The All-India Chakma Students’ Union (AICSU) has issued a statement citing historical records, academic works and government documents on the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and the historical name of Demagiri, now known as Tlabung in Mizoram’s Lunglei district.
The statement comes amid discussions on social media about the historical status of the CHT and the origin and administrative history of Demagiri. The AICSU said the issues should be examined on the basis of documentary records and published historical evidence rather than social media claims.
On the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the organisation said the area was historically administered under three recognised chiefs or Rajas during British rule — the Chakma, Mong and Bohmong Rajas. It said the Chakmas were the largest hill tribe in the region, while other smaller hill communities were subjects of the three recognised Rajas and paid taxes to them.
The AICSU also referred to a map of Bengal prepared between 1525 and 1550 by Portuguese cartographer Diego de Astor, which it said contained the name “Chacomas” on the eastern bank of the Karnaphuli River. According to the organisation, the map was later published in João de Barros’ Quarta Decada da Asia in 1615.
Citing research by Prof Jangkhongam Doungel of Mizoram University, the AICSU said British intervention gradually changed the administrative and political status of the Chakma kingdom. In 1860, it said, the British administration divided the Chakma kingdom into two administrative units — Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
While Chittagong was incorporated into Bengal as a regulated district, the CHT was retained as a non-regulated district. The organisation noted that Chakma-inhabited areas existed in both administrative units.
On Demagiri, the AICSU said the term was not originally a Mizo word and claimed that it was derived from “Devagiri”, combining the Pali words “Deva”, meaning god, and “Giri”, meaning hills.
The organisation said Demagiri appeared in British official records before the name Tlabung came into use, with variations such as “Demagree” and “Demagri”. It said the name was officially changed from Demagiri to Tlabung following a private member resolution moved by MLA Saitlawma during the fourth session of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly on September 27, 1973.
The AICSU also cited historical accounts of Lushai clan movements in the region. Referring to Major Anthony Gilchrist McCall’s 1949 book Lushai Chrysalis, it said the migration and consolidation of Lushai clans under the Sailos had extended towards Demagiri by the early 19th century.
It further referred to former Assam Governor Sir Robert Reid’s The Lushai Hills: Culled from History of the Frontier Areas Bordering on Assam from 1883–1941. According to the AICSU, Reid recorded that Demagiri was geographically within the Chittagong Hill Tracts but had been placed under the South Lushai Hills for administrative purposes through an order issued in 1892.
The organisation said Demagiri and neighbouring areas were later brought under Assam through a Government of India proclamation dated April 1, 1898.
The AICSU also cited Alexander Mackenzie’s The North-East Frontier of India and a June 30, 1879 notification issued by the Government of Bengal concerning the “Inner Line” of the CHT. It said the boundary described in the notification ran along the Tulenpui or Sujjuk River to its junction with the Karnaphuli River, “a little north of Demagiri”, which it said placed Demagiri within the geographical boundary of the CHT at the time.
The organisation maintained that the historical references in its statement were drawn from published works, British administrative records and government notifications available in the public domain.
