SUMMARY
The PCJSS (Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, Chittagong Hill Tracts Peoples Solidarity Association) was a tribal rebel group that operated mainly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area of Bangladesh, fighting an intrastate armed conflict against the said country’s government. The group, sometimes referred to as the JSS/SB (Jana Samhati Samiti/Shanti Bahini, People’s Solidarity Association/Peace Force), fought the government of Bangladesh mainly over the issue of autonomy for the tribal groups living in the area, which are of different ethnic descent than the Bengali majority. Another important issue was the demand made by the tribal groups to restrict the influx of Bengali settlers onto what the tribals perceived to be their homeland. Notable tribal groups that have participated in the PCJSS –and which the group claims to represent– are the Chakma, Tripura and Marma groups. These and other groups are sometimes referred to collectively as the ‘Jumma’ people.
The group was formed in 1972, after a delegation of tribal representatives had been denied their demands of autonomy by the government of the newly independent country. Later the same year (or in early 1973, reports differ on this point) its armed wing, the SB (Shanti Bahini, Peace Force), was created to further push the demands of the tribal groups. The armed struggle was launched a few years later, in 1975. In fighting the government of Bangladesh the PCJSS also made use of one-sided violence.
Facing off against a large segment of the Bangladeshi army the PCJSS made use of a force of guerrilla fighters reportedly numbering at its peak as many as 5000. In addition to this fighting force the PCJSS also formed various village militias, with significantly less training and poorer arms. The armed wing of the movement was initially dependent on arms left behind by the Pakistan army after the Bangladeshi war of independence, but the proximity to India’s troubled northeast meant that weapons could easily be acquired from insurgents across the border. The Chittagong Hill tracts of Bangladesh are located in the country’s southeast, bordering India’s north-eastern states, and many accusations have been leveled against India that its government has armed and trained the rebels. These accusations were denied by India but at the least PCJSS rebels did at times find safe havens in the Indian border area. It is also believed that the group has maintained bases in Myanmar (Burma).
The PCJSS was founded by Manabendra Narayan Larma, who represented the Jumma people when the initial non-violent demands for autonomy and greater rights were leveled at the government of Bangladesh. Larma was killed in 1983 and after his death the group split into two different factions, commonly referred to as the Larma group and the Preeti group who at times fought each other. The Preeti group surrendered to the government in 1985 and from there on the PCJSS was represented only by the Larma group. The PCJSS was from that point on led by Bodhipriya Larma (M.N. Larma’s brother), who had earlier been the field commander of the SB. Under his leadership the PCJSS entered into negotiations with the government and finally signed a peace agreement in 1997, stipulating partial autonomy for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, an end to the group’s violent activities and a return to non-violent politics. In response to the PCJSS’s termination of the armed struggle a splinter group emerged, the UPDF (United People’s Democratic Front), which vowed to continue the struggle for full autonomy. This group has however not been active in any armed conflicts.
PCJSS has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
