Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti

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Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti
পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম জনসংহতি সমিতি
United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
AbbreviationPCJSS
President
Shantu Larma
General SecretaryUshatan Talukder
Founder
Founded1972 (52 years ago) (1972)
Headquarters
Seats in the Jatiyo Sangsad
0 / 350
Party flag

The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (

Bengali settlers in the Hill Tracts. A peace accord was signed in 1997 led to the disarmament of the Shanti Bahini and enabled the PCJSS to return to mainstream politics.[2][3][4][5][6]

Background

The roots of the PCJSS can be traced to the Hill Tracts Students' Association and the

Bengalis. In talks with Hill Tracts delegation led by Manabendra Narayan Larma, the country's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman insisted that the ethnic groups of the Hill Tracts adopt the Bengali identity.[8][9] Sheikh Mujib is also reported to have threatened to forcibly settle Bengalis in the Hill Tracts to reduce the native peoples into a minority.[9][10] The PCJSS held its first national conference on 24 June 1972 at Indrapuri Cinema Hall of Rangamati town. A 60-member Central Committee of PCJSS was constituted with Birendra Kishore Roaza[11][12][13]
as President and M N Larma as the General Secretary.[14]

Four-point manifesto and foundation

On 24 April 1972 Manabendra Narayan Larma presented a four-point manifesto[7] to the constitution drafting committee, which sought:[7]

  1. Legislative Assembly
    .
  2. Inclusion in the constitution of a statute like the Regulation of 1900 that safeguarded the identity and rights of the people of the Hill Tracts.
  3. Preservation of the positions of tribal chiefs and tribal customs and laws.
  4. Prohibition of amendments to the statute enshrining the Regulation of 1900 and the settlement of Bengalis in the Hill Tracts.

The manifesto was summarily rejected by the government, causing resentment and dissatisfaction amongst the people of the Hill Tracts.[7] On 15 February 1973 representatives and activists of the Hill Tracts founded the Parbatya Chhattagram Jana Samhatti Samiti (PCJSS) under Manabendra Narayan Larma's leadership.[7] The party's official aims and objectives included humanism, nationalism, democracy, secularism and the protection of the rights, culture and ethnic identity, and autonomy for the tribes of the Hill Tracts.[7] The PCJSS sought to unify and represent all the tribes of the Hill Tracts and also organised a committee of villages, a students and youth wing and a women's wing of the party.

Insurgency

Dissatisfaction and anger due to government opposition to their demands led the PCJSS to organise the Shanti Bahini (Peace forces) as

Awami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujib.[7] The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on 2 December 1997.[6]
The peace accord provided for greater autonomy, the return of land to displaced tribals and special status for the ethnic groups and tribes. The accord also created a central ministry of tribal affairs and an elected regional council that would be empowered to govern the Hill Tracts and oversee local tribal councils. The accord also granted official recognition of the ethnic groups and tribes.

After the treaty was signed, Shanti Bahini insurgents formally laid down their arms and more than 50,000 displaced tribals were able to return to their homes. The PCJSS emerged as a mainstream political party.[7]

Recent activities

Since the peace accord, the PCJSS has emerged as a mainstream political party and is currently headed by

Burma.[17]
JSS militants are alleged to have killed the first Muslim convert Omar Faruk Tripura, founder and Imam of a Masjid in Bandarban through whose hands 30 families became Muslims in his area. He was reported to be threatened by such militants because of preaching Islam and convincing people to be Muslim beforehand.

See also

References

  1. ^ "PCJSS".
  2. JSTOR 2645754
    .
  3. ^ "Bangladesh peace treaty signed". BBC News. 2 December 1997. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Chittagong marks peace anniversary". BBC News. 2 December 1998. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b Mohsin, Amena (2012). "Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, 1997". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  6. ^ a b Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Majumder, Shantanu (2012). "Parbatya Chattagram Jana-Samhati Samiti". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  8. ^ a b Nagendra K. Singh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 222–223. .
  9. ^ (PDF) on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  10. ^ Shelley, Mizanur Rahman (1992). The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: The untold story. Centre for Development Research, Bangladesh. p. 129.
  11. ^ "About Us PCJSS".
  12. ^ "Manabendra Narayan Larma is still relevant". Hill Voice. 15 September 2020.
  13. Academia
    .
  14. ^ "Manabendra Narayan Larma fought against all hegemony". Samakal.
  15. .
  16. ^ Hazarika, Sanjoy (11 June 1989). "Bangladeshi Insurgents Say India Is Supporting Them". The New York Times.
  17. ^ a b c "Lax security helped militants gather strength in CHT". The Daily Star. 3 December 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2008.

External links