[Note: This article was written in 10 July, 2010 just before Indigenous Peoples' Day]
The constitution of Bangladesh is a guarantee of fundamental rights for all citizens. We all, more or less, know this. It protects the interests of indigenous peoples just like it assures the rights of Bengalis.
Now the question is…does it really guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples’? Many people say that it cannot assure their rights because there is no mention of indigenous peoples in the constitution. They have no constitutional recognition, let alone constitutional rights!
Article. 27 declares, “All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and are entitled to equal protection by the law.”
It’s very pleasing to have such wonderful words in the constitution. On the other hand, it is very sad to observe many bad experiences among the various indigenous groups. We have noticed with great pain and sadness that, “the eyes of the law” and “equal protection by the law” have not applied to indigenous people neither in the past, nor today, nor even in the future so long as indigenous people do not receive constitutional recognition as such.
We can mention some examples in this regard. Many indigenous leaders were killed by land grabbers and terrorists in the past. We can mention the names of Kalpona Chakma, Alfred Soren, Gidita Rema, Sentu Nokrek, Piren Snal, Adhir Dopho, Ninthonath Sangma, Nibas Mree, Bihen Nokrek, Cholesh Ritchil and many more. None of them received justice by the law. Some of their relatives have not even been able to file cases against the perpetrators because the police have refused to accept their cases.
On 18 April, 1997 Cholesh Ritchil, an indigenous leader of Madhupur forest was killed by Major Touheed in army custody during the time of the caretaker government. Where Cholesh’s wife, Sandha Simsang, still cannot file a case against the perpetrators, can we really say that “all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law” and “all are entitled to protection by the law” holds true for indigenous peoples too? Article. 28 (1) declares, “The state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.”What we can see in Bangladesh is the State itself discriminating on the grounds of religion, race, even place of birth. Sandha could not file a case. Why? a) Because she and Cholesh are Christian. b) Because they are Garo. c) Because they were born in the forest.
Bihen Nokrek, while on his way home after collecting dry firewood in the forest, was shot and killed by a forest guard. A Court ruled that the killing of Bihen was “justified” (!) even though it was mentioned in the post mortem report that Bihen was shot from behind. Was it justified because (a) Bihen Nokrek was poor; (b) he was born in the forest; and (c) he was a member of the indigenous Garo community!
We cannot understand how a killing can be justified! This legal provision must be only for indigenous people! If it continues, the people might lose confidence on the court.Thus, both Articles 27 & 28(1) have become meaningless for indigenous people. Whether these articles exist or don’t exist make no difference in our lives!Article.
28(4) declares, ‘‘Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making special provisions for women, children or for the advancement of any backward section of the citizens.”
We think the present government can avail itself of the opportunity provided by these “special provisions” to take the appropriate steps needed “for the advancement of any backward section of the citizens”. It is high time for the alliance government to bring glory to itself and to the country’s citizens by conferring constitutional recognition on the indigenous people in Bangladesh so that their fundamental cultural and traditional rights over land and forest can be protected.To do this the government should give “constitutional recognition” to these people as soon as possible because the existing Constitution cannot guarantee the life and fundamental rights of the 45 indigenous groups in Bangladesh.
Very recently, two of our country’s top newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, reported on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Affairs, which has urged the government to ensure the constitutional rights of indigenous people.It is really mind-blowing news for the indigenous people of Bangladesh.
Our hearts and minds cannot but dance when we hear such an encouraging recommendation from the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Affairs. If our memories are not mistaken, this caucus was formed in February of this year. It seems to us that it is encouraging for this committee to decide so expeditiously to urge the Government to take an historic step by recognising the rights of certain groups who have been deprived of their constitutional rights in the very land where they have been born and raised. The credit, surely, goes to the members of the parliamentary caucus who worked really hard to ensure the rights of the vulnerable groups.
The Caucus also called on the Government to designate the existing 45 groups as "indigenous" instead of as "small ethnic groups" in the country's constitution. Let wreaths of flowers be placed over their heads for this.. We hope that the Government will put into action the recommendations of the Caucus as soon as possible. We are very happy that at the very least a committee has recommended this designation of “indigenous”!
We are very thankful to the Caucus Chairman Rashed Khan Menon, MP, who confidently told reporters from The Daily Star, “The Government has moved to amend the constitution. We want it to recognise them in the constitution and also identify them as indigenous people.” We also have come to know from The Daily Star report that the Caucus presented a thirteen-point proposal. The proposal includes (a) amendment to the constitution; (b) constitutional recognition of indigenous people; and (c) formation of a separate land commission for the indigenous people living in the plain lands. All of these points are our demands, and to tell the truth, they are the long-awaited dreams of all indigenous people in Bangladesh. We have been demanding these points since 1993, the first year that we celebrated 9 August as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
We have observed with a joy tinged by concern how the leaders of the government and the opposition have given statements in the souvenir “The Songhoti” where they refer to us as “Indigenous Peoples” while simultaneously denying our rights with blatant disregard saying, “We don’t have indigenous peoples in our country. Those who are here are ‘Upojati-s’ and ‘nomads’” as the BNP government used to say.
During the period of the caretaker government, one of us had the opportunity as an observer to visit the 7th and 8th sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations in New York, USA. We, very sadly, observed how the Government of Bangladesh presented false and misleading statements during those sessions. We feel too ashamed to repeat here in writing the humiliating words used by the Government about the indigenous people of Bangladesh, for we believe that we too love our country no less than our national leaders.
We are grateful to the Caucus for calling upon the Government to give “traditional land rights” to indigenous people. Only the recognition of traditional land rights can protect our land rights, which, in effect, is our existence. If indigenous people secure their traditional land rights here in this country, Bangladesh, it will surely represent a shining example to the rest of the world, especially where other indigenous peoples live. Only when these rights have been secured can we then declare with conviction that we, along with our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters, are sharing in the hard-earned fruits of independence. And only then can we truly claim our mantle as a civilised nation.
Mr. Rashed Khan Menon, President of the Workers' Party as well as Chairman to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, has rightly said, “Indigenous people now live in a miserable condition because they are deprived of their constitutional rights.”
You cannot imagine how insecure indigenous people feel leading their lives here, so uncertain without constitutional recognition. We can give one example in this regard. A very close Garo friend of ours, a classmate who works for the Aga Khan Foundation in India, wrote to us after reading in the news about constitutional recognition for indigenous people in Bangladesh saying that he is reconsidering his previous decision to settle with his family in India now that he would receive constitutional recognition here! Earlier, he thought that he would settle down in the Garo Hills in India as there are more facilities for children, constitutional recognition, even a separate state for the Garo people. Some of our friends have already migrated to the USA, Canada, Australia and to neighboring India. Many more have thought about leaving this beloved country. We certainly hope that they will now have a chance to rethink their decision!
We also hope that our rights regarding the use of lands and the forest will be ensured rather becoming they are ‘threat’ for us. Just as the committee has urged the Government, it is urgent that new laws be formulated to protect the rights of indigenous people. The Constitution and the recommendations of the parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Affairs will be meaningful only when the Government genuinely decides to implement them.
Last but not least, we are grateful to Her Excellency, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has created an environment in which the committee can suggest meaningful and optimistic recommendations. Without her brave leadership this giant milestone would not have been possible.Finally dear readers, it would not be wise to attempt to divine the Government’s true intentions. Whether they are genuinely resolved to implement these recommendations or not is a matter for time to tell. Politicians rarely keep their promises. Governments may be less so. The reality is that no government has favoured us! We want to believe that the present government is different than its predecessors.
We, therefore, begin dreaming that this alliance government, led by Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, will play a unique role in recognising our constitutional rights as indigenous people and put to rest the problems of our ever deprived peoples. This would be a giant step towards making Digital Bangladesh a reality one, in which every citizen is “equal in the eyes of the law” and “entitled to equal protection by the law”. We believe that this is possible only under the leadership of Shaikh Hasina.
In our country can we dream of a world where the State does not itself “discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”? Is that too much to hope for in an independent country?
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