Highlanders and lowlanders in Bangladesh: Refections on borders, connectivity, and disconnection in Highland Asia

In this chapter, we look at Bangladesh as a constituent part of the border zone between Mainland South Asia and the Asian Highlands and argue that the Bangladesh borderland with Northeast India and Myanmar makes an interesting and necessary addition to the idea of ‘Asian Highlands’, ‘Southeast Asian Massif’, ‘Zomia’, or other qualifications for the Asian uplands. At the same time, we do acknowledge the impact of political and geographical borders on the experienced realities of local ‘highland’ communities (de facto highlanders) as well as on the highly mobile Bengali peasantry (or de facto lowlanders), who, since the first decade of the 20th century, have started moving into the forested valleys of Assam and Burma in search of new lands to cultivate. The chapter also tries to show why and how historical and ethnographic research on the roots and routes that have historically linked Bangladesh with Highland Asia have remained outside the scope of mainstream national academia in Bangladesh. Apart from its academic significance, we emphasise the political urgency to highlight the historical and ethnographic realities of the borderland(ers), who are becoming increasingly marginalised in the national discourse on citizenship and belonging.