Speakers at a workshop yesterday urged the government to establish a separate land commission for the indigenous people in order to ensure their welfare.
At present, 85 percent of indigenous people are landless, said Prof Ganesh Saren, principal of the Sangeet College in Dinajpur, in his paper.
Research and Development Collective (RDC) organised the workshop titled 'Rights on land and forest of indigenous people' at LGED conference room in the city in association with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
Prof Ganesh Saren said the indigenous people in plain land face many problems regarding their lands such as land encroachment, eviction from khas land, harassment by criminals and fake land records.
Sanjeev Drong, general secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, said that although there is no written law for the welfare of indigenous people, there are many unwritten laws to destroy this community.
"There is a spiritual relationship between indigenous people and their land, but these people are being evicted from their land by various means," he said.
In his keynote paper, Mongol Kumar Chakma said that the 'ethnic cleansing' policy is responsible for encroachment on lands of the indigenous people.
RDC General Secretary Prof Mesbah Kamal, who chaired the inauguration session, said that ensuring equal rights for all citizens is the government's responsibility.
Ninety-two percent of indigenous people in North Bengal who earned a living through land-dependent activities have now been forced to do alternative job, he said.
He also stressed the need to ensure the rights of indigenous people to the forest.
He also called for political will to protect the ethnic communities.
Prof Dr Sadeka Halim and RDC officials Jannat-e-Ferdousi and Chanchana Chakma also spoke.