CREATING IDENTITY AND UNITY

To preserve our distinct identity and to safeguard unity among us will be the two main challenges in the days to come. Modern time is robbing our identity and making us self-centric monsters cutting out from own society. But it has also gifted us powerful weapons to safeguard our endangered elements which give us distinct identity as Nation and gave us access to deep reached networks for communication among ourselves. Rejuvenation of Chakma Scripts with the help of computer experts and Chakma film production with the help of low-cost handy cams are just two examples how we can use modern technologies to safeguard our identity.

IDENTITY CREATION: Development without distinction is called extinction. So, it is not possible to welcome any kind of development in the cost of our identity. Economic development in the cost of religious identity, political development in the cost of social identity is highly condemnable.  Our fuzzy identity is evident from our decaying and distorted cultural and linguistic wealth. We could not able to emboss our identity on the name of our hills, rivers and villages. We could not stamp our footprints in the schools, hospitals and roads we made. We even failed to adorn our own rich tradition of singing and cooking. So, we all must work reluctantly in order to intact our own identity in every sphere of our life.

UNITY: History has already devastated us by dividing us in to three groups viz. Anokyes, Tanchangyes and Doinakyes; dividing further into Indian Chakmas, Bangladeshi Chakmas and Burmese Chakmas. Indian Chakmas are also divided into Arunachal hullyes, Mizoram hulyes and Tripura hulyes, and finally we are dividing ourselves in to Buddhist Chakmas and Christian Chakmas. Unity must be prevailed to prevent a doom and it should come from inside. Unity should be started from our own house. If I cannot show brotherhood to my own brother then it is not possible for me to love a member of Doinakye Chakma, whom I never met and far far differences are there compared to differences I am having with my own brother.

Now, let us try to list some small steps we may take which will help us to create identity & unity in our society and we will also attain enough strength to preserve the same:

IN THE FAMILY:

1. Promote Pinon & Hhadi.
2. Name your own and relative’s children in Chakma.
3. Use Chakma words while calling relatives like Hakka, Mujhi etc.
4. Encourage children to listen into Chakma music and to participate in traditional sports.
5. Use Chakma scripts in day to day writings and encourage family members also to do so.
6. Regularly visit Hiyongs with your children, if possible find a place to install Buddha image in a corner of your house. Farek Sunona, at least once in a year will help us to keep our family intact with our own religion.
7. Try to channelize modern celebrations in our traditional way like Birth Day celebration with Farek Sunona and Picnic with Jumo Hhana with goram & hebang etc.

IN THE FRIENDS’ CIRCLE:

1. Promote words like Jhu jhu, Dangu, Siji reit etc.
2. Encourage discussions on various positive aspects of our society and what could be done to promote those aspects.

IN THE ADAM:

1. Try to strengthen our own judiciary system-Adam, Chagala, Suloani, Rejyo & Raj Panchayet.
2. To preserve the original Chakma names of villages, rivers, hills and other places and try to record it in Govt. documents.
3. Put signboard in the entrance & exit points of adam, market, roads, schools, Hiyongs etc. & in front of Harbaris residence in Chakma scripts.
4. Rename the names of schools, hospitals, markets, roads & lanes in the name of our past respectable personalities and put signboard in Chakma scripts.
5. Put nameplates in your own residence in Chakma scripts.
6. Special cares may be taken for smooth running of Schools and Hiyongs as these are the pillars of our adams. Every schools should have school managing committees apart from Govt. sponsored committees (because most of the time, these committees represents only ruling party leaders) in the line we are having Hiyong management committees.
7. Promote collective help instead of helping someone personally.
8. Try to create a helping chain, like helping someone in a condition that he may help someone else once his situation improves.
9. Imprint the view that our schools, our hospitals, our Hiyongs, our rivers, our roads, our forests etc. are our own wealth and our wellbeing depends on the development and preservation of these wealth.

PERSONAL:

1. Use WE instead of I.
2. Never boast of on your deeds rather praise collective achievements.
3. Always take joint decisions. If meeting is not possible for emergency, take opinions over phone.
4. Never turndown anyone directly. Always praise other’s suggestions and politely tell him that it will be better if include some points in that or modify the programme in this way.
5. Always aside the hardest task for yourself.
6. Develop the quality to accept responsibility for a mistake.

CREATING CULTURAL IDENTITY:

1. To promote original Chakma tunes viz. Ubhogeet, Jhorageet, Oligeet, Tanyebigeet etc.
2. To promote traditional musical instrument viz. Dudhuk, Bajhi, Singe, Hengorong etc.
3. To maintain Chakma ghacchara in Chakma songs.
4. To maintain Chakmaness in celebration various days, Bijhu festivals, marriage ceremony, picnic etc.
5. To promote celebration of our own festivals, days and to search for some new days for observation.
6. To promote traditional games and sports.

ORGANISING THE ORGANISATIONS:

1. We should promote those organizations whose motto is to create and preserve of distinct identity of the Chakmas and works for unity among all the Chakmas.
2. Unnecessary creation of new organization should be discouraged, instead we should strengthen/rejuvenate our old organizations. If situation demands, a federation of existing organizations.
3. A deep rooted organisation having cultural wing, sports wing, students wing, youth wing, women wing, employee wing, judicial wing & development wing may help us to stop mashrooming of organisations in our society and to ensure mass participation towards development process of our own society.
4. Decision should be taken after thorough consideration. Once a decision is taken there should be no hesitation in action.

GROW WITHIN TO BE A TRUE LEADER:

A leader is said to be one, who-

• Knows the way, goes the way and shows the way,
• Inspires others,
• Follows instructions carefully, there is saying that juniors of a leader treat him alike how he treated his leaders when he was a junior,
• Respects his fellow workers to earn respect for himself,
• Has a good judgment,
• Adoptable to change,
• Emotionally stable,
• Looks before leaps,
• Does not work for self-interest and does not misuse his position for self-interest,
• Creates leaders,
• Possess a good character,
• Has a strong and healthy body and mind,
• Has a well-controlled tongue & temper,
• Has a real desire to happy others,
• Has an innovative mind,
• Has appetite to improve himself,
• Loves his work,
• Always puts extraordinary expertise in an ordinary work,
• Feels that he should do a task on behalf of his society &
• Has a strong historical attachment with the good deeds done by the previous leaders of his community. He draws the strength from their deeds and grows to find new ways for the future.