Birendra Kishore Roaza

 

Birendra Kishore Roaza (B.K Roaza) was a social activist , politician and  A member of the Legislative Assembly(MLA). A leading activist of the rights of the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, he was one of the founding leader of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) and its armed wing, the Shanti Bahini along with M.N Larma. 

 

Early Life:

Birendra Kishore Roaza born in 1913 AD and 1323 Tipra Era in 1913 AD and 1323 Tipra Era in Thakurchara Tipra Village, one of the oldest localities of the Tipra people who speaks Kokborok Language, located three kilometers south from Khagrachari City.
His Father Sorot Chandra Roaza  was a headman of a Mouza. He was also a poet and Astrologer. At that time Sorot Chandra Roaza's family was noble and influential. Birendra Kishore Roaza was the only child of that family. 
Birendra Kishore Roaza was known as B.K Roaza among people.

Education 

The Chittagong Hill Tracts region was a very neglected and neglected region during the British period. Especially the communication and education system was so worst. For taking institutional education B. K. Roaza had to live in exile from the age of 7. He passed Entrance Exam from Rangamati High School in 1932 AD, Intermediate from Chittagong Government College in 1934 AD and Bachelor Degree from Calcutta University in 1936 AD. B, K Roaza is a The first person to be graduate among Tripuri ethnic group living in Bangladesh.

Career:

Earlier of his career ,B. K Roaza started teaching at Rangamati High School. After teaching for a few years, he applied to the King Commission under the British Government for a government job. During World War 2, He appered as a candidate for exam at the King Commission. At that time, the District Superintendent of Chittagong Hill Tracts was a Bureaucrat named Niblet. He was also the chairman of the examination board.

During the interview at the King Commission, District Superintendent Niblet rudely told B. K Roaza "You people are still primitive and belong to that society. You cannot be recommended for the job at the King Commission." 
Mr. Niblet had previously worked as a palace caretaker of Tripura Maharaja for Rs 300/-.
B.K Roaza protested at such disrespectful remark of Mr. Niblet and replied that "You were previously employed as the caretaker of the Raj Palace of the Maharaja of Tripura.  Later you were also fired.  Your educational qualification is only matriculate. If you can become a district superintendent with this qualification. And we are graduates, will we not be eligible for the King Commission?. I don't want a job" he went outside furiously and Niblet came to offer a job but rejected by B.K Roaza.
When the current Khagrachari Government High School was Middle School, he kept the school alive by teaching unpaid.

 

Political Life:

From student life, B.K Roaza involved with student politics. He was actively involve in presenting the appeal for the improvement of the land and people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, whom were neglected and deprived. 
He was arrested for the first time for political reasons before the British Government left India in 1947. Then in 1949, he was temporarily imprisoned by the Pakistan Government for the second time due to the protest against the annexation of the Independent Tripura State and the formation of Parbattya Jana Sheba Sangha.

Another reason for this arrest is that Mohalchari Police found national flag of the independent state of Tripura with a sunburst between red and yellow was found kept inside the box during the search of B.K Roaza's home at Thakurchara.

He was the first indigenous MLA( Member of Legislative Assembly)  from the hill tracts who won in 1954.

Education Expansion Project in Hill Tracts: 

In 1954, he was elected as an independent candidate from the northern part of Chittagong in the United Front elections of the state of Pakistan. At that time, he presented the "Public Education Expansion Project" to the East Pakistan Provincial Council as an elected public representative of Chittagong Hill Tracts for the expansion of education in the hill area. When this 'project' was approved by the Ayub government in 1960, Chittagong Hill Tracts got the expansion of primary education system.