Hill Voice, 22 September 2024, Initernational Desk: An Urgent Appeal was submitted by the All Assam Chakma Society (AACS), Guwahati Chakma Students’ Union (GCSU) and All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) on 21 September to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for immediate interventm to save the indigenous minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, from the systematic communal attack by illegal Bengali settlers backed by Bangladesh army.

The representative of three organizations saud that the representatives of the Chakma community in Assam, extremely compelled to voice our deep anxiety and profound grief regarding the recent communal attacks and systematic ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Buddhist minorities from their ancestral land in our neighboring country, Bangladesh. Pursuant to the various media reports, at least 5-10 persons have been brutally killed, many more injured, valuables were looted and hundreds are currently missing in DIGHINALA & KHAGRASARI regions of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Innocent civilians (indigenous) including women and children are being targeted, with homes and businesses being torched. Thousands were forced to flee their homes and taken shelters in the nearby jungles to save their lives. The violence is a continuation of a disturbing pattern of attacks on Buddhists and Hindu minorities, posing serious doubts on the ability and credibility of the ad-hoc Bangladeshi government, with Mr. Yunus Khan as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in safeguarding the minorities from the fanatic illegal settlers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.

These tragic events have unfolded in the wake of a theft incidence on 18th of Sept 2024, where one Bengali settler identified as Md Mamun (who is having a number of criminal cases) was killed while fleeing after stealing a motorbike, rammed into an electric pole and succumbed to his injuries. In an undesirable turn of events, the Bengali settlers have started protesting against the death of Md Mamun, instigating their fellow Bengalis against the indigenous peoples over loud speakers and eventually resorted to ruthless communal attacks upon the indigenous peoples under the eye of the Bangladeshi army.

Such barbaric acts are, unfortunately, not new to the Buddhist and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Numerous instances of homes and shops being gutted and reduced to ashes stand as grim evidence of the continued persecution faced by these communities. In 1947, during the partition of greater India, the population of Buddhist, Hindu and Christian minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts was 98.5% whereas as per the population census report of Bangladesh 2022, the population has been drastically reduced to 55.48% due to the continuous atrocities by fanatic Jihad motivated illegal settlers in the CHT region.

In an era where the progress of humankind has reached an unprecedented height, it is deeply disheartening to see such acts of barbarism and inhumanity overshadowing our shared advancements.

The representatives of the three organizations urged the international community, human rights organization, and the concerned authorities to take immediate action to prevent further atrocities, protect the fundamental rights of these vulnerable populations, and hold the perpetrators accountable for the turmoil. The safety, dignity, and justice for the indigenous Buddhist and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh must be prioritized.

Assam Chakma Society stand in solidarity with our Buddhist, Hindu& Christian minorities brethren in Bangladesh and call for peace, protection, and respect for their human rights. The representatives of three orgnizations have trust in the diplomacy of the Government of India as it has been always instrumental in promoting global peace and delivering justice to the marginalized communities in such crisis.

The urgent appeal was signed by Ashutosh Chakma, President, All Assam Chakma Society (AACS), Samudhan Chakma, General Secretary of AACS, Ahimsak Chakma, President, Guwahati Chakma Students’ Union (GCSU), Satyalal Tonchongya, General Secretary of GCSU, Avhinash Narzary, President, All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU).