UNB, Dhaka :
Calling upon the government to take steps to stop repression against indigenous people, indigenous leaders have demanded forming a separate land commission for the indigenous peoples of the non-hilly regions to settle their long-standing land disputes.
“Outside the hill districts, the indigenous peoples have been losing their land since the country’s independence…about 90 percent of them are now landless,” Jatiya Adivasi Parishad president Rabindranath Soren told a discussion on Thursday.
Jatiya Adivasi Parishad and Kapeeng Foundation jointly organised the discussion at Dhaka Reporters Unity marking 160 years of the Santal Uprising.
Rabindranath Soren, also chairperson of Kapeeng Foundation, said a vested quarter is still intent on grabbing the remaining land of the indigenous peoples, and they do not vacillate to kill them, or set fire to their houses to occupy the land.
“The quarter killed Lodu Soren to grab his land. Chirakuta village of Parbatipur was rampaged. But the victims are yet to get justice,” Soren alleged.
Indigenous leader Pankaj Bhattacharya said there were no disputes regarding land belonging to the indigenous people before the advent of British rule. The Santal Uprising was a direct result of colonialism. “Now, the real history of the indigenous peoples is being distorted,” he added.
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti organising secretary Shaktipad Tripura, Dr Rahmatullah of Dhaka University, researcher Pavel Partha and executive director of Kapeng Foundation Pallab Chakma, among others, spoke at the discussion.
Calling upon the government to take steps to stop repression against indigenous people, indigenous leaders have demanded forming a separate land commission for the indigenous peoples of the non-hilly regions to settle their long-standing land disputes.
“Outside the hill districts, the indigenous peoples have been losing their land since the country’s independence…about 90 percent of them are now landless,” Jatiya Adivasi Parishad president Rabindranath Soren told a discussion on Thursday.
Jatiya Adivasi Parishad and Kapeeng Foundation jointly organised the discussion at Dhaka Reporters Unity marking 160 years of the Santal Uprising.
Rabindranath Soren, also chairperson of Kapeeng Foundation, said a vested quarter is still intent on grabbing the remaining land of the indigenous peoples, and they do not vacillate to kill them, or set fire to their houses to occupy the land.
“The quarter killed Lodu Soren to grab his land. Chirakuta village of Parbatipur was rampaged. But the victims are yet to get justice,” Soren alleged.
Indigenous leader Pankaj Bhattacharya said there were no disputes regarding land belonging to the indigenous people before the advent of British rule. The Santal Uprising was a direct result of colonialism. “Now, the real history of the indigenous peoples is being distorted,” he added.
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti organising secretary Shaktipad Tripura, Dr Rahmatullah of Dhaka University, researcher Pavel Partha and executive director of Kapeng Foundation Pallab Chakma, among others, spoke at the discussion.
