More than 98 percent of Bangladesh’s inhabitants
are Bengalis, who are largely descended from Indo-Aryans
(speakers of the parent language of the Indo-European
languages). The Indo-Aryans began to migrate into
the Bengal
region from the west thousands of years ago and mixed
within Bengal with various indigenous groups. The
remainder of the population includes Biharis, non-Bengali
Muslims who migrated from India (principally from
the state of Bihar)
after the 1947 partition, and various indigenous ethnic
groups (locally known as tribal groups). Although
Biharis constitute the largest minority group, a large
proportion of their original population repatriated
to Pakistan after 1971. The Chakmas, who live in the
southeastern Chittagong
Hill Tracts District, constitute the largest tribal
group in Bangladesh.
Other tribal groups include the Marmas and Tripuras,
who also live in the Chittagong region; the Garos
and Khasis, whose populations in northeastern Bangladesh
are the southernmost extensions of tribal groups living
in adjacent Indian states; and the Santals, who also
live in northeastern Bangladesh
and form, with Santals living elsewhere, South Asia’s
largest tribal group.
Small
Arms and Lawlessness in Bangladesh |
The
spread of small arms has become a major challenge
for the maintenance of law and order in Bangladesh.
The country’s association with small arms is
not new; what is new is its large scale use. Earlier,
Bangladesh was only used as a transit route for smuggling
small arms, but now it is listed as a user of these
weapons according to a research published by the United
Nations.
Small
arms are also manufactured locally in illegal factories
found all over Bangladesh. However, the most important
source of small arms in Bangladesh
is through smuggling. Chittagong port and its neighbouring
areas are major sources of arms smuggling in Bangladesh.
The easy availability of small arms has played a major
role in the deteriorating law and order situation
in Bangladesh. On several occasions miscreants were
found to possess better arms than policemen. They
feel confident enough to attack policemen at will.
Women
and children are major victims of these small arms.
3105 persons were murdered in the country in 2001;
more than 1500 were murdered with guns. 10 percent
of them were women above 18 years of age and another
10 per cent were girls below 18 years of age. Most
of the women and girls murdered were killed after
rape. 923 persons were abducted at gunpoint in the
same year, 57 per cent were women and girl children.
1673 women and girls were raped in the same year,
mostly at gun point, 36 per cent of them were below
18 years of age and 30 percent of them were below
16 years of age.
Small arms have become a menace in Bangladesh.
This illegal trade has a direct effect on the country's
social, economic and political problems. The rule
of law has virtually collapsed in the country. Terrorists
and extortionists are having a field day. Law enforcement
authorities have a tenuous control over certain areas.
Insurgency
in Chittagong Hills
