Hill Voice, 23 September 2020, Dhaka: The Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum was formed as an associate organisation of the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum (BIPF) with the aim of accelerating the Indigenous Rights Movement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and plain lands. The Indigenous Youth Forum was formed at the Indigenous Youth Conference held at the CBCB Conference Hall in Dhaka on Tuesday, 22 September 2020.
The conference was chaired by Ananta Bikash Dhamai, Convener of the Conference Preparation Committee formed for the establishment of Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum and conducted by Antony Rema, Member Secretary of the Conference Preparation Committee, while indigenous youth representatives across the country and indigenous leaders including Sanjeeb Drong, General Secretary of the BIPF, Ripon Chandra Banai, Student and Youth Affairs Secretary of the BIPF, attended the event.
At the end of the conference, a 15-member Convening Committee of Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum was formed with Ananta Bikash Dhamai as the Convener and Antony Rema as the Member-Secretary. It is said that the committee will form a full-pledged committee within the next six months to further accelerate the indigenous rights movement. Ripon Chandra Banai, Student and Youth Affairs Secretary of the Adivasi Forum administered the oath of office bearers to the Convening Committee.
Besides, Ujjal Azim, Land and Legal Affairs Secretary of the BIPF, Pallab Chakma, Executive Director of Kapaeeng Foundation, Hiran Mitra Chakma, Cultural Affairs Secretary of the BIPF, Harendranath Singh, President of Jatiya Adivasi Juba Parishad, Falguni Tripura, Coordinator of Bangladesh Indigenous Women’s Network (BIWN), Chanchana Chakma, member secretary of the BIWN, leaders of Pahari Chhatra Parishad, Bagachas and Gasu and other indigenous youth leaders from different parts of Bangladesh spoke in the conference.
It is to be noted that The BIPF was formed in 2001 under the leadership of Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (Santu Larma), President of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti and one of the signatories to the CHT Accord. Since its inception, the BIPF has been playing a leading role in establishing the human rights of the indigenous people of Bangladesh in the collective struggle of the indigenous people of the hills and plains.
