They said the governments have the perception that the indigenous people's fate will change if the fate of common people changes, but this perception has been proved wrong in the previous years because fate of the backward indigenous people has not changed yet.

They made the comments at a post-budget discussion organised by Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development (Ciprad) at its office in the city recently, says a press release.

Tribal Welfare Association Central Chairman and former Awami League lawmaker Promod Mankhin, Vice Chairman Tapan Marak and Ciprad Director Albert Mankhin among others were present at the discussion.

After critical analysis of the budget, the leaders said the budget was allocated for the indigenous people of the hill tracks, but not for about the 20 lakh indigenous people of the plains that include Mymensingh, Sylhet and North Bengal.

The recommendations of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) that suggested necessary budgetary allocation for advancement of the cultural, social, political and economic status of the indigenous people were also not considered in the budget.

"It is very important for the government to have guidelines for education, health and cultural development of these people," the speakers said.

The amount of block allocation given by the prime ministers for the indigenous people is also very small, they said urging the government to increase its amount.