Ethnocentric View Towards the Indigenous People of Bangladesh

Teenagers Ethnocentric view towards the Indigenous people of Bangladesh

Teenagers and Youths Ethnocentric view towards the Indigenous people of Bangladesh 2

Teenagers and Youths Ethnocentric view towards the Indigenous people of Bangladesh

Teenagers and Youths Ethnocentric view towards the Indigenous people of Bangladesh

Introduction Indigenous people, no matter where they inhabit or used to inhabit, have always. The situation of the indigenous people in the world is not encouraging. In our country, the existence of the indigenous people is nothing but fighting each and every single day for their land and way of life. It all started since the construction of Kaptai Dam to get hydroelectric power. The flood created by this huge 11,000 km2 water body has washed away living places of countless indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts and forced many to immigrate to India. Still today, the locals in those areas have not got any compensation for this loss (Varsi, 2008). Recently, the issue of indigenous people has come into light with the incumbent governments effort to amend constitution. If the amendments are passed, the constitution would formally deny the existence of any indigenous people in this country. No doubt it is going to be a further step to obstruct the hopes of the indigenous people living in this country. It is not only the government but also the individuals of the country who are not much concerned about indigenous rights. Many a time the teenagers and the youths living in city areas of Bangladesh hold discriminatory ideas about the indigenous people. While preparing my questionnaire, I tried to keep it in my mind. I am going to conduct a survey on the idea the young hold about indigenous culture and for doing so I will try to look into the respondents thoughts from different viewpoints. As culture is a pretty complex thing and greatly dependant on numerous factors, my questionnaire will no doubt fail to some extent to judge the indigenous culture from a holistic point of view. However, through my questions I will try to have idea about the knowledge the young have about indigenous culture and the way they interpret different cultural components. After that I will try to come up with a conclusive idea that my questionnaire will enable me to do. In addition, the research I am going to do is mainly going to be based on primary sources. For doing so I have prepared a questionnaire to get respondents idea on some key issues. It is always a hard task to measure and get a good understanding about what idea people really hold on a subject. Reaching to the respondents and making them understand the issues a questionnaire deals with is even harder when we deal with a relatively unfamiliar issue. The issue of my research is the youths perception about the indigenous people and from my experience I feel that it is really going to be a hard task for me as a big portion of the young people still remains in complete darkness about the issue of indigenous peoples right, minority oppression and ethnic discrimination. It is needless to say that in almost all of the cases young generations lack of knowledge is the major reason why they misinterpret the indigenous culture. Although the young nowadays are adopting some indigenous ingredients (especially outfits and ornaments) in their lifestyle, I believe it is purely something pushed by the fashion houses of the country to create new trends in fashion. So, this popularization of indigenous culture cannot be deemed as a love for indigenous culture. When we think of getting peoples idea on a subject or issue it is always better to judge the idea from different perspectives. While preparing my questionnaire, I tried to keep it in my mind. I am going to conduct a survey on the idea the young hold about indigenous culture and for doing so I will try to look into the respondents thoughts from different viewpoints. As culture is a pretty complex thing and greatly dependant on numerous factors, my questionnaire will no doubt fail to some extent to judge the indigenous culture from a holistic point of view. However, through my questions I will try to have idea about the knowledge the young have about indigenous culture and the way they interpret different cultural components. After that I will try to come up with a conclusive idea that my questionnaire will enable me to do.

Indigenous People Indigenous peoples, or Natives, are ethnic groups who are native to a land or region, especially before the arrival and intrusion of a foreign and possibly dominating culture. They are a group of people whose members share a cultural identity that has been shaped by their geographical region. A variety of names are used in various countries to identify such groups of people, but they generally are regarded as the "original inhabitants" of a territory or region. Their right to self-determination may be materially affected by the later-arriving ethnic groups. The adjective indigenous has the common meaning of "from" or "of the original origin". Therefore, in a purely adjectival sense any given people, ethnic group or community may be described as being indigenous in reference to some particular region or location (Wikipedia).

Suppressed Indigenous Communities from Time to Time The story of indigenous people all over the world is a history of violence and brutality by the outsiders. How many people have lost their lives, properties, children and all hope for living are countless to be counted. Moreover, the misleading and manipulated history written by the conquistadors to North and South America, the colonialists of Australia has always veiled the heinous crime. Sadly, the process of exploiting indigenous societies is not finished yet. Through various invisible forces the suppression is still in practice almost all parts of the world. The killing of Native Americans started when Christopher Columbus first made the Europeans familiar with the land of America in 1492 (Trabich, 1997). At one point the massacre by the Europeans on the Native Americans became so rampant that the indigenous people started committing suicide and even started killing their children in order to prevent the children from facing their ill future. Native Americans faced involuntary sterilization of approximately seventy thousand Native-American women between 1930 and the mid-1970s. Destroying a group's ability to reproduce is an obvious and crude method of ensuring the inability of the group's survival. (Chalk and Jonassohn, 1990, p. 203). In 1969 many Africans became indentured servants, similar in legal position to many poor Englishmen who traded several years labor in exchange for passage to America. (Richmond, 2000). One of the darkest chapters of Australian history was the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families (Central Australian Stolen Generations). In almost all parts of the world indigenous communities faced alteration of lifestyle and deprivation from rights. The practice still prevails in many parts of the world till today (McColley, 1988). Situation of Bangladeshi Indigenous Peoples

Like other parts of the world, indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are the most disadvantaged, neglected and vulnerable people in the country. The Bangladesh government does not have any formal policy for the development of indigenous populations. Indigenous peoples have often faced eviction from their homelands in the name of development projects and conservation such as dams, eco-parks, protected areas, reserve forest and even the establishment of military bases on their ancestral and community land. Their land has been taken without their consent. Their culture is treated as inferior in the country. Over the years the indigenous peoples experienced a strong sense of social, political and economic exclusion, lack of recognition, fear and insecurity, loss of cultural identity, and social oppression. Mainstream development efforts have either ignored their concerns and/or had a negative impact on them. Often issues and actions that affect them are not discussed with these communities or organizations representing them. Thus they are subjected to stark socio-economic deprivation. Mass relocation of non-indigenous people in the traditional adivasi/ethnic minority areas has also caused land-grabbing, leading to livelihood displacement among the indigenous peoples. Grabbing the lands of indigenous peoples and minorities is the State policy in Bangladesh. The government itself grabs the lands and also remains mute witness to land grabbing by the mainstream Bengali populations who use different methods, including forging documents and forcibly ousting indigenous peoples from their lands. It is widely accepted that indigenous women are most vulnerable section of the indigenous society. Indigenous women are traditionally considered as occupying a lower socio-economic and political standing than their men, and they are encountering various forms of human rights violation. Indigenous womens status is low in terms of the rights to inheritance, legal and political rights, decision-making powers and other spheres. Indigenous women, except Garo and Khasi women of matrilineal communities, have no rights to inheritance to property.

Questionnaire Analysis During my survey I interviewed 25 female and 25 male. Most of them were between the ages of 19-24. From the survey I got the idea about their overall view towards the indigenous communities of Bangladesh. Question 1: How many indigenous communities are there in Bangladesh?

Figure 1: Number of Indigenous Communities in Bangladesh Figure 1 illustrates 50 respondents answer to the first question about their idea of number of indigenous communities in our country. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The chart shows that 24 respondents think that there are 20-25 indigenous communities in our country where 17 respondents think that there are 30-35 indigenous communities in our country. Only 9 respondents know that there are 40-45 indigenous communities living in our country. So, it is clear that very few of the young people know about all the indigenous communities of Bangladesh.Question 2: How do you view the indigenous people of Bangladesh?

Figure 2: View towards the indigenous people of Bangladesh Figure 2 depicts 50 respondents answer to the second question about their view on the indigenous people. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The chart shows that 24 respondents believe that the indigenous people are like us where only 8 respondents believe they are particularly peace-loving. 18 respondents believe that indigenous people are terrorists. From the responses it is clear that still a big portion of youngsters think negative of them.

Question 3: What is your idea about what indigenous people think about Bangladesh?

Figure 3: Idea about what indigenous people think about Bangladesh Figure 3 shows 50 respondents answer to the third question about their idea of what indigenous people think about Bangladesh. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given. The vertical axis shows the respective answers to the options. The graph shows that 22 respondents think that indigenous people do not belong here where 16 respondents believe indigenous people belong here. Apart from that, 12 respondents think that indigenous people want a different country.

Question 4: Indigenous people are-

Figure 4: How indigenous people are T Figure 4 portrays 50 respondents answer to the fourth question about their idea of what indigenous people are. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given. The vertical axis shows the respective answers to the options. The bar chart shows that 20 respondents think that indigenous people are little civilized where 15 respondents believe indigenous people are not civilized. The rest 12 respondents think that indigenous people are civilized.

Question 5: Do u think they are being discriminated?

Figure 5: Discrimination of Indigenous Communities Figure 5 illustrates 50 respondents answer to the fifth question about whether indigenous people are discriminated in our country. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The bar chart shows that 30 respondents have no idea whether they are being discriminated or not where 14 respondents believe that the indigenous people are not being discriminated. Only 6 respondents hold the belief that indigenous people are being discriminated in our country. Most of young people are not concerned whether the indigenous people of our country are being discriminated.

Question 6: Where do the majority of indigenous people live in our country?

Figure 6: Habitats of Indigenous People Figure 6 represents 50 respondents answer to the sixth question about the habitat of majority indigenous people in the country. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The bar chart shows that 28 respondents said that most of the indigenous people live in Chittagong hill tracts area where only 6 respondents think that majority of indigenous people live in Rajshahi division. 16 respondents think that majority of the indigenous people live in Sylhet division.

Question 7: Do you know about Baishabi?

Figure 7: Familiarity with the Baishabi festival Figure 7 portrays 50 respondents answer to the seventh question about their familiarity with the festival Baishabi. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The bar chart shows that 34 respondents do not know about Baishabi festival. Only 16 respondents are familiar with the festival. Majority of youths are not familiar indigenous peoples cultures. Even those who are little familiar, they do not have clear concept about the programs.

Question 8: Do you ever feel a bit anxious when you think about visiting indigenous communities?

Figure 8: Anxiousness toward indigenous communities Figure 8 illustrates 50 respondents answer to the eighth question about their anxiousness in while visiting indigenous communities. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. 31 respondents do not feel anxious when they think of visiting indigenous communities. That means they have no problem in visiting the places of indigenous people and they are free to socialize with the communities. On the other hand, 19 respondents experience a little bit anxiousness when they imagine visiting indigenous people. These negative responses explain that many young people hold incorrect beliefs about indigenous people.

Question 9: Are you comfortable with making friendship with an indigenous person?

Figure 9: Making an indigenous person acquaintance Figure 9 represents 50 respondents answer to the ninth question about whether they are comfortable in making friendship with indigenous people. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The bar chart shows that 28 respondents are not easy in making them acquaintances where 22 respondents are comfortable with making friendship with them. Those who are not comfortable with making indigenous people friends, reflect that many young people view indigenous people differently.

Question 10: Do you know about the 11000 km2 flood created by Kaptai Dam that devastated the habitats of the majority of indigenous communities?

Figure 10: Knowledge on Kaptai Dam Flood Figure 10 reflects 50 respondents answer to the tenth question about whether they know about the 11000 km2 flood created by Kaptai Dam which demolished the habitats of the majority of indigenous people. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The bar chart demonstrates that 43 respondents have no idea about the Kaptai Dam flood. Only 7 respondents know about the devastating flood created by the Kaptai Dam. It is clear that most of young people have no idea about the miseries indigenous people are experiencing in their lives.

Question 11: Do you think the Bengali word Upojati is offensive?

Figure 11: Is Upojati an offensive term? Figure 11 gives idea about 50 respondents answer to the eleventh question about whether indigenous people are discriminated in our country. The horizontal axis represents the options they were given and the vertical axis graphs the respondents respective answers to the options. The chart reflects that 46 respondents believe that the word Upojati is not offensive. Whereas, only 4 respondents believe that the Bengali word Upojati is offensive. So most of young people are not aware of or concerned whether the indigenous people of our country are being discriminated.

Findings from the Survey

From all the responses I have got from the respondent unveil a definite truth and it can only be termed as an ethnocentric view about the indigenous peoples who inhabit in our country. There can be various reasons behind this ethnocentric view and I would rather prefer to deal with the findings along with some likely reasons behind these. A majority of respondents (18 out of 50) believe indigenous people are terrorists. It undoubtedly sounds a misconception or at least misinterpretation as no such occurrences happened to say so. It is true once the indigenous group in CHT took part in armed protests but it was a fight for earning their rights and lands but nothing to be called as terrorism. The good thing is that almost 50% respondents (24 in number) believe Indigenous people are human beings like us. Another misconception many people hold about the indigenous people was also evident in my survey. Except for 16 respondents, all other believe the tribal people of our country do not think they belong to this country. In this age of satellite channels, many fail to separate facts from fantasy. Maybe this is the reason why without being holding such an unfriendly attitude, indigenous people are blamed for people who hate the country. Sometimes people also mingle some other examples from other parts of the world and view indigenous people all over the world from a same ground. The major discriminatory view I have found from the respondents indigenous communities is the thinking that they are less civilized than us and though the indigenous people face a lot of discriminations, majority of the respondents poses no idea about it at all. The reason is pretty clear, the young in our country lack proper knowledge about what is going on in the country and they also judge the notion of civilization from an ethnocentric point of view. When we talk about civilization nowadays, we only associate the tools and products that make up our daily living. Otherwise, the respondents would surely know that indigenous people are more civilized in many cases than us. Many respondents portrayed their poor knowledge about the indigenous communities and some are even fearful about visiting the indigenous lands because of the lack of security. We need to ask where these tendencies are pushing us forward. If such thing goes on practiced, we can only hope to make an ever increasing gap in between us and the indigenous people. Finally, when many people lack proper knowledge and understanding, it becomes hard for them to see the reality. The responses from my survey showed teenagers and youngsters in our city areas have eyes obscured by misinformation, misinterpretation and even misguidance when they look at indigenous culture and communities,

Conclusion I believe it is time for all of us not only for youths to judge things from different points of views. If we like to see us as civilized beings, we must learn to judge things from impartial grounds. When we talk about discrimination, culture or the fate of indigenous people, we fail to see things from the points of indigenous people. For this reason, it should be our first priority to change our view to see the reality. If we fail to understand the reality, no doubt government will get the opportunity to practice so many discriminatory practices and there would always be gainers out of these. Everything else being the same, we need to see all people as same irrespective of their race, color or ethnicity. Otherwise, the notion We are civilized would be the biggest lie.ReferencesWikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples#cite_note-worldbank410-2Magne Ove Varsi (November, 2008). BANGLADESH: Indigenous People Still Face Discrimination and Eviction from Their LandThe Daily Star (August 8, 2011). Form nat'l commission to ensure indigenous people's rights doi: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=40665Trabich, Leah. (June, 1997). Native American Genocide Still Haunts United States. An End to Intolerance, (5).Richmond, V. A. (February, 2000). A Brief History of Jamestown. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, doi: http://www.preservationvirginia.org/rediscovery/page.php?page_id=6McColley, Robert. (1988.) Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery, (Edited by Randall M. Miller and John David Smith), Greenwood Press, pp 28.Behrendt, Stephen D., Richardson, David, and David, Eltis, (1999). W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, Harvard University. Based on "records for 27,233 voyages that set out to obtain slaves for the Americas". Stephen Behrendt (1999). "Transatlantic Slave Trade". Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. New York: Basic Civitas Books. Central Austrailian Stolen Generations & Families Aboriginal Corporation, Who are the Stolen Generations, doi: http://centralstolengens.org.au/