This chapter is based on the PhD proposal drafted as per the requirements of the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya. Following the guidelines, first, the proposal has mirrored the background of the issue and then focused on the actual problem commonly faced by the victims. Secondly, it traces the research questions and sets the goal that the research aims to achieve. Therefore, to justify the research, a logical expression behind the study has been provided which has been followed up by a brief literature review discussing the conceptual and theoretical framework of the research. Thereafter, it includes the methodology to be followed by the researcher to achieve the aims set earlier. Finally, it explores the scope of the research showing that in spite of so many limitations the present study can stand as a potential source to ensure the land rights of indigenous communities of Bangladesh.
TopBackground Of The Study
For such peoples, the land is not merely a possession and a means of production. The entire relationship between the spiritual life of indigenous peoples and Mother Earth, and their land has a great many deep-seated implications. Their land is not a commodity which can be acquired, but a material element to be enjoyed freely - Jose Martinez Cobo (Cobo, 1983).
The indigenous communities over the globe, commonly face several types of human rights violations and conflicts (Yamada, 2005) due to colonization of their land, territories, resources, ice, oceans and waters, mountains and forests (Alta Outcome Document, 2013). It is a profound duty of the world community that the relationship between land and indigenous people should be recognized (Daes, 1999). The reason behind this paramount consideration has been identified as the spiritual relationship shared by indigenous peoples with their land (Daes, 1999). It is also important that the cultural diversity and cultural differences should be discussed from legal context (Daes, 1999). In the recent past, a number of international organizations such as the United Nations, International Labor Organization etc. have come forward with proposed mechanisms to address this issue. The member states of the United Nations are also urged to comply with the international protections in order to bridge the existing cultural gaps to build partnership with indigenous peoples, and formulate laws, policies and plans to address the issues within the state boundary (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009). Bangladesh, as a member state of the United Nations, has also ratified a number of international documents, for example the ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Populations (Convention No. 107), which provides an obligation over Bangladesh to follow the guidelines laid down within these instruments.
Bangladesh is a unique country with diverse communities in terms of her languages, religions and cultural traditions. The Constitution and other laws of the country recognize religious diversity (Article 2A), but other diversities are not recognized yet, for example, as per the Citizenship Act, 1951 (Article 4) of Bangladesh, the indigenous communities are the citizen of Bangladesh, but their rights as indigenous communities are not recognized yet. As a result, the mainstream peoples often neglect and ignore the rights of these communities. At present, there are at least seventy five indigenous communities in Bangladesh (Kamal et al., 2014). The total number of indigenous population constitutes around 3 million people who live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) and in the plain land areas of the country (Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Communities, 2010). There is a considerable debate over the number of indigenous population.1 According to official statistics, there are about two million indigenous people in Bangladesh, out of which 1.6 million live in the plain land area of the country (The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers-II, 2009).