Devasish Roy (also spelled Debashish Roy;
born 9 April 1959)
is a Bangladeshi politician and lawyer.
He is the
titular
Titular may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title
Religion
* Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome
** Titular bish ...
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
of the
Chakma Circle,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
's largest indigenous community, and was a member of the
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII or PFII) is the UN's central coordinating body for matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples. There are more than 370 million indigenous peop ...
from 2014 to 2016.
Career
Born in a
Chakma
Chakma may refer to:
*Chakma people, a Tibeto-Burman people of Bangladesh and Northeast India
*Chakma language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
**Chakma script
***Chakma (Unicode block)
Chakma is a Unicode block containing characters for ...
family,
Roy is a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...
by profession and served as a Special Assistant to the
Chief Advisor of Bangladesh
The Chief Adviser was the head of the Caretaker Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh who served as the Head of Government for 90 days during transition between one elected government to another during the term of the caretaker gove ...
(head of the
Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
The Caretaker Government of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার) was a form of government in which Bangladesh used to be ruled by a selected government for an interim period du ...
) 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.
Roy became King of the Chakma Circle after his father
Tridev Roy
Raja Tridiv Roy ( ur, ; bn, ত্রিদিব রায়; 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦: 𑄖𑄳𑄢𑄨𑄘𑄨𑄝𑄴 𑄢𑄧𑄠𑄴; sometimes spelled Tridev Roy, (14 May 1933 – 17 September 2012) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat ...
went into
exile following the independence of Bangladesh from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in 1971. In the 1970 general election
Raja Tridev Roy
Raja Tridiv Roy ( ur, ; bn, ত্রিদিব রায়; 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦: 𑄖𑄳𑄢𑄨𑄘𑄨𑄝𑄴 𑄢𑄧𑄠𑄴; sometimes spelled Tridev Roy, (14 May 1933 – 17 September 2012) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat ...
had been elected to the
National Assembly of Pakistan as one of the only two non-
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for ''Awam
Awam ( ur, ) is the Urdu language word for common people or general public. In the early 20th century, the word was extensively used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to the general po ...
candidates from
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
. The former Raja who opposed the independence of Bangladesh fled
Rangamati
Rangamati (Bengali: রাঙ্গামাটি;) is the administrative headquarter and town of Rangamati Hill District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The town is located at 22°37'60N 92°12'0E and has an altitude of . The dist ...
and escaped to Pakistan at the end of the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...
. However most of the royal family, including the
Rani
''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of ...
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.
Personal life
Roy was married to Tatu Roy until her death in 1998.
The couple have two children, a son, Tribhuvan Aryadev Roy, and a daughter.
On 4 July 2014, he married Yan Yan, an
ethnic Rakhine.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Devasish
Bangladeshi politicians
Theravada Buddhists
Bangladeshi Buddhists
Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict
Chakma people
Living people
1959 births
Chakma Royal Family
Bangladeshi barristers
20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers
21st-century Bangladeshi lawyers
People from Rangamati District
Advisors of Caretaker Government of Bangladesh