By Firstdespatch Desk Sep 09, 2024
Agartala, Sept 9 (FD) Ninety-four years ago, a child was born in a nondescript hilltop hamlet in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, now Bangladesh. This child later became a journalist and continues to write news articles to this day.
Commonly known as Srota da or Khisa da among the scribes of Agartala, he is officially known as Srota Ranjan Khisha and is currently the Editor of "Chini Kok", a news weekly.
The Agartala Press Club celebrated his 94th birthday yesterday at the club building. The event was attended by senior journalists such as Subal Dey, a septuagenarian himself; veteran journalist Sekhar Datta; Sujit Chakraborty; Chitra Roy; and others, including the club's President, Jayanta Bhattacharya, and Secretary, Ramakanta Dey.
"I was born on September 8, 1930, in the hilly village of Sabek Kong, 18 miles from Rangamati, now one of the three district headquarters of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. There was only one high school in the entire Chittagong Hill Tracts, which is even larger than Tripura. I come from a Jhumia family and worked on 'Jhum' along with my family members before being admitted to Rangamati High School," he recounted, reflecting on the past.
He also recalled the Great Bengal Famine of 1943 and his experience as an eyewitness to the hoisting of the Indian national flag on the royal palace in Rangamati after the 1947 partition, believing that the predominantly Buddhist Chittagong Hill Tracts would become part of India. However, August 17 brought disappointment as the Chittagong Hill Tracts were included in Pakistan according to the partition award.
He faced severe poverty and spent time in jail during the 1975 emergency when many journalists were imprisoned for writing against the government.
"Despite everything, I enjoyed my life. Even from jail, I used to write love letters to my wife," he said with a hearty laugh. FD JK