Threatened with death for constructing college, says Bangladesh indigenous group

GUWAHATI

A global association of Bangladesh’s minorities has sought action against a Bangladesh Army officer for allegedly issuing death threats to the indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) for constructing a private college on their land.

The Global Association for Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (GAIPCHT) said Major Masud Rana not only stopped the construction of the college in the CHT’s Sajek Union but also threatened to kill the indigenous people. The association also reminded General Waqar Uz Zaman, the Bangladesh Army Chief, that the force constructed a mosque on forest land in the same area, defying a ban under the country’s Forest Act of 1927.

“The Bangladesh Army illegally built a mosque on forest land, but it is now threatening the indigenous peoples with death for trying to establish a private college on their own lands,” GAIPCHT’s Swiss representative, Sanchay Chakma, said on Wednesday (July 9, 2025).

Some 33,000 indigenous peoples living in Sajek Union, located in the remote northern part of the CHT, are among the most marginalised and underdeveloped in Bangladesh. They undertook an initiative to establish a private college with their limited resources earlier this year.

However, Major Rana, the commander of the Baghaihat Army Zone, stopped the construction by issuing death threats to the locals.

According to the GAIPCHT, the Bangladesh Army helped Muslims illegally turn Sajek Union into a tourist spot after killing six indigenous Mr. Chakma people and destroying hundreds of their houses, a Buddhist temple, and a church.

Although there are no Muslims around, the Bangladesh Army constructed the Darus Salam Jama Masjid on top of a forest mountain in Sajek Union for $3,16,000 for “tourists from mainland Bangladesh”, the association stated.

The GAIPCHT sought interventions from Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to the interim Bangladesh government, and Education Advisor C.R. Abrar to ensure that no obstacles were created for the construction of the college by the indigenous people. The association further nudged the UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to education and the right of indigenous peoples against “such racist acts” of the Bangladesh government.