Opinion Report
In Rangamati, the upcoming October 19 meeting of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute Resolution Commission has been
postponed in the face of threats of strikes and blockades by an extremist
settler organization. The calling of a commission meeting and its subsequent
postponement in response to a single threat — all of this appears to be a
staged drama. In this drama, the Chairman of the Land Commission and the
extremist settlers are merely actors, while the true directors and controllers
are the military rulers deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. From behind the
scenes, they pull the strings and manipulate these actors as needed.
Why was it necessary to manipulate them this time? The
answer lies here: After the Guimara army-settler attack, the CHT issue has once
again surfaced starkly before the nation. Various groups are voicing demands
for a political resolution. The image of the military has sunk to a low point,
and the apathy of the Yunus government on the CHT issue has become widely
noticeable. Against this backdrop, a re-staging of the old drama has become
necessary to pacify public anger and discontent — thus, the decision to convene
a Land Commission meeting was made.
Naturally, questions arise: At whose behest is the
Chairman of the Land Commission operating? Legally, he alone holds the sole
authority to convene a meeting. He can call one whenever he wishes. In this
process, other commission members have no role. So why did he not convene a
meeting all this time? And why suddenly after the Guimara attack?
On the other hand, the reasons given by the extremist
settlers to oppose the Land Commission meeting are entirely baseless. They
claim that there is no Bengali representation among the 12 commission members.
Firstly, this claim is utterly false. Secondly, it is worth reminding them that
when Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury was appointed as the Chairman of the Land
Commission on July 19, 2009, the structure of the commission was exactly the
same. Yet at that time, these extremist settlers did not oppose the meetings he
called. So why the opposition now?
The current members of the Land Commission have been
appointed on logical grounds — they represent institutions and land management
authorities in the CHT. For instance, the three Circle Chiefs are not
individuals per se but institutional representatives, historically tied to the
land administration of the hills for generations. The same applies to the Hill
District Councils, Regional Council, District Commissioners, and Divisional
Commissioner. Therefore, the issue of “ethnic representation” — whether hill
people or Bengalis — is irrelevant in this context.
However, the fact that a Land Commission meeting was
postponed simply due to threats from a few extremist elements with baseless and
unjust demands proves one thing clearly: Without strong political commitment
from the government and steps towards a political solution to the land issue,
the commission will not be able to resolve land disputes in the CHT.
To address land disputes in the CHT, one must
understand the root causes, origins, and the interconnected nature of the
issue. In homeopathic method of treatment, it is said: Homeopathy does not
treat diseases — it treats patients. A true homeopath gathers a full profile of
the patient's symptoms, mental state, desires and aversions, hunger, thirst,
etc., and then treats based on the principle of similia similibus curentur —
“like is cured by like”. A homeopath does not treat just one isolated symptom such
as a skin disease, but instead aims for the overall well-being of the patient.
If the patient is healed holistically, the skin condition will also heal. If
treatment targets just one symptom in isolation without addressing the whole
person, the disease will not be cured, and the patient will not recover.
Similarly, attempting to resolve the land disputes in
the CHT in isolation is doomed to fail. This is because the issue is inherently
linked to the settler issue, military withdrawal (returning them to barracks),
and autonomy/self-governance — all of these are deeply interconnected.
Therefore, no single issue can be resolved in isolation. The land issue must be
addressed as part of a broader political problem, and the solution must be
sought in that context.
The Land Commission itself has many limitations. The
CHT land disputes cannot be resolved through this commission alone. Because,
fundamentally, the land issue in the hills is a political issue — and expecting
to resolve it merely through legal procedures is pure folly.
(October 17, 2025)
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