The Silent Genocide: How the Chittagong Hill Tracts Buddhists & Hindus are being erased
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), in southeast Bangladesh, has been home to the Chakmas, Marmas, Tanchangya, Tripura, and other indigenous communities for centuries. For over a millennium, these peoples lived in peace, cultivating Buddhist and Hindu traditions, building monasteries and temples, and maintaining autonomous governance.
Today, they face a relentless campaign of demographic engineering, militarization, land seizure, and cultural erasure, often with the complicity or silence of the UN, UNHRC, International Human Rights Groups, Western governments, while the Bangladesh government remains inactive often complicit.
“They came with guns and torches. They burned our homes and forced us into the forests. The army did nothing.” – Chakma villager, Khagrachhari, 2022
A Heritage that Predates Modern States
Archaeological and colonial records show that the CHT was a Buddhist-majority region since at least the 9th century CE, with Hindu minorities among the Tripura and some Chakma families. Hereditary chiefs, such as the Chakma Raja and Bohmong circles, maintained authority for centuries, resisting Mughal incursions and early Islamic influence (Chakma Historical Society, 2010; Sirajul Islam, Banglapedia, 2003).
The region had its own festivals, education systems, monasteries, and pagodas, reflecting a deeply rooted cultural identity.
Late 18th century – British East India Company arrive – Colonial Complicity: British Betrayal
- 1787, a treaty recognized Chakma sovereignty.
- 1900, the British codified Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation Act, forbidding outsiders from settling in the region.
- 1935 Government of India Act recognized area as an “Excluded Area” specifically to protect indigenous Buddhists and Hindus.
- 1947 Britain handed CHT to newly created Pakistan despite its 98% Buddhist populationwho had no cultural or religious ties to Muslim-majority Pakistan. This act of colonial betrayal set the stage for systematic persecution and ethnic cleansing of the CHT Buddhists (Mohsin, Bangladesh: A Political History, 1987).
Indigenous Buddhist Population Decline in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
| Year | Indigenous Buddhist Population (Estimate) | Total Population of CHT (Estimate) | Percentage of Indigenous Buddhists |
| 1964 | ~377,000 | ~500,000 | ~75% |
| 1991 | ~501,000 | ~1,042,000 | ~48.5% |
| 2022 | ~767,000 | ~1,842,815 | ~41.74% |
Note: The 1964 figure is an estimate based on available data for major indigenous groups.
Buddhist population in CHT prior to 1971
Predominantly indigenous Buddhist & Hindus with Chakma population estimated at 250,000 in 1964.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakma_people?
State-Sponsored Muslim settlement and Demographic Engineering
Between 1979 and 1983, the Bangladesh government implemented a systematic resettlement program that brought in approximately 400,000 Bengali Muslim settlers to live in the CHT. This initiative aimed to alter the region’s demographic composition and reduce the influence of indigenous communities.
This settlement occurred in three phases:
- First Phase (1979–1980):Approximately 25,000 Muslims settled.
- Second Phase (1980–1981):Approximately 100,000 Muslims settled.
- Third Phase (1982–1983):Approximately 250,000 Muslim families settled.
This program aimed to alter the region’s demographic composition, marginalizing indigenous Buddhist and Hindu communities.
In 1971 Bangladesh was created out of East Pakistan
The new Bangladeshi state completely ignored the indigenous identity of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) people labelling them as “tribals” or “upajati”.
They were denied recognition of their ancestral lands, governance and cultural rights.
From at least the 1960s through 1983, the Buddhist population declined to below 45% as a result of state-backed Muslim settlement and forced conversion of Buddhists & Hindus over two decades
1977 & 1983 Population Transfer Policy – Islamization & Demographic Engineering
Implemented by the Bangladeshi military resulted in deliberate settling of over 400,000 Bengali Muslims in CHT with intent to alter demography (Siddiqi, Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh, 2004). Entire villages were destroyed, lands seized and families forced to flee or convert.
“Our identity does not exist in Bangladesh. We are considered outsiders in our own land.” – Tanchangya elder, Rangamati
This undoubtedly reflects the systematic Islamization and demographic engineering, taking place in modern times under state watch erasing an ancient cultural heritage and people and forcing conversion.
Massacres, Rape, and Cultural Destruction
These are no hearsay allegations. The systematic violence in the CHT has been well-documented:
- Barkal Massacre (1980):Over 300 Chakmas killed by security forces (Human Rights Watch, 1981).
- Bhushanchara Massacre (1984):500+ indigenous villagers massacred.
- Longadu Massacre (1989):Entire Buddhist villages destroyed, survivors displaced.
- Logang Massacre (1992):Over 500 killed, women raped, homes burned.
- Continuous targeting of monasteries and temples:Buddhist and Hindu religious sites desecrated or destroyed (CHT Peace Commission, 2003).
Over 20,000 hectares of ancestral farmland have been seized for settlement or commercial use, leaving families destitute and dependent on state handouts
- 2010 Baghaihat Attacks: In February 2010, ethnic Bengali settlers, allegedly with the support of the Bangladeshi army, attacked the Baghaihat region in Khagrachhari Upazila. Approximately 500 minority homesteads, including a Buddhist pagoda, were set on fire. At least three individuals were killed, and over 1,800 people were displaced, seeking refuge in nearby forests.
- 2017 Rangamati Violence: In 2017, more than 400 houses and Buddhist monasteries belonging to indigenous communities were destroyed in Rangamati. This act of violence resulted in the displacement of hundreds of indigenous families.
- 2021 Attack on Buddhist Monk: On May 31, 2021, Buddhist monk Agrojyoti Bhante was brutally attacked by two machete-wielding assailants at a monastery in Khagrachhari. This incident highlights the ongoing threats faced by Buddhist religious figures in the region.
My entire village was burned overnight. We fled with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Our monastery, where my grandfather had meditated for decades, is gone forever.” – Chakma monk, Rangamati, 2019
- September 2024 Communal Violence: In September 2024, following the alleged mob killing of a Bengali Muslim settler, Bengali settler organizations unjustly blamed the Jummo community. This led to violent reprisals, including the deaths of four indigenous individuals and widespread arson attacks on indigenous houses, businesses, and Buddhist places of worship.
- August 2024 Attacks Post-Political Unrest: After the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, there were significant attacks on Hindu properties and temples. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that 200-300 Hindu properties and 15-20 temples were damaged, with around 40 people injured.
Children denied Education:
Over 70 indigenous schools have been shut down or occupied, leaving thousands of Chakma and Marma children without access to education in their mother tongue
Islamic iconoclasm has meant:
Monasteries once adorned with centuries-old murals and statues of the Buddha have been reduced to rubble, erasing not just physical structures but the spiritual and cultural memory of generations for generations.
Annual Buddhist festivals, once attended by thousands, are now small gatherings under armed guard, with participants fearing violence from Muslim settlers
Just as Tibetan monasteries faced systematic destruction, the CHT’s ancient Buddhist centers are now under threat, signaling a repeat of historical cultural erasure.
These incidents underscore the systematic targeting of indigenous Buddhist and Hindu communities in the CHT, often with the involvement or acquiescence of state forces. There has been no accountability or even calls for such, highlighting the hypocrisy of international players and injustice for true victims.
Rape has been used as a weapon of war, specifically targeting indigenous women to terrorize communities. These crimes fall under Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention, which defines genocide to include “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group” and “forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” No action has been taken against the perpetrators
Peace Accord Betrayal
The 1997 CHT Peace Accord promised autonomy, demilitarization, and the return of seized lands. Yet nearly three decades later, the accord remains largely unimplemented. Military camps continue to dominate civilian areas, land restitution is stalled, and Bengali Muslim settler expansion continues unchecked. Indigenous communities live under constant surveillance, with no real protection from the state that is supposed to govern them and world silence.
Where Muslims become a majority, non-Muslims have no justice unless to convert.
The World’s Silence
Despite clear evidence of ethnic cleansing, demographic genocide, and religious persecution, international institutions remain silent. The UN and UNHRC have failed to pass any resolution, launch investigations, or appoint a Special Rapporteur.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have published only scattered reports, offering moral commentary without holding Bangladesh accountable. Western governments, meanwhile, turn a blind eye due to geopolitical considerations—Bangladesh serves as a strategic ally in South Asia, a buffer against Myanmar and India, and a recipient of foreign aid and trade advantages.
Geopolitics has compromised lives & existential existence.
This silence is not neutrality; it is complicity.
Colonial and Geopolitical Accountability
Britain bears historical responsibility for handing over a Buddhist-majority region to a Muslim state against the will of its indigenous peoples.
The Bangladesh government is actively responsible for demographic engineering, militarization, and suppression of dissent.
Western institutions and UN agencies are complicit in perpetuating this violence through inaction, failing to apply pressure, issue resolutions, or recognize indigenous sovereignty.
Legal and Moral Imperatives
The situation in the CHT meets the UN’s own definition of genocide.
Bangladesh has:
- Systematically altered the demographic compositionof the region.
- Targeted Buddhist and Hindu populations by killings and rape.
- Destroyed cultural and religious sites.
- Forced displacement and land grabsof indigenous peoples.
The international community has a moral and legal obligation to act.
Under UN Convention on Genocide (1948) and customary international law, states and institutions failing to prevent or punish such crimes may themselves bear responsibility.
Urgent Demands for Action
- Appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur investigation into crimes in the CHT.
- Immediate halt to state-backed demographic transfers and military occupation.
- Restoration of land and property to Chakmas and other indigenous communities forcibly taken from them.
- Compensation for all the cultural genocide of historical antiquities and artefacts.
- Protection of indigenous women from rape and violence.
- Enforcement of the 1997 Peace Accord under international supervision preferably from fellow Theravadi Buddhist nations.
- Recognition of CHT peoples as indigenous nations with ancestral rights.
- Accountability for Bangladesh, colonial Britain, and complicit international actors for ongoing violations.
- Fact-finding Mission headed by Sri Lanka – team to include prominent & respected Buddhists.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts are a living testament to state-sponsored ethnic cleansing, a brutal assault on ancient Buddhist and Hindu civilizations, and the failure of international law being applied selectively.
The Chakmas, Marmas, Tanchangya, Tripura, and other indigenous peoples are not just fighting for land—they are fighting for survival, identity, and justice.
The survival of the CHT Buddhists is not just a local issue; it is the protection of a living link to centuries of Buddhist heritage across Asia that have been confiscated over history.
It is a warning to all the remaining Theravadi Buddhist nations too who currently face subtle incursions & demographic change.
The CHT is part of a broader pattern: Buddhism in South Asia has historically faced erasure in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and the Maldives, often through forced conversion, violence, or demographic shifts, systematically taking place camouflaged under “democracy” & “development”.
Buddhism once flourished across Asia—from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, and even parts of Central Asia—thousands of years before the creation and spread of Islam.
Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley was a global Buddhist center until the 10th–12th century. Islamic invasions wiped out its monasteries and communities.
Pakistan’s Gandhara civilization, the birthplace of Greco-Buddhist culture, suffered the same fate, leaving only archaeological ruins where millions of Buddhists once lived. The Maldives was a Buddhist nation for over 1,400 years, but in 1153 its Buddhist population was forcibly converted to Islam, temples destroyed, and Buddhist heritage erased.
In India, forced conversions and invasions reduced Buddhists to less than 1% of the population.
Today, the same pattern of demographic conquest and religious erasure is unfolding in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts against Buddhist Chakmas, Marmas, Tripuras, and Hindu minorities—this is not an isolated crisis but part of a long, consistent historical campaign of Buddhist ethnic cleansing across South Asia.
If history teaches us anything, it is this: when Buddhism is not protected, preserved and fostered, it disappears.
History will remember those who stayed silent as well as record the perpetrators. What is the use in claiming regions and nations as “once-Buddhist”.
The UN, UNHRC, International Human Rights organizatons, Western governments, and colonial powers cannot claim neutrality. Their silence enables genocide.
The world must stop ignoring the erasure of Buddhists and Hindus from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Justice delayed is genocide continued. The international community must act—now.
Thus, proposal for a – CHT – Council of Buddhist Nations
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) cannot self-govern effectively.
CHT does not need to end up another Kosovo or South Sudan.
Therefore, a rotational sponsorship by Buddhist nations is proposed.
- Council Composition: Respected Buddhist leaders nominated bySri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Bhutan. No politicians to prevent geopolitical compromising.
- Term & Rotation: Fixed terms; decisions voted collectively by sponsoring nations.
- Mandate: Protect Buddhists and indigenous peoples, preserve cultural and religious heritage, prevent forced assimilation or settlement.
- Accountability: Transparent reporting; members can be removed by consensus if mandate is violated.
Purpose: Ensure survival, identity, and heritage of CHT’s indigenous communities under principled protection. This template can be equally applied to all Buddhist nations facing demographic or cultural threats, building over time a Buddhist bloc of Nations comprising youth, academics, professionals, experts etc.
Shenali D Waduge
Selected Sources & Evidence
- Chakma Historical Society, History of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 2010.
- Mohsin, Bangladesh: A Political History, 1987.
- Sirajul Islam, Banglapedia, 2003.
- Siddiqi, Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh, 2004.
- Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh: Ethnic Minorities Under Threat, 1981.
- CHT Peace Commission Reports, 2003.
- UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948.
