NO one knows for certain how many Garos live in Bangladesh. According to the 1991 census, the total number is 64,280. The large majority live in a fringe of territory -- often not more than a few kilometres wide -- along the southern side of the Garo hills.

Another area where approximately 15,000 Garos live is Modhupur Forest. Located in Mymensingh and Tangail districts, about 150 kilometres north of Dhaka, this is one of the largest forests of the plains. Detached from the rest of the 'Garo area', Modhupur almost seems like a 'Garo island' on the map. No one knows how this division of Garos over two separate regions has come about. It is important to realise that a lot of interaction takes place between Modhupur Garos and the people from the border area, and that Modhupur people are far from isolated from the other Bangladeshi Garos.

It is said that these days Garos can be found all over Bangladesh. For instance, since the 1950s Garos have started to migrate to the betel leaf and tea plantations in Sylhet. At present, Sylhet probably has around seven thousand Garos, but no one knows for sure. Many Garos live on the tea plantations there, with labourers from various other ethnic backgrounds. At first sight, the workers' quarters seem just like ordinary villages. A closer look reveals that its population is very interesting, because of its great variation. During the days of the British Raj, many different people from all over India were taken to the plantations in Sylhet. And although the workers came to live together, the plantation 'villages' have never really come to act as 'melting pots'. People have lived together but separately. The ethnic groups have mixed to some extent, but have largely stuck together. Even today it is possible to hear Oriya, Hindi, Bengali, Garo, and other languages, all spoken in the same village. Marriage within, rather than between, ethnic groups is still preferred. This pattern of behaviour is certainly true of the Garos on the plantations. So far, they have maintained their distinctive ethnic identity.