Photo Courtesy: nenow
Aizawl: The Chakma community observed Black Day on Monday to protest the 1947 Radcliffe Boundary Commission Award. That decision handed the Chittagong Hill Tracts to East Pakistan. It remains a sore point for indigenous people today. The event occurred at the CADC Art and Culture Hall in Kamalanagar, the headquarters of the Chakma Autonomous District Council.
Organizers included the Chakma National Council of India, the Central Young Chakma Association, the Central Mizoram Chakma Students Union, and the Chakma Mahila Samiti. Attendees remembered August 17, 1947, as a day of betrayal. Residents expected their land to join India after independence.
Nirupam Chakma, the Chief Executive Member of the CADC, pointed to 1947 records. He noted that Jawaharlal Nehru once argued the region belonged in India based on religious and cultural ties. The population was nearly 97 percent Buddhist and Hindu at the time. Despite the Indian flag flying in Rangamati on August 15, the border shift followed two days later. The resulting displacement and the flooding of land by the Kaptai Dam continue to shape the community.
Nirupam Chakma addressed the crowd to frame the day as a call for historical preservation rather than hate. “Chakma Black Day is not against any community, religion or country,” he said. He pushed the youth to protect their language, music, and traditions. Other speakers included CADC Chairman Kali Kumar Tongchangya and leaders from various Chakma organizations.
The resolution to mark the day began at a 2016 national convention in Guwahati. It remains a fixture in the community calendar. Local political leaders and village council presidents joined the event to demand the protection of constitutional rights and economic growth through peaceful means.
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