Class and ethnicity in the hills of Bangladesh

This dissertation examines class and ethnicity in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Southeastern Bangladesh. The indigenous people of this region are now in a minority because of the influx of Bengalees. This study argues that ethnic conflicts, ethnicity or "tribalism" in the CHT emerged as consequences of British, Pakistani and Bengalee colonialism, modernization and development projects undertaken by the international development agencies; these factors changed the relations of production and were accompanied by militarization of the area and a destruction of the traditional mode of life. Ethnicity as an ideology has played a determinant role in the CHT rather than class, despite the fact that the CHT groups and the Bengalees are divided into several socio-economic levels. Here, class interests and class issues are undermined and overshadowed by the presence of ethnic antagonisms and an ideology of "tribalism" among Bengalees and the indigenous CHT peoples