The Mong Circle ( my, ဖလံထောင်) 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 jurisdiction of the Mong Circle encompasses parts of

Khagrachhari 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 St ...

. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as ''phalansa''. Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the northwest during a migration wave from the

Kingdom of Mrauk U The Kingdom of Mrauk-U ( Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး နေပြည်တော်,) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan littoral from 1429 to 1785. Based out of the capital Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, t ...

(modern-day

Arakan State Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Beng ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

) between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, 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 ...

settled in the south and are known as ''ragraisa''.

Leadership

The Mong Circle is led by a hereditary chieftain called a "raja." The Mong chieftains appoint and oversee headmen called ''mouza'' and village chiefs called ''karbaris''. The incumbent chieftain is Saching Prue (b. 1988) of the

Chowdhury Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated ...

house; he formally ascended the throne on 17 January 2009. His predecessor, Paihala Prue Chowdhury, died in a roadside car accident on 22 October 2008.

History

The Mong Circle dates to 1782 with the first chieftain, Mrachai. During British rule, the British authorities designated the Mong Circle in 1871, to encompass an ethnically mixed population in the Feni valley. In 1881, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were administratively divided into three circles, namely the Chakma Circle, the

, and the Mong Circles, 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 Tract Regulations, 1900, 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 Mong 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.

References

{{Bengal Zamindars Khagrachhari District Dynasties of Bengal Subdivisions of British India Quasi-princely estates of India Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples History of Chittagong Division Bangladeshi families Chakma people

Leadership

History

See also

References