After nearly a decade resisting eviction from ancestral land, ethnic Khasia Christians in Bangladesh are still uncertain whether the land they have lived on for generations will become their own.

About 700 ethnic Khasia from 86 families in two villages have been battling to resist eviction by Nahar Tea Estate in Moulvi-bazar district since 2010.

Most of those affected are Catholics belonging to St Joseph’s Catholic Church, under the predominantly indigenous Sylhet Catholic Diocese in north-east Bangladesh. “The Khasia are peaceful people and they have the right to live in their ancestral land like every citizen of Bangladesh,” Quazi Rosy, a ruling Awami League lawmaker, told ucanews.com.

Rosy was part of a delegation from the Parliamentary Caucus on Indigenous Peoples that visited Nahar 1 and Nahar 2 punjis (forested villages with clustered houses) on July 22. Research and Development Collective (RDC) activists were also part of the delegation to lend their support to the Khasia.