Chakma tribes are mostly found inhabiting in the south-eastern hills bordering Chittagong Hill tract and in the North East India. The Chakmas form the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They also have a huge population in the North east India. Traditionally the Chakma tribes are good cultivators. Animal husbandry, basketry, horticulture, foraging, fishing and weaving are the subsidiary occupations. The origin of Chakma tribes can be traced to the ancient kingdom of Champaknagar. One of the king`s sons had marched east with a large army with an aim to conquer new lands. He captured the kingdom of Arakan in Burma by crossing the "sea" of the Meghna River and settled there. The last king of this dynasty was Sher Daulat.

Chakmas are divided into clans (gojas), which are further subdivided into sub clans (guttis). Members of the same subclan are forbidden to marry each other. The Chakma community is divided into several clans - Amu, Baga, Barbara, Barsega, Barua, Bongia, Bong, Dionya, Dewan, Karoa, Karboa, Kora, Khanbe, Khiung, Lembacha, Laskar, Larma, Lebya, Malima, Mangala, Mu, Onga, Poa, Poma, Phakas, Phedangsa, Phedangsiri, Phema, Ranen, Sangoloja, Seygeya, Sekhva, Tianya and Thea.

Religion of Chakma Tribe
The Chakma tribe follows Theravada school of Buddhism. The Chakma also celebrate Pre-Buddhist rites and rituals. Their form of Buddhism has aspects of Hinduism. Their religion is a mixture of pre-Buddhists beliefs and Buddhism. Every Chakma village has a Buddhist temple and the Buddhist priests or monks are called Bhikhus. Biju is a pre-Buddhist ritual which is celebrated in April. Biju dance is also performed during the festival of Biju. This dance is ritualistic. However in the recent past due to the influence of several foreign and local missionaries, multitudes of Chakma tribes have adept to Christianity. Several Christian rites and rituals are being followed with great reverence and faith.

Languages of Chakma Tribe
The languages that the Chakma tribes follow are also significant. These languages and its variants have got rich origin and history. The Chakma tribes have been heavily influenced by one of the languages belonging to Eastern Indo-Aryan language group. Chakma language is a main language. It is closely related to Bengali language. Recent linguists have also come up with their important observations. They have found out that the modern Chakma language is known as Changma Vaj or Changma Kodha. It is a part of the South eastern Bengali stem, which is part of Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. Changma Vaj, the language, is written in its own script, better known as Ojhopath.

Administration of Chakma Tribe
Udaipur, Kanchanpur, Kailsahahar, Belonia, Sabroom and Amarpur are dominated by Chakma tribes. Chakma tribes have a leader who is colloquially known as Dewan. He is entrusted with the development and welfare of his tribe. The people obey their Dewan and seek his advice if any crisis arises in the community. The Chakmas also have village councils. Their village councils consist of adult members and their Chief is a leader or sardar (Dewari). The duty is to resolve communal disputes, minor offences and petty theft of the Chakmas. Social disputes and minor criminal cases are settled by a high authority person whom they call Karbari. He is an honorary member elected by the villagers. They also have other members Khijayas and Talukdars who are entrusted with the administration of the village. The social discipline of the Chakmas is rigid. In case of major offences the offender is rusticated from the village where as for minor offences fine is imposed on the offender. For better administration and control, in the recent past an autonomous council had been built called the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC).