Devasish Roy

Devasish Roy (also spelled Debashish Roy;^[1] born 9 April 1959) is a Bangladeshi politician, lawyer and activist.^[2][3] He is a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as well as being the current titular Raja of the Chakma Circle, Bangladesh's largest indigenous community.^[4]

Career

Devasish Roy is a Barrister by profession and served as a Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh (Head of the Interim Government) with rank and status of a State Minister during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis. He was in charge of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and the Ministry of Forest and Environment.^[2]

Devasish Roy became Raja of the Chakma Circle after his father Tridev Roy went into exile following the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. In the 1970 general election Raja Tridev Roy had been elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as one of the only two non Awami League candidates from East Pakistan. The former Raja who opposed the independence of Bangladesh fled Rangamati and escaped to Pakistan at the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War. However most of the royal family, including the Rani and Yuvraj, were still left at the Rangamati Palace. After the emergence of Bangladesh, Yuvraj Devasish Roy was proclaimed Raja due to the absence of his father. His son, Tribhuvan Roy was made the Yuvraj (crown prince) in 2003.

See also

• Rajkumari Chandra Roy
• Rajmata Benita Roy
• Chakma people
• Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

References