Some participants at the opening ceremony of the Chakma-centered Indigenous book fair in Dighinala, Khagrachhari, February 20, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of the Noyaram Changma Sahitya Sangsad Facebook page (used with permission).
Bangladesh, Khagrachhari | February 20, 2026: The first Chakma-centered Indigenous book fair opened in Dighinala on Friday and will run from February 20 to February 22, 2026, ahead of International Mother Language Day.
Organized by the Noyaram Changma Sahitya Sangsad, the three-day fair is being held at Mukund Nilima Vocational Institute. Language researcher Arya Mitra Chakma inaugurated the event, while International Mother Language Award recipient Mathura Bikash Tripura attended as the chief guest alongside writers and researchers from the Chakma and Marma communities.
The event is being held in connection with International Mother Language Day on February 21, a date deeply rooted in Bangladesh’s history. The day commemorates the 1952 Language Movement, when students were killed while demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language. UNESCO later recognized February 21 as International Mother Language Day, giving it global significance. For Indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, the observance has also become an opportunity to highlight the preservation of their own mother tongues.
Although led by Chakma organizers and primarily highlighting Chakma-language publications, the fair also features books and research works in other Indigenous languages of the region, including Marma and Tripura.
Speakers at the event emphasized the need to strengthen mother tongue education in the hills. Textbooks in several Indigenous languages have been distributed in primary schools since 2017, but community leaders noted that implementation remains limited due to a shortage of trained teachers and insufficient institutional support.
The fair includes research publications, poetry, children’s books, and cultural materials. Discussions and cultural programs are scheduled throughout the three-day event.
One of the organizers, Injeb Changma, said the initiative aims to promote reading in Indigenous languages and encourage younger generations to reconnect with their linguistic and cultural heritage.
By The Times of Jumland | Khagrachari Desk
