Dasarath Deb, former Chief Minster of Tripura

Shown in the video is the memorial dedicated to the former Chief Minister of Tripura, Dasarath Deb. Dasarath Deb, a liberator of the tribal people of Tripura and a mass leader is also known as Raja Dasarath. He was a legendary figure, in the Communist movement and also in the history of Tripura and served as a Member of Parliament for four tenures.

He started his political career with a mass literacy movement intended for the uplift of the tribal people in Tripura. In 1945 he formed the ‘Janasiksha Samithi’ in order to educate the tribal masses, enrich the tribal language and literature and make the tribal people conscious of their social and political rights. Later on in order to bring the tribal people to one platform he formed the ‘Mukti Parishad’. In 1950 he along with his followers joined the CPI. The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) described him as an unchallenged mass leader, a symbol of the tribal movement in Tripura and a true Marxist.

Born in 1916 at Boltali village in West Tripura, he was also a prolific writer. He authored two books - Mukti Parishader Ektikatha (Story of Mukti Parishad) and Samantatantrik Byabasthar Biruddhe Mukti Parishader Sangram (Fight of Mukti Parishad against Feudalism). He also wrote two books in his mother tongue, Kokborok, a tribal language. This veteran leader died on October 14th, 1998.