The Chakma Alphabet

The Chakma script, also called ojhapath (the script of the Ojha, a traditional Chakma scribe), is an indigenous Brahmic abugida used to write the Chakma language (ISO 639-3: ccp). It belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts — the same family as Bengali, Devanagari, and Thai — and was added to the Unicode Standard in version 6.1 (2012) in the Chakma block (U+11100–U+1114F).

As an abugida, each consonant letter in the Chakma script carries an inherent vowel /a/, which is modified or suppressed using vowel diacritics or the virama sign. The script is written left to right and includes its own unique digit set (𑄶–𑄿). The Chakma script is used by the Chakma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh and in Tripura, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India.

The Chakma script has approximately 35–36 consonant letters, including the conjunct consonant KSSA (𑄭), and 8 independent vowel letters. In addition to these base letters, the script includes vowel diacritics (signs written around consonants to modify the vowel), the virama (killer sign) for consonant clusters, anusvara and visarga marks, and a unique set of 10 Chakma digits (𑄶–𑄿).

The full Chakma Unicode block (U+11100–U+1114F) encodes all these characters, making the Chakma script one of the few indigenous South Asian scripts with comprehensive Unicode support. The consonant inventory reflects the typical Indo-Aryan structure with voiced/voiceless pairs, aspirated variants, nasals, and sibilants.

Chakma (also called Changma Kodha, meaning "the language of the Changma/Chakma people") is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali-Assamese branch of the Indo-Iranian subfamily. It is spoken by approximately 450,000–700,000 people primarily in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh (Rangamati, Khagrachari, and Bandarban districts) and in the Indian states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Despite being spoken by the Chakma people — an indigenous Buddhist community distinct from the Bengali-speaking majority — Chakma is linguistically closely related to Bengali and Assamese. ISO 639-3 code: ccp. Chakma is classified by linguists as endangered, with its distinct script and cultural heritage the subject of active revival efforts.

Yes, Chakma is linguistically closely related to Bengali. Both belong to the Bengali-Assamese branch of the Indo-Aryan language family. Chakma shares a significant proportion of its vocabulary with Bengali and Assamese, and its phonological structure is broadly similar. However, Chakma is not mutually intelligible with Standard Bengali — the two languages have diverged sufficiently in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar to be considered separate languages.

Importantly, although Chakma is related to Bengali, it has its own independent writing system (the Chakma script / ojhapath) distinct from the Bengali script. The Chakma people are a separate ethnic and religious community (predominantly Buddhist), and the Chakma language reflects their distinct cultural identity. Chakma can also be written in Bengali script, and some Chakma texts appear in both scripts.

Chakma is primarily spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeastern Bangladesh — specifically in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari, and Bandarban. The CHT is a hilly region bordering Myanmar and the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, with a population largely comprising indigenous communities including the Chakma.

Outside Bangladesh, significant Chakma-speaking communities exist in the Indian states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, where Chakma refugees settled following displacement during the construction of the Kaptai Lake dam in the 1960s. Smaller diaspora communities also exist in Myanmar and other countries. The Chakma people are predominantly Buddhist and maintain a distinct cultural identity with their own script, oral literature, and traditional practices.

The Chakma script was added to the Unicode Standard in version 6.1, released in January 2012. It is encoded in the Chakma Unicode block, occupying code points U+11100 to U+1114F. This block includes all Chakma consonants, independent vowels, vowel diacritics, the virama, anusvara, visarga, and the unique Chakma digits (U+11136–U+1113F).

The Unicode encoding of the Chakma script was a significant milestone for the Chakma people, enabling digital representation of their indigenous writing system in international computing standards. Prior to Unicode support, Chakma script use was largely confined to handwritten manuscripts, religious texts, and printed materials produced with custom fonts. Unicode support has since facilitated the development of Chakma keyboards, digital educational materials, and online content in the Chakma script.