The Bom, Bawm or Bawmzo (), are an ethnic community inhabiting the
Chittagong Hill Tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...
of Bangladesh. According to the
2022 Bangladeshi census
The 2022 Bangladeshi census () was a detailed enumeration of the Bangladeshi population constituting the sixth national census in the country. It was scheduled to be held in June 2022, was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and th ...
the population of Bawms in Bangladesh is 13,193.
In 2004, around 10,000 Bawm inhabited India. 2,500 Bawms reside in Myanmar.
[Kim, Roy & Sangma. 2011. ''The Kuki-Chin Communities of Bangladesh: A sociolinguistic survey''. SIL International.] They speak the Sino-Tibetan
Bawm language.
The Bawm are victims in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict, especially in the continuation of it. Bawms are targeted by the Bangladesh Army as well as by the
Arakan Army,
[According to the prayer list of AKREF, a working group of the German Evangelical Alliance, from May 16th, 2024]
archived
.
History
The origin of Bawm is traced to the founding of a village called Tiphul in
Chin State
Bawm people were among the earlier settlers in the
Lushai Hills, along with
Tlanglau,
Khiang and Chawrai. These groups of people entered
Lushai Hills through an area south of
Lunglei, passing through Tlabung, and entered an area what would later become
Chittagong Hills Tracts of Bangladesh. The period of this migration and a possible brief halt in
Lushai Hills is to be roughly between A.D. 900–1500. Though the reason of migration from the
Chin Hills to
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
is unknown, the Bawm and other groups of people could have left
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
due to pressure from stronger tribal forces.
Geographical distribution
According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, there are 13,193 Bom in Bangladesh.
Among them, 11,854 (89.85%) Boms live in
Bandarban District
Bandarban District (), officially Bandarban Hill District, 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 of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others ...
, constituting 2.46% of district's population. They also live in
Belaichhari Upazila of
Rangamati District and surrounding areas.
References
External links
*
Bawm ChristianityEthnologue profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawm People
Ethnic groups in Bangladesh
Kuki tribes