Hill Voice, 1 March, 2024, Rangamati: The Dr. Ramendu Shekhar Dewan Memorial Football Tournament-2024, in memory of a life-long fighter in the movement to establish the right to self-determination of the Jumma peoples in the hills Dr. R S Dewan, has begun today in the town of Rangamati hill district.

The tournament organized by the Dr. Ramendu Shekhar Dewan Memorial Football Tournament Organizing Committee-2024 is being held at Kanta Chakma Memorial playground in Rangapani.

An inaugural event has also been organized on this occasion at the Kanta Chakma Memorial Playground today at 3 pm. Ms. Nirupa Dewan, General Secretary of Rangamati District Women’s Sports Association, has inaugurated the event, while Mr. Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (Santu Larma), Chairman of the CHT Regional Council, Mr. Prakriti Ranjan Chakma, President of the CHT branch of Adivasi Forum and Educationist Mr. Shishir Chakma were also present there among others. Besides, progressive teachers, intellectuals, leaders of traditional institutions and civil society leaders are said to be present there.

The inaugural event was started with a display by the students of Monoghar and a performance by a group of dancers from Rangapani area and then by flying balloons.

The tournament was also held last year at the same venue which was widely appreciated among the sportsmen in three hill districts.

The opening match of the 1st round of the tournament started immediately after the opening ceremony at 4 pm. It has been contested between Chittagong University Adivasi Group vs Katachari Janakalyan Bahumukhi Samiti. At that match the Chittagong University Adivasi Group won by 3-1 goals, where Chyanglok Mro was selected as Man of the Match.

From tomorrow, the rest matches of the first round will be played with two teams a day at 3 PM and 4:30 PM. Total 22 teams from the three hill districts are participating in the tournament.

It should be noted that Dr. R S Dewan was one of the brilliant personalities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a very promising scientist, an uncompromising fighter for the establishment of the Jumma people’s right to self-determination, and a pioneer of the movement for establishing human peoples’ rights across the world. At one stage of his life, he gave up all personal comforts and became the international spokesperson of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti at a turning point in the self-determination movement of the Jumma people, a responsibility he performed till the moment of his death.

From the beginning of his student life, he showed extraordinary intelligence and high moral character. He completed his Masters Degree in Chemistry from Dhaka University in 1962. He then completed a four-year MPhil from Queen Elizabeth College under the University of London on a scholarship in 1968 and obtained a Phd degree in Chemistry from the University of Salford, London, in 1980.

He was born on 17 January 1932 in the village of Khabangpajya in Khagrachari. His father’s name is Ramesh Chandra Dewan and mother’s name is Chandramukhi Dewan. He died on 29 March 2021 at 89 years, at his apartment in Manchester, United Kingdom. In personal life, he was very honest, sincere, industrious, moral, humane and thrifty. His patriotism and nationalism were unparalleled.