THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN THE CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL CONNECTIONS

Abstract: The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is home to thirteen different indigenous groups in Bangladesh. An examination of the circumstances of indigenous peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts reveals that indigenes had a complicated relationship with the Bangladeshi state over the last few decades, and prior to that with the Pakistani regime that ruled them. Examining the CHT case, I show that a focus only on the national level can obscure the external factors that influence the relationship between the state and indigenous people and argue for the need to broaden our lenses to look for critical external relations. Building on this line of argument, I focus on situating the relationship between the state and indigenous people in a transnational context, in addition to considering the national features. My perspective reveals the limitations of a purely local approach, situates the roots of such conflicts in regional and global politics, and rather than simply showing the relationship between the state and indigenous people, illustrates why they act in particular ways