The Last Raja of West Pakistan

THE LAST RAJA OF WEST PAKISTAN is primarily about the role, policies, politics and decisions of Raja Tridiv Roy, the monarch of the Chakma tribe of Chittagong area, now located in Bangladesh. Covering the period beginning with his coronation as king in 1953 up to the independence of Bangladesh in 1971-72 this book evaluates his decision to stay loyal to Pakistan till the end and contextualizes the political relationship between East and West Pakistan at that time. The decisions of Raja Tridiv Roy and the political context in which they were made had far-reaching consequences both for the Chakma people and the Raja himself. Raja Tridiv Roy was rightly the Last Raja of West Pakistan, a patriot who gave up his centuries-old kingdom for the love and loyalty for Pakistan but in return was neglected and discarded by his beloved land. He might have met a more glorious fate if in 1971 he had not chosen to abandon his people, his motherland and his kingdom. After his recent death in the year 2012, this illuminating research by the London-based author Priyajit Debsarkar re-evaluates Raja Tridev Roy, a monarch who lost his kingdom to self-interest and personal goals.