Special Correspondent: Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (Santu Larma), leader of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Society (PCJSS), has visited India. Last Saturday he reached Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, India. From there, he will travel to Delhi and will be in the neighboring country’s national capital this week. Suddenly, various discussions and criticisms started in the hill country about his visit to India. Pahari-Bengali residents say that after the peace agreement, Pahari and Bengalis are at peace. I am on the way from darkness to light. There has been unprecedented development in the entire region including roads. But Santu Larma secretly went to India to spread false propaganda about the hilly areas. The hill dwellers claim that violent incidents are still happening in the mountains due to the extortion of his armed forces.
Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma or Santu Larma is the leader of Chittagong Janasanhati Samiti (PCJSS) and has been playing a leading role in protecting the rights of Chakmas and other communities in Chittagong Hill Tracts for the past four decades. Jan Sanhati Samiti leader Santu Larma arrived in Kolkata last Saturday and will be in India’s national capital Delhi this week, a source familiar with Santu Larma’s visit said. The details of what agenda will be implemented in the visit and where and with whom will be discussed are not yet known.
Santu Larma drew attention last month for claiming Bangladesh was depriving the Chakmas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of their culture and language, according to Indian media The Hindu. The Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh comprise a large part of the Chittagong region bordering Myanmar and India and are home to many ethnic groups. After decades of ethnic insurgency in the strategically important region, peace was secured through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Agreement in 1997. Home to a diverse population, including Buddhist, Hindu and Christian minority ethnic groups, the administration of this troubled region is quite challenging for Bangladesh, the Indian media claimed in their report.
