When Raja Tridiv Roy died in 2012 at the age of 79; it was due to a heart attack, but before that loneliness had probably killed him from inside. The 50th Chakma Raja abdicated the throne after the Liberation War, in 1971 and left for good to Pakistan which he made his home for the rest of the years.
Born in 1933, in Rajbari of the district Rangamati, Bangladesh he became the hereditary Chakma raja in 1953.
In 1970, father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the head of the Awami League, asked Tridiv Roy to run for Parliament as a member of the Awami League. Tridiv Roy declined the offer and instead chose to run as an independent candidate. Awami League won a landslide victory, and claimed 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan. Interestingly, one of the two seats the Awami League could not win was won by Raja Tridiv Roy.
However, the landslide victory of East Pakistan was completely ignored and this set off a chain of events which resulted in the Liberation War of 1971. Believing that he would be better off with Pakistan, Raja Tridiv Roy pledged loyalty to Pakistan. But the Raja had played the wrong card, understanding that situation he decided to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, the 12 year old Raja Devashish Roy and left for good.
During the 1970s, he joined the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto where he was offered the position of President of Pakistan. However, Roy declined Bhutto’s offer of presidency because, under the new Constitution of Pakistan of 1973, only Muslims can become President of Pakistan. He was unwilling to convert from Buddhism to Islam to hold office, called the presidency a “glided cage”.
Between 1981 and 1995, he served as Ambassador of Pakistan to Argentina with concurrent accreditation in Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador. He was also a Minister-For Life within the Pakistani Government. After his ambassadorial assignments abroad were completed he turned his attention to working for Buddhist community living in Pakistan and decided to devote more of his life to religious pursuits. Later he became the head of Pakistan Buddhist Society.
He never went back to Rangamati, nor made any attempt from Pakistan to influence Chakma politics. “ I am concerned about the Chakmas, but not involved in any of the Chakma politics. I am not in touch with any groups, they do not seek my advice, nor do I advise any group on how they should conduct themselves,” he said. “My overall advice is that fight for your rights constitutionally, peacefully and do not go in for violence and killings amongst yourself and with others,”the soft-spoken former Chakma raja said.
Written by Souradeep Chakma
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