Raja Tridev Roy

Raja Tridev Roy a former raja of the Chakma tribes Chittagong in Bangladesh and a Pakistani writer, religious leader and politician.

Roy is a federal minister for life. He lives in Islamabad and leads the Buddhist community of the country. More details about personal life and family of Raja Tridev Roy can be found in a memoirs titled "Jaanbaz" written by late Syed Saleem Abbas, a personal friend of Raja Tridev Roy, who was sent to Bangladesh by Raja in the mid 1970s to bring Roy's wife and young son back to Pakistan. Raja Tridev Roy also served as Pakistan's ambassador to Mexico. The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, General Srilal Weerasooriya has conferred the emblems of the Sri Lankan Ranjana National Award on Federal Minister Raja Tridev Roy.

Raja Tridiv Roy is a former Chakma king who has servered as a minister in Government of Pakistan. He sided with Pakistan in 1971 Liberation war . [http://books.google.com/books?id=HNyJS9YfbyoC&pg=RA1-PA34&lpg=RA1-PA34&dq=raja+tridiv+roy&source=web&ots=kbiJCqIvai&sig=xDAg8CY-1lPOhyNTr2T1L7Hq3Bg] .Even after the independence of Bangladesh, he remained in Pakistan. [http://www.mshel.com/book00022.html]

Raja Tridiv Roy has published his reminiscences entitled The Departed Melody. The book begins with the history and culture of the people of the Hill Tracts and the Chakma Rajas.

"Janbaz" is the narration of Roy's encounters with enemy agents in Bangkok, Vietnam, Burma, Saudi-Arabia and Iran.The story of "Janbaz" relates to a mission in which the author was requested by his friend Raja Tridev Roy to bring back Roy's wife and two sons to Pakistan from Rangamati. On the fall of East Pakistan, Raja Tridev Roy, a staunch Pakistani, did not recognise the Bangladesh government. Leaving behind his wife and children, he escaped to Pakistan. He was a great friend of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, so when he requested the author to bring his family members from Ravgamati, it had the tacit approval of the Prime Minister as well.

Salim Abbas (it was the real name of the author who died recently at Karachi and was buried at the military graveyard, Malir Cantt), who was a very close friend of the Raja, and in a way indebted to him for his help and support during his stay at Chittangang, could not let go the opportunity to repay his favours.

As Salim had been to the Rajah’s palace at Rangamati and was also acquainted with his family members, he had no difficulty in delivering the Raja’s message to them. Accordingly, the Raja financed the trip for Bangladesh, but as he was on the ‘most wanted’ list in India, he could not have gone to Bangladesh via India, and the political situation of Bangladesh was also not congenial because of the tremendous Indian influence over it at the time, and above 90,000 Pakistanis (civil and military) were held up as POWs in Indian jails. So the only way open to Salim to enter Chittagong was through the Burmese border.

This trip was not government sponsored, and it was to be regarded for all practical purposes as a private mission. Salim was flown to Bangkok, where he was to meet some underworld activists, closely allied to the Bombay network, whose heads were on very intimate terms with him, and it was their influence which opened the way of further incursions through the Vietnam borders to northern Burma where Khun Sa, the Burmese leader of the underworld force ruled.

Undertaking all sorts of treacherous routes, Salim finally succeeded in crossing the Burmese border and entered Bangladesh through its eastern border. He went to the Raja’s palace at Rangamati and delivered the letter to his wife and sons. Here a new situation had developed during the absence of Raja Tridev Roy; his elder son had become the rajah and did not want to join his father in Pakistan. He openly revolted against the scheme and Salim had to be content with taking back with him only the wife, the younger son and daughter of the rajah with him. He was assisted in his mission by some of his old associates from Delhi.