Inclusive Constitutionalism and the Indigenous People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh

Based on a majoritarian notion of national identity and ‘constitutional patriotism’, Bangladesh’s Constitution of 1972 refuted the indigenous identity claims. Subsequent developments have somewhat addressed, albeit inadequately, the concerns of injustice arising from this exclusion. Examining the constitutional and judicial narratives, the chapter analyses the legal specialty of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and its demand for constitutional recognition from the perspective of inclusive constitutionalism. The central argument is that exclusion of diverse ethnic groups during the founding moment constituted a genetic defect in the Bangladesh constitution, which is not yet fully removed, though the recent constitutional amendment signals a change in the state’s hegemonic attitude. Adoption of an accommodationist approach by Bangladesh towards the indigenous people, ensuring a meaningful inclusion of Chittagong Hill Tracts people within the unitary constitutional framework, is both possible and a constitutional imperative.