ABSTRACT
To understand the ecology of fear in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), this chapter utilizes Jeremy Bentham's idea of Panopticon to demonstrate the impact of constant surveillance not only on an individual or an institution like prison, but also on the society as a whole. It focuses on state violence and explores through the works of Michel Foucault and James Scott how state violence is normalized through every day practices and surveillance. The chapter explores the possibilities of everyday forms of agency and overt resistance among the indigenous communities in CHT in response to the violence. It also focuses on the narration of multiple experiences of indigenous women belonging to different groups and with various levels of socio-economic status. The chapter explores the everyday forms of fear among indigenous women by examining their language, forms of activism and self-surveillance processes used to keep them safe or to avoid further violence.
