BANGLADESH WP17 2011-12 Alienation of the Lands of Indigenous Peoples in the Chittagong

232 Pages·2011·4.52 MB·English

Alienation of the Lands
of Indigenous Peoples
in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh
Shapan Adnan
Ranajit Dastidar
This book deals with the forcible takeover of the
lands of the indigenous peoples of the CHT. Based
on fieldwork research among both Pahari and
Bengali groups, the book has four chapters,
concerned with different aspects of the study.
Chapter 1 introduces the research and describes
how it was undertaken.
Chapter 2 deals with the CHT Accord of 1997 and
the failure to implement most of its important
clauses in a substantive manner. It also takes
account of parallel social and demographic
changes in the CHT occurring outside the
framework of the Accord, the results of which may
be very difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Some
of these trends bypass the provisions of the Accord
and could potentially make it irrelevant.
Chapter 3 provides detailed analysis of the
numerous mechanisms of land alienation in the
CHT. The roles of different government and
private agencies are analysed with empirical
evidence, including sixteen case studies. Various
Bengali interest groups are also found to be
grabbing the lands of poor Bengali settlers,
reflecting intra-ethnic and classed-based
dimensions of land alienation. The growing
significance of commercial land grabbing for
rubber, timber and horticulture plantations, driven
by profit-oriented capitalist production, is
highlighted. These constitute elements of global
land grabbing, indicative of ‘accumulation by
dispossession’ under contemporary globalization
and neoliberal capitalism.
Chapter 4 undertakes policy analysis concerned
with the prevention of further alienation of Pahari
lands as well as the restitution of their already
occupied areas.
Price: Bangladesh Taka 300.00, US$ 20.00
Authors
Shapan Adnan graduated from
the University of Sussex and
obtained his PhD from the
University of Cambridge. He has
previously taught at the National
University of Singapore and the
Universities of Dhaka and
Chittagong. He completed this research while
holding a visiting research fellowship at the
Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme
of the University of Oxford. Shapan Adnan’s
research interests are broadly in the fields of
political economy and political sociology. He has
worked on topics including agrarian structure
and capitalist development, power and resistance
among the peasantry, indigenous peoples and
ethnic conflict, critiques of flood control and
water management, as well as determinants of
fertility and migration. He has published in
academic journals and edited volumes, and has
written several books including Migration, Land
Alienation and Ethnic Conflict: Causes of Poverty in
the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. He
is a member of the Chittagong Hill
Tracts Commission. Contact email address:
[email protected]
Ranajit Dastidar has studied
economics at the University of
Chittagong and obtained a PhD in
political economy from the
National University of Singapore
(NUS). Besides experience in
commercial banking and NGO
programmes, he has been involved in many
socio-economic research projects and evaluation
studies. His research interests include: impacts of
technological innovation and the nature and
extent of capitalist development among
traditional fishing communities; forms of
marginalization of indigenous peoples; and
changes in the social organization of production
of rural communities. His email contact:
[email protected]
Cover Design: Taj Mohammod
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CONTENTS

Preface...........................................................................................................................ix
Acronyms......................................................................................................................xii
Summary......................................................................................................................xiii

Map 1: Districts, Road Networks and the Kaptai Lake in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts................................................................................xxxvii
Map 2: Upazillas (sub-districts) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts............................... xxxix
Map 3: Fieldwork Sites of the Land Study in the Chittagong Hill Tracts....................xli

CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY........................................................................1-13

CHAPTER 2:
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHT ACCORD AND PARALLEL
TRENDS DURING 1997-2010...............................................................................15-33

CHAPTER 3:
MECHANISMS OF LAND ALIENATION IN THE CHT...................................35-108

CHAPTER 4:
POLICY ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................109-180

BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................181-186
iv Alienation of the Lands of IP in the CHT of Bangladesh
DETAILED CONTENTS

Preface ix
Acronyms xii
Summary xiii
Map 1: Districts, Road Networks and the Kaptai Lake in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts............................................................................... xxxvii
Map 2: Upazillas (sub-districts) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts............................... xxxix
Map 3: Fieldwork Sites of the Land Study in the Chittagong Hill Tracts....................xli

CHAPTER 1 1-13
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 1
THE CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS OF BANGLADESH......................................2
The Indigenous Peoples of the CHT......................................................................2
UNDERLYING CONSIDERATIONS AND RATIONALE.....................................4
OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................6
TIMETABLE, APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY.............................................7
SCOPE AND LIMITS OF THE STUDY.................................................................12
LAYOUT.................................................................................................................13

CHAPTER 2 15-33
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHT ACCORD AND PARALLEL
TRENDS DURING 1997-2010 15
THE CHT ACCORD OF 1997.................................................................................15
IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE CHT ACCORD......................................19
Implementation Committee for the CHT Accord................................................20
Hill District Councils...........................................................................................21
CHT Regional Council........................................................................................21
The Task Force for Rehabilitation of Returnee Refugees and IDP.............................22
The Land Commission........................................................................................23
Holding of a Cadastral Survey before Settlement of Land Disputes...................26
Overall Status of the CHT Accord by 2010.........................................................28
Contents v
PARALLEL PROCESSES AND TRENDS IN THE CHT DURING 1997-2010........28
Demographic Growth and Re-composition.........................................................29
Attitudes of Bengali Interest Groups towards Landed Property in the CHT.......30
New Policy Initiatives by the Government..........................................................31
OVERALL TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS...............................................31

CHAPTER 3 35-108
MECHANISMS OF LAND ALIENATION IN THE CHT 35
EVOLUTION OF PROPERTY SYSTEMS AND LAND RIGHTS IN THE CHT..36
Introduction of Private Land Rights in the CHT.................................................39
Changes in Laws of Entry, Residence and Eligibility for holding Land in the CHT.41
Transmigration of Bengali Settlers and Forced Redistribution of Pahari Lands.42
The Political Context of Land Grabbing after the Peace Accord........................43
Different Types of Land Laws and Forms of Land Grabbing in the CHT........44
ACQUISITION OF CHT LANDS BY AGENCIES OF THE STATE.....................45
Procedures of State Acquisition of Land in the CHT..........................................45
Actual Outcomes of the CHT Accord and HDC Acts on Powers of the DC Office 46
FOREST DEPARTMENT: LAND ACQUISITION FOR AFFORESTATION PROJECTS...48
Village Common Forests.....................................................................................55
INSTALLATIONS OF THE SECURITY FORCES................................................57
Taking over Pahari Lands without following due Acquisition Procedures.............57
Formal Land Acquisition for Installations and Projects of the Security Forces..58
REDISTRIBUTION OF PAHARI LANDS TO BENGALI SETTLERS DURING
THE COUNTER-INSURGENCY...........................................................................61
Strategy of Demographic Engineering................................................................61
Continuation of the Counter-insurgency Strategy during the post-Accord Period.....62
MANUFACTURE OF LAND TITLES FOR BENGALI SETTLERS.....................63
Operation of the Special Settlement Zone...........................................................63
Partial Withdrawal of the Political Migrants and their Replacement by Local Bengalis.....64
Parallel Process of Allotting Land to self-propelled Bengali Migrants...............65
The Long Term Consequences of Land Settlement Documents given to Bengali
Settlers in the CHT..............................................................................................66
Problematic Aspects of the Land Settlement Documents given to Bengali Settlers.......67
Manipulation of Land Settlement Documents of Bengali Settlers for Land Grabbing....70
INCREMENTAL LAND GRABBING BY BENGALI SETTLERS.......................71
Grabbing of Pahari Lands....................................................................................71
Grabbing of Temple Lands..................................................................................73
Grabbing of Fringe Lands....................................................................................74
LEASING OUT OF ‘KHAS’ LAND FOR COMMERCIAL PLANTATIONS........77
Official Review of the Status of Plantation Leases in Bandarban..........................80
vi Alienation of the Lands of IP in the CHT of Bangladesh
Incremental Land Grabbing by Plantation Leaseholders.....................................81
Unintended Consequences of the Directive to Cancel Leases of
Undeveloped Plantations.....................................................................................84
LAND GRABBING BY COMMERCIAL INTEREST GROUPS...........................86
Commercial Land Grabbers and Dealers: Individuals, Companies and NGOs...86
Commercial Dealers Grabbing and Selling Lands...............................................88
MANIPULATION OF CONNECTIONS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES...............91
PRIVATE LAND GAINS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS................................94
USE OF VIOLENCE FOR LAND GRABBING......................................................96
Violence and Violation of Human Rights...........................................................96
Sexual Violence against Pahari Women..............................................................97
DISTRESS SALE OF LAND UNDER PRESSURE AND INTIMIDATION..........97
Encirclement and Harassment.............................................................................98
Sale of Land to Resolve Outstanding Debt..........................................................98
Pressure of Litigation leading to Distress Sale....................................................99
USE OF FRAUD AND FORGERY TO MANIPULATE LAND RECORDS.........100
LIMITATIONS AND CORRUPTION OF HEADMEN AND KARBARIS...........101
CONSTRAINTS TO RESTITUTION OF FORCIBLY OCCUPIED PAHARI LANDS.103
ADMINISTRATIVE CONSTRAINTS TO THE RECORDING OF PAHARI LAND
RIGHTS..................................................................................................................105
DIFFERENCES IN LAND GRABBING BEFORE AND AFTER THE CHT
ACCORD................................................................................................................105
OVERVIEW OF LAND GRABBING IN THE CHT..............................................107

CHAPTER 4 109-180
POLICY ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 109
OBJECTIVES OF POLICY ANALYSIS................................................................110
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESOLVING LAND CONFLICTS IN THE
CHT.........................................................................................................................110
Guiding Principles for Decision-making............................................................111
PROCEDURES FOR RESOLUTION OF LAND CONFLICTS IN THE CHT......112
The Broad Approach..........................................................................................112
Reorienting the Land Commission and Enhancing its Capability......................112
Rectification of the Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act of 2001.............113
Rules of Business of the Land Commission....................................................115
Acceptability of the Land Commission Chairman to All Ethnic Groups.......117
Operationalizing the Land Commission........................................................118
Assessment of the Performance of the Land Commission..............................118
Alternatives to the Land Commission for Resolving Land Conflicts.................119
Operationalizing the Traditional Land Laws and Customs of the Hill Peoples..120