Dear friends, with a heavy heart, I have to say goodbye to you all as I, along with many other fellow Bangladeshis, no longer exist in this country! As some of you may have come to know by now also, our government, through a press note released yesterday, has reminded everyone that there are no indigenous people (Adivasi) in this country since the word itself is not in the constitution! The government has particularly requested academics, newspaper editors and other members of the civil society to refrain from using the ‘A’ word in seminars, talk shows etc. being organized as part of observance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples tomorrow, August 9. As someone who belong to one of many ‘small’ ethnic groups that have sought recognition as ‘indigenous peoples’, and as an anthropologist who has supported this demand through various articles since 1993, it seems that it is now time for people like us to go back to where we came from (we are supposed to be ‘immigrants’ compared to the Bengalis, said to be the true ‘sons of the soil’ of this country). After all, you cannot argue with powers that say, “The constitution does not mention you. Therefore you do not exist.”, or have been heard saying, in the past, “We want the land, not the people.” Thus, as I walk into the sunset of an identity that seems doomed, let me say, so long! Perhaps we will meet again. If you meet someone with labels like ‘backward’, ‘tribe’, ‘minor race’ or ‘ethnic sect’ – terms that the constitution does approve of – look closely. It might be someone you have known by another name, at another time.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 03:53:43 +0000
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