Aizawl: A group of Indian Chakma community members has said it will seek legal and diplomatic avenues to challenge the 1947 inclusion of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), now in Bangladesh, in then East Pakistan and press for the region to become part of India.In a statement marking the anniversary of the hoisting of the Indian flag in the CHT on Aug 15, 1947, the leaders described the Bengal Boundary Commission’s decision as “illegal” and proposed approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague.The proposal was made by Mizoram legislator Rasik Mohan Chakma and endorsed by Humanity Protection Forum president Gautam Chakma, Chakma Hajong Elders Forum representative Pritimoy Chakma and Chakma Development Foundation of India founder Suhas Chakma, according to the statement.Suhas Chakma claimed that the commission, headed by Cyril Radcliffe, assigned the CHT to East Pakistan despite non-Muslims comprising around 98.5% of its population. He also alleged that the region’s indigenous communities were not given an opportunity to present their case.Citing the Mountbatten Plan and the Indian Independence Act, Suhas argued the CHT should have been included in India and added that its status should be adjudicated by the ICJ. He claimed India had grounds to seek such adjudication and called upon other countries to address what he described as violations of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination.The leaders also decided to raise allegations of human rights violations against indigenous communities in the CHT with the Indian govt and international forums.Neither the Indian nor the Bangladesh govt had responded to the group’s demand at the time of filing this report. The ICJ generally hears disputes between states, and individuals or civil-society organisations cannot directly bring contentious cases before it.
