The country's ruling class and discriminatory social systems are behind the miserable lives of indigenous people, claims Bangladesh Adivasi Forum President Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma.

"The ruling class don't love us, don't trust us and don't treat us as human being," said Larma, also the president of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS).

After the country's independence, many governments assumed state power. All of them treated the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), populated with indigenous people, as colony, claims Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma.

He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of a day-long policy-making dialogue organised by the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Peoples at the capital's Cirdap International Conference Centre (CICC) today.

Their miseries include eviction of indigenous people from their ancestral lands, deprivation of education, repression by "Banglai settlers" and poor access to justice, he alleged.

The dialogue was organised as part of a four-day programme to mark International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples to be observed on August 9 across the world.

This year, the day will be observed globally with the theme "Indigenous peoples' right to education".

However, indigenous people in Bangladesh will observe the day with the theme "Indigenous peoples' rights to education, land and life".

Bangladesh Adivasi Forum General Secretary Sanjeeb Drong and several lawmakers, who are also members of the Caucus, among others also, spoke at the function.