Kristo Mohan Chakma () was an Indian politician from

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

state in

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 ...

. He represented Chawngte constituency (now Tuichawng Assembly constituency) in the

Mizoram Legislative Assembly The Mizoram Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Mizoram in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Aizawl, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 40 members, who are directly elected f ...

in 1978.

Early life and education

Kristo Mohan Chakma received his early education in the local school. He then became a Buddhist monk (novice) and received training on Buddhism and Pali language. In 1936, his father came to then

Lushai Hills The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Manipur, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'. Flora and fau ...

(

) from Tripura and settled at Marpara. In 1938, he married Sushama Chakma, daughter of Pancha Ratna Dewan. He again married Bhanumati Chakma in 1954. He inspired the people to send their children to school. He tried for educational upliftment of the Chakma people. In 1970, his eldest son Surath Kumar Chakma became the first graduate amongst the Chakma in Mizoram. His daughter Mallika Devi Chakma became the first woman matriculate in 1972.

Political career

In 1952, the

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (or Assam PCC) was formed in June 1921. Its headquarters is at Rajiv Bhavan in GS Road Guwahati. Kuladhar Chaliha was the first elected president and Chabilal Upadhyaya was the first selected president of the com ...

constituted the Demagiri Block Congress Committee on adhoc basis with Kristo Mohan Chakma as its President and Gaur Nitai Chakma as General Secretary. He held the post of President upto 1972. Thus, the

Congress party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in the Chakma belt in Mizoram was formed. Since then the Chakmas maintained their loyalty to the Congress party. He was the founder President of the

Chakma District Congress Committee 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 ...

from the year 1979-84. He led the team of Chakma leaders who made continuous demand for the creation of

Autonomous District Council The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India allows for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions which have been given autonomy within their respective states. Most of these autonomous district councils are located in North Ea ...

for the Chakmas since 1952.https://mcdf.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/the-chakma-voice-global-edition2010.pdf Accordingly, the Chakma Autonomous District Council was created in 1972 under the Sixth Schedule to the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

along with the creation of Mizoram Union Territory. On April 2, 1972 his excellency Satya Jiban Das, the Chief Commissioner and the Administrator of Mizoram invited Kristo Mohan Chakma at

Raj Bhavan, Aizawl Raj Bhavan (translation: ''Government House'') is the official residence of the governor of Mizoram. It is located in the capital city of Aizawl, Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and c ...

to submit the names to form the first body of the Chakma Regional Council. Thus, the first body of the Chakma Regional Council was formed with the following members: The Chakma Regional Council was upgraded to the Chakma Autonomous District Council on April 29, 1972 along with Pawi and Lakher Autonomous District Council. In 1967, he was appointed as the Honorary Organiser of Chakma Affairs by the government of Assam. He held the post till the formation of Mizoram Union Territory up to 1972. On January 15, 1969 he was unanimously elected as the President of the

Mizoram Buddhist Association Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from " Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

and remain up to 1989.

Death

On September 5, 1992 he died in his Kamalanagar residence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakma, Kristo Mohan Indian National Congress politicians from Mizoram Chakma people Indian Buddhists People from Mizoram Former members of Indian National Congress 1912 births 1992 deaths