Ethnic communities in Bangladesh have been displacing from their
traditional way of life since the British colonial period. Authoritarian policies of the
State of Pakistan and Bangladesh victimized the indigenous minorities; therefore their
existence is disappearing. As a result, ethnic people become passive and helpless in
their own-nurtured land. They are increasingly outnumbering by the mainstream
Bangali population in formerly ethnic inhabited zone Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
due to population movement policy of the state. Given the situation, the ethnic people
have adapted few strategies for their survival in the disservice socio-economic
structure. Bangali costume instead of tradition costume is one of the strategies
adopted by the ethnic minority in CHT. The paper will focuses on how dress can be a
visible signifier that symbolizes the cultural assimilation, and how dress can be a
weapon of strategy for survival of minority against the majority.