The Bom, Bawm or Bawmzo (), are an ethnic community inhabiting the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...

of Bangladesh. According to the

2022 Bangladeshi census The 2022 Bangladeshi census () was a detailed enumeration of the Bangladeshi population constituting the sixth national census in the country. It was scheduled to be held in June 2022, was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and th ...

the population of Bawms in Bangladesh is 13,193. In 2004, around 10,000 Bawm inhabited India. 2,500 Bawms reside in Myanmar.Kim, Roy & Sangma. 2011. ''The Kuki-Chin Communities of Bangladesh: A sociolinguistic survey''. SIL International. They speak the Sino-Tibetan

Bawm language Bawm or Bawm Zo, also known as Banjogi, is a Kuki-Chin language primarily spoken in Bangladesh. It is also spoken in adjacent regions of Northeast India and Myanmar (Burma). The Bawms that live on the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh call ...

. The Bawm are victims in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict The insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (), also known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict (), refers to a political and armed conflict that occurred in Bangladesh in two phases: *First phase happened from 1977 to 1997 between the gover ...

, especially in the continuation of it. Bawms are targeted by the Bangladesh Army as well as by the

Arakan Army The Arakan Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated AA), sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnic-List of insurgent groups in Myanmar, armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the Ara ...

,According to the prayer list of AKREF, a working group of the German Evangelical Alliance, from May 16th, 2024
archived
.

History

The origin of Bawm is traced to the founding of a village called Tiphul in

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to th ...

Bawm people were among the earlier settlers in the Lushai Hills, along with Tlanglau, Khiang and Chawrai. These groups of people entered Lushai Hills through an area south of

Lunglei Lunglei (, locally ), formerly rendered Lungleh, is the second-largest town in Mizoram, Northeast India, northeastern India, situated in the south-central part of the state. The town served as the capital of British rule in the Lushai Hills, Br ...

, passing through Tlabung, and entered an area what would later become Chittagong Hills Tracts of Bangladesh. The period of this migration and a possible brief halt in Lushai Hills is to be roughly between A.D. 900–1500. Though the reason of migration from the

Chin Hills The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state. Geography The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, Nat Ma Taung, or Mount Victoria, in southern ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

is unknown, the Bawm and other groups of people could have left

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

due to pressure from stronger tribal forces.

Geographical distribution

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, there are 13,193 Bom in Bangladesh. Among them, 11,854 (89.85%) Boms live in

Bandarban District Bandarban District (), officially Bandarban Hill District, is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others ...

, constituting 2.46% of district's population. They also live in Belaichhari Upazila of Rangamati District and surrounding areas.

References

External links

*
Bawm Christianity

Ethnologue profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawm People Ethnic groups in Bangladesh Kuki tribes