Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi Roy is a princess of the Chakma Royal family. She was born on 22nd November, 1956 at Chandraghona. She is the eldest child of King Tridiv Roy and Queen Arati Roy.
Rajkumari Chandra started academic education at Farm View School in Dhaka and did matriculation from St. Scholastica’s in1973 and intermediate in Arts from Rangamati Govt. College in 1975-76. Thereafter She along with her two younger brothers (Sivasish and Indrasish) moved to Islamabad, Pakistan to be with their father, Raja Tridiv Roy. She graduated with a BA from CB College, Rawalpindi in 1978 and commenced her studies in law at Manchester Polytechnic, UK. She completed her LL.B at Punjab University, Lahore in 1981 and LLM from The American University, Washington DC, USA in 1989 where she specialized in International Law, human rights and trade.
Raj Kumari Chandra Kalindi Roy started her career working in Law firms in Buenos Aires (after her father got appointed as an ambassador) and Washington DC. She commenced her international human rights career at the International LabourOffice (ILO), Geneva, focusing on the rights of indigenous peoples. Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi helped establish the ILO Programme to Promote Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (PRO 169) that is ongoing. Between 2000-2004,she lead an indigenous-to-indigenous training programme of the Sami Council in Africa and Asia.
From December 2010 to January 2021, she was the Chief of the Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA which initially was known as the secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and was expanded to a Branch in recognition of its central role on the rights of indigenous peoples at the UN HQ in NY.
Coming from an indigenous background helped RajkumariChandra Kalindi to better understand the rights of Indigenous Peoples in other parts of the world. Growing up in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in the southeastern part of Bangladesh where she witnessed first-hand the marginalization indigenous people face, starting with the Kaptai Dam which displaced hundreds of thousands from their ancestral lands, including her family, with devastating consequences for the Jumma peoples. She realized that the systemic discrimination faced by indigenous peoples is a worldwide problem. This is why, her focus of work wasn’t limited only to her own people, but also support to indigenous peoples around the world. This has motivated her work at the United Nations, where dialogue and cooperation built on respect and recognition are important.
RCK’s contribution to the indigenous peoples is inevitable indeed. As of September 2004, Ms. Roy led indigenous peoples’ rights and development in Asia’s (RIPP) programme in Bangkok, Thailand. The programme focused climate change, capacity building, leadership in governance and gender equality(decision-making for indigenous women).
In December 2010 (until January 2021), Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi took up the post of Chief of the Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch (IPDB) of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, at UN Headquarters in New York, USA. The branch serves as the central office on indigenous peoples at the United National Headquarters, and also supports the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues(an advisory body to the United Nations).
While at UNPFII a major milestone was the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples held at UN HQ – which was a challenge in bringing together Member States and Indigenous Peoples to agree an outcome document to guide the international agenda on indigenous peoples. A major result is the system wide action on the rights of indigenous peoples (SWAP) which provides the road map for the UN system’s support to achieve the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples/UNDRIP.
Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi is the first Jumma woman to participate at the United Nations. She participated actively at the now defunct UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the UN in Geneva, and at the drafting of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in Sept 2007.
Rajkumari Chandra has also published widely on indigenous issues including the
Land Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh", IWGIA, 2000 (with Raja Devashish Roy)
Training Manual for Indigenous Peoples on Human Rights and the Policy Processes, 2000-4 (together with John B. Henriksen)
The ILO: A Handbook for Minorities and Indigenous Peoples(MRG-Anti-Slavery International, London, 2002 (with Mike Kaye)
The Impact of Development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts: Ways Forward, Forum for Development Cooperation with Indigenous Peoples 2003, University of Tromsø, October 2003
Defending Diversity: Case Studies, 2004 (Editor)
Indigenous Peoples and Elections, in Elections and Journalism, “International Reporter” 2004, Oslo
Indigenous Women: A Gender Perspective (2004). Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)
Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi is married to Sami lawyer John Bernhard Henriksen and has one child. She has taken early retirement from the UN in January 2021, to devote more time to her family. RCK always considered the CHT and its people as her inspiration. Wherever she went she never forgot her roots. She believes strongly that learning about your own culture and customs is essential. She is grateful that her mother and her grandmother (Promila Dewan) taught her to weave (she has even woven an alam), to make pidha (a Chakma traditional food), celebrates our festivals, and the importance of respect for our traditions. RCK believes that only by celebrating our identity and taking pride in our language and our culture, can we truly achieve our rights.
Written by Saptorshi Dewan
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