Tripura Chakmas observe ‘Black Day’ against injustice against community in Bangladesh
Hindustan Times
August 18, 2020
The Chakma community in Tripura on Monday observed a ‘Black Day’ to protest the occupation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh allegedly illegally by Pakistan in 1947 and the injustices meted out to their community after that.
Two days after India’s Independence from the British rule, the Chittagong Hill Tract comprising 97.5% non-Muslim population was illegally awarded to erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as per the mandate of Bengal boundary commission headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, said Chakma National Council of India (CNCI), a forum to raise voice for rights of the community.
After the inclusion of Chittagong Hill Tracts with East Pakistan, over 50,000 Chakmas took shelter at different relief camps in Tripura and Mizoram in 1986. Many of them also took refuge at Arunachal Pradesh.
“The Chakmas became the biggest victim of Partition. Our community faced years of deprivation even after these years of independence. Like previous years, we have observed today as black day against this injustice,” said Aniruddha Chakma, vice president of CNCI, Tripura chapter. He claimed that inclusion of the Chittagong Hill Tract with India could be a solution to their problems.
The protests were organised at different parts of the state including Agartala, Pecharthal, Kanchanpur, Gandacherra, Karbook, Silacheri etc.
There are more than 300,000 Chakmas in India.
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