They also threatened not to exercise their franchise in the election if the political parties ignore their call.

"The constitutional recognition of indigenous people is a political issue. It would not be possible to fulfil our long-standing demand without political commitment," Anil Marandi, president of Jatiya Adivasi Forum, said last week.

Considering the 14-party alliance as 'friends', the indigenous people tried several times to persuade them to include the issues in election manifesto, but to no avail, he said.

"We will take tougher decision such as boycott of the vote in our regional meeting," he said, adding that the indigenous people constitute a 'vote bank' in 22 electoral constituencies in the northern region.

Over 15 lakh ethnic people living in Dinajpur, Parbatipur, Nawabganj, Natore, Lalpur, Sirajganj, Raiganj, Godagari and Tanor of greater Rajshahi are deprived of social, political and basic human rights as they do not have constitutional recognition, he added.

Sanjib Drong, general secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, said it is not possible for them to get elected in the existing electoral system unless they have constitutional recognition.

The constitutional recognition will also help them participate in local administration, he added.

There are reserved seats for indigenous people in parliaments of neighbouring countries, including India and Pakistan, which helps ensure their participation in administrative activities, thereby protecting their rights, said Sanjib, who is a member of Garo community.

Another burning issue for the indigenous people is establishment of a separate land commission. Thousands of indigenous families in the northern region are losing their lands as there is no separate land commission for them.

"In the last 35 years, over 2500 indigenous families have been evicted from their lands by the forest officials in the name of afforestation," Rabindranath Soren, general secretary of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad, alleged.

In addition, ethnic people are losing their dwelling houses and croplands due to false case, encroachment and non-cooperation from local administration, he added.

At a discussion on the demands of the indigenous people of the northern region held in the city on January 6, Prof Mesbah Kamal, general secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Odhikar Andolon, said, "Indigenous people believe in 'community ownership', not in the 'ownership by document'. They are losing their ancestral lands as they do not have necessary documents."

According to Prof HKS Arefin, president of Bangladesh Adivasi Odhikar Andolon, there is no constitutional obstacle to giving constitutional recognition to indigenous people.

When contacted, joint general secretary of Awami League Obaidul Kader said, "Since the indigenous people are an integral part of the country's population, we should take necessary steps to consider their reasonable demands."