United peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) and Movement for Full Autonomy
A nation or a people wishing to achieve certain rights have to engage in struggles. And for the success of any struggle, the role of a political party armed with a modern world outlook is crucial.
The Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the northeastern corner of Bangladesh have been waging a protracted struggle for the right to self-determination for three and a half decades now. At the beginning, the movement was under the leadership of the Jana Samhati Samiti, a political party founded in 1972 by M. N. Larma. Mr. Larma died in a factional clash in 1983 and the party finally struck a deal with the government of Bangladesh in December 1997. Pursuant to the said deal, the JSS guerrillas surrendered their arms and became part of the ruling elite of Dhaka.
Thus the abandonment of the path of struggle by Jana Samhati Samiti created a vacuum of leadership in the movement, which the United Peoples¡¯ Democratic Front (UPDF) wanted to fill up. This new party, founded on 26 December 1998 in the backdrop of political and ideological demise of the JSS, denounced the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord for failing to address the main demands of the Jumma people and vowed to carry on the struggle for Full Autonomy. (By full autonomy, UPDF understands that all the subjects of state administration excepting foreign policy, currency, border security and heavy industry, should be delegated to an autonomous administrative body to be set up by constitutional laws of the country and elected by permanent residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts). Because of complete disillusionment of the majority of the Jumma people with the said Accord, the UPDF has been able to muster overwhelming support within a very short time.
The formation of the UPDF is itself the culmination of a democratic movement initiated by Hill Students¡¯ Council, Hill Women¡¯s Federation and Hill Peoples¡¯ Council in the late `80s. Unlike Jana Samhati Samiti, which had been underground until surrender in 1998, the three organisations fought against military occupation of the CHT and human rights violations through democratic means. They organised huge protest rallies and foot march throughout the CHT and also in Dhaka and Chittagong. Such kind of popular resistance had hitherto been unprecedented in the CHT. These organistions were also able to mobilize Bengali intellectual¡¯s support for the just cause of the Jumma people. In fact, the Jana Samhati Samiti gave up the struggle at a time when popular resistance within the CHT and national and international support for the cause of the Jumma people was growing steadily.
These three organisations with no political affiliation with the JSS denounced the CHT accord terming it ¡°falling fart short of our demands¡± and convened a joint conference in Dhaka on 25 and 26 December 1998 to discuss strategy to retrieve and carry on the struggle. After elaborate deliberations, the delegates decided to float the new party.
How UPDF views the CHT struggle?
UPDF is a new type of party which seeks to view the Jumma struggle in the context of the changing global situation. It refuses to consider the Jumma people¡¯s struggle as a totally localized phenomenon. Therefore, it tries to build up the party in such a manner that will be able to meet the demand of the time. It also seeks to instill self-confidence and self-esteem in the minds of the Jumma people. The Party wants to build a new type of movement in which every Jumma becomes a diehard fighter. It also tries to generate and enhance the fighting spirit and morale of the Jumma people because these are crucial for the victory of any movement. In short, the Party believes in the rousing of the masses to concrete action. The history of the world as well as that of the CHT have proved that once the force of the masses is roused, organized, and determined to rise up, it can overcome every difficulty, and do every work.
In order to execute this policy, the party has put particular emphasis on educating the youth and the women, who ¡°hold up half of the sky¡± and preparing them for the mass movement. Youth and women conferences have been organised at grassroots levels. Many joined the Party¡¯s youth and women fronts and some even joined the Party. The influence of the new Party can be gauged from the fact that many female members of the Party had practically revolted against their families before joining the Party.
The Party also guides and organises popular agitations against people¡¯s most acute and practical problems such as land grabbing and military repression. A mass protest in Northern CHT against land grabbing in June 2005 drew more than 10 thousand people. In March this year people¡¯s revolt against land grabbing in Khagrachari forced the government to retreat.
UPDF for greater unity
The policy of the Party is to work for a greater unity of the Jumma people. The Party believes that in the context of the present-day CHT politics the day of struggles led by a single party is over and that a united front on the basis of a minimum programme is the demand of the time. In line with this policy, the Party has been striving hard to prevail upon the JSS about the importance a united front. And indeed, a significant section of the JSS does understand the importance of a joint movement. In April, the JSS Khagrachari unit very wisely gave support to the popular call for boycott of Boisabi festival. The boycott programme taught that unity of the people and the movement is to be achieved only through struggles and hard work. The way the Buddhist monks, student groups, socio-cultural organisations and professional bodies gave support to the boycott call is quite inspiring and this goes a long way to convince us that the Jumma people too can get united whenever the occasion arises.
Conclusion: shouldering responsibility
The Party leadership acknowledges with due respect the contribution made by the JSS to our struggle for the right to self-determination. However, the Jumma people must accept the reality that the onus of carrying the struggle forward has now fallen on the shoulders of a new generation. A new phase of struggle demands a new set of leaders. UPDF is fully aware of the responsibility and the challenge that the time has thrown on it. The Party leadership will strive hard to meet the new challenge and discharge its time-honoured responsibilities with a sense of dignity.