The International Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Commission was shocked to learn about the government’s prohibition on using the term “indigenous”, said a press release published yesterday.
Speaking from his home in Agartala, the capital of the Northeast Indian state of Tripura, Mohendro Chakma recalls his role as the leader of the 19th group that was preparing to trek to the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), present-day Arunachal Pradesh.
Give indigenous people stewardship of land
Speakers tell webinar Staff Correspondent Staff Correspondent
Indigenous people should be granted stewardship for the land they exist on, said speakers at a virtual seminar yesterday.
Stewardship is a concept different from ownership because it makes the residents collectively responsible for maintenance of the land and its biodiversity. The webinar, titled Inclusion, Cultural Integrity and Land Rights of the Indigenous Peoples in Asia was jointly organised by Kapaeeng Foundation, Bangladesh; Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), and The Daily Star. It is only in the indigenous culture we can promote the culture of stewardship instead of ownership. They do not own the land but we are guided by nature itself to maintain the land in a way that will be good for all of humanity, said Dr Meghna Guhathakurta, advisor, International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission.