The Chakma Circle ( Chakma: 𑄌𑄇𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄥𑄢𑄴𑄇𑄬𑄣𑄴), also known as the Chakma Raj, is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

of modern-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The Chakma Circle encompasses parts of

Rangamati Hill District Rangamati Hill District (Chakma:𑄢𑄋𑄟𑄖𑄴𑄳𑄠 ;) is a district in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division, and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. By area, Rangamati is th ...

and Dighinala and Rajasthali Upazilas in neighbouring

Khagrachari District Khagrachari ( bn, খাগড়াছড়ি) is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. History The Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the reign of the Tripura Sta ...

and

Bandarban District Bandarban ( bn, বান্দরবান, Chakma: 𑄝𑄚𑄴𑄘𑄧𑄢𑄴𑄝𑄚𑄴) is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part o ...

respectively. The chiefdom's members are of Chakma descent.

Leadership

The Chakma Circle is led by a hereditary chieftain called a "raja," whose role encompasses judicial, administrative, ceremonial, legal and social responsibilities. Political power is passed from the father to the first-born son. The incumbent chieftain is

Devasish Roy Devasish Roy (also spelled Debashish Roy; born 9 April 1959) is a Bangladeshi politician and lawyer. He is the titular Raja of the Chakma Circle, Bangladesh's largest indigenous community, and was a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum o ...

(b. 10 April 1959), according to the ''Chakma Bijok'', a compilation of the Chakma history (1876-1934 CE). The Chakma chieftain also sits on the Advisory Council for the

Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম বিষয়ক মন্ত্রণালয়; ''Pārbatya caṭṭagrāma biṣaẏaka mantraṇālaẏa'') is the government minist ...

and the Rangamati Hill District Council. The Chakma chieftain leads a "rajpunnah" festival.

History

Pre-colonial era

The lineage of Chakma chieftains may date to the 11th century or mid-16th century. Chakma folklore and tradition ascribe the Chakma origins to the warrior castes of

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...

in modern-day India. The legendary raja Bijoy Giri (c. 1630), who is believed to have migrated the ancestors of the Chakma people north of the

Naf River The Naf River ( bn, নাফ নদী ''Naf Nodi'' ; my, နတ်မြစ် ; rki, ) is an international river marking the border of southeastern Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar. Geography The Naf River's average depth is , and ma ...

. Through intermarriages with the

Rakhine people The Rakhine people ( my, ရက္ခိုင်လူမျိုး, : , ), also known as the Arakanese people, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma) forming the majority along the coastal region of present-day Rakhine Stat ...

, the Chakmas eventually converted to Buddhism. Extant historical records date to the 1700s. Following the expansion of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

into Chakma territory, Chakma chieftains adopted Muslim names and titles (e.g., Khan) in exchange for tributary payments.

British rule and modern era

During British rule, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were administratively divided into three circles in 1884, namely the Chakma Circle, the

Bohmong Circle The Bohmong Circle ( my, ဗိုလ်မင်းထောင်) is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Bohmong Circle encompasses parts of Bandarba ...

, and the

Mong Circle The Mong Circle ( my, ဖလံထောင်) is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Mong Circle encompasses parts of Khagrachhari District. The chiefdo ...

s, each presided over by a hereditary chief from the Chakma and

Marma people The Marma ( my, မရမာလူမျိုး), formerly known as Moghs or Maghs, are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. ...

s. The circles were codified into law with the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulations, 1900, which eased revenue collection and administrative burdens on British authorities by delegating tax collection, land administration management and social arbitration responsibilities to the chieftains. In 1901, the Bohmong Circle extended . This administrative structure remained in place until 1964, when the introduction of local self-government abolished the special status of these circles and brought local administration under the control of the central government.

List of leaders

46. Kalindi Rani (1832-1873) 47. Harish Chandra Rai Bahadur (1873-1885) 47A. Court of Wards (Nil Chandra Dewan & Trilochan Dewan) (1885-1897) 48. Bhuvan Mohan Roy (1897-1934) 49. Nalinaksha Roy (1934-1951) 50.

Tridev Roy Raja Tridiv Roy ( ur, ; bn, ত্রিদিব রায়; 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦: 𑄖𑄳𑄢𑄨𑄘𑄨𑄝𑄴 𑄢𑄧𑄠𑄴; sometimes spelled Tridev Roy, (14 May 1933 – 17 September 2012) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat ...

(1951-1971) 50A. Samit Roy egent1971-1977) 51. Devashish Roy (1977–present)

References