Chittagong Hill Tracts: Beyond Conflict Towards Peace, Development And National Integration

Lt Col (Retd) Md Shahadat Hossain

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has been a part of my life for more than four decades. Since November 1982, I have had the privilege of serving in the region in operational, intelligence and command appointments and witnessing both its tragedies and its tremendous possibilities. I have seen fear and friendship, conflict and reconciliation, deprivation and development. Above all, I have seen the aspirations of its people—their desire to live in peace, dignity and prosperity.

Today, after more than four decades of studying and serving in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, I write simultaneously as a former soldier, a student of the CHT and a citizen of Bangladesh.

For many Bangladeshis, the Chittagong Hill Tracts remains either a beautiful tourist destination or a distant conflict zone that occasionally appears in newspaper headlines. In reality, it is neither of these alone. The CHT is one of Bangladesh’s greatest strategic, cultural and environmental treasures. It is home to diverse communities whose histories, aspirations and futures are inseparably linked with that of Bangladesh itself.

The CHT should therefore no longer be viewed merely through the prism of conflict. It is simultaneously a matter of peace, national security, constitutional governance, sustainable development, environmental conservation and national integration. Most importantly, it concerns the lives, dignity and future of the people who call Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban their home.

When I first went to the Chittagong Hill Tracts as a young officer in 1982, travelling to many remote areas required days of walking through difficult terrain. Communications were extremely limited and insecurity was often a constant reality. More than four decades later, much has changed. Roads have been built, educational opportunities have expanded and countless lives have been positively transformed. Yet one aspiration has remained unchanged throughout these forty-four years—the desire of ordinary people to live peacefully with dignity and hope for a better future for their children. That aspiration, I believe, transcends all political, ethnic and religious differences. It is perhaps the strongest foundation upon which lasting peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts can be built.

Nearly twenty-nine years have passed since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord on 2 December 1997. During this period, Bangladesh has travelled a considerable distance. Roads have been built where once there were only footpaths. Educational institutions, healthcare facilities and tourism infrastructure have expanded significantly. Communications have improved remarkably. The contributions of successive governments, the civil administration, members of the Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, development partners and local communities in this transformation deserve national appreciation.

These achievements are real and deserve recognition. Yet sustainable peace remains a work in progress.

Incidents of armed violence, abduction, extortion and insecurity continue to affect the lives of ordinary people in different parts of the CHT. Whenever violence erupts, civilians inevitably become its greatest victims. Human rights concerns, differing perceptions regarding the implementation of the Peace Accord and the challenges of ensuring inclusive development continue to shape discussions surrounding the future of the region. These realities deserve honest acknowledgement rather than denial or politicisation.

Peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts cannot be built upon selective narratives. Security concerns are real. Human rights concerns are real. Historical grievances are real. Developmental achievements are equally real. Unless all these realities are accommodated within a common national framework, sustainable peace will remain difficult to achieve.

Throughout my service in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, I have witnessed members of different communities sharing their food with soldiers during difficult times, civil servants walking for miles to deliver services to remote villages and young students dreaming of a better future for their homeland. These experiences have taught me that the future of the CHT does not belong to conflict. It belongs to peace, mutual trust and shared prosperity.

The younger generation of Bangladesh knows remarkably little about the Chittagong Hill Tracts. For many members of Gen Z, the region remains unfamiliar despite its strategic importance. They know little about its peoples, languages, cultures and histories. They are equally unfamiliar with the sacrifices made by ordinary citizens, civil servants and members of the security forces in preserving peace and facilitating development over the decades.

This knowledge gap deserves national attention.

Bangladesh needs a more authentic, comprehensive and nationally accessible knowledge framework relating to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Greater academic research should be encouraged in our universities. Documentary films, educational initiatives and strategic dialogues may significantly contribute towards informed national discourse. Journalists, researchers and young people should be encouraged to visit the region regularly and interact with its diverse communities.

We also require better strategic communication. Misinformation frequently flourishes in environments where authentic information is either unavailable or inaccessible. Facts should therefore become our most valuable national resource in discussing the CHT. Greater transparency and wider dissemination of authentic information would contribute significantly towards building trust both nationally and internationally.

The people of the hills should never feel isolated from the people of the plains, nor should the people of the plains remain unfamiliar with the cultures and aspirations of the people of the hills. National integration is not achieved merely through administrative arrangements. It is achieved through mutual understanding, respect and regular interaction among citizens.

I believe Bangladesh would benefit enormously from strategic-level dialogues involving policymakers, academics, young leaders and representatives from all communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Such initiatives should particularly involve the younger generation, for it is they who will inherit both the achievements and the unfinished responsibilities of our time.

There is another matter that deserves urgent national attention. The Chittagong Hill Tracts possesses enormous economic, environmental and strategic significance for Bangladesh. Sustainable tourism, environmental conservation and climate resilience should receive far greater policy emphasis. Environmental degradation, landslide vulnerabilities and climate-related challenges require integrated and science-based responses involving both national institutions and local communities. The preservation of the unique environmental heritage of the CHT must remain a shared national responsibility.

The implementation status of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord should continue to be reviewed transparently and constructively. The objective of such reviews should never be political point-scoring. Rather, they should seek practical pathways towards strengthening peace, justice, development and national integration. Every stakeholder should feel that legitimate concerns are heard respectfully and addressed institutionally.

Peace-building must always remain people-centric. Every victim of violence deserves compassion irrespective of ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. Every child deserves access to quality education. Every family deserves security. Every community deserves dignity. Sustainable peace is impossible unless it becomes inclusive.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts is not merely a frontier region of Bangladesh. It is one of our greatest national treasures—strategically, culturally and environmentally. Its people deserve peace. Bangladesh deserves peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The world deserves to know the true story of a region that continues to strive for harmony despite its complexities.

After more than forty years of observing the Chittagong Hill Tracts, my conviction remains unchanged: peace is possible. However, peace cannot be sustained by security measures alone, nor by development initiatives alone. It requires justice, dialogue, mutual respect, constitutional governance, inclusive development and national integration.

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The Chittagong Hill Tracts deserves to become Bangladesh’s greatest success story of peace, development and national integration in the twenty-first century. The people of the hills and the plains have lived together throughout our history. They deserve to walk together into the future as equal partners in building a stronger, more prosperous and more harmonious Bangladesh.

Peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is neither an impossible dream nor an unfinished slogan. It is an achievable national responsibility. If we have the wisdom to listen to one another, the courage to embrace truth in all its dimensions and the commitment to place our people at the centre of our policies, the Chittagong Hill Tracts can become not merely a story of conflict overcome, but one of Bangladesh’s finest achievements in peace-building and national integration.

That, I believe, is a future worthy of all our people.

Author: Lt Col (Retd) Md Shahadat Hossain, psc, has been studying the Chittagong Hill Tracts since November 1982. He served in operational, intelligence and command appointments in the CHT between 1982 and 2008, including at Headquarters 203 Infantry Brigade, Guimara Zone, Mohalchari Zone, Ruma Zone Jaminipara Zone, Kaptai Zone and Mizoram Border for Border demarcation related operational duties. He also served as an Instructor Class-A at the School of Military Intelligence.