The Marma people are the second-largest ethnic community/ indigenous minority group in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. Some Marmas live in Chittagong border area of CHT like Rangunia and Fatikchari as well as Some Marmas live in Bangladesh's coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali, while others live in State of Tripura, India and Myanmar. They are living both in the plain and hill areas. There are over 210,000 Marmas living in Bangladesh. Since the 16th century, the Marma have considered the Chittagong Hill Tracts their home, where they have established the Bohmong and Mong Circles (chiefdoms).
There has been a
long-standing desire to learn about the history and culture of the Marma
people, but this has not been possible due to the lack of written books or
documents on the subject. When I studied history at the University of
Chittagong, I felt terrible for knowing about the history of the Marma
community. Because we can learn about the ancient civilizations of different
nations and community about their social, cultural, economic and religious
activities from different history books. But it was not possible to know about
the ancient civilization of the Marma people as there was no written history
book of the history of the Marma people. I completed BA Honors and Masters in
History from Chittagong University in 2004, then wanted to study Marma history
with a higher degree. It was no longer possible due to family financial
difficulties. I have been involved with various NGOs, INGOs and UN agencies for
almost 12 years. Today the corona virus suddenly came and the whole world came
to a standstill, all the offices were closed and locked down. During these
three months of lockdown, there has been an opportunity to conduct fact-finding
research on the history of the Marmas by collecting data from accessible
history books and online. I have tried to write the history of the Marma people
by incorporating the knowledge and information gained from this online based
research. It is difficult to write detailed research in a short time. If the
history of the Marma people revealed in this study is of any use to anyone, it
is the result of my three months of untiring work and hard work. Hopefully,
those who are interested in learning about the Marma people or the Marma tribes
will find this information very useful. If I have the opportunity to do
research on the Marma community in the future, I will probably try to write
more detailed data. This research work focusing
on the historical, cultural, and social history of the Marma people in
Bangladesh.
This is history of Marma's for marma community.
ReplyDelete