Introduction
The functions of the Chakma Raja today encompass administrative, social, cultural and spirit ual roles. A major part of the Chakma Raja’s role is that of the traditional head of Chakma society (including Chakmas living outside of the Chakma Circle in the Chittagong Hill Tracts). The other major role is that as head of the Hill Tracts territory known as the Chakma Circle, which is inhabited by Chakmas and other peoples. The traditional chiefs’ circles in the CHT are units of land, revenue and justice administration, and development.
Title
The Chakma king is variously known as Chakma Raja, Chakma Chief and Chakma Circle Chief. The traditional title is Chakma Raja, meaning king of the Chakmas. This has the same meaning as Chakma Chief. The correspondences of the British period use the words raja and chief interchangeably. However, after the promulgation of the CHT Regulation, 1900, the word chief was preferred over raja by the British. In laws and policies of the Bangladesh period (1971+) both words are used; “Raja” is used in the CHT Development Board Ordinance, 1976 and in the CHT Accord of 1997, while “Chakma Circle Chief” is used both in the 1997 Accord and in the post-1997 laws. Chakma Circle Chief denotes the head of the territory of the Chakma Circle (Chakma Chiefdom) within the Rangamati and Khagachari districts of the CHT.
Administration of Justice
The Chakma Raja is the fountain of justice among the Chakmas. An appeal in his court is the last bastion of justice concerning the customary laws of the Chakmas, whether it concerns personal law matters – such as on marriage, divorce, maintenance, child custody etc – or resource rights on land use, forest use, hunting and trapping rights, and so forth. Besides being the highest court of the Chakmas, as the Chief of the Chakma Circle, the raja also tries cases as an appellate court, hearing matters brought from the courts of the Mauza Headmen, who are the heads or chiefs of territorial units called mauzas (about ten miles square, having eight to ten villages or hamlets). The mauza headmen in turn will generally try cases that are not resolveable by the village heads known as karbari. Both the headmen and raja are empowered to detain people, if necessary, until the advice of the government’s district officer is obtained. They thus perform functions that are similar to those of magistrates or Justices of the Peace.
Land Administration
The Rajas’ role in land administration is generally indirect, through the headmen, except for the mauzas of which the raja himself is the headmen (the Chakma Raja is currently headman of four mauzas, including in the district and regional headquarters of Rangamati). The rajas supervise the functions of the mauza headmen, who are the revenue and land officers of the Government at the mauza level, besides carrying out judicial and magisterial functions. The Headmen manage and protect the common resources of the mauzas, including agricultural land, forests, grazing lands and water bodies. Headmen provide settlement grants for homesteads, and provide reports to the District officials prior to permanent settlements and leases are granted. Forest and mineral resources are also not generally exploited without the knowledge and consent of the headmen.
Revenue Administration
The taxes on land in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are until today collected by the mauza headmen and deposited to the national treasury through the Rajas. For swidden (jum) land and other hillside land, the headman in entitled to 37%, the Raja, 42% and the remaining 21% is deposited to the government Treasury. For lowlands used for intensive agriculture, the headmen collect the tax and deposit it to the Treasury. The headmen are entitled to a commission on the collection while the Raja gets an annuity as a compensatory measure. In the case of swidden land, karbaries, minstrels, shaman s, widows and widowers are exempt from swidden tax by custom.
Adviser to Government
The Chakma Raja and other two rajas (Bohmong Raja and Mong Raja) are ex-officio advisers to the Government from the district level to the level of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (established after the signing of the CHT Accord of 1997). The three rajas form as Advisory Council to the district officer known as Deputy Commissioner, and are members of the Consultative Committee of the CHT Development Board (a statutory development agency functioning since 1976) and the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of CHT Affairs by virtue of their hereditary position. The Chiefs are members of the quasi-judicial CHT Land Disputes Resolution Commission and may participate in the deliberations of the concerned Hill District Council upon invitation or of their own volition.
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