Lower Depths

Lower Depths Little-Known Ethnic Communities of Bangladesh In the latest government record (2010), the number of the ethnic communities in Bangladesh was 27 (duplications considered, their actual number is 24). The ethnic communities themselves estimate the number of their communities to be more than 45. Of these communities 11 live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). In its recent (2014-2015) inventory,, the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) has estimated the number of the ethnic communities outside the tea gardens and the CHT to be 37 in addition to those on the official record. These com- munities are concentrated basically in the Northwest, North-centre and Northeast. This book provides profiles of all these communities accompanied by geographic maps and photographs. Tallied with other communities in the volume on the tea communities, one will find that there are at least 110 ethnic communities in Bangla- desh excluding Bangalees, which means the government is yet to recognize a large number of ethnic communities. This book and other SEHD publications on adivasis stand unique to assist the government and other non-state actors in coming to a consensus about the number and identities of these ethnic communities.