Hundreds gathered for a defiant rally on March 6, where Bangladesh Indigenous Youth Forum chair Tony Chirran laid bare the threats. He painted a grim picture: farmlands vanishing, ancient woodlands razed, and entire ways of life erased under the guise of progress.

‘Government actions in the name of development are nothing but a blueprint to remove us,’ Chirran asserted forcefully. With Bangladesh’s Catholic population nearing 400,000—many indigenous—this conflict resonates deeply across communities.

Originally pitched in 2000, the plan was shelved after deadly 2004 clashes that claimed a protester’s life amid police gunfire. Its 2026 resurrection, complete with digging operations, has reignited fury.

Garo Indigenous Student Union secretary Jannoki Chislim emphasized the human cost. ‘This harms the forest and the people who rely on it,’ he said. ‘Our communities have stewarded these lands for generations—leave them be.’

As excavation advances, indigenous voices grow louder, promising intensified resistance. This dispute highlights a pattern of marginalization, pitting environmental ambitions against the rights of Bangladesh’s first peoples in a nation hurtling toward modernization.