GK
Shikhi

Lesson 1/65 min

Ethnic minorities at a glance

Numbers and general facts

  • Total ethnic-minority population: about 1.65 million (2022 census), 1% of the population
  • Number of groups in the government gazette: 50
  • Number of tribal languages: 32
  • Tribes living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts: 13 (more than in any other region)
  • Largest: Chakma (1st); in the Hill Tracts the 2nd is Marma (Khandokar)
  • Smallest in number: Khumi and Chak
  • Article 23A of the Constitution speaks of the culture of tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities
  • World Indigenous Peoples Day: 9 August

Watch out: Many books (Zubair, and the printed answer of the 44th BCS) give 48 groups; a local report also said 48. The government gazette now lists 50, so choose by the options given.

Did you know?: The 2022 census counted 1,650,159 ethnic-minority people (1,586,141 in 2011). BBS puts the Chakma at 483,299, about 29.29% of that total.

Did you know?: In the 15th Amendment the government called indigenous people “tribes, ethnic groups, minor races”. Indigenous leaders reject this and call themselves adivasi. The government's position: there are no adivasi in the country (Zubair).

Society and identity

  • Most ethnic communities are patriarchal
  • Matrilineal: the Garo and the Khasi
  • In Tripura society a son is known by his father's identity and a daughter by her mother's
  • The people once called Mog are now known as Marma; the Mog's original home is Arakan (Myanmar)
  • The Rakhine came to Bangladesh from Myanmar
  • The new-year celebration of the tribes is called Boishabi

Notable people

  • First Chakma (tribal) Major General: Anup Kumar Chakma
  • The only freedom fighter from a tribal community with a gallantry title: U.K. Ching (Marma); title Bir Bikram

Check yourself

Which is the largest ethnic group of Bangladesh?

At a glance

  1. 1

    Ethnic minorities number about 1.65 million, 1% of the population (2022).

  2. 2

    The gazette lists 50 groups (older books say 48); 32 languages; 13 tribes in the Hill Tracts.

  3. 3

    Largest: Chakma; smallest in number: Khumi and Chak.

  4. 4

    Matrilineal societies: Garo and Khasi.

  5. 5

    World Indigenous Peoples Day is 9 August; first Chakma Major General: Anup Kumar Chakma.