Bhumitra Chakma

An ethno-conflict erupted in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh in 1975 which lasted for more than two decades. It came to a formal end when the Bangladesh government and the ethno-guerilla group reached a negotiated settlement in 1997. Since then, a peace process has been underway, but violence still persists. This article illustrates why ethno-conflict erupted in the CHT and why violence still continues. It argues that Bangladesh since its inception has been an ethnocratic state and the ethnocratic statecraft has led to the rise of ethno-conflict and contributed to the persistence of violence in the post-accord CHT.

• Bhumitra Chakma |
• November-December 2025 |
• Strategic Analysis

This article explains the Sino-Indian geo-economic competition in Bangladesh in the wake of the former’s launching of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. Beijing intends to fund various large-scale infrastructure projects in Bangladesh under the BRI which has prompted India to make its own offer of economic assistance to counter the Chinese initiative. The Sino-Indian competition has created challenges and opportunities for Bangladesh. Dhaka is pursuing a balanced policy to manage the competition and advance its own interests.

• Bhumitra Chakma |
• May 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

Chinese President Xi Jinping initially proposed to build an ‘economic belt’ and a ‘21st-century Maritime Silk Road’ in 2013 which were formalised as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) in a document—‘Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road’—released by the National Reform and Development Commission in 2015.

• Bhumitra Chakma |
• May 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis