Chakma

The Chakma are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group primarily based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh, with sizable communities in parts of northeastern India and smaller populations in Myanmar. They speak the Chakma language, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language closely related to other regional languages, and they write it in the Chakma script, a Brahmi-derived writing system also known as Ojhapath.

The Chakma language and script are central to the community’s cultural identity. In daily life and education, Chakma is used alongside Bengali in Bangladesh and local languages in India, with ongoing efforts to promote literacy and literature in the Chakma language. The script is employed in religious texts, literature, and administrative contexts within Chakma communities.

Religiously, the majority of Chakma people are Theravada Buddhists, though there are Hindu and Christian minorities among them. Cultural life includes traditional music, dance, weaving, and crafts, and it is often organized around agricultural cycles and Buddhist observances as well as local festivities.

Historically, Chakmas have inhabited the hill regions of what is now southeastern Bangladesh for many centuries. In the modern period, regional political developments in Bangladesh affected the Chittagong Hill Tracts, culminating in the 1997 Peace Accord between the government and local representatives aimed at addressing land rights and regional autonomy. The accord marked a turning point in relations, though political and land-related issues persist in various degrees.

In India, Chakmas are found mainly in Tripura and Mizoram, with smaller communities elsewhere in the region. They maintain cross-border cultural ties and continue efforts to preserve language, religion, and traditional practices within their diaspora.