CHT Buffer Zone Weakening: Chakma Scholars warn India
Agartala, Dec 2: Scholars and rights advocates have warned that the gradual collapse of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as a long-standing ‘buffer zone’ between India and Bangladesh could trigger significant security challenges for the Northeast, particularly for Tripura and Mizoram.
The warning was issued during a discussion on the human rights situation of minorities in Bangladesh, organised at the Agartala Press Club on the 28th anniversary of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord.
Experts noted that the CHT region—spread across Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban—has historically acted as a stabilising corridor, insulating India from direct spillovers of political turmoil and religious radicalisation inside Bangladesh.
But with the surge of Islamist influence following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government and nearly three decades of non-implementation of the Peace Accord, that protective layer is now rapidly eroding.
Dr. Shyamal Bikash Chakma of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, said the weakening of the CHT ‘buffer zone’ is a matter of “urgent concern” for Indian security planners.
“India has enjoyed a relatively calm frontier with Bangladesh largely because the CHT acted as a cushion. If that buffer collapses, border vulnerabilities will rise sharply—whether in the form of refugee influx, insurgent movement or strategic instability,” he warned.
Speakers said the CHT region’s escalating volatility stems from daily incidents of violence, land encroachment and a resurgence of fundamentalist groups who oppose the implementation of the Peace Accord.
With only 25 out of 72 clauses implemented in 28 years, core commitments involving land rights, autonomy and administrative control remain unfulfilled, leaving indigenous communities exposed and deepening tensions.
Tripura, which shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh—much of it unfenced and running close to sensitive CHT sectors—is considered particularly vulnerable to the fallout.
“The danger is not just humanitarian. If the CHT loses its stabilising role, India will be the first to feel the shockwaves,” speakers said.
They added previous refugee influxes during the Kaptai Dam displacement and the years of insurgency serve as clear precedents.
The Chakma intellectuals also cautioned that India’s decreased attention to developments in the CHT—owing to shifting geopolitical priorities—may further complicate the situation.
“As the buffer weakens, India cannot afford strategic complacency,” the speakers emphasised, urging New Delhi to engage more actively with Dhaka and push for the meaningful implementation of the Accord.
With Bangladesh witnessing the rise of radical forces and indigenous populations facing mounting pressure, analysts argue that the window for stabilising the CHT is narrowing.
The collapse of the buffer, they said, would turn the region into a major security flashpoint for the entire Northeast.
