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 bisho ...

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

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 and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

'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 family, Roy is a lawyer by profession and served as a special assistant to the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh (head of the caretaker government of Bangladesh) during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis. He was in charge of the

Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (; ''Pārbatya caṭṭagrāma biṣaẏaka mantraṇālaẏa'') is the government ministry of Bangladesh responsible for Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have been inhabited by var ...

and the Ministry of Forest and Environment. Roy became King of the Chakma Circle after his father

Tridev Roy Raja Tridiv Roy (; Chakma: 𑄖𑄳𑄢𑄨𑄘𑄨𑄝𑄴 𑄢𑄧𑄠𑄴) sometimes spelled Tridev Roy, (14 May 1933 – 17 September 2012) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat and writer who was the Minister of the Minority Affairs in Zulfi ...

went into exile following the independence of Bangladesh from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1971. In the 1970 general election Raja Tridev Roy had been elected to the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

as one of the only two non-

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 ...

candidates from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. The former Raja who opposed the independence of Bangladesh fled Rangamati and escaped to Pakistan at the end of the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. However most of the royal family, including the

Rani ''Rani'' () is a female title, equivalent to queen, for royal or princely rulers in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It translates to 'queen' in English. It is also a Sanskrit Hindu feminine given name. The term applies equally to a ...

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 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 Politicians from Chittagong Division Advisers of caretaker governments of Bangladesh