UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNAL MIGRATION: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF ETHNIC MINORITY ORIGINS IN URBAN BANGLADESH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2019.51.328349Keywords:
Ethnic Identity, Migration, Situational Negotiation of Identity, Ethnic Minorities, BangladeshAbstract
Although much scholarly attention has been given to the historical and contemporary struggles of ethnic minority communities in Bangladesh especially related to the politics of indigeneity, this study specifically seeks to obtain a holistic understanding of the process of renegotiation and maintenance of ethnic identity as experienced by university students of ethnic minority origins in Bangladesh who have migrated from their ancestral home to urban centers. An ethnographic approach based on key informant interviews and focus groups was employed to collect qualitative data. Findings suggest that the notion of ethnic identity is not static; rather it is complex and dynamic. Although the sense of belonging to a distinct ethnic group is very important to all study participants whenever issues affecting all ethnic minorities in Bangladesh came up by dissolving inter-ethnic boundaries, participants constructed a rather homogenous ethnic identity primarily underpinned by their historical and contemporary marginal status. It is also found that ethnic migrant students with higher levels of previous ethnic involvement better maintain their ethnic identity compared to students with less previous group involvement. By revealing the importance to consider agentic forces, this finding contradicts with social identity theory which has traditionally undermined individual’s agency. Earlier studies have shown that ethnic students with higher previous ethnic involvement completely replace their previous social support network by creating a new one in the new environment. However, participants in this study simultaneously retained and accessed both their old and new social support networks depending on situational demands and opportunities. Findings also indicate that ethnic students who felt negatively about their ethnic group in the new environment showed lower self-esteem and increased alienation from their ethnic group. Relevant policy implications and future research directions have been outlined based on the study findings and discussion.
References
Abrams, D. (1992). Processes of social identification. In G. M. Break-well (Ed.), Social psychology of identity and the self-concept (pp. 57 – 99). London: Surrey University Press.
Adnan, S. (2004). Migration land alienation and ethnic conflict: causes of poverty in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Research & Advisory Services.
Ahmed, A. (1993). Ethnicity and insurgency in the Chittagong Hill tracts region: A study of the crisis of political integration in Bangladesh. Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 31(3), 32-66.
Ahmed, B. (2012). Margin, minorities and a political economy of displacement: The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Rethinking displacement: Asia Pacific perspectives, 173-194.
Alamgir, A. (2018). Rights of Indigenous People in Bangladesh: A Case Study in CHTs (Chittagong Hill Tracts). (Masters dissertation). Uppsala University.
Barau, A. A., Afrad, M. S. I., Rahman, M. S., & Rahman, M. A. (2019). Indigenous peoples' livelihood practices in south‐eastern Bangladesh and the question of sustainability. Sustainable Development. 2019; 1– 8. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1924
Barkat, A., Halim, S., Poddar, A., Badiuzzaman, M., Osman, A. Khan, S. M., Rahman, M., Majid, M., Mahiyuddin, G., Chakma, S., Bashir, S. (2009b). Socio-Economic Baseline Survey of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Prepared for Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF): A project financed by the European Union. HDRC, UNDP Bangladesh.
Barkat, A., Hoque, M., Halim, S., and Asmar, O. (2009a). Life and Land of Adibashis: land Dispossession and Alienation of Adibashis in the plain district of Bangladesh: Pathaak Shamabesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Barman, D.C and Neo, M.S. 2014. Human Rights Report 2013 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh. Kapaeeng Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bashar, I. (2011). Bangladesh’s forgotten crisis: land, ethnicity, and violence in Chittagong Hill Tracts. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, 3(4), 1-5.
Bernard, H. R. (2017). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman & Littlefield.
Brown, Paul F. (2010). “Race and Racism.” In 21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook, Vol. 1, edited by H. James Birx, p. 65-75. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Chaklader, M. A. (2018). Rethinking medicalization through the lens of cultural hegemony: traditional healing and societal wellbeing of Chakma ethnic community in Bangladesh. Singaporean Journal of Social Science, 1(2), 35-46.
Chakma, B. (2010). The post-colonial state and minorities: ethnocide in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. Commonwealth & comparative politics, 48(3), 281-300.
Chakma, B. M., & Akhy, A. A. (2015). Hill to plain: Causes and impacts of internal migration of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh. Sociology Mind, 5(4), 268-275.
Chakma, N., & Maitrot, M. (2016). How ethnic minorities became poor and stay poor in Bangladesh: A qualitative enquiry. Working paper 34. Stimulating Household Improvements Resulting in Economic Empowerment, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved January 27, 2019 from http://www.shiree.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/34-How-ethnic-minorities-became-poor-and-stay-poor-in-Bangladesh-a-qualitative-enquiry.pdf
Charmaz, K. (2008). Grounded theory as an emergent method. Handbook of emergent methods, 155, 172.
Chowdhury, K. (2008). Politics of identities and resources in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: ethnonationalism and/or indigenous identity. Asian Journal of Social Science, 36(1), 57-78.
Diplomatic Correspondent. (2011, July 27). Ethnic minority, not indigenous people. The Daily Star. Retrieved March 25, 2019 from https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-195963
Engward, H. (2013). Understanding grounded theory. Nursing Standard, 28(7): 37-41.
Ethier, K. A., & Deaux, K. (1994). Negotiating social identity when contexts change: Maintaining identification and responding to threat. Journal of personality and social psychology, 67(2), 243.
Gezen, Lisa, and Conrad Kottak. Culture, 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014.
Guest, G., Namey, E. E., & Mitchell, M. L. (2012). Collecting qualitative data: A field manual for applied research. Sage. Thousand Oaks.
Guhathakurta, M. (2012). The Chittagong Hill tracts (CHT) Accord and after: Gendered dimensions of peace. Gendered Peace (pp. 197-214). Routledge.
Hormuth, S. E. (1990). The ecology of the self: Relocation and self-concept change. Cambridge University Press.
Kadir, M. F., Sayeed, M. S. B., & Mia, M. M. K. (2012). Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants used by indigenous and tribal people in Rangamati, Bangladesh. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 144(3), 627-637
Khisha, T., Karim, R., Chowdhury, S. R., & Banoo, R. (2013). Ethnomedical studies of Chakma communities of Chittagong hill tracts, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal, 15(1), 59-67.
Kottak, C. P. (2011). Cultural anthropology: Appreciating cultural diversity. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Levene, M. (1999). The Chittagong Hill Tracts: A case study in the political economy of'creeping'genocide. Third World Quarterly, 20(2), 339-369.
Minority Rights Group International. (2018) World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Bangladesh: Adivasis. Retrieved January 28, 2019 from https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d5841.html
Mohsin, A. (2010). Genocide and the Modern State. Pakistan Journal of International Relations, 2(1).
Nath, T. K., Inoue, M., & Pretty, J. (2011). Formation and function of social capital for forest resource management and the improved livelihoods of indigenous people in Bangladesh. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 5(3).
Nasrin, S. (2018). Gender dimensions of development interventions and human security for indigenous people in Chittagong hill tracts (Doctoral dissertation, University of Dhaka).
Palinkas, L. A., Pickwell, S. M., Brandstein, K., Clark, T. J., Hill, L. L., Moser, R. J., & Osman, A. (2003). The journey to wellness: stages of refugee health promotion and disease prevention. Journal of immigrant health, 5(1), 19-28.
Partha, P., & Hossain, A. E. (2007). Ethnobotanical investigation into the Mandi ethnic community in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy, 14(2), 129-145.
Podhovnik, E. (2015). Language and Academic Identity: Sociolinguistic Aspects of English as a Lingua Franca in the Scientific Community. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 1(2), 38-53.
Rahman, A. H. M. M. (2013). Ethno-medicinal investigation on ethnic community in the northern region of Bangladesh. American Journal of Life Sciences, 1(2), 77-81.
Rahmatullah, M., Azam, M. N. K., Rahman, M. M., Seraj, S., Mahal, M. J., Mou, S. M., ... & Chowdhury, M. H. (2011). A survey of medicinal plants used by Garo and non-Garo traditional medicinal practitioners in two villages of Tangail district, Bangladesh. American Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 5, 350-357.
Rotimi, O. (2016). Sociological Observation of African Cultural Values in the Light of Modernity: The Experience of Yoruba in Nigeria. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 2(1), 62-72.
Roy, D. & Chakma, M.K. (2015). National Seminar on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh: Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals. Organized by Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum on December 10, 2015. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved March 24, 2019 from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-dhaka/documents/publication/wcms_447669.pdf
Roy, D. (2012). Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Retrieved March 24, 2019 from https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/40224860/philippines_ctn.pdf/ae0faa4a-2b65-4026-8d42-219db776c50d
Sen, B., & Ali, Z. (2015). Ending extreme poverty in Bangladesh during the Seventh Five Year Plan: trends, drivers and policies. Background paper for the preparation of the Seventh Five Year Plan. General Economics Division, Planning Commission. GOB
Tajfel, H. (Ed.). (2010). Social identity and intergroup relations. Cambridge University Press.
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Basil Blackwell.
Rotimi, O. (2016). Sociological Observation of African Cultural Values in the Light of Modernity: The Experience of Yoruba in Nigeria. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 2(1), 62-72.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Sage.
Uddin, J., Hossin, M. Z., Mahbub, F., & Hossain, M. Z. (2013). Healthcare-seeking behavior among the Chakma ethnic group in Bangladesh: can accessibility and cultural beliefs shape healthcare utilization?. International quarterly of community health education, 33(4), 375-389.
Uddin, N. (2010). Politics of cultural difference: Identity and marginality in the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. South Asian Survey, 17(2), 283-294.
Van Schendel, W., Mey, W., & Dewan, A. K. (2000). The Chittagong Hill Tracts: living in a borderland. Bangkok: White Lotus.
Visser, J. (2015). Rural-urban migration and redefining indigeneity in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A Nordic journal on Asia by early career researchers, 53-57.
Yasmin, L. (2014). The tyranny of the majority in Bangladesh: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 20(1), 116-132.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
