PCJSS

Introduction
[Goutam Uncle, please write here a paragraph of introduction]
The CHT Regulation 1 of 1900 for more than a century acted as bulwark against the encroachment of the Bengali Muslim on the land of the Jumma people. In fact several provisions of the Regulation, 1900 functioned as a safeguard for the Jumma people and it prohibited land ownership and migrations of non-indigenous peoples into the CHT. In the CHT Regulation of 1900 it was clearly stated that:
"No person other than a Chakma, Mogh or a member of any tribe indigenous of CHT, the Lushai Hills, the Arakan Hill Tracts or the State of Tripura shall enter or reside within CHT unless he is in possession of a permit granted by the Deputy Commissioner at his discretion."
The CHT Regulation 1 of 1900 has been weakened after many amendments by the successive governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh in favour of infiltration of the non-indigenous people of the plains. The Rule 34 dealing with land rights of the Jumma people has been under continuous onslaught of the centre. Rules 51 and 52 dealing with expulsion of undesirable elements and immigration into the CHT have respectively been abolished. Land settlement to accommodate the Bengali settlers was completed under direct involvement by the Army, ignoring the traditional institutions.

Settlement programme during Pakistan regime:
In 1950s, in implementing her brazen designs violating the principles and spirit of the CHT Regulation of 1900 the government of Pakistan started Bengali Muslim settlement in Longadu, Naniarchar and Nakkhyongchari in CHT and it continued up to 1966. [Approximate Population?]
Side by side, the government actively encouraged the outsider-Bengali Muslim infiltration into the CHT. To facilitate this, the government of Pakistan amended the CHT Regulation of 1900 several times against the will of the Jumma people in order to find a legal excuse for transmigration of the non-indigenous Bengali Muslim people from the plains of present Bangladesh into the CHT with a view to changing the CHT from a non-Muslim dominated area into Muslim dominated one. As for example, the government had enacted the CHT (Land Acquisition) Regulation, 1958 in order to grab Jumma peoples’ ancestral land.

Infiltration soon after independence of Bangladesh:
In spite of these systematic processes, the Government of Bangladesh has secretly settled around 100,000 in 1971 to 1977 in Feni area under Kharachari district including Ramgarh, Matiranga and Manikchari upazilas.

Government-sponsored migration of Bengali Muslim settlers
President Ziaur Rahman began state-sponsored migration of Bengali Muslim settlers into the CHT, providing land grant, cash and rations. This program was continued in secret, the international communities were not aware of this program till mid-1980s. More than four hundred thousands of Bengali Muslim were transferred into CHT. During the armed struggle, the successive governments of Bangladesh followed same policies against the Jumma people. Since 1979, the government officially started to settle Bengali Muslim from the plain districts in the CHT to outnumbering the indigenous Jumma people and for using them (settlers) as human shield. The government declared that each settler family would be given 7.5 acres of lands and ration for unlimited period. Indeed, no cultivable land was vacant for settlement so the settlers started to forcibly occupy the land of indigenous Jumma people.

Infiltration in CHT under government-sponsored transmigration programme

Planning for infiltration	Phase	Target for settlement (family)	No. of families settled	No. of families deserted	No. of families present	No. of population
Decided in the secret meeting in 1979, presided by President Ziaur Rahman	1st	30,000	28,515	2,953	25,562	1,27,810
Decided in the secret meeting of the Council Committee on CHT on 31 October 1982 at 10.00 hrs at the secretariat of CMLA, Dhaka under the chair of President H. M. Ershad	2nd	20,000	16,709	4,768	11,940	59,700
	Extended	--	7,584	34	7,550	37,750
Decided in the Council Committee secret meeting at CMLA's secretariat, Dhaka, in July 1983	3rd	50,000	--	--	--	2,50,000
Decided in the secret meeting of the Council Committee held on 27 September 1983 at 10.00 hrs at the CMLA's secretariat, Dhaka under the chair of President H. M. Ershad	4th	15,000	--	--	--	75,000
Grand Total						5,50,260

Number of Illegal Settlements
Total More than 400,000 Settlers in Three Phases with the direct backings of Government:

Continuous process of infiltration:
As a continuous process of infiltration, the government of Bangladesh has settled down around 50,000 in 1984-1991 and around 10,000 in 1991 to 1996. Of course till now there are many Bengali settlers coming into the CHT and Government is settling them in various areas of CHT.
In spite of these systematic account of the settlement in the above areas the government is very secretly given settlement in each and every unions of the CHT which one can found even in looking up the Census report of the government though it is intentionally avoided many Bengali settlers from the report.
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