The Economics of Conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tract Region of Bangladesh

Bangladesh emerged as an independent state in 1971 out of the separation of East/West Pakistan and the bloody war that ensued, and is largely attributable to conflicts over the division of political power and economic resources. It was expected that Bangladesh, being a relatively homogeneous state, would not confront significant internal conflict. In fact, Bangladesh is the only nation state in South Asia that is considered to be nationally homogeneous. Yet, it has not been free from conflicts. Rather, it inherited the major characteristics of Alavi’s ‘post-colonial state’ (Alavi, 1973) and consequently began to face issues and conflicts on both internal and external fronts. Today, Bangladesh is internally divided on a wide variety of internal issues including: national identity; Islamism versus secularism; an ethnic separatist movement in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) region; the treatment of minorities; corruption; and a host of horizontal and vertical divisions. Consequently, any author seeking to study conflict in Bangladesh is, sadly, spoilt for choice. Moreover, if the focus of the study is narrowed to economic dimensions then the choice does not become any easier; all these conflicts have significant economic dimensions that could potentially undermine national economic growth and stability. However, among internal conflicts the demand for autonomy by the indigenous tribes of the CHT region stands out as primarily attributable to economic factors and, consequently, is the focus of this chapter.