Impacts of assimilation on Chakma and Garo immigrants living in Dhaka

Abstract

"Bangladesh is a home to 27 officially recognized indigenous ethnic communities. These ethnic tribes assume roughly 1% of the population. Bangla language has a very rich history. In a country where almost most of the population are Bengali, sustaining one’s unique language, culture and identity is extremely challenging. The struggle is harder when many indigenous people emigrate from their native lands and move to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh for work or higher education. This paper analyzes the effects of the majority culture on two generations of Chakma and Garo people living in Dhaka. Using in-depth interviews with eighteen selected participants from the two communities, this study locates the most significant impacts of assimilation with the majority culture in three aspects - language, kinship pattern and cultural practices of the indigenous groups. Using Gordon’s cultural assimilation and Bhabha’s cultural hybridity as analytical lenses, the analysis shows that assimilation is hardly a choice and is often forced. Most importantly it leads to cultural domination on the above-mentioned sectors. "