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Demand for stablishing seperate land commission for indigenous


Published : 17 Aug 2021 09:47 PM | Updated : 18 Aug 2021 12:19 AM

An individual land right commission has to install forIndigenous people for proper justice, said Prof. Dr. Md. Khairul Islam Chowdhory, Assistant Professor of Sociology of Dhaka University.

He made this demand on Tuesday in a protest rally held infrontof National Museum ofShahbag by 'Bangladesh AdivasiChhatraSangram Parishad (Bangladesh Indigenous Students Right Council)' for cutting crops of indigenous farmer at Shribordi of Sherpur district and demanding proper justice for sexual harassment of Hajong woman at Tahirpur of Sylhet 

Khairul Islam Chowdhury said, “The indigenous people have been oppressed, raped and even expelled from their land since long time.I think, a land right commission have to install to back their rights. Bangladesh is an independent country of multiples nations. There was no government land in Tangail and Mymensingh areas of the country. These lands are formed by the labor of all indigenous groups. The indigenous groups have been living there for more than 70 years. The conspiracy to expel   from their land must be stopped. According to the prevailing law of Bangladesh, there is no rule to evict them.”

Dr. ZobaidaNasreen, Assistant Professor of Dhaka University's Anthropology department blamed the paternalistic mentality of country for those incidents happened with indigenous women. 

She said, “The issue of oppression and rape of minorities in the country should not be judged only from a patriarchal point of view. The Bengali nationalist politics and prevailing political culture and attitude towards indigenous groups are equally responsible for this. There is no justice for oppression, rape of the indigenous groups. 

Theleaders of the organization made five demands at the rally. These are: to provide proper compensation to the affected five Garo minority ethnic families, Removal of Range Officers and BIT Officers involved in related work, granting traditional land rights to minorities, ensuring exemplary punishment for sexual harassment of Hajong women, closure the conspiracies to evict Daluchara and SahebtilaGaro and Khasias of Moulvibazar.

AlikMri, president of Bangladesh Indigenous Students Right Council presided over the protest rally. And Leaders and workers of Bangladesh Garo Students Organization, Hajong Students Organization, Hajong Students Council, Khasia Student Union, Bangladesh Tripura Students Forum also spoke.