 67,000.
India's ... concession to Bangladesh over the sharing of the Ganga waters (12 December 1996) was reciprocated by the latter in signing an agreement with Chakma leaders (9 March 1997). It provided for the return of the Chakma refugees sheltered in Tripura to Bangladesh.
[The] Bangladesh government allocated funds to thousands of Bengali families to settle in the tracts, arguing that the area was less crowded than the rest of densely populated Bangladesh. By 1981 Bengali migrants constituted a third of the population of the tracts.
In 1973, the Shanti Bahini (Peace Force) began to stage violent attacks against the government to try to win independence for the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
| Indo-Aryans | |
|---|---|
| Austro-Asiatic | |
| Dravidian | |
| Tibeto-Burman | |
| Others | |
| Immigrants and expatriates | |
| Mizoram |  Naga woman | |
|---|---|---|
| Nagaland | ||
| Meghalaya | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| Manipur | ||
| Tripura | ||
| Assam | ||
| Sikkim | ||
| Kuki tribes including: | ||
| Naga tribes including: | ||
