Bangladesh: Indigenous Catholic and tribal leaders warn of protest over contested forest project
Washington: Several indigenous Catholic and tribal leaders in central Bangladesh have warned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government that failure to withdraw a disputed forest development project could trigger a stronger protest movement.
The Garo and Koch Indigenous peoples claim that the Madhupur forest project in Tangail district, which includes plans to build an artificial lake and an eco-park, is being used to evict them from ancestral lands they have inhabited for generations, a report said.
According to a report in American media outlet ‘Eternal Word Television Network’ (EWTN), Toni Chiran, President of the Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum, addressed a protest rally on March 6 in Madhupur, attended by hundreds of indigenous students and community members opposing the project.
He warned that the construction of the artificial lake and eco-park would deprive indigenous people of their agricultural land, destroy natural forest and leave the Garo and other indigenous communities without means to sustain their way of life.
“What the government is doing in the name of development is not development. It is a clear plan to evict the Garo and Koch Indigenous from this forest area,” EWTN quoted Chiran as saying.
The report highlighted that Bangladesh hosts nearly 400,000 Catholics in a population of nearly 178 million, with more than half of the Catholics belonging to indigenous communities.
“The Bangladesh government first proposed an artificial lake and eco-park in the Madhupur forest in 2000. In 2004, at least one Garo man was killed by police gunfire during a protest, and many others were injured. The government subsequently halted the project. In 2026, authorities revived the plan and have already begun excavating the designated area,” it detailed.
Indigenous leaders said that the project represents a long-term strategy to displace tribal communities from the region.
Speaking to EWTN News, Janoki Chisim, Secretary of the Garo Indigenous Student Union, said that the project would be an injustice to both the forest and the people who depend on it for their livelihood.
“Let the forest survive in its original form and glory. The Garo and Koch Indigenous people have lived in this forest since time immemorial,” Chisim said.
“If the customary land rights of the tribals are not ensured, a strong movement will be launched in the coming days,” he added.