Rakhine people settled Bangladesh coast centuries ago. Now even their sacred sites are being taken

The Rakhine people have seen their farmland gone; and now even their cremation grounds, ponds, and monasteries are being taken

Masum Kamal, reporting from Barguna and Patuakhali

bdnews24.com, Published : 09 Aug 2025, 02:21 AM

Two and a half centuries ago, the Rakhine people crossed the sea and settled along the stormy coastal stretches of what is now southern Bangladesh, transforming the untamed, disaster-prone coastal lands of Patuakhali and Barguna into arable terrain.

But today, the very descendants of those early settlers say they are being pushed to the margins: stripped not just of farmland, but of their homes, monasteries, and even cremation grounds.

Their plight, say local observers, is not incidental. “Land grabbers have a clear pattern,” says one development worker. “They target three things—Rakhine settlements, Buddhist monasteries, and cremation grounds. Those are the lands being taken.”