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| (L-R:) The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Life and Nature at Risk and Bangladesher Khudra Jatishattar Sangskriti -- two books on the ethnic groups of Bangladesh |
I came across two profusely illustrated books that speak of the situation of the small ethnic groups of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. These groups, in face of dominant and encroaching Bangali (Bengalee) community, are struggling for their land, economic development, culture, and language.
The book on the left, The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Life and Nature at Risk, edited by Philip Gain, deals with life, administration, state hegemony, women's survival and resistance, and, finally, culture, identity, and development. Raja Devasish Roy, Amena Mohsin, Meghna Guhathakurta, Prashanta Tripura and Philip Gain are authors of chapters.
The book on the right, Bangladesher Khudra Jatishattar Sangskriti (Culture of Small Ethnic Communities of Bangladesh), in Bengali, is edited by Philip Gain and Partha Shankar Shaha, speaks of ethnic groups' culture, cultural rights, linguistic challenges, political struggles, and attempts for cultural links and unity between these groups and the majority Bengalee population.
Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) is the publisher of these books.
