The Bawm or Bawmzo are an ethnic community primarily residing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, with a population of 13,193 according to the 2022 Bangladeshi census. Additionally, around 10,000 Bawm live in India and 2,500 in Myanmar. They speak the Sino-Tibetan Bawm language. The community has been affected by the ongoing Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict, facing violence from both the Bangladesh Army and the Arakan Army.
History
The origin of Bawm is traced to the founding of a village called Tiphul in Chin State4[unreliable source?]
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, 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 to Bangladesh is unknown, the Bawm and other groups of people could have left Myanmar due to pressure from stronger tribal forces.5
Geographical distribution
According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, there are 13,193 Bom in Bangladesh.6 Among them, 11,854 (89.85%) Boms live in Bandarban District, constituting 2.46% of district's population. They also live in Belaichhari Upazila of Rangamati District and surrounding areas.
| Upazila | Population | Percentage who are Bom78 |
|---|---|---|
| Ruma Upazila | 6,470 | 19.89% |
| Rowangchhari Upazila | 1,882 | 6.79% |
| Bandarban Sadar Upazila | 2,748 | 2.47% |
| Thanchi Upazila | 685 | 2.30% |
| Belaichhari Upazila | 356 | 1.21% |
| Others | <100 | <1% |
Loncheu, Nathan (2013). Dena, Lal (ed.). Bawmzos: A Study Of The Chin-Kuki-Zo Tribes Of Chittagong. Akansha Publishing House. ISBN 9788183703468. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
External links
References
"Table 1.4 Ethnic Population by Group and Sex" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2021. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2022. https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/b343a8b4_956b_45ca_872f_4cf9b2f1a6e0/2023-09-27-09-50-a3672cdf61961a45347ab8660a3109b6.pdf ↩
Kim, Roy & Sangma. 2011. The Kuki-Chin Communities of Bangladesh: A sociolinguistic survey. SIL International. ↩
According to the prayer list of AKREF, a working group of the German Evangelical Alliance, from May 16th, 2024 (archived). https://web.archive.org/web/20240516081522/https://akref.ead.de/gebet-fuer-verfolgte ↩
"A Brief Historical Account of the Bawm (Bwmzo)" (PDF). https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2010241.pdf ↩
"A Brief Historical Account of the Bawm (Bwmzo)" (PDF). https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2010241.pdf ↩
"Table 1.4 Ethnic Population by Group and Sex" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2021. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2022. https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/b343a8b4_956b_45ca_872f_4cf9b2f1a6e0/2023-09-27-09-50-a3672cdf61961a45347ab8660a3109b6.pdf ↩
Population and Housing Census 2022 - District Report: Bandarban (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. June 2024. pp. xiv, 202–206. ISBN 978-984-475-276-4. 978-984-475-276-4 ↩
Population and Housing Census 2022 - District Report: Rangamati (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. June 2024. pp. xiv, 235–239. ISBN 978-984-475-257-3. 978-984-475-257-3 ↩