Moni Swapan Dewan (born 18 May 1954) alias Major Rajesh is a
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...
politician, ethnic
Chakma, and a former member of parliament from the
Chittagong Hill Tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...
. He is also the former deputy minister for Hill Tracts Affairs.
He started his career as a
guerilla leader for the
Shanti Bahini
The Shanti Bahini (; meaning "Peace Force") was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) in Bangladesh. It is considered an insurgent group in Bangladesh. The Shanti B ...
, the armed wing of the
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti.
Career
Moni Swapan was a member of the
Shanti Bahini
The Shanti Bahini (; meaning "Peace Force") was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) in Bangladesh. It is considered an insurgent group in Bangladesh. The Shanti B ...
during the
Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict
The insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (), also known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict (), refers to a political and armed conflict that occurred in Bangladesh in two phases:
*First phase happened from 1977 to 1997 between the gover ...
and was known as Major Rajesh.
He is accused of committing a
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
of
settler Bengalis in the
Rangamati district in 1984.
Dewan denies the charges.
Dewan was elected to parliament from Rangamati constituency as a candidate of the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...
beating the former member of parliament
Dipankar Talukder of the
Awami League
The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
.
Dewan was appointed the deputy minister of
Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs in the 2001 to 2006 Bangladesh Nationalist Party government. In 2003, he threatened to resign from the government alleging he was being ignored, there was corruption, and issues in the Chittagong Hill Tracts were not being resolved. In 2004, the government restricted the usage of ministry funds by him to 25 percent of the allocated fund. He called for the recognition of ethnic minority in the constitution of Bangladesh in 2006.
He tried to introduce bus services in his constituency but failed due to opposition from the Rangamati District Auto-rickshaw Sramik Union. He inaugurated a solar power plant in Rangamati in 2006. As member of parliament he received a plot of land in Dhaka from
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (, RAJUK) is a Bangladeshi public agency responsible for coordinating urban area, urban Urban planning, development in Dhaka. RAJUK is composed of various public officials, city planners, urban administrators, engi ...
.
In November 2006, Dewan left the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to join the
Liberal Democratic Party.
References
Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians
Living people
8th Jatiya Sangsad members
People from Rangamati District
Politicians from Chittagong Division
1954 births
Chakma people
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