Discuss and analyze the status of Indigenous people in the light if constitution and include the recent change of provision in the constitution.

 

Introduction:

There are more or less 45 recognized indigenous communities in plain place or Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. The indigenous people of Bangladesh are mostly known as “Adibashi”. According to government census, there are 1.2 percent indigenous people out of total population in Bangladesh but indigenous leaders are demanding that there are more than 2 percent indigenous people out of total population present in Bangladesh.[1] Mr. Mangal Kumar Chakma (adibashi leader and writer) said that indigenous people think that their population is more than government census and this is intentional.[2] There is not mentioned about any specific status of indigenous people in the constitution of Bangladesh. From the past, any government doesn’t recognize the existence of indigenous people.[3] The right and status of indigenous people is not clearly mentioned in the constitution of Bangladesh at the same time the 15^th amendment of constitution is not warmly accepted by indigenous people (adibashi) of Bangladesh.

Indigenous People:

There is no specific definition of “Indigenous People” but United Nations human right bodies and international laws apply 4 criteria to distinguish indigenous people-

• Indigenous people generally live in geographically distinct areas
• They try to maintain distinct social, economic and political institutions within their territories.
• They normally want to remain distinct socially, geographically, culturally and institutionally
• They identify themselves as Indigenous.

Indigenous people also can be identified based on their culture, life style, tradition etc. “Language spoken” and “geographical location and concentration” also help to identify indigenous people.[4]

Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh:

In Bangladesh the Indigenous people are mainly known as “adibashi” (original inhabitant). They mainly exist in 23 districts of Bangladesh. Indigenous people are roughly 2 percent of total population and there are almost 45 groups of indigenous people. They are different from common Bangladeshis based on their tradition, culture, religion, living place and lifestyle.[5]

Discrimination against Indigenous People:

Indigenous people are different because of their tradition, culture, religion, living place and lifestyle. But in Bangali society, people think that their religion and culture are inferior. Indigenous people are very limited taking a look at the over all population of Bangladesh. Sometimes many projects have been taken those hampered indigenous peoples life style. Even poor indigenous people are not allowed to take tea, breakfast in any hotel or restaurant in many parts of Bangladesh. Even no political parties or government take any positive action to protect their right and status. The Government often says,” In Bangladesh, nobody is minority and nobody is majority, all are equal”. But indigenous people blame that they are different.[6]

International Human Right Instruments Related to Indigenous People:

Constitution of Bangladesh ensures human rights of each and every citizen. There other different international human right instruments related to indigenous people, like- Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Right (ICCPR), Children Rights Convention (CRC), International Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ILO107 and so on.[7]

Status of Indigenous People in the Light of Constitution:

In the constitution of Bangladesh, there are nothing clearly said about indigenous people. The distinct identity they have is in trouble though they have different rituals, culture, belief, tradition, and lifestyle.

The first constitution of 1972, article 6(2), there is written that citizens of Bangladesh are treated as Banglais and this is amended as Bangladeshis in the sub sequent regime. After the independence of Bangladesh, Mr. M. N. Larma raised the question in the parliament that if every one is treated as Bangali, what should be about indigenous people. Then without thinking deeply Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said, “Tora Bangali Hoy Jaa”. In the next government General Ziaur Rahman put a correction in the constitution and wrote in there all citizens of Bangladesh will be known as Bangladeshi. But nobody thought about the indigenous people.[8]

Indigenous people can practice their religions peacefully because it is written in the constitution. Constitution says that the state religion of the republic is Islam and other religions can be practiced with peace and harmony.[9] Indigenous people have their own different religion and they can practice it because there is no restriction in the constitution about practicing other religion. In the constitution there is nothing mentioned about indigenous religion.

In the case of language, there is written in the constitution that the state language is Bangla.[10] Nothing is written about other languages. Indigenous people have their different language. Though there is not written anything about other languages, indigenous people can use their language. There is no restriction in the constitution of Bangladesh about using other language but the state language will remain bangle.

Article 11 of Bangladesh constitution talks about democracy and human rights. This article ensures the democracy and human rights. Indigenous people are not out of this indirectly.[11] Here democracy, human right, respect for dignity, worth of human person, freedom are guaranteed.

There should not be any discrimination among citizens based on race, sex caste, religion, place of birth. This is guaranteed by the constitution of Bangladesh in article 28(1).[12] So indigenous people should not be subject to any discrimination. If there is any discrimination happened with indigenous people then that will be violation of constitution.

Article 28(4) says that special provision can be made for the betterment of women, children and backward people.[13] And also in the constitution of Bangladesh, article 29, 3(a) also says that state can make special provision in favor of any backward citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the service of the republic.[14] Some people interpret this “backward citizens” as indigenous people. In this way, some people say that there is written about indigenous people in the constitution and for their betterment, state can make any provision. But the word “backward citizen” itself is a discriminatory word. There are several questions can be raised related to “backward citizens”. What is “backward citizens”? How do we measure “backward citizens”? What are the characteristics of “backward citizens”? On the other hand there is nothing clearly written about indigenous people at all in the constitution of Bangladesh. Kamal Hossain, lead author of the constitution of Bangladesh agreed that there is nothing clearly written about indigenous people in the constitution and suggested to include it in the article 29.[15] There is nothing mentioned in the constitution about indigenous, but about 70.09 percent agreed that indigenous people should get recognition as indigenous in the constitution of Bangladesh.[16]

Article 11 ensures democracy and fundamental human rights. Article 15 ensures the basic necessities of life.[17] Food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education for all citizens are ensured here. So, indigenous people are also part of this esurient indirectly. Article 19(1) ensures equal opportunities to all citizens. All citizens of the people’s republic of Bangladesh should get equal opportunities. Article 27 provides equality before law. That means every body is equal in the judgment of law. Article 28(1) prohibits about discrimination on the basis of race, cast, religion, and place of birth. So, there should not be any kind of discrimination in the county. Article 41 ensures freedom of religion. Everybody can practice their religion peacefully. Article 42 provides right to property to all citizens.[18] Indigenous people can get those advantage of these articles for being citizens of Bangladesh though there is nothing specially written about indigenous people in the constitution in the Bangladesh.

Recent Change of Provision in the Constitution:

Indigenous people expressed serious concern about the contents of the 15th amendment to the National Constitution of Bangladesh, which was passed by the Parliament on 30th June 2011.[19]

For some key changes in the constitution by 15^th amendment, indigenous people are not happy. The inclusion of the phrase “Bismillah?ar?Rahman?ar?Rahim” before the opening to the constitution was added in the fifth modification to the Constitution in 1979 by armed forces ruler, General Ziaur Rahman along with the phrase inserting ‘trust and faith in almighty Allah’ in place of ‘secularism’. This has now been reinserted by the 15th revision. Indigenous peoples concern is that all the citizens are not Muslim, so they think this sentence should be removed otherwise equality will not be established.[20] According to them, there are different religious people are living in Bangladesh and this kind of religious sentences should not be included in the constitution.

 In the 8^th amendment in 1988 by General Hossain Mohammad Ershad inserted the state religion as Islam. Again in the 15^th amendment, the state religion reinserted as Islam. Indigenous people argue that they are also part of the county and there are other religions too. They want a change here. They think both these provisions resulted in the Constitution moving away from one of its founding pillars of ‘secularism’ and becoming noticeably more biased and mutual in nature. It is a direct rejection of the full citizenship rights of the hundreds of thousands of people from diverse religions and beliefs who are Bangladeshis. [21]

 Article 6(2) of the Constitution shows that “The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangalees as a nation and the citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshis”.[22] But indigenous people want their own identity as “Indigenous People”. They want their inclusion as indigenous people. They want there should be a space of indigenous people.

 Article23(A) is now saying that  “The culture of tribes, small ethnic groups, ethnic sects and communities? The state shall take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and tradition of the tribes [upajati], minor races [khudro jatishaotta], ethnic sects and communities [nrigoshthi o shomprodai]”.[23] These provisions have been inserted by the 15th modification despite continuous criticisms by thousands of people. Indigenous people don’t want to be known as tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities. They want to be known as “Indigenous People”. They want their identity should be clear in the constitution.

 Indigenous people want correction in the 15^th amendment of the constitution. They said, there should not be any religion as state religion. The nationalism should not be known as Bangalee nationalism” because many non bangalee contributed to liberation war of Bangladesh. Indigenous people want recognition by the constitution of Bangladesh as “Indigenous” (adibashi).[24]

 Many aboriginal communities have been existing in the country for centuries in Bangladesh as well as the constitution of Bangladesh has already accorded privileged management to the “backward sections” of the people which also include indigenous people or ethnic minority.[25] According respect of indigenous people in the Constitution of Bangladesh will not incur additional cost on the Government; fairly it will act as a assurance building measure between the normal society and indigenous communities. Also it will afford greater defense to their rights and interests, not curtailing those of the ordinary people. The constitutional recognition of indigenous people will also make easy the development of their own communities and cultures within a state formation, and will be useful instrument to prevent the colonizing tendency of dominant cultures.[26]

Indigenous People Want Place as “Indigenous” in the Constitution:

Indigenous people want some correction in the constitution of Bangladesh for their better, for the betterment of their indigenous society.

• Indigenous people want to be known as indigenous[27]
•  the recognition of adivasi languages (amending Article 3)
• Inclusion of indigenous culture in article 23
• Indigenous people want their won  identity other than Bengali (amending Article 9)
• Correction of article of 28(4), 29(3) where indigenous people are indirectly said in the name of “backward people”
• Indigenous people don’t want to see any state language which is written in the article 2A.
• Inclusion of “backward section” in the definition clause(article 152)
• There must be a place for indigenous people in article 6(2).[28]

 Recommendation:

ü      An in- detail policy about indigenous people of Bangladesh should be formulated.

ü      Reorganization of the distinct existence in the government documents is needed.

ü      There should be effective reflection of all human right instruments in the government policy documents those are relevant to indigenous people.

ü      Protection of human right violation of indigenous people should be ensured at the same time ensuring justice.

ü      Mentioning existence of indigenous people in the constitution of Bangladesh

Conclusion:

Indigenous people (adibashi) are living in our country from thousands of years. Still they are not recognized as indigenous. They are not entitled as indigenous neither in the constitution of Bangladesh nor in any government documents.[29] This is becoming very frustrating to them. In some articles of the constitutions of Bangladesh, the status, position, or right of indigenous people is mentioned indirectly by mentioning them “backward section”[30] and so on. But their status is not clearly mentioned in the constitution. Even they are not recognized as indigenous by the constitution. After the 15^th amendment of the constitution of Bangladesh, the indigenous communities of Bangladesh raise their voice to make a review on that. Many governments have come and many governments have gone, but no one raise their voice to solve the problems of those indigenous people. There should be mentioned a clear status of indigenous people in the constitution of People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

 References:

“Adibasi Jonopoder Pothe Prantore” By Mangal Kumar Pandey, p.p.12

Bangladesh’s representative in UN, Ishrat Jahan gave the statement, Available at www.un.org/news/press/docs/2007/ga10612.doc.htm

Bangladesh constitution, article 2A; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 3; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 11; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 28(1); available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 28(4); available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 29, 3(a) ; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 11 and 15; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 19(1), 27, 28(1), 41, 42; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 6(2) ; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

Bangladesh constitution, article 23(A) ; available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf

“Biponno Adibashi Jibon O Somaj”, by Mithusilak Murmu, p.p.84

“Constitutional recognition of indigenous people” by Dr. Abdullah Al Faruque vailable at http://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2011/anniversary/section2/pg10.htm

“Emerging areas of human rights in the 21st century: the role of universal deceleration of human rights” By Marco Odello, Sofia Cavandoli, p.p.19

“Human rights and indigenous peoples” By J. K. Das, p.p416

“Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Comparative analysis of Indigenous people” By Aman Gupta, p.p.29

“Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Comparative analysis of Indigenous people” By Aman Gupta, p.p.339

ILO Convention 107, Available at www.ilo.org

“Indigenous peoples’ land rights under international law: from victims to actors”  By Jérémie Gilbert, p.p.112

Letter to Prime Minister(12 july,2011), available at http://www.chtcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CHTCommission_LetterToPM_Constitution.pdf

Letter to Prime Minister(12 july,2011), available at http://www.chtcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CHTCommission_LetterToPM_Constitution.pdf

Letter to Prime Minister(12 july,2011), available at http://www.chtcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CHTCommission_LetterToPM_Constitution.pdf

Letter to Prime Minister(12 july,2011), available at http://www.chtcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CHTCommission_LetterToPM_Constitution.pdf

“Land rights of the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh”  By Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi Roy

“Minority Rights in South Asia” By Rainer Hofmann, Ugo Caruso, P.P.41

“ Rights of Indigenous People and Minority of Bangladesh” by Muhammad Kamal Uddin, p.p.32

Solidarity 2006 and 2007, an annual publication of indigenous peoples forum, p.p.2

“Traditional customary laws and indigenous peoples in Asia” By Devasish Roy (Raja.), Minority Rights Group International, p.p.96

The Daily Sangbad, July 13, 2007