The Land is not Ours

Over the centuries indigenous peoples have developed a profound relationship with their lands and territories. Despite this fact, they are still looking for a place for themselves (Gilbert 2006: xiii). Most indigenous communities have land-based economies, and are therefore dependent on having access to land in order to survive. This paper is concerned with the indigenous peoples called the Jumma, living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. The Jumma have experienced to be alienated from their land through centuries, and are until this day struggling to get recognition of their right to access and use their ancestral land. Successive governments have tried their best to assimilate the Jumma people into the majoritarian Bengali society without succeeding. As a result, failed policies has led to civil war, killing thousands of people and creating a large number of refugees and internally displaced. In 1997 a major turn of event occurred when the government of Bangladesh and the JSS –a political Jumma party signed a Peace Accord. This was seen as a positive sign on both sides to end the bloodshed. However, the peace agreement turned out to be a series of promises not kept, creating new tensions in the area. The main concern for the Jumma throughout the years has been to get recognition of their status as a distinct people with their own customs and traditions, including the right to collective ownership and use of land. This right has constantly been challenged, and is until this day not protected through any legal remedies.