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INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH-WEST COASTAL REGION OF BANGLADESH
Ashraf-ul-Alam Tutu
INTRODUCTION :
The facial features of Bengalis give evidence of a complex admixture
of many races, many strains and people with different physical features.
It is only on very rare occasions that one comes across a face or figure
that reminds one of a pure specimen of any race.
It is therefore extremely difficult to identify and classify people
according to origin and race. But many aboriginal people still have a segregated
existence in the far-flung rural areas of the country, and the South-West
Coastal region is not an exception. It shall, therefore, be our endeavour,
in this article, to try to identify them and ascertain their present status
in Society.
Anthropology as a serious field of study has not been a very popular
subject in the South Asian Sub-continent. Even the European anthropologists
have concentrated their efforts to the comparatively more glamorous fields
of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Even that object of much curiosity, the Mohenjo
Daro culture, has not been seriously delved into.
As such, pure anthropological research materials are scarce to come
by in this country. The very few books that exist are not strictly anthropological;
they are, in fact, histories : histories as seen through the eyes of the
writer. And we know from Ibne Khaldun's Al-Muqaddima that historians cannot
be trusted. According to Ibne Khaldun, the historian may write an untruth"for
greed of gold or for fear of the sword", or even for other reasons. Hence
whatever data that we are able to obtain from books of history, must be
taken with a grain of salt. Then, of course, there is the living evidence
of face and figure, and the peoples' own meagre understanding about their
ancestry.
We know from books written by European anthropologists that there are
six major races on earth, of whom all the various peoples are branches
or mixtures of races in various proportions. Anthropologists are
also unanimous that the people whom they identify as "Mediterranean" were
the originators of civilization, helped in later stages by people of Central
Asian origin known to European anthropologists as "Alpine" people. The
"Han" or "Yellow" people are said to have obtained the rudiments of civilization
from these sources, which they then developed in their own manner. The
Aryans or "Nordic" people came on to the scene at a later stage, and contributed
their own share for the advancement of civilization.
The "Australoids" who are said to have originated in India, and the
"Negroid" of African origin, are considered as non-contributors; experts
are unanimous that they were only "receivers" of civilization and not "creators".
We find traces of all these original races in Bangladesh. But coming
across any individual of a "pure" strain is almost impossible, except in
the case of the aboriginal Australoids, who are conspicuous because of
their features and their dark skin colour, but to find them, one has to
search in the remotest rural areas.
ANCIENT REFERENCES :
The most ancient reference to this country and its inhabitants is to
be found in the Upanishads, in which the country situated in the eastern
part of the sub-continent, as well as the people, are termed as "Non-Aryan".(Aitareya
Aranyak, 2:1:1 as shown in Note 1, page 157 of "Jessore-Khulnar Itihaas"
by Satish Chandra Mitra, vol. I). The specific verse groups the people
of "Banga, Magadha and Chera" as people who do not follow the Indo_Aryan
concept of "Dharma", and that they make no distinction as to what they
eat, etc.
The Mahabharata is a more recent historical document, though it is
more on the side of exaggeration. It is said that the Paundra king, Vasudeva,
had participaterd in the battle of Kurukshetra on the Kaurava side, and
was also later defeated by the Pandavas during the "Dig-Vijaya" phase of
their rule. The Mahabharata also credits the country of the Poundras as
an exporter of sugar and cotton cloth. Thus the Mahabharata gives us an
indication of the level of civilization then enjoyed by the people of "Poundra",
that is, the present north-western portion of Bangladesh, the capital
of which is supposed to have been the archaeological site known as "Mahasthangarh",
not far from Bogra.
Satish Chandra Mitra in his book also states that the Poundra king
Vasudeva had a step-brother named Kapil, who being of a religious type,
is said to have settled at a place in the lower basin of the river Kapotakshya,
and there engaged in meditation. The site later came to be known as Kapilmuni,
and the town of that name, situated within Paikgacha thana of Khulna
district, is said to be the same place.
There are plentiful signs of an ancient civilization in and around
the present Kapilmuni. As such, if the period of the Mahabharata can be
considered as somewhere between 1000 BC and 700 BC, Kapilmuni has a history
as old as that of the Mahabharata.
Some historians, such as Satish Chandra Mitra and Subash Mukhopadhya
have suggested the possibility of an admixture of the Alpine race in the
Bengali people. Their statements may not be far from the truth, as there
is clear evidence of the intrusion of Central Asian tribes into "Aryabarta"
during two distinct periods of history.
There is specific mention of a people whom Karna names as "Aratta",
living in the region of the five rivers of Punjab, which he also names.
He describes there people as "Dharma-Bhrashta"(outside the pale of Dharma)
and "Taskar"(thieves). He also calls them by the name of "Bahleek", which
gives us the clue to their origin, as Bahleek is the Sanskrit name for
ancient Balkh, in central Asia.(Mahabharata, Karna Parva, Karna_Shalya
Sangbad). In fact, there is also an earlier reference in the Rig-Veda,
of a copper-coloured people who "must be skinned alive".
The second period in which the Central Asians came to Bengal was the
Turko_Afghan period in its history, that is, during the Middle Ages. As
such, it is no wonder that features similar to the Alpine people are found
both among the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal. But we are not concerned with
them, as they are not indigenous to the land; but their presence, however,
gives an indication of the complex demography of the country in general
and the region under discussion in particular.
THE ABORIGINES :
In a localised survey conducted in two thanas, one each in Khulna ancd
Satkhira districts, in 1996, about 20 Ethno-Religious Minorities had been
identified, out of whom only 3 are said to be purely aboriginal. They are
the Bhagobenes or Bhagobanias, the Bunos or Mundas, and the Kaiputras or
Keoras. Though their numbers are miniscule compared to other ethno-religious
groups, we shall discuss them first before taking up the other, more numerous
groups living in this part of Bangladesh.
The Bhagobenes or Bhagobanias :
The Bhagobenes, also known as the Kortabhaja Samproday, do not eat
food prepared by people of other castes. Their religion conforms mainly
to that of the Brahmo Samaj, in that they do not practice idolatry, and
believe in one Invisible God. They are very few in number, living in scattered
communities in Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore districts. They are mostly
poor, with less than 10% of them owning enough agricultural land to subsist
on farming alone. Most of them are farm or non-farm labourers, and the
others are petty traders or rickshaw/van pullers.
2
The Bunos or Mundas :
The Mundas, according to their tribal memory, are the descendants of
people brought to this part of Bangladesh by the zamindars who obtained
allotments of Sundarban forest land from the British East India Company
in the early part of the 19th century, to clear forest land for cultivation.
It appears that after the land had been cleared, they were left to their
own devices, and they stayed on as labourers. They are no longer engaged
in their traditional occupations of hunting and fishing, but live on wage
labour in both farm and non-farm sectors. They form a tiny minority in
this region.
The Kaiputras or Keoras :
The Kaiputras form the third group of etrhnic minorities mentioned
above. They also form a tiny minority, with less than one percent having
possession of land for even subsistence agriculture. Their main occupation
is pig-rearing, (about 60%), for which they are considered as outcastes
and untouchables by all other communities. About 27% of them work as wage
labourers in farm and non-farm sectors, and the rest earn their livelihoods
as petty traders, masons and rickshaw/van pullers. Their incomes and educational
levels are very low, but the females of the caste have more freedom than
those of other communities around them. They live a semi-nomadic
existence, having no land of their own, and live on the fringes of villages.
The Namasudras :
The Namasudras are low caste Hindus and are sporadically spread all
over the country, and there are small concentrations of Namasudra
populations in the low-lying wet-lands of the south-western coastal region.
It is difficult to quantify them in terms of their population in the whole
of Bangladesh, as they are not enumerated as a separate community in the
official census. However, they appear to be the most numerous of the ethno-religious
minority communities in this part of the country.
As suggested in the district gazetteers which serve the purpose of
one of the earliest sources of ethnographical and sociological information,
the Namasudras and the Paundra-Khatriyas are basically one and the same
community, and that both were formerly called Chandals. Both occupy low
positions in the hierarchy of Hindu castes, but are generally known to
be two different communities. The local people do not identify either
of the two castes as the real Chandals, whose traditional occupation is
the cremation of dead people.
Their phjysical features are mostly Dravidian, with some admixture
of Aryan/Alpine and Australoid. They live in low-lying wet-land areas along
with some other castes, such as Poundra-Kshatriyas and Rajbangshis,
and share a common faith, rites and rituals. But they do not have
any matrimonial relationships with these other castes. Though they generally
claim to belong to the Hindu community, they do not worship all the Hindu
gods and goddesses. On the other hand, they have some gods and goddersses
of their own, not recognised for worship by the upper and middle caste
Hindus.
They consider the Reverend Harichand Thakur of Orakandi in the district
of Faridpur as their Guru and godfather, and go on pilgrimages to Orakandi
for the annual Mela there.
Though traditionally agriculturists by occupation, less than 25% of
the households are fully self-reliant in that occupation. The rest are
poor and marginal farmers, or absolutely or functionally landless, relying
on wage labour, or at best, share-cropping. Even then, there are
less than 40% who depend solely on agriculture. Nearly 30% are actually
wage-labourers. Less than a quarter used to be fishermen, but they do not
possess any ponds of their own, and have little access to open water-bodies
in the public domain. The rest of the Namasudra population are petty traders,
shrimp gher workers, rickshaw/van pullers and others.
3
The Paundra_Kshatriyas or Podes :
Though the district gazetteers consider them the same as Namasudras,
both these communities consider themselves as separate from each other.
Numerically they come second to the Namasudras. According to numerous sources,
the ancestors of the Paundra-Kshatriyas, or "Podes" as they are commonly
known, came to this region from the north, cleared the forests and settled
here centuries ago. In the remote past, they had vast tracts of lands,
water-bodies and forests under their collective ownership and community
control. At present many of them are functionally landless and landpoor,
with very little access to other public resources as forests and open water-bodies.
However, as agriculturists, they are comparatively more affluent than
most other minorities. Over 48% of them have more than one acre of land,
and upto 7 or 8 acres, while about 32% are functionally or absolutely landless.
The middle group, comprising about 20%, owning upto 1.00 acre of land,
are poor and marginal farmers who have to resort to share-cropping to supplement
their incomes. The landless among them follow many occupations such as
that of boatmen(both manually operated and mechanised), petty trading in
fish and groceries, shrimp farming, fishing, bamboo and cane work, carpentry,
service, etc. The last item in the above list of occupations is significant,
as during the early part of the 20th century, they realised the value of
education, and those of whom who could afford it, obtained education and
entered civil service.
The Rajbangshis or Teors :
Although a distinct ethno-religious group, they are in many respects,
such as religious beliefs, culture, customs etc., almost identical with
the Namasudras and Paundra-Kshatriyas. But in terms of principal occupation,
they form an exclusive fishermen community. As a result, however, of complicated
historically conditioned socio-economic processes over centuries, they
have lost much of their age-old access to rivers and other open water-bodies,
to the detriment of their own economic well-being and social status. As
a result, they are either absolutely or functionally landless, as over
82% of them own less than 0.50 acre, and most of them not even a homestead.
Less than 9% own more than one acre.
The Rishis and Muchis :
There is an interesting story about the Charmakars or Chamars, who
used to skin and eat the flesh of dead cows and other domestic animals,
and followed the occupation of tanning hides and skins and making and repairing
footwear.
It is said that an educated person of their race, named Deben Babu,
came to this region from Calcutta about 50 or 60 years ago, and called
a convention of all people of that caste at Navaran in Jessore district.
At the convention, Deben Babu told them that they were actually the descendants
of the ancient Rishis and Munis(sages) who wrote the Vedas and the Puranas,
but that they had fallen in Society as a result of their lowly occupation.
He called upon them to abandon their dirty occupation and adopt the surname
or caste name Rishi. It is said that the "Matbars"(headmen) of the Muchis
living on the west bank of the river Kapotakshya accepted his proposal
and converted to Christianity along with their followers, while those living
on the east bank of that river preferred to live as they had been doing
all along.
Reverend John Fagan has observed that whatever their understanding
of Deben Babu's use of the word "Rishi" might have been, he suspects
it to be an erroneous one for good reasons.
As traditionally they had been living in the fringes of Society
as lowly tanners and leather workers, they have no great attachment to
land, and landed people are very rare among them. Only about 10% of these
people follow their traditional occupations, while more than half are wage
labourers. About a quarter of them live on bamboo and cane
work, while others follow
4
various occupations such as rickshaw/van pedalling, fishing and petty
trading. According to Reverend John Fagan, there are some 250,000 people
of this caste in Bangladesh. According to his distribution, 40,000 are
in Khulna, 70,000 in Jessore, 45,000 in Mymensingh-Tangail and about 40,000
in Dhaka(Fagan, John).
OTHER MINORITY GROUPS :
Some other minority groups found in the region are Jeles/Malos,
Parois, Patnis, Telis etc. claim to be Hindus, but they are considered
low caste by upper and middle caste Hindus. The Telis are traditionally
seed-oil extractors, while the Patnis used to be traditionally boatmen.
The Jeles or Malos and Parois used to be fishermen. But most members of
these miniscule groups no longer follow their traditional occupations.
Only about half of the Jeles/Malos and Parois do the work of fishermen,
either independently, or on commission basis. Physically they are Non-Aryan,
an admixture of Australoid and Dravidian. Many of them are now wage labourers
in various farm and non-farm sectors.
Muslim Minority Groups :
Apart from the various castes and sub-castes described above,
there are nine distinct groups who are identified as Muslims, but racially
appear akin to the Hindus of the lower stratum of society, and may be considered
as converts. They are Bajandars(players of musical instruments),
Beharas(palanquin-bearers), the Dais(seed-oil extractors, most probably
the same as Telis, but converted from Hinduism), the Dhopas(washermen or
launderers), Hajams(circumcisers), the Nikaris(traditionally fishermen,
but now occupying various trades, and probably converted from Hindu fishermen
communities), the Rasuas (traditionally repairers of household metal-ware),
the Shahjees and the Shikaris. The Shahjees are a small group living
in Debhata thana of Satkhira district, and used to be traditionally engaged
in coal-cleansing, but now about 20% live by agriculture and the rest are
wage-labourers. The Shikaris, though Muslim by religion, are an off-shoot
of the nomadic Bede community; as such, they are low-caste ethnic minorities,
converted to Islam sometime during the last few centuries. At present their
main occupation is wage labour, though about 20% of them own from 0.50
to 4.99 acres of land.
These Muslim Minority Communities(MMC) used to be either low caste
Hindus or other ethnic minorities, and appear to have been converted during
the early Muslim period. But in spite of their being Muslims, other Muslim
communities do not have matrimonial relations with them, and shun them
as low caste, though there is no caste system in Islam and caste prejudices
are alien to it. It may be that this caste prejudice is a disease
communicated through contact with the caste system of the Hindus.
CONCLUSION :
The age-old process of the mingling of races has contributed
much to the demographic complexity of this country. The faster pace of
modern living appears to have, in fact, speeded up this process,
and as time goes on it is l ikely to become more and more difficult to
distinguish ethnic and racial characteristics among the population of this
region.
Various development initiatives undertaken both by government as well
as non-government agencies have mostly by-passed these lowest of the lowly,
but there appears some dim spark of hope that these people too, may
be provided with the initial impetus that will enable them to improve their
lot. There exists, of course, the likelihood that their ethnic identities
may one day be wiped out under the wheels of progress,, but that
may be a small price to pay provided that the loss is compensated
by their being recognised as equal citizens in the greater community of
equals.
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VOICE OF DALITS IN BANGLADESH
MARCH 2001
2nd Volume
Background :
Once upon a time, the majority of the population in this tide-washed
coastal delta land used to be Aborigines. They had evolved an agricultural
practice and a lifestyle in keeping with the unique nature and characteristics
of this land. But gradually, with the passage of time, the incursion of
other settlers converted these people into a minority. At present, they
are in the deepest abyss of ignorance, destitution and total lack of development.
They have escaped the attention of national policy makers, who have never
given any importance to their improvement. Until recently, even the voluntary
development agencies, that is, NGOs did not realise the importance of planning
any programs for them.
In order to understand the overall situation of these neglected people,
Bhumija undertook a survey of 570 villages in Debhata and Tala Upazilas
of Satkhira district and Dumuria upazila of Khulna district. The survey
revealed that in 317 villages within the survey area, there are 20 distinct
groups of Religio-Ethnic Minorities. They are the Bajondars(musical instrument
players), Beharas (palanquin bearers), Bhogobene, Buno, Dai (Midwife),
Dhopa (Washerman), Hajam, Jele, Patni, Kaiputra, Namasudra, Paundra Khatriya,
Rajbangshi(Teor), Rosua, Teli, Nikeri and Paroi. These people form
28.95% of the total population of the surveyed area. According to the survey,
11.96% are totally land-less, without even any homestead land. 39.43% possess
0.49 acre of land or less, also technically land-less. Only 18.64% possess
from 0.50 to 1.00 acre of land and 29.97% are owners of one acre or more.
34.21% of these people engage themselves as agricultural wage labourers,
28.03% practise agriculture including sharecropping, 17.85% are fishermen,
6.37% are engaged in petty trade, 3.79 are engaged in cottage industries,
0.37% keep swine and the remaining 7.37% perform other work for earning
their livelihoods.
Only a very small percentage of them can be considered as earning a decent livelihood. The majority of them, 51.56% of the households earn less than Taka 1,000.00 per month, 27.25% earn between Taka 1,000.00 and 2,000.00, 14.45 earn between Taka 2,001 and 3,000, 4.94% earn between Taka 3000 to 4000, 1.20% earn between Taka 4001 and 5000 while only a mere 0.60% earn more than Taka 5000 per month.
While the national average for literacy stands at 62%, only 19.28% of the Indigenous peoples are literate. Literate among males are 26.65% while only 11.85% of the females are literate.
The Origin of Bhumija.
Although a large number of NGOs are working in this region for
development of the poorest of the poor including women, by providing them
with awareness training, literacy, health care and means of self-empowerment,
no organization had taken any steps to plan or implement a program for
the development of the Indigenous people. While forming development groups
among the targeted under-privileged people, a few individuals or households
might have been included in such groups. But this was far below the actual
need.
Bhumija was born out of the initiative of Mr. Shahidul Islam, who has been working as a development activist in this region since 1976 and the motivation of Rev, Fr. Luigi Paggi. From its very inception Bhumija has taken initiative and taken up programs for the development of these neglected peoples. The main objective of the survey was to identify the groups of indigenous people inhabiting the Khulna-Satkhira-Jessore region, to know the extent of their numbers, analysing their socio-economic situation and identify issues in respect of their rights and livelihoods.
While trying to identify the issues confronting the Indigenous people in this region and making plans to prepare development projects for them, Bhumija realised that it would be too great a task for Bhumija to perform single-handed. Only an integrated and well coordinated joint effort of several NGOs could undertake such a stupendous task. Accordingly, a coalition including Bhumija, Sushilan and Rishilpi was formed and a development project was planned under the title “Integrated Development Intervention”. The background of this coalition and their experience are detailed below.
Background of the Coalition :
Bhumija, Sushilan and Rishilpi are three NGOs working in the
district of Satkhira situated in the Southwest Coastal Region of
Bangladesh. The three NGOs by means of experience sharing, discussions
and mutual reviews of work being performed by them for the development
of the indigenous people, gave them the motivation to form a coalition.
Thus began the Coalition of the three NGOs in April, 1994. It may
be noted here that though Bhumija is an organization formed solely for
the establishment of the rights and development of the Indigenous people,
the other two organizations will be working among the indigenous people
only as part of their overall programs.
Institutional Structure of the Coalition :
Bhumija shall be the lead organization in the Coalition. The chief
executives of the three NGOs have formed the Coalition Management Committee.
The Chief Executive of Bhumija will be the Coordinator. The Coalition
Management Committee will take all decisions jointly, and the Chief Executive
of Bhumija will monitor and coordinate the activities performed in accordance
with the decisions. The office of Bhumija will act as the Secretariat of
the coalition. It is understood that each of the three partners in the
coalition implement their respective programs independently, but the programs
of the Coalition are implemented jointly.
Bylaws of the Coalition :
1) Bhumija will act as the lead organization in the Coalition.
2) The independence of the partner NGOs will on no account be compromised.
3) The partners will cooperate with one another in exchanging information
and experience.
4) In the event of any member committing any act that goes against
the policies of the Coalition, the membership of that organization shall
remain suspended, the funding receivable by it will be withheld and the
donor organization will be intimated about the suspension.
5) A Secretariat has been established. Its functions will be :
5.1 Collection of Information
5.2 Conservation and Recording of Information
5.3 Dissemination of Information as required and
5.4 Making arrangement for training for Capacity Building.
6) Generally, the Coalition Management Committee will meet once in
every two months.
7) Member organizations shall submit Financial Reports to Bhumija once
in every two months.
8) All accounts of financial transactions shall be maintained properly.
9) Funds will be allocated in accordance with the opinion of the majority
of the Coalition members.
10) Internal Audit as well as Audit by recognised Audit firm will be
conducted every year.
11) External evaluation will be conducted jointly by thew Donor Agency
and the Coalition.
12) The Coalition members shall provide all Information sought by the
Donor Agency.
13) In the event of any coalition member failing to furnish the reports
and/or information, necessary steps will be taken against it.
14) In the event of this Coalition achieving success, other local NGOs
may be co-opted as members of the Coalition to expand the area of its activity.
A Review of the Coalition’s Activities :
As the initial review has shown that the activities of the Coalition
have given positive results, it is seen that the possibility of co-opting
other local NGOs to work among the Indigenous people has become bright.
The Network working in this region under the leadership of Bhumija has now become known as the Southwest Regional NGO Network. As such, it has already gained some experience of networking. This experience has to be kept in mind in the management of the proposed Coalition. hence it has become imperative that we review the activities of the coalition formed under the leadership of Bhumija.
Though in general terms, the positive aspect of the coalition is most
apparent, some limitations have also been noted as a result of the review,
such as :
a) Exchange of information and experience among the member organizations
is not satisfactory.
b) Appropriate relationships have not been established between the
NGO personnel and the target populations.
c) Opinion sharing has been much less than the ideal. Discussions on
development issues have been less than desired.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which this Coalition has been formed gives the lead organization only the responsibility to receive progress and financial Reports from the member organizations. Actually, the programs were such that the lead organization Bhumija could not interfere. For instance, Rishilpi changed the program entirely. A larger than planned number of groups were formed in a hurry, which resulted in the lowering of standards. No guidelines had been formulated for defining the relationships between the personnel and the target people. As the secretariat had no staff of its own, appropriate inspection and review could not be undertaken and close inter-relationships among the personnel of the three organizations could not develop properly.
Problems of Perspective :
In working with these outcaste people, the first essential is to develop
an appropriate perspective, and to bring about coordination among the members.
Bhumija has been created solely for the purpose of working among the Indigenous
people. The other members of the coalition need to develop the appropriate
perspective in the light of experience. Their target populations include
also people outside the Indigenous groups. Their cooperation with Bhumija
is limited to the indigenous peoples. As such, involving the other members
of the coalition and coordinate their work among the indigenous people
should be considered as a project of Bhumija, which will be the next phase
of the joint project “Integrated Development Intervention”.
Members of the Bhumija Coalition :
1) Bhumija : Tala, Satkhira
2) Sushilan : Kaliganj, Satkhira
3) Rishilpi : Benerpota, Satkhira
4) Aalok : Mirzapur, Tala, Satkhira
5) Mukti Parishad : Tala, Satkhira
6) Provati : Betagram, Dumuria, Khulna
7) Adarsha Dishari
Sangstha : Bharat Bhaina, Keshabpur,
Jessore
8) Protibha : Kalagachi, Keshabpur, Jessore
9) Panjia Jubo Samaj
Kalyan Samity : Panjia,
Keshabpur, Jessore
10) BFBC : Keshabpur, Jessore.
Objectives :
The objectives of this wider Coalition
are :
1) To establish the Human Rights of the outcaste people,
2) To combat social discrimination against and maltreatment of the
outcaste people,
3) To arrange job opportunities for women of the outcaste communities,
and
4) To create opportunities for their education, so that they may live
as ordinary citizens of Bangladesh without being discriminated against.
Organizational Management of the Coalition :
1) Bhumija is playing the role of lead organization in this coalition.
This coalition is principally a project of Bhumija.
2) Forwarding of project proposals to donor agencies,
receiving grants from them,
sending reports and
monitoring projects shall be the responsibility
of
. Bhumija.
3) The Project Management Committee has been
formed with the Chief Executives of the member organizations.
4) The Project Management Committee will meet at least once in every
three months.
5) Each member organizations shall remain Independent, but in respect
of projects awarded by the coalition, they will remain answerable to Bhumija.
6) The member organizations shall exchange information and experiences
among themselves
7) The member organizations have concluded bilateral agreements with
Bhumija. Necessary training will be provided in order to enhance the capability
of the member organizations.
Other Activities of the Coalition :
Since Bhumija started its journey, it has been observing the
Universal Human Rights Day on December 10 every year. The programmes include
discussions, highlighting of Human Rights issues affecting our target people,
rallies and cultural events highlighting Human Rights(short plays, songs
etc.)
Recent Developments :
After a long period of total neglect, it is now witnessing some activity
in respect of studies and discussions in respected to the Aborigines/Indigenous
people. Academics have begun to take an interest in the plight of indigenous
people inhabiting this region. Earlier this year, a Seminar was held at
the Calcutta University in India on the subject “Indigenous People of Eastern
India and Bangladesh : Perspective - Development”. Held jointly by the
Universities of Calcutta and Dhaka, the second session of the seminar was
held at Dhaka University in Bangladesh. Academics and other activists from
both countries, as well as representatives of Indigenous People attended
both the seminars.
Following the seminars, two get-togethers of indigenous people and
activists and organizations working on their behalf were held at Jhinaidah.
In this connection, it may be noted that though the indigenous people in other parts of Bangladesh had been well organised, with institutions of their own, the indigenous people inhabiting this region of Bangladesh had not been organised at all. It is only recently that two organizations have made their appearance, one at Jhinaidah for the indigenous people inhabiting the northern part of Khulna Division, and the other for those in the Khulna region. Although these institutions are at present in the embryonic stage, the very establishment of such institutions is a healthy sign and augurs well for their future development and integration into the mainstream life of the nation.
Bhumija: An organization for Dalits in Bangladesh
These outcastecommunities were previously known as Bhumiputra (sons
of the soil) and they were the majority among the population living in
the land influenced of saline ocean tides. The agricultural system, culture,
knowledge and know-how of those communities were harmonious with the ecology
and environment But in course of time, other people came and settled in
the land and these communities became minorities, became neglected, enjoying
least rights. They are left unnoticed by the policy makers, even NGOs were
seen least concerned about them during the recent past. They could not
conceive the need to formulate special programs specifically for these
untouchable communities. There are so many NGOs working in this region
to address needs of poor people in general but they did not take up any
specific programs for these outcastes. During the course of implementation
of project works in their target groups, some members of families from
outcaste communities might have come within the process. By this way a
few of them are organized. But this is not upto the level of requirement
to address the needs of the out castes.
Bhumija has been endeavoring for the advancement of the outcaste communities in the Southwest Coastal region of Bangladesh. It has been working in 40 villages in Debhata and Dumuria thana of Satkhira and Khulna district respectively since 1993. Bhumija has been registered vide No.. 925 dated 22-03-95 under the Social Welfare Department.
From its very inception Bhumija took up the following activioties, namely,
1. Socio-economic survey.
2. Specific action programme for the communities.
3. Coalition bulid-up with other NGOs.
b) Action Program:
The Following activities has been taken up by Bhumija in the outcaste
communities for their human resource development for 2,500 families within
45 villages of 10 unions in 4 Thanas.
i) Group Formation.
ii) Income generation;
iii) Afforestation: Social Forestry.
iv) Functional Literacy.;
v) Safe Water & Sanitation;
vi) Training, seminar, workshop & Cultural activities.
c) Networking/Coalition:
Existing Literature About The Religio-Ethnic Minority Communities In Bangladesh
It was the British Government officials who for the first time made
a series of studies on the Religio-Ethnic Minority (REM) groups or communities
in Bangladesh and other parts of the Indian sub-continent during the period
between the middle of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century,
purely for their colonial administrative purposes. The few books written
by them are considered the earliest ethnographic accounts and so far remain
the main sources of information on the religio-ethnic minority groups or
communities in our country.
Except for the religio-ethnic minority communities inhabiting the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, all other books relate mainly to the REM communities living
in the north-eastern parts of India, adjacent to the frontiers of Bangladesh.
Fractions of the same REM communities also live in Bangladesh. They have
more or less the same socio-cultural characteristics as their northeast
Indian counterparts. Thus the books on the REM communities inhabiting the
northeastern parts of India relate only to a certain extent to their fractions
inhabiting the present day Bangladesh territory. The REM communities inhabiting
Bangladesh have some differences in their socio-cultural characteristics
that are not observed in the books in question. There has been very little,
if at all, of anthropological, ethnographic or ethnological studies conducted
on the REM communities during the Pakistan period (1947-71) and the subsequent
30 years of post-independence Bangladesh.
Census reports and district gazetteers published by the British colonial government contain a wealth of information about the REM communities despite having critical shortcomings and limitations. But the district gazetteers updated during the subsequent periods could at best be considered as mere reproductions of their original versions with very little new information incorporated in them.
Besides, there are a number of works published, which give findings of a few foreign anthropologists who have done field work or at least had visited the areas inhabited by the REM communities during the mid-20th century.
But most of the mid-20th century and recent studies deal with the REM communities inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), a very few with those of the northern region and almost none with those of the southwest region of Bangladesh.
In order to identify and understand the REM groups inhabiting the southwest region of Bangladesh, we are left with no other alternative than to venture undertaking a sort of baseline survey among them, to be followed by a series o f in-depth first hand studies. It is believed that only such a study could enable us to address them and their development needs and concerns in both social and economic sectors.
Rationale For A Social Survey of R.E.M Communities In the South-West Region Of Bangladesh
As our general observations suggest, there are a number of special groups or communities existing in the southwest region of Bangladesh...They have their own specific religio-ethnic and socio-cultural characteristics that make them stand out distinct from the others. They are the Mundas or Bunos, the Bhagobenes, the Kaiputras or Keoras, the Paundra kshatriyas, the Santals and Rishis. Many academics consider these to be the real aborigines while the rest are likely to be merely the marginal sections of the majority communities.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SOUTH-WEST COASTAL REGION OF BANGLADESH
Introduction :
It is clearly evident from ancient records as well as from physical
remains that there existed an ancient civilization in the South West Coastal
Region of Bangladesh. Later migrations also brought indigenous people to
this region from other parts of the Indian Sub-continent. But political
and economic policies of various governments, the partition of the Indian
Sub-continent, and the socio-economic situation that has been prevalent,
have pushed them to the extremes of poverty and misery. The policies
and development initiatives of various governments have also contributed
to their marginalization.
The partition of the sub-continent divided them and separated many of
them from their original homelands, and the events of the last half century
have prevented them from re-establishing those contacts. As such, they
are faced with a severe identity crisis. The difficulty lies in the fact
that all the low caste Hindus, Muslims and other indigenous groups as well
as aboriginal people have become so amalgamated that it is difficult to
distinguish and separate different ethnic groups.
The development efforts of the British and successor governments have
sidelined them, as they were not strong enough, both numerically as well
as economically and organizationally, to claim their right portion of development.
As a result their socio-economic progress has been severely retarded and
this has had a similar effect upon their socio-political status.
A recent study has identified at least 6 ethno-religious minority communities,
such as Rishis. Bhogobeney, Buno(Munda), Kaiputra or Keoras(pig-rearers),
Paundro-Kshatriya, and Rajbangshis or Teors, of whom only the Mundas are
supposed to be distinctly aboriginal.
In order to bring them up to the level of the other communities living
among them, there is need for a very specific and integrated development
approach, which will enable them to develop their human potential while
at the same time enable them to preserve their culture and tradition. But
no sufficient initiative has, as yet, been taken to improve their lot,
and it is high time that an effort is made for their appropriate development.
Characteristics Of The Region :
Nomenclature : Banga
Thje region lying between the Bhagirati-Hooghly and the Ganges - Padma
has been known by the name Banga for the last three thousand years.
The Southwest Coastal Region of Bangladesh consists of the districts of
Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat, together with the southern portion of Jessore
district. The region is distinctive in that it is influenced by the ocean
tides from the Bay of Bengal that enter the region through the numerous
estuaries and creeks that pass through the Sundarbans. This region
comprises the land cleared for human settlement out of the Sundarban mangrove
forest.The major portion of the land is low-lying and subject to inundation
by the diurnal tides. The inhabitants used to cultivate rice in those low
lying lands during the rainy season by building temporary dykes to prevent
tidal incursion and similar temporary sluices to let out surplus rain water.
After the harvest, the dykes and sluices were dismantled and the tiddes
given free play again.
Satish Chandra Mitra in his book “History of Jessore-Khulna” states
that the Poundra king Vasudeva, who had participated in the battle of Kurukshetra
on the side of the Kauravas, had a step-brother named Kapil, who being
of a religious type, is said to have settled at a place in the lower basin
of the river Kapotakshya, and there engaged in meditation. The site later
came to be known as Kapilmuni, and the town of that name, situated
within Paikgacha thana of Khulna district, is said to be the same place.
There are plentiful signs of an ancient civilization in and around
the present Kapilmuni. As such, if the period of the Mahabharata can be
considered as somewhere between 1000 BC and 700 BC, this region has a history
at least as old as that of the Mahabharata.
Some historians, such as Satish Chandra Mitra and Subash Mukhopadhya
have suggested the possibility of an admixture of the Alpine race in the
Bengali people. Their statements may not be far from the truth, as there
is clear evidence of the intrusion of Central Asian tribes into the sub-continent
during two distinct periods of history.
History of Human Settlements in the South West Coastal Region :
Dr. Nihar Ranjan Roy in his book “Banglar Itihash” has stated,
“Among the low caste fishermen communities in the Sundarbans, among
the lowest classes of people in scattered locations in lower Bengal, and
among the Banshfor people of Jessore district, there can be found short-statured,
dark complexioned, people with curly hair, thick, upturned lips and flat
noses, which characteristics seem to be the result of negroid admixture......the
next level is that of the early Australoid. Among the lower castes of Bengalees
and among the Aboriginals, they are the most predominant”.
The unique nature of the population of this region is that human settlement occurred at various times in history, and for different reasons. There were those who had been living here originally, from pre-historic times. Later, at various times, different communities emigrated from their original homelands to escape either from conflict or famine or any other calamity, and sought refuge in the fastnesses of the Sundarbans or in the maze of rivers and creeks of this low-lying flat land. Then there are those people from over-populated regions who were attracted to this region by its high productivity. And finally, during the nineteenth century, the Zamindars who got allotments of forest land from the British East India Company imported aboriginals and other low caste people from the Chota Nagpur region of India to clear the forest. All these various peoples who came and settled here in different eras have so inter-mingled that it is extremely difficult to clearly distinguish different ethnic groups.
The Religio-Ethnic Minorities (REM) :
However, in spite of the difficulty in identifying different ethnic
groups living in this region, development imperatives have prompted serious
thinking among activists, and it was out of that perspective that Bhumija,
a local NGO, conducted a limited survey in Dumuria thana of Khulna district
and Tala and Debhata thanas of Satkhira district in 1996.
As a result of that survey, about 20 Religio-Ethnic Minorities(REM)
had been identified, out of whom only 6 are supposed to be aboriginal.
They are the Bhagobenes or Bhagobanias, the Bunos or Mundas, the
Kaiputras or Keoras, the Rishis or Muchis, the Paundra-Kshatriyas or Podes,
and the Rajbangshis. Even then, there is difference of opinion among people,
as many consider only the Bunos(Mundas) as truly indigenous, though their
numbers are miniscule compared to other ethno-religious groups.
The Bunos or Mundas :
The Mundas form the one ethnic group that has, in spite of many obstacles,
preserved their ethnic identity. According to their tribal memory, they
are the descendants of people brought to this part of Bangladesh
by the zamindars who obtained allotments of Sundarban forest land from
the British East India Company in the early part of the 19th century, to
clear forest land for cultivation. It appears that after the land had been
cleared, they were left to their own devices, and they stayed on as labourers.
The Mundas conform to the general description of Australoid people,
being dark complexioned, short with wavy hair. In their original homelands
in India, they used to be hunters and gatherers, but those occupations
were closed to them when the then British administration declared the Sundarbans
as a Reserved Forest. As such, they have to survive on wage labour. Many
do not possess even their homesteads, and live on other people’s lands.
They are also in the process of losing their linguistic heritage. Most
of them cannot speak their language Mundali fluently.
The Mundas live in the regions adjacent to the Sundarbans. Small, scattered, communities of Mundas can be found in Khulna, Jessore, Satkhira, Jhinaidah and Gopalganj districts. There are very few literate among them, and they have no organization of their own. It is only recently that they have begun to organise themselves.
Atiar Parvez writes in the journal “Lokjon”(6th year, 9th issue, April, 1998) that 30 Munda families have been living in village Bagkhali on the bank of the river Betna within Nagarghata Union under Tala thana of Satkhira district since the last 50 years or so. Yet they possess no land whatsoever to call their own. He quotes 100-year-old Jiten Munda of the village as saying that their forefathers came to this region over two centuries ago from the Ranchi region of Bihar, and they claim to belong to the Sirum clan. According to Jiten Munda, Munda chief Sachinya lost in some conflict and fled to the Sundarbans to seek refuge.
Possessing no land, they have to work as wage labourers in others’ fields. A rare few among them are share-croppers. But neither do the labourers get a fair wage nor the share-croppers a fair share of the crop.
From a distance the Munda village looks as if it is floating on water. During the rains, the village is usually flooded. But they have no other place to go.
Other Religio-Ethnic Minorities :
In addition to the Mundas, there are several other ethnic groups, who
are quite different in many ways from the mainstream Bengali Society. There
are also differences of opinion regarding the Mundas and other ethno-religious
communities. In the government’s official census records, they are not
classified as separate ethnic communities, but are considered as low caste
Hindus. Brief descriptions of these groups are given below.
The Kaiputras or Keoras :
The Kaiputras also form a tiny minority, with less than one percent
having possession of land for even subsistence agriculture. Their main
occupation is pig-rearing, (about 60%), for which they are considered as
outcastes and untouchables by all other communities. About 27% of them
work as wage labourers in farm and non-farm sectors, and the rest earn
their livelihoods as petty traders, masons and rickshaw/van pullers. Their
incomes and educational levels are very low, but the females of the caste
have more freedom than those of other communities around them. They
lead a semi-nomadic existence, having no land of their own, and live on
the fringes of villages.
The Bhagobenes or Bhagobanias :
The Bhagobenes, also known as the Kortabhaja Samprodai, do not
eat food prepared by people of other castes. Their religion conforms mainly
to that of the Brahmo Samaj in that they do not practice idolatry, and
believe in one Invisible God. They are very few in number, living in scattered
communities in Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore districts. They are mostly
poor, with less than 10% owning enough agricultural land to subsist on
farming alone. Most of them are farm or non-farm labourers, and the others
are petty traders or rickshaw/van pullers. They are not strictly aborigines,
but they are certainly a religious minority.
The Paundra-Kshatriyas or Podes :
Though the district gazetteers consider them the same as Namasudras,
both these communities consider themselves as separate from each other.
Numerically they come second to the Namasudras. According to numerous sources,
the ancestors of the Paundra-Kshatriyas, or “Podes” as they are commonly
known, came to this region from the north, cleared the forests and settled
here centuries ago. In the remote past, they had vast tracts of lands,
water-bodies and forests under their collective ownership and community
control. At present many of them are functionally landless and landpoor,
with very little access to other public resources as forests and open water-bodies.
However, as agriculturists, they are comparatively more affluent than most other minorities. Over 48% of them have more than one acre of land, and upto 7 or 8 acres, while about 32% are functionally or absolutely landless. The middle group, comprising about 20%, owning upto 1.00 acre of land, are poor and marginal farmers who have to resort to share-cropping to supplement their incomes. The landlesss among them follow many occupations such as that of boatmen(both manually operated and mechanised), petty trading in fish and groceries, shrimp farming, fishing, bamboo and cane work, carpentry, etc.
The Rajbangshis or Teors :
Although a distinct ethno-religious group, they are in religious beliefs,
culture, customs etc., almost identical with the Namasudras and Paundra-Kshatriyas.
But in terms of principal occupation, they form an exclusive fishermen
community. As a result, however, of complicated historically conditioned
socio-economic processes over centuries, they have lost much of their age-old
access to rivers and other open water-bodies, to the detriment of their
own economic well-being and social status. As a result, they are either
absolutely or functionally landless, as over 82% of them own less than
0.50 acre, and most of them not even a homestead. Less than 9% own more
than one acre. Though thery call themselves Rajbangshis, they are different
from other Rajbangshis living elsewhere in Bangladesh or India.
The Rishis and Muchis :
There is an interesting story about the Charmakars or Chamars, who
used to skin and eat the flesh of dead cows and other domestic animals,
and followed the occupation of tanning hides and skins and making and repairing
footwear.
It is said that an educated person of their race, named Deben Babu, came to this region from Calcutta about 50 or 60 years ago, and called a convention of all people of that caste at Navaran in Jessore district. At the convention, Deben Babu told them that they were actually the descendants of the ancient Rishis and Munis(sages) who wrote the Vedas and the Puranas, but that they had fallen in Society as a result of their lowly occupation. He called upon them to abandon their dirty occupation and adopt the surname or caste name Rishi. It is said that the “Matbars”(headmen) of the Muchis living on the west bank of the river Kapotakshya accepted his proposal and converted to Christianity along with their followers, while those living on the east bank of that river preferred to live as they had been doing all along.
Reverend John Fagan has observed that whatever their understanding of
Deben Babu’s use of the word “Rishi” might have been, he suspects
it to be an erronous one for good reasons.