Bawm people

The Bom, Bawm or Bawmzo (Bengali: বম), are an ethnic community inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census the population of Bawms in Bangladesh is 13,193.^[1] In 2004, around 10,000 Bawm inhabited India^{[citation needed]}. 2,500 Bawms reside in Myanmar.^[2] They speak the Sino-Tibetan Bawm language.

Bawm

Bawmzo
Bawm woman from the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Regions with significant populations
Bangladesh	13,193[1]
India	5,000 [citation needed]
Myanmar	2,500[2]
Languages
Bawm, Chittagonian, Bengali
Religion
Protestant Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Hmar · Chin · Kuki · Mizo

The Bawm are victims in the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict, especially in the continuation of it. Bawms are targeted by the Bangladesh Army as well as by the Arakan Army,^[3]

History

The origin of Bawm is traced to the founding of a village called Tiphul in Chin State^{[4][unreliable source?]}

Bawm people were among the earlier settlers in the Lushai Hills, along with Tlanglau, Khiang and Chawrai. These groups of people entered Lushai Hills through an area south of Lunglei, passing through Tlabung, and entered an area what would later become Chittagong Hills Tracts of Bangladesh. The period of this migration and a possible brief halt in Lushai Hills is to be roughly between A.D. 900–1500. Though the reason of migration from the Chin Hills to Bangladesh is unknown, the Bawm and other groups of people could have left Myanmar due to pressure from stronger tribal forces.^[4]

Geographical distribution

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, there are 13,193 Bom in Bangladesh.^[1] Among them, 11,854 (89.85%) Boms live in Bandarban District, constituting 2.46% of district's population. They also live in Belaichhari Upazila of Rangamati District and surrounding areas.

Upazila	Population	Percentage who are Bom[5][6]
Ruma Upazila	6,470	19.89%
Rowangchhari Upazila	1,882	6.79%
Bandarban Sadar Upazila	2,748	2.47%
Thanchi Upazila	685	2.30%
Belaichhari Upazila	356	1.21%
Others	<100	<1%