Dasarth Debbarma (2 February 1916 – 14 October 1998) was an Indian
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
. He was chief minister of Tripura from 1993 to 1998. He was a leader of the
Ganamukti Parishad
Ganamukti Parishad (Bengali language, Bengali for 'Tripura State Indigenous People's Liberation Council') is a left-wing politics, left-wing movement working amongst the Tripuri people, Tripuri peoples of Tripura, in north-eastern India. It is af ...
(Tripura State Indigenous People's Liberation Council) and the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...
. He was also the vice-president of
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...
and first and yet only Tiprasa chief minister of Tripura.
Early life
Dasaratha Debbarma, a legendary leader
of the Indian Communist movement was born on 2 February 1916 into a poor peasant family in remote Boltali village in the present day
Khowai district
Khowai district is a district of Tripura state of India. This district was created in January, 2012 when four new districts were created in Tripura, taking the number of districts in the state from four to eight. The district headquarters are ...
of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
.
Since childhood, Dasaratha was very eager to obtain education but it was hardly affordable for his poor family to send him to town for education. Due to his indomitable eagerness, he was later admitted in Khowai primary school. And after he passed matriculation examinations, he was admitted in Brindaban College of Habiganj of Sylhet District under erstwhile East Bengal, as Tripura had no college then. After passing Intermediate and BA, Debbarma got admitted in Calcutta University for MA. Simultaneously, he pursued a law degree.
In 1940, CPI Comilla District Committee working under the Bengal Provincial Committee initiated formation of a Party unit in Tripura. The first unit of the Party in Agartala was formed with some local youths including Comrade Biren Datta who, besides Debbarma, was elected to the first Lok Sabha from Tripura. The Agartala Branch of CPI first started building up mass organisations with the working people of Agartala, mostly Bengalis. It was decided that an organisation would be formed with the core objective of spreading education among the tribal people. Dasarath Debbarma was contacted in Kolkata and apprised of the mission. Soon, he came to Tripura, leaving his post-graduate study never to go back again.
Political career
In 1948, he formed Ganamukti Parishad, which was engaged in an armed struggle from 1948 to 1950. In 1950, he along with his followers, joined the
Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925.
H ...
. He became a member of the central committee of the party in 1951. After the
party split in 1964, he joined
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...
. In 1964, he founded the
Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad, a frontal organization of CPI(M).
In the heady days of the 1930s and 40s, Deb completed his education from Sylhet and later Calcutta. He took to spreading education among tribal through the Janasikhya Samiti.
He was elected to the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1971 from
Tripura East constituency. In 1978, he was elected for the first time in Tripura
Vidhan Sabha
The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...
from
Ramchandraghat constituency and became the Minister for Education in the first Left Front government. He was the deputy chief minister in the second Left Front government from 1983 to 1988. In 1988, he became the secretary of the state unit of CPI(M). After the defeat of the Left Front in 1988 elections, he became the leader of the opposition in Tripura Vidhan Sabha from 1988 to 1993.
On 10 April 1993 he became the chief minister of the third Left Front government. He was in office till 11 March 1998. He declined to contest the Vidhan Sabha election in 1998 on health grounds.
Works
*''Mukti Parishader Itikatha''
*''Samantatantrik Byabasthar Biruddhe Mukti Parishader Sangram''
*''Kokborder jonyo bangla horof keno chai''
*''kokborok lekhar pothrekha''
Notes
Chief Ministers of Tripura
1916 births
1998 deaths
Tripuri people
India MPs 1952–1957
India MPs 1957–1962
India MPs 1962–1967
India MPs 1971–1977
People from West Tripura district
Lok Sabha members from Tripura
People from Khowai district
Chief ministers from Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Tripura
Tripura politicians
Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)
Tripura MLAs 1977–1983
Tripura MLAs 1983–1988
Tripura MLAs 1988–1993
Tripura MLAs 1993–1998
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