Chakma people part-1

History

The Arakanese referred to the Chakmas as Saks or Theks.
In 1546 CE, when the king of Arakan, Meng Beng, was engaged in a battle with the Burmese, the Sak king appeared from the north and attacked Arakan, and occupied the Ramu of Cox's Bazar, the then territory of the kingdom of Arakan.^[2]
Diego de Astor, a Portuguese, drew a map of Bengal, which was published as Descripção do Reino de Bengalla in the book Quarta decada da Asia (Fourth decade of Asia) by João de Barros in 1615 CE.^[3] The map shows a place called "Chacomas" on the eastern bank of the Karnaphuli River, suggesting that this is where the Chakmas used to live at that time.
The Arakan king Meng Rajagri (1593–1612 CE) conquered this land, and in a 1607 CE letter to a Portuguese merchant named Philip de Brito Nicote, addressed himself as the highest and most powerful king of Arakan, of Chacomas and of Bengal.^[4]
Defeated by the Arakanese, the Chakmas entered the present Chittagong Hill Tracts and made Alekyangdong, present-day Alikadam, their capital. From Alekyangdong they went north and settled in the present-day Rangunia, Raozan, and Fatikchari upazilas of Chittagong District.
In 1666 CE, Shaista Khan, who was then Mughal Governor of Bengal, defeated the Arakanese, conquered Chittagong, and renamed it Islamabad.^[5] However, in the early days the Mughal supremacy was confined only to the plain areas of Chittagong, and the Chakmas remained practically unaffected.
After a few years, when a dispute developed between the Mughals and the Chakmas, the Mughals demanded tribute from the Chakmas for trading with Chittagong.^[6]
In 1713 CE, peace was established, and soon a stable relationship developed between the Chakmas and the Mughals; the latter never demanded complete subjugation from the former.
The Mughals also rewarded the Chakma king Shukdev Roy, who established a new capital in his own name, in an area is still known as Shukbilash.
There are still ruins of the royal palace and other establishments.
Subsequently the capital was shifted to Rajanagar, Ranirhat, Rangunia Upazila, Chittagong District.



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