Hill Voice, 18 January 2025, International Desk: CHT Indigenous Peoples’ Council of Canada (CHTIPCC) submitted a report to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on attack on indigenous students. The report, signed by CHTIPCC President Priti Chakma, was presented last Thursday (January 16).
The report recommended that the United Nations put pressure on the Bangladesh government (a) to investigate the incident properly, punish the culprits and compensate the injured person as medical expenses and (b) to respect the Indigenous peoples using the word, “Indigenous” or “Adibasi” instead of Tribals for their existence, culture and tradition. The report also applauded that the UN ask the Interim Government to implement the 1997 CHT Accord fully which is vital to the rights of the Indigenous peoples of the CHT.
In its report, CHTIPCC mentioned that in a text-book that still has the word, “Adibasi” on the online page about which the settlers (who were settled in the CHT by the government to evict the Indigenous peoples from their own lands) and some Muslim fundamentalists recently made objection about it to the National Curriculum & Text book Board (NCTB, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education) and the Board accepted it and deleted the word, “Adibasi”.
In protest to it, some Indigenous students under the banner of “Sonkshubdha Adivasi Chatra-Janata” (aggrieved Indigenous student-mass) organized a procession towards the NCTB office on January 15, 2025 to demand for retaining the word, “Adibasi”. On their way, all on a sudden, many settlers and fundamentalists under the banner of “Students for Sovereignty” attacked the procession which resulted in 7 seriously injured and at least 15 injured Indigenous students and journalists. It has been learnt that the NCTB authority had a hand in the attack.
Later the settlers and fundamentalists fabricated a story that they were also injured and gave interviews bandaged their heads with fake gauze and blood.
The seriously injured Indigenous ones are: 1) Ananta Bikash Dhamai, former president, Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum; 2) Dhan Jetra, president, Dhaka Metropolitan Branch, Bangladesh Garo Students’ Organization; 3) Rupaiya Shrestha Tanchangya, central member, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Student, Dhaka University (DU); 4) Jewel Marak, journalist, DBC News; 5) Tony Mathew Chiran, vice-president, Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum; 6) Isaba Shuhrat, human rights activist; and 7) Futonta Chakma, student.
The other injured are: 1) Donwai Mro, student, Dhaka University; 2) Reng Yong Mro, vice-president, Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chatra Parishad; 3) Sushmi Chakma, student, DU; 4) Snehlal Tanchangya, student, Dhaka University; 5) Shanta Chakma, student, DU; 6) Angel Chakma, student, Jagannath University; 7) Sushanta Chakma, student; 8) Michel Tripura, student; 9) Malay Bikash Tripura, student, DU; 10) Rahi Nayab, student, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, DU; 11) Bobby Biswas, student, DU.
