Introduction The implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord has been proceeding at a slow pace and the indigenous hill people of Chittagong have been forced to live a life of uncertainty and insecurity. Communal attacks on indigenous people, illegal grabbing of their lands and their eviction, rape of indigenous women, killing, abduction and other violent incidents have increased at the country’s different regions. This included the disappearance in April 2019 of Michael Chakma, a top leader of United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), a Chittagong Hill Tracts-based organisation. India The year 2019 was a tumultuous one for India’s religious minorities, particularly its Muslims, with the country’s liberalsecular polity coming under fresh and renewed attack following the re-election of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi. In the first parliamentary session after its resumption of power, the BJP government unveiled a slew of legislations that have the potential to further embolden the targeting of the country’s religious minorities, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Act, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, and the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution—a clause that had granted limited autonomy to Jammu & Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state. The government response to opposition to the revocation of Article 370 has been strong with thousands of local Kashmiri Muslims detained, and night-time raids and torture being employed by Indian security forces. Communications had initially been blocked and the internet services remained suspended at the time of writing. Earlier, Kashmiri Muslims across India faced harassment and targeted violence following a terrorist attack in the erstwhile state that had left 40 security personnel dead. In the state of Assam, the publication of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in August left out 1.9 million people, bringing them one step closer to being stripped of their citizenship. The Indian government has announced its intentions to extend the NRC exercise to the rest of the country, and has already begun xlvii

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