Mong Circle

The Mong Circle (Burmese: ဖလံထောင်) is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Mong Circle encompasses parts of Khagrachhari District. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as phalansa (ဖလံသား).[1] Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the northwest during a migration wave from the Kingdom of Mrauk U (modern-day Arakan State in Myanmar) between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, the Bohmong Circle(Burmese: ဗိုလ်မင်း​ထောင်) settled in the south and are known as ragraisa(Burmese: ​ရေကြည်သား).[1]

Leadership

The Mong Circle is led by a hereditary chieftain called a "raja." The Mong chieftains appoint and oversee headmen called mouza and village chiefs called karbaris.[2] The incumbent chieftain is Saching Prue (သာစိန်ဖြူ) (b. 1988)[3] of the Chowdhury house; he formally ascended the throne on 17 January 2009.[2] His predecessor, Paihala Prue Chowdhury, died in a roadside car accident on 22 October 2008.[4][5]

History

The Mong Circle dates to 1782 with the first chieftain, Mrachai.[6] During British rule, the British authorities designated the Mong Circle in 1871, to encompass an ethnically mixed population in the Feni valley.[7] In 1881, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were administratively divided into three circles, namely the Chakma Circle, the Bohmong Circle, and the Mong Circles, each presided over by a hereditary chief from the Chakma and Marma peoples.[8][9][10] The circles were codified into law with the Chittagong Hill Tract Regulations, 1900, eased revenue collection and administrative burdens on British authorities by delegating tax collection, land administration management and social arbitration responsibilities to the chieftains.[11][10] In 1901, the Mong Circle extended 653 square miles (1,690 km²).[12] This administrative structure remained in place until 1964, when the introduction of local self-government abolished the special status of these circles and brought local administration under the control of the central government.[8]

See also

• Marma people
• Bohmong Circle
• Chakma Circle

References

1. I, Fonkem Achankeng (2015-09-28). Nationalism and Intra-State Conflicts in the Postcolonial World. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-0026-5.
2. "Saching Prue new Mong King". The Daily Star. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
3. "Raja Saching Prue Chowdhury and Family". Mong Circle. 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
4. "Mong Raja Prue dies in road crash". The Daily Star. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
5. "Mong Raja Prue Chy cremated". The Daily Star. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
6. "History & Culture". Rangamati Hill District Council. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
7. Barua, B.P. (1971). "Extension of British Administration to Chittagong Hill Tracts". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 33: 514–519. JSTOR 44145391.
8. Zaman, M. Q. (1982). "Crisis in Chittagong Hill Tracts: Ethnicity and Integration". Economic and Political Weekly. 17 (3): 75–80. JSTOR 4370578.
9. Hutchinson, Robert Henry Sneyd (1906). An Account of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. bohmong circle.
10. Kundu, Debasish; Samadder, Mrinmoy; Khan, Ashrafuzzaman; Shajahan Naomi, Sharin (2011-01-04). State of Justice in Chittagong Hill Tracts: Exploring the Formal and Informal Justice Institutions of Indigenous Communities. Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC.
11. "Bandarban wears festive look as Rajpunyah starts". The Daily Star. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
12. Hutchinson, Robert Henry Sneyd (1906). An Account of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. p. 122. mong circle.