Chakma student body condemns Khagrachari massacre, urges India and global community to act

The All India Chakma Students’ Union (AICSU) has strongly condemned the recent massacre in Guimara, Khagrachari, Bangladesh, where the Bangladesh Army, allegedly killed at least four indigenous Jumma people, injured more than fifty others, and set entire villages ablaze.

On Sunday, September 28 AICSU submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India, calling for urgent diplomatic intervention, humanitarian assistance, and international accountability for the atrocities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

According to survivors, the attack began on the morning of September 28, when Bangladeshi forces opened indiscriminate fire on peaceful indigenous protestors in Guimara. Following the shooting, armed settlers allegedly looted and torched homes and shops in Ramsu Bazaar, displacing hundreds of families.

The protest had been triggered by the alleged gang rape of a 12-year-old Marma schoolgirl on September 23 in Singhinala village, Khagrachari. Instead of arresting the perpetrators, the army reportedly detained student leaders, tortured demonstrators, and encouraged mob violence.

“This is not law enforcement — it is state-backed ethnic persecution. The killings, rapes, and arson are part of a systematic campaign of genocide against the Jumma peoples of the CHT,” said Drishyamuni Chakma, President of AICSU.

Reports indicate a disturbing trend of impunity in the region:

Since January 2025, 29 Jumma women and girls have reportedly been raped, assaulted, or tortured by army personnel and settlers.

On May 5, 2025, Chingma Khiyang (29), a Khiyang woman, was gang-raped and murdered in Thanchi, Bandarban — no investigation followed.

Indigenous leaders, including student activist Ukyunu Marma, have been arbitrarily detained and brutally assaulted for seeking justice.

AICSU’s key demands: 

In its memorandum, AICSU has urged the Indian government to:

Summon the Bangladeshi envoy, downgrade diplomatic ties, and dispatch a fact-finding mission.

Call for urgent intervention by the United Nations and global human rights bodies to investigate crimes against humanity.

Rally democratic nations to impose diplomatic and economic pressure on Bangladesh until justice is ensured and indigenous lives are safeguarded.

The CHT, home to nearly two million indigenous peoples with deep cultural and historical ties to India’s Northeast, is witnessing what AICSU describes as “systematic ethnic cleansing under the pretext of counter-insurgency operations.” The organization warns that silence will embolden perpetrators and risk further massacres.