Education or religious conversion

Religious conversion frequently serves as an instrument of cultural hegemony over Indigenous peoples (IP), undermining traditional beliefs, customs, and social structure, resulting in a loss of identity. Analyses of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) setting increasingly emphasize the significance of education in facilitating religious conversion, especially in its more 'fundamentalist' manifestations. The region, historically marked by ethnic and religious diversity, has experienced religious conversions, cultural absorption, and alterations in local political dynamics due to the proliferation of Islamic-driven policies and initiatives. This essay analyzed the processes by which Islamization is transforming Indigenous identities, mostly through schooling and governmental educational programs as a part of counter insurgency. This essay examined schooling in and out of CHT, emphasizing systematic conversion cultures shaped by the dual influences of homogenization and social exclusion, which are anchored in colonial legacies and an ultra-religious, assimilative yet exclusionary nationalistic ambition. This essay also regarded conversion as a coping mechanism. Comprehending these processes is essential for tackling the socio-political dynamics of religious homogenization in an area characterized by intricate ethno-religious identities. This conceptual essay enhances the discourse on religious nationalism, identity politics, and resistance movements in contemporary CHT.