Brief description of the community
Sediment piling on a part of the Kobodak River in Tala Union threatens to further impact the lives and livelihood of marginalised communities in the area (Photo courtesy of Ishrat Jahan)
The southwestern area of Bangladesh is highly susceptible to climate and disaster impacts. The area, specifically the Satkhira region, is also home to a substantial Dalit population (Islam, 2011). It is estimated there are around five million Dalits in Bangladesh, with approximately 96% being illiterate and having limited economic opportunities (IDSN, 2023). The literature on Dalits in Bangladesh considers them a marginalized group whose identity is often primarily defined by their occupations being associated with notions of impurity, untouchability or low-status (ibid). Throughout history, Dalits have been involved in work such as working with dead animals or sewage, raising pigs, or working with leather or bamboo (Kabir, et. al., 2018). In administrative and development contexts, the term "Dalit" is used broadly to refer to scheduled castes, tribes, and 'backward' castes -– representing the most impoverished, living individuals who live in poor conditions, and lacking access to education and opportunities for advancement (Bhattacharjee, 2023). Thus the term encompasses diverse communities, each with their own markers of culture, dialects, and ways of living - but facing similar forms of socio-economic discrimination and political marginalization.
The literal meaning of the word ‘Dalit’ is ‘oppressed or broken’. The caste-based inequities that have permeated social and governance structures across South Asia have resulted in Dalit communities being unable to access arable land, clean drinking water, and economic resources necessary for survival (Prasad, 2022). As a result, there are critical implications for Dalit populations residing in Bangladesh’s climate vulnerable areas, posing unique challenges to their lives as climate events unfold in a fast-warming world.
While there is limited record of accurate population size of various Dalit groups, across the southwestern region there are roughly 25 different Dalit communities. In Tala, an in-land coastal area within Satkhira district of southwestern Bangladesh, Dalit communities such as the Kai-putro, Hajam, Jele, Bajnadar among others have generationally negotiated with spatial and social marginalization while forming a deep relationship with their surrounding ecology.