Academic Presentation

1. Political participation of
Minority People in Bangladesh
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2. Presenting By…
Md. Asif Sultan Razu
ID: 131626
3rd Year, 1st Term
Sociology Discipline
Khulna University, Khulna.
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3. Minority…
 Generally, the term minority is thought of as the opposite of the majority.
 In democratic societies, it is based on the numerical ratio to the
population as a whole in a particular place.
 But in international law the term “minority” has come to refer to a
particular kind of group, which differs from the dominant group within
the state.
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4. Minority People… (cntd.)
 According to the Permanent Court of International Justice…
Minorities are the people living given country or locality, having a race, religion,
language and traditions of their own and united by this identity of race,
religion, language and traditions in a sentiment of solidarity, with a view to
preserving their traditions, maintaining their form of worship, ensuring the
instruction and upbringing of their children in accordance with the spirit and
traditions of their race and rendering mutual assistance to each other.
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5. Minorities in Bangladesh
 The minorities in Bangladesh can be classified under four different heads…
 Religious Minorities
 Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Others.
 Ethnic Minorities
 Santal , Khasi, Monipuri, Paharia, Rakhaine, Others.
 Linguistic Minorities and
 Indo-Aryan, Dravidian (Paharia and Oraon tribes), Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burmese.
 Other minorities
 Biharis, Rohingas, Others..
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6. Politics and Political Participation…
 The word politics comes from the Greek word "polis", meaning the state
or community as a whole.
 According to Oxford Dictionary, The activities associated with the
governance of a country or area.
 Participation in the governance of a country or area refers to the Political
Participation.
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7. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
Prospects
 After Bangladesh’s independence, the young leadership lost no time in
articulating the concerns of the minority people. In February 1972, a
deputation headed by Manobendra Narayan Lrama, who had been
elected in 1970 to one of two Hill Tracts seats in the East Pakistan
Provincial Assembly.
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8. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
Present Situation
 The declaration the Act 1992 and 1997 describe the political process of
ethnic minorities.
 The integration of ethnic minorities is very high on the political agenda
these days.
 Women from ethnic minorities participate less in political activities than
men.
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9. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
Governmental Approach
 The Bangladesh government’s approach to resolving the Hill Tracts crisis
has been a combination of military repression, cooptation, and
administrative reorganization.
 This policy impacted both positively and negatively. But to the minority
people, they took it negatively as they expect general administrative
system as well as other political activities.
 This make them motivated to create political organization to raise their
voice against government.
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10. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
Regional Parties
 There are two major regional parties leaded by minority people to be
united and to express their voice. They are…
 Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS)
 United People's Democratic Front (UPDF)
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11. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS)
 The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti is a political party formed to represent the people
and indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
 Since its inception in 1973, the PCJSS has fought for autonomy and the recognition of the ethnic
identity and rights of the indigenous tribes of the Hill Tracts.
 Its military arm, the Shanti Bahini was used to fight government forces and Bengali Settlers in the
Hill Tracts.
 A peace accord was signed in 1997 led to the disarmament of the Shanti Bahini and enabled the
PCJSS to return to mainstream politics.
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12. Political Participation of Bangladeshi Minorities:
United People's Democratic Front (UPDF)
 United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) is a regional political party based in the Chittagong Hill
Tracts of Bangladesh. Founded on December 26, 1998 at a conference in Dhaka, the party seeks
to establish full autonomy in the Chittagong Hill Tracts through peaceful and democratic means.
 The UPDF took part in the eighth national parliamentary elections in 2001 and though failed to
win in any of the two seats in CHT it contested, the party received a considerable amount of
votes cast, to the surprise of many analysts.
 In November 2006, the party held its first national congress in Dhaka and elected a central
committee with Prasit Bikash Khisha and Rabi Shankar Chakma as its President and General
Secretary respectively.
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13. Conclusion
 Political participation is a very much sensitive issue for the minority groups in
Bangladesh. As according to them governments are not taking proper decision
towards their rights and existence, there is no alternative for them to participate
in politics. That’s why their participation in politics is increasing day by day.
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