The resignation of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Minister, Dipen Dewan, after just 105 days in office may appear at first glance to be a routine political departure. Officially, health concerns prompted his exit. Yet in a region where symbolism, representation and state authority are deeply contested, few political developments are ever viewed in isolation.
The speed with which his resignation was accepted, the timing of his departure immediately following a high-profile security visit by the Home Minister, and the questions that had already been circulating about the distribution of authority within the ministry have combined to make Mr Dewan’s exit far more consequential than an ordinary cabinet change.
The real question is not why one minister resigned. It is whether his departure signals a broader shift in how the new government intends to govern the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Nearly three decades after the Peace Accord, the region remains a delicate balance of indigenous aspirations, security concerns, unresolved land disputes and competing visions of state authority. Mr Dewan’s resignation has reopened a debate that many believed had been temporarily settled: is Dhaka moving toward deeper political accommodation in the Hill Tracts, or toward a model increasingly defined by administrative control and security management?
A brief tenure with larger implications
Mr Dewan assumed office in February after the BNP-led alliance won Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary election, held on 12 February under the interim administration led by Dr Muhammad Yunus.
A former district judge who later joined the BNP, Mr Dewan emerged as a prominent political figure from Rangamati and was widely viewed as a symbolic appointment.
That symbolism traces back to the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord signed under the government of Sheikh Hasina, which ended years of insurgency in the southeastern hill districts bordering India and Myanmar.
While debate continues over the precise legal obligations arising from the accord, the CHT Affairs Ministry has traditionally been associated with representation from the region’s indigenous communities. As a Chakma leader from Rangamati, Mr Dewan appeared to fit that expectation.
For that reason, his resignation cannot simply be dismissed as a routine cabinet reshuffle.
Questions of authority
Much of the controversy centres on the role of State Minister Barrister Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, who hails from Hathazari in Chattogram district and was appointed to the ministry alongside Mr Dewan.
Mr Helal subsequently assumed additional responsibilities, including involvement in land-related issues ā€” a particularly sensitive subject in the Hill Tracts, where disputes over land ownership have long been at the heart of political tensions.
Several activists and political figures from the region have argued that real decision-making authority gradually shifted away from Mr Dewan and towards his deputy.
The government has not publicly addressed these claims, and there is no official evidence of any formal transfer of authority.
Yet in the politics of the Hill Tracts, perceptions often carry as much weight as formal arrangements.
Among indigenous political groups, concerns had been growing for months that the spirit of the Peace Accord was being gradually diluted.
Security takes centre stage
The developments are unfolding against the backdrop of a more assertive security posture by the government across the broader Chattogram region.
On 31 May, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed visited Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda Upazila, an area long associated with criminal networks and limited state control.
During the visit, the government outlined plans for sustained security operations, including expanded law enforcement infrastructure and a stronger campaign against armed groups operating in the area.
Although Mr Dewan was absent, Mr Helal was prominently present alongside senior security officials as the plans were announced.
There is no direct evidence linking the visit to Mr Dewan’s resignation. However, the sequence of events has reinforced perceptions that the balance of power within the ministry had already shifted away from him.
For many political observers, the optics were difficult to ignore.
Why India is watching
The Chittagong Hill Tracts have long attracted attention in New Delhi, and that remains the case today.
The region borders the Indian states of Mizoram and Tripura and lies close to Myanmar’s troubled frontier. Several indigenous communities in the area maintain ethnic, cultural and familial ties that extend across international borders.
For decades, stability in the Hill Tracts has been viewed as part of the wider security landscape of India’s Northeast.
Indian policymakers closely followed the 1997 Peace Accord and generally regarded it as a stabilising development in a region of considerable strategic importance. As a result, any indication that the accord’s institutions are weakening tends to attract attention beyond Bangladesh’s borders.
The concern is not necessarily that a renewed insurgency is imminent. Rather, it is whether confidence in the accord can be sustained if indigenous communities begin to feel that their political representation is diminishing.
Competing visions of governance
At its core, the debate appears to be less about personalities and more about differing approaches to governance.
Individuals familiar with developments inside the ministry suggest that Mr Dewan favoured deeper engagement with indigenous political organisations and a stronger effort to implement the outstanding provisions of the Peace Accord.
The government, meanwhile, appears to be placing greater emphasis on security consolidation, administrative control and infrastructure development.
These approaches are not inherently contradictory. However, they reflect different priorities and contrasting views of how lasting stability can be achieved in a region as complex as the Hill Tracts.
One approach emphasises political accommodation and dialogue. The other prioritises state authority and security management.
Finding the right balance between the two has never been straightforward for any government in Dhaka.
A test for the government
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government remains in its early months in office, backed by a strong parliamentary majority and considerable political capital.
Yet Mr Dewan’s departure serves as a reminder of how quickly governing challenges emerge once political promises encounter administrative realities.
His resignation has already sparked protests in Rangamati, where supporters argue that he was one of the few figures capable of bridging indigenous concerns and national politics.
For now, responsibility for the ministry rests directly with the prime minister until a successor is appointed.
Who is chosen next may prove highly significant.
If the government moves quickly to appoint another credible indigenous leader, concerns may ease. If it does not, questions about the future direction of Hill Tracts policy are likely to intensify.
Ultimately, the significance of Dipen Dewan’s resignation lies not in the official explanation offered for his departure but in the political questions it has exposed. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have long served as a barometer of the relationship between the Bangladeshi state and its indigenous communities. Progress in the region has never depended solely on security measures or development projects; it has also depended on trust, representation and confidence that the commitments embodied in the Peace Accord remain meaningful.
The challenge facing the government is therefore larger than finding a replacement minister. It must decide what political message it wishes to send to the Hill Tracts. Is the accord still viewed as a living framework for resolving longstanding grievances, or is it gradually being superseded by a governance model centred on security, administration and infrastructure?
The appointment of Mr Dewan’s successor will provide the first indication. The policies that follow will matter even more. For now, the resignation has created an impressionā€”fairly or unfairlyā€”that indigenous representation within the government may be losing ground at a time when confidence-building remains essential.
A minister has left office. What remains uncertain is whether his departure marks an isolated political episode or the beginning of a more significant shift in the state’s approach to one of Bangladesh’s most sensitive and strategically important regions. The answer will shape not only the future of the Hill Tracts but also the credibility of the government’s commitment to the peace and political accommodation that the region has sought for nearly three decades.
