Deo Prakash Rai (December 1926 – 1981) was an Indian politician. A former Gorkha Brigade soldier, he was the general secretary of the All India Gorkha League and was made a minister in the West Bengal state government in 1967, 1969 and 1971.
Youth
Rai was born at Tukvar Tea Estate in Darjeeling in December 1926.[1] He was the son of K.S. Sotang.[1] He went to school at the Arung School of Education, obtaining a Higher English Certificate of Education.[1]
Soldier
Rai served in the Gorkha Brigade for three years during the Second World War.[1][2] He reached the rank of colour sergeant.[3] In 1950, he was arrested in Malaya and deported, having been denounced as a "communist agent" by John Cross, chief instructor of the new Army School of Education (Gurkhas).[3][4][5]
In politics and trade unionism
Rai was general secretary of the All India Gorkha League.[6] In 1946, the Communist Party of India (CPI) proposed the notion of creating a "Gorkhasthan", merging Nepal, south Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills.[6] The CPI tried to convince the Gorkha League to support the Gorkhasthan proposal, but Rai categorically opposed it.[6] As a trade unionist, he was the founder of Darjeeling Chiya Kaman Shramik Sangha.[1] He was patron of the Darjeeling Cultural Institute.[1] As an author, he wrote many poems and short stories in the Nepali language.[1]
Legislator
Rai represented the Darjeeling constituency in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1957 until his death.[7]
Minister
Rai was named Minister for Scheduled Castes and Tribes Welfare in the 1967 and 1969 United Front governments of West Bengal.[2][7][8] He was again named as Minister in the 1971 state government, now in charge of Scheduled Castes Tribal Welfare and Tourism.[2][9]
For a quarter of a century, Rai was the dominant politician in the Darjeeling hills.[10] He received criticism from within his own community, which accused him of having entered into a secret pact with the state government in Calcutta.[10] While Raj was a minister in three successive state cabinets, no progress on administrative autonomy for the Darjeeling hills was made.[9]
1977 election
At the time of the 1977 elections, Rai was weakened by illness.[6]
Rai died in 1981.[10] After his death, his party was weakened and more militant factions such as Pranta Parishad and the Gorkha National Liberation Front came to dominate the political field in the hills.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Who's who 1972: General Election, March 1972{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat(1974)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 India Who's who{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. INFA Publications(2000)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Call of Nepal{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Educational Enterprises(1996)
- ↑ Imperial warriors: Britain and the Gurkhas{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Granta Books(1999). ISBN 978-1-86207-284-8
- ↑ The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bennett, Coleman & Company(1968)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. APH Publishing(2000). ISBN 978-81-7648-166-3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Election results of West Bengal: statistics & analysis, 1952–1991{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. The Committee
- ↑ The Politics of Autonomy: Indian Experiences{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. SAGE Publications(13 December 2005). ISBN 978-81-321-0364-6
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Peace as process: reconciliation and conflict resolution in South Asia{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Manohar Publishers & Distributors(1 June 2001). ISBN 978-81-7304-397-0
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Gorkhaland: Crisis of Statehood{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. SAGE Publications(13 June 2012). ISBN 978-81-321-1680-6
- ↑ Himalayan Studies in India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mittal Publications(2008). ISBN 978-81-8324-196-0