Indigenous people demand constitutional recognition
Indigenous leaders at a convention yesterday demanded their constitutional recognition and ensuring their rights to their mother tongue, culture and land.
They also demanded formation of a separate land commission for them and introduction of primary education in their mother tongue.
The First Convention of the Adivasi Chhatra Parishad (ACP) was held at the Rajshahi Zila Parishad auditorium.
Eminent litterateur Prof Hassan Azizul Haque inaugurated the two-day convention that was attended by Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Raja Debashish Roy as the chief guest.
Harendra Nath Sing, convener of Adivasi Chhatra Parishad (ACP), presided over the programme.
Prof Mesbah Kamal of Dhaka University, Prof Dr Sujit Sarker, Prof Mahmudul Hassan of Rajshahi University, Jatiya Adivasi Parishad President Anil Marandi, General Secretary Rabindranath Saran, Rajshahi district president Bimal Chandra Rajwar, Hiran Mitra Chakma, central secretary of Pahari Chhatra Parishad, student leader Pavel Partha and Debashish Pramanik Debu spoke on the occasion.
Debashish Roy said that the country's indigenous community played a vital role in different democratic movements, including the Language Movement and the liberation war.
However, they are still deprived of their rights, he observed.
He assured that he would discuss with the government to preserve their rights.
While reading out a written statement, ACP Joint Convener Manik Saran placed a 10-point demand.
The demands include five percent quota for the indigenous people in educational institutions and government services, introducing the indigenous children's mother tongue as the medium of their primary education, including indigenous language at university language department, establishing indigenous education, culture and research centre in every educational institutions, launching indigenous students' scholarship, construct indigenous students dormitories in all educational institutions and appoint indigenous teachers at indigenous primary school.
Earlier, ACP brought out a colourful rally that paraded different city streets.
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