The lands of Kalindi Rani

Kalindi Rani, who ruled from 1832 to 1873, was the 45th ruler of the Chakmas. Her kingdom was outside the southeastern edge of what was then British Bengal. It had for a century been a target of appropriation by the British, who had been in control of Chittagong since 1760. In 1860, Kalindi's kingdom was colonised, the British subsequently expropriating land and dividing the territory into parts. However, Kalindi's kingdom was not only dismembered, but also 're-membered' by the new cartography of the British by naming part of the old kingdom the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Kalindi herself can be similarly 're-membered' through an exploration of the struggles for indigenous rights in Southasia, particularly with regards to land. Land and resources in the CHT have constituted a major flashpoint since British colonisation. In 1947, while the population of the CHT was only three percent Muslim, the British awarded it to East Pakistan. In 1971, East Pakistan came to be known as Bangladesh. Today, the CHT is the borderland between Bangladesh, India and Burma. It is the traditional home of 11 indigenous hill peoples, of whom the Chakma constitute the largest group. These groups differ markedly from the Bengali majority in physical features, language, culture, religion, dressing, food habit, farming method and architecture.