Jumma people

The Jumma people is a collective political term for the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of present-day Bangladesh. They include the Chakma, Marma, Tripuri, Tanchangya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, Gurkha, Assamese, Santal, and Khumi.[1]

The name jumma ("jum farmer") is derived from jum cultivation, or slash-and-burn farming.[2] It is a reappropriated term originally used by outsiders.[3] They are also known as Pahari, which simply means "hill people".[4]

The Jummas are native speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages, unrelated to Bangla spoken by ethnic Bengalis. Religiously they are distinct as well, most being Buddhist, some Hindu and some are Christianized, with only a small number of having converted to Islam. In addition, they have retained some traditional religious practices.[5]

Persecution by Bengalis

Bengali settlers and soldiers have raped native Jumma (Chakma) women "with impunity" with the Bangladeshi security forces doing little to protect the Jummas and instead assisting the rapists and settlers.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Van Schendel, Willem (2001). Willem van Schendel, Erik J. Zurcher, ed. Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World. I.B.Tauris. p. 141. ISBN 978-1860642616.
  2. ↑ Roy, Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi (2000). Land Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. IWGIA. p. 28. ISBN 978-87-90730-29-1.
  3. ↑ Ghanea-Hercock, Nazila; Xanthaki, Alexandra; Thornberry, Patrick (2005). Minorities, Peoples and Self-determination. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 90-04-14301-7. It differentiates them from their plains neighbours and was initially used in a derogatory manner.
  4. ↑ International Labour Office (2000). Traditional occupations of indigenous and tribal peoples: Emerging trends. International Labour Organization. p. 78. ISBN 978-92-2-112258-6.
  5. ↑ Samaddar, Ranabir (2003-07-04). Refugees and the State: Practices of Asylum and Care in India. SAGE Publications. p. 251. ISBN 978-81-321-0377-6.
  6. ↑ McEvoy, Mark (3 April 2014). "Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh – rapists act with impunity". Survival International - The movement for tribal peoples.
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