Chakma Raj

e directions with possible sites being in Myanmar, India and Bangladesh. Raja Bijoygiri was a semi-legendary who famously crossed the "Tewa" River with 26,000 troops led by the legendary Commander-in-Chief of the Chakma Royal Army General (Senapati) Radhamon Khisa, conquering Teknaf, Indang Hills and Krindang Hills in the process. The Chakma Royal Kingdom has fought several wars against the ancient Arakanese/Rakhine Kingdoms for a span of over a thousand years and in 1550 a map of Portuguese explorer Joao de Barros shows "Chacomas" clearly on the eastern bank of the Karnafuli River. Chakma Royal Kingdom had wars with the Mughal Subahdar of Chittagong in the 17th century though peace was established in 1713 with Raja Fateh Khan. The Chakma Royal Army also fought several wars against the British East India Company and His Majesty Chakma Raja Jan Baksh Khan signed a Peace Treaty with British Governor General Lord Cornwallis in Calcutta in 1787 recognizing the sovereignty of the Chakma Royal Kingdom in exchange for a yearly tribute of 500 maunds of cotton. In 1860 the British Government annexed the Chakma Royal Kingdom though the region's special status was documented in the "Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation 1900" law passed by the UK Parliament.

1947 came and the British left, but the non-Muslim Chittagong Hill Tracts district (comprising the Chakma Royal Kingdom and others) was arbitrarily awarded to Pakistan. From 1956-1964 the Kaptai Hydroelectric Project blocked the currents of the Karnafuli and created the Kaptai Lake, submerging the farmlands and homes of 100,000 Chakma people in the process including the Chakma Royal Palace. Hollow promises of compensation proved to be empty rhetoric in time. Bangladesh became an independent country in 1971 and the majority population of Chittagong Hill Tracts continued to suffer and after a quarter century long conflict with the State a Peace Treaty was signed in 1997. The Accord remains yet to be fulfilled in February 2015. The Chakmas (aka Dainget/Doingnak) who live in Myanmar are believed to be ancient ancestors of the Chakma people, possibly being separated from the rest of the people about a thousand years ago. The Chakmas in Tripura had migrated to India in the early 20th century when the whole subcontinent was still a singular entity. The Mizoram Chakmas were separated when the British administration separated a huge portion off the Chakma Royal Kingdom and placed it within "Lushai Hills" District in 1898. The Chakmas in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam moved from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the latter half of the 20th century in the "Bor Porong" (Great Exodus) due to the Kaptai Dam's flooding of their lands and some also fled in the 70s, 80s and 90s to escape from genocides, land-grabbing, rape and other violent measures inflicted on them by the Bangladesh Government, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Rifles and illegal Bengali Muslim settlers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Tanchangya and Chak people are also believed to be from the same source of an ancient people a thousand or more years ago. Our combined ancestors may have been the "Sak" which Rakhine people still call us and our claimed origins are the Sakya peoples of which Sidhhartha Gautama the historical Buddha was a member of. Chakma people are predominantly Theravada Buddhist but used to Vajrayana Buddhists several centuries ago. Pre-Buddhistic Chakma culture was a mix of Hinduism, Animism, and other indigenous beliefs which contain rituals and ceremonies possibly several millenniums old in their origins. The Chakma script is a descendant of the Brahmi script and is similar to the Burmese script. Chakma traditional dress is "pinon-khadi" for women and "dhoti"/"longyi" and "silom" for men. Chakma people have their own unique musical instruments such as "dhuduk""hengorong""singa""bela" among others. "Genkhuli""Ubhogeed" are some of the popular traditional musical styles. Chakma written literature dates back a thousand years and oral literature perhaps a few millenniums. The historic "Charyapada" may be linked to ancient Chakma language. "Chadigang Sora Pala" is a classic Genkhuli song about Chittagong from a thousand years ago. Chakma people are spread out worldwide as of today and have a generally friendly, proud, and helpful attitude. The age of practice of "Malleya" where people in a village help another member of the community when they are in need of it and the assistance is mutually returned including feeding the generous villagers a fresh sumptuous feast. Bizu is the most important festival of the Chakmas, often celebrated from 12-15 April. Nowadays, the celebrations are extended to be about a week or two in length. Chakma cuisine is delicious with bamboo shoots, shrimp paste, bamboo-steamed eggs, frog legs curry, snails, herbs, and a whole array of other sumptuous healthy and delicious dishes. Chakma people are usually honest, hard-working and fun loving and most of the population is still "Jum" farmers. Chakma people traditionally are a river valley civilization though many chakmas also live in urban centers and higher hills nowadays. Chakma people number about a million in total global population and live in over 50 countries across the globe. Chakma Royal Kingdom exists through the support of the people themselves and we hope you will join us in making the world a better place for all! (May All Beings Be At Peace)