More than 15 years after an agreement guaranteeing the rights of Pahari-Indigenous peoples to their traditional lands in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, Pahari continue to be denied access to their land. Many are forced to eke out a living on state-owned “forest land” – land that was in fact once theirs. Today, clashes between Bengali settlers and Pahari over land are commonplace and the Bangladeshi army maintains a heavy presence in the area. As this report shows, the authorities’ have remained ineffectual, failing to protect the Pahari’s rights to security, traditional lands and way of life.
