Chakma people

The Chakma or Changhma people (Chakma: 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦, 𑄌𑄇𑄴𑄟), are an ethnic group and nation native to the Indian subcontinent and Western Myanmar. They are the largest indigenous group and as well as the second largest ethnic group of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh. They also form the majority in Chakma Autonomous District Council of Mizoram. Significant Chakma populations are found in the northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam and Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The Chakma possess strong ethnic affinities to Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups in Northeast India. Because of a language shift in the past to consolidate power among the tribes, they adopted an Indo-Aryan language Chakma, which is closely related to Pali and the Chittagonian language, predominant near the areas in which they live. Most modern Chakma people practice Theravada Buddhism, due to 19th-century reforms and institutionalisation by Queen regnant Rani Kalindi. In Myanmar, Chakma people are known as Daingnet and are one of the 135 officially recognised ethnic groups there. They are also referred as "Saks", " Sakmas" or "Tsakmas".

The Chakmas are divided into 31 clans or gozas. The community is headed by the Chakma Raja, whose status as a tribal head has been historically recognised by the government of British India and the government of Bangladesh.