3 July 2021, Hill Voice, International Desk: Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) spokesperson Dr.Ramendu Shekhar Dewan is no more. He died of old age problems at his apartment in Manchester, United Kingdom, approximately two months ago, according to reliable sources in London. He was 89 years old at the time of his death.

Dr. RS Dewan was born on 17 January 1932 in Khabongpajya area of Khagrachhari hill district of Chittagong Hill Tracts. His father’s name is Ramesh Chandra Dewan and mother’sname Chandramukhi Dewan. He was the sixth child of four sons and three daughters of the parents.

Dr. RS Dewan started his education at Khabongpajya Government Primary School. He got a government scholarship from Mahaprum Middle English School in sixth class, occupying the first place. He passed Matriculation in Science from Rangamati Government High School in 1952. He completed Honors in 1961 and Masters in 1962 from Dhaka University. He moved to London on 3 November 1967 to pursue an MPhil in Chemistry. Dr. Dewan admitted in the MPhil course at Queen Elizabeth College in 1968. It took him four years to do MPhil. After completing his MPhil, he started his PhD at Salford University in 1975. He received his PhD in 1980.

In 1974, while the then Member of Parliament Manabendra NarayanLarma paid a visit to London to attend the Commonwealth Conference as a Parliamentary Representative of the government, contacted with Dr. Dewan and called upon him to wage international campaign for favor of the Jumma peoples’ movement. Responding to his call, Dr. Dewan quitted his job and plunged into the movement for the rights of self-determination of Jumma people for all time.

Dr. R S Dewan, is a true patriot and a man of struggle. He is one of the pioneers engaged in international campaign standing by side of the Jumma people struggling for their right to self-determination. It is through him, the international campaign for favour of rights of the Jumma people had its debut in UK and Europe the campaign of which spread throughout the globe and with participation of the young generation, the campaign gradually turned into one of the supplementary forces of struggle.

In personal life, Dr. R S Dewan is a very honest, sincere and habituated with simple living. Despite living in UK, thousands of miles away from his own motherland, yet love and attraction of life for own land and people got lessened for not a single bit. He did not throw himself into stream of consumerist culture in western lifestyle by giving in his own comfort and lifestyle.As he had sacrificed himself on the altar of struggle for the Jumma nation, Dr. Dewan did not tie the wedding knot in his personal life.