“This book may be called a window of Adivasi culture through which we can see different faces of cultures of Adivasis and proudly say, cultural diversity is our pride.” The editors of the book Culture of ethnic communities of Bangladesh (Bangladesher Khudra Jatishattar Sangskriti) say this in the prelude of the book. Bangladesh really can take pride in its diverse and colorful culture. Different ethnic communities who live in different parts of the country make Bangladesh’s culture more colorful and lively; this is what the book has to say to its readers.

This book compiles diverse thoughts, analyses and facts that have emerged from SEHD’s work on culture with the ethnic communities. It contains ten write-ups of different authors that deal with the cultural world of the Adivasis; languages of the Adivasis and how they contribute to nurture, enhance and enrich Bangla, the language of the majority; the political and cultural movement of Adivasis; and a glimpse into Adivasi cultural riches of select communities.

A good number of images used with different sections, not only enrich the book, each image portrays the cultural riches of a different ethnic community.

Culture of ethnic communities of Bangladesh (Bangladesher Khudra Jatishattar Sangskriti) is the outcome of years of hard work. It is indeed, a gift to the readers.

Publication Details

Published: 2007
Language: Bangla
Paperback: 158 pages
Editor: Philip Gain and Partha Shankar Saha
Price: Tk.200 / US$10

Published: 2008
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
Editor: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.300 / US$10

The images in the exhibition Forests and Forest Culture tell the story of the drastic depletion of forest resources mainly due to social forestry, the plantation of exotic species and clearing land for agriculture. Another focus of the exhibition is on the forest people, especially the indigenous communities who have traditionally sourced the forest for their livelihood, living in harmony with nature. Plantations and legal reforms have rendered the children of the forest illegal residents on their traditional homeland.

The images try to communicate the message that to protect the cultural life of these distinct ethnic communities, the language, knowledge, thoughts, beliefs and traditions need adequate space and protection.  If a community’s right to land, local resources, education and practice of traditions in their own language and use of local knowledge is not secure, efforts for the protection of culture becomes meaningless.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition: 2006
Catalogue: English
Photographers: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.50 / US$2

Bangladesh is amazingly green with great biodiversity. But at the same time it is a forest-poor country that has lost its forest cover from about 20% in 1927 to a mere six per cent today. Outside the Sundarbans, only tiny patches of forests survive today.

The hills of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are bare today. The gorgeous garjan forest with myriad local species that one could see while traveling along the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway, even a decade and half ago, are all gone. Plantations of exotic tree species (primarily acacia and eucalyptus) have taken the place of natural forest in many places. In the North-central and Northern regions, the sal patches have been replaced by “simple plantation” of exotic species. The remnants of the sal forests have become fragmented and only tiny patches survive today. The condition of the forests in the Northeastern region is no different. With the vanishing forests, the unique wildlife, forest-dwelling communities and their knowledge, traditions, and lot more have also become endangered or gone extinct.

What factors have led to this perilous condition? The typical response that come from the Bangladesh Forest Department, international financial institutions IFIs), donors and different other interest groups is that growing population, poverty, migration of landless people into the forest areas, shifting cultivation, illegal felling, fuelwood collection, etc. cause the degradation of the forests. But we normally do not look into other deep-rooted causes other than these official contentions.

The underlying factors for the destruction of the forests are an area where Philip Gain has investigated for the last one and a half decades. “Bangladesher Biponno Bon” is the outcome of his investigation. It’s an updated Bangla edition of his book, “The Last Forests of Bangladesh”.

Publication Details

Published: 2005
Language: English
Paperback: 276 pages
Author: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.250 / US$15

In the true sense the forest is mother to hundreds of species of trees, fauna, and people who consider themselves the children of forest, their traditions, knowledge and much more. With the vanishing natural forest, the forest dwelling indigenous communities of Bangladesh have progressively lost their communal ownership and control over land and other local resources. Their knowledge, cultures and local technologies are also getting lost. This puts them in perilous condition.

What factors have led to this outrageous condition? Most obnoxious arguments come from the government agencies, profiteering companies and agencies from the forest industry, and many supranational institutions that put all the blame on the poor people and the forest-dwelling communities who are indeed the custodians of the forests.

In June 2003, SEHD brought together about 200 indigenous people, forestry professionals, academics, environmentalists and activists to examine the state of the forest and indigenous peoples of Bangladesh and the quality of action that are taken to save the forest and its custodians. Bon, Bonbinash O Bonobashir Jibon Shangram (Forest, Its Destruction and Struggle of the Forest People) compiles keynote presentations of the seminar that explain why the government proposition and that of the supranational regarding the factors for deforestation and depletion of the natural resources are flawed. The conclusion is that the government, external entities, and different proponents must pay attention to for the protection of the forest and forest-dwelling peoples of Bangladesh.

Publication Details

Published: 2004
Language: Bangla
Paperback: 263 pages
Editor: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.250 / US$10

Jum (swidden cultivation) is a form of agriculture practiced by the indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, whose economies, histories and cultures are closely intertwined with it. While a significant percentage of the indigenous hill peoples are still directly involved with jum, contemporary jum cultivators or the jumias are in a tough struggle for survival because of the government policy to restrict or limit the traditional agriculture.

The smaller indigenous communities in the remote areas are particularly affected by government policies and initiatives on plantations, militarization and development activities that put tremendous pressure on the land formerly used for jum cultivation. There is a general tendency to identify jum cultivation as a harmful practice. Moreover, official policies to change the way of life of the jumias through “rehabilitation” programs and related measures also raise concerns.

Despite the importance of swidden agriculture in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, research initiatives to thoroughly understand it is sparse. As a result, most people are oblivious to even what swidden agriculture is. Many also have wrong notions about this traditional agriculture in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

In this vacuum Parbotto Chattagrame Jumchash (Swidden Cultivation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts) authored by Prashanta Tripura and Abantee Harun and published by the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) presents some of much desired information and insights. The book is the result of the authors’ research, discusses critical issues concerning jum cultivation in the CHT. Given the general trend of misconceptions and lack of reliable information regarding jum, this book will hopefully fill in the information gap to some extent and refresh many about the myths and flawed notions.

Publication Details

Published: 2003
Language: Bangla
Paperback: 117 pages
Prepared by: Prashanta Tripura and Abantee Harun
Price: Tk.150 / US$5

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), which is 5,093 sq. miles in extent or 10% of Bangladesh, is a unique territory. While most of the country is flat and a few feet above the sea level, the CHT in the southeast is mountainous with beautiful landscapes. The indigenous hill peoples are also unique with their distinct and different cultures.

Once noted for its ‘majestic natural beauty’, the region has lost much of its original landscape because of ill-conceived development initiatives and human greed. Most of the hills that were covered with thick forests now lie denuded or covered sparsely with bushes and small trees. To many it is no more than a hill park.

The factors that have contributed to this sorry state of the region include: the Kaptai Hydroelectricity Project that has created a massive lake, occupation of the traditional homeland of the indigenous peoples and their subsequent massive displacement, plantations of exotic species, in-migration of the Bengalis, heavy military presence for about three decades, etc. Immoral human actions have broken the chain of nature and put life at risk. One can still be charmed by the spectacular scenic beauty of the Kaptai Lake and the mountain landscapes but this beauty cannot hide the catastrophe caused to the hill people.

In the book, The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Life and Nature at Risk, a host of writers present information, analyses, photographs and arguments on how land, life and nature in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are at risk today. This book intends to provide basic information on the Chittagong Hill Tracts and stimulate discussion around critical issues. It also enhances understanding about the CHT’s unique legal and administrative system that has no parallel in other parts of Bangladesh.

Publication Details

Published: 2000
Language: English
Hardback: 121 pages
Editor: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.500 / US$20