Atul Debbarma

Atul Debbarma (born 8th Jan 1965) is an Indian doctor-turned-politician from Tripura. He was a practicing doctor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi until December 2017. He has been actively involved with RSS and its different wings like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Vivekananda International Foundation since 2007. He won the Tripura Assembly Elections 2018 as the BJP candidate from Krishnapur constituency.

Early life and education

Atul Debbarma was born in Teliamura, Tripura to Ishwar Chandra Debbarma and Bidya Laxmi Debbarma. He graduated from High School and Higher Secondary School from Tripura Board of Secondary Education in first division. He completed his MBBS degree and subsequently a Diploma in Child Health from Nagpur University. He also holds an LL.B degree from Delhi University.

Professional career

He worked as a Medical Officer in Mobile Health Team in Tripura ADC government from 1991-1992 during which he toured throughout the state. He joined the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as a Medical Officer in December 1992 through CMSE conducted by UPSC . He took a voluntary retirement from his post of Chief Medical Officer, Senior Administrative Grade in December 2017.

During his 25 years of service, he underwent many numerous trainings from institutions like LBS National Academy of Administration (Mussoorie), Chulalongkorn University in Thailand as a WHO Fellowship Program, Indian Institute of Public Administration (New Delhi), Central Health Education Bureau (New Delhi), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (New Delhi) etc.

Social and literary activism

Atul Debbarma associated himself with nationalist ideology since 1992 and was politically affiliated to BJP since then. He became an active member of RSS and has been associated with its different wings like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Vivekananda International Foundation since 2007.

He founded many organizations pertaining to the cultural and social awakening of Tripuri people. The names of the organizations are as follows:

1. Delhi Tripura Society, New Delhi – a social platform of Tripuri people residing in Delhi and NCR region.

2. Tripur Kshatriya Samaj, Agartala – a socio-cultural platform of Tripuri community to safeguard, promote and practice Tripuri community’s social values, rituals, tradition, culture and heritage.

3. Panch Tripur Sangh, Agartala – a socio-cultural umbrella organization comprising representatives of various tribal communities of Tripura like Jamatia, Noatia, Kaipeng, Molsom etc.

4. Tripur Sanatan Hindu Sangh, Agartala - a religious organization comprising saints, sadhus, gurus and heads of ashrams and temples.

5. Subrai Mission Trust, Agartala – a charitable organization to serve the under-privileged people via health, education and philanthropic activities.

6. Subrai Vidya Mandir, Agartala – an English Medium School with hostel facility for tribal boys and girls established near Agartala, where modern education is imparted along with Indian values. The school has students up till 8^th standard. Three more branches of Subrai Vidya Mandir are running in rural areas.

Besides this, he has been also been actively involved in social service in Tripura through activities like distributing free medicines, giving health talks and distributing blankets to the underprivileged as part of free medical camps in rural areas. He also organized events like free yoga camps to promote cultural awakening among the youth.

He is also a writer and has written 2 short stories and a novel 1980 (based on 1980 riots in Tripura) in Kokborok. He published a Kokborok translation of the Bhagavad Gita with in-depth analysis. He also translated the Rajmala (The Royal Chronicle of Tripura) and the Tripur Samhita to Kokborok. Another novel Mungkwrwi and a Kokborok translation of Gitanjali, though completed, are yet to be published. Among non-fictional works, he has written various essays, critical analyses and debates on issues on culture, customs, religion and spirituality in local dailies, magazines and periodicals in Kokborok, Bengali, and English.

In 2001, he hoisted a website www.tripura.org.in which has in-depth information on various aspects of Tripura and has been maintaining it.

Personal life

He has 3 younger sliblings - 1 sister and 2 brothers. He is married to Madhabi Debbarma, also Chief Medical Officer in MCD, since 1993 and has 2 daughters.

Awards and Recognition

His novel 1980 was very well-received and praised by critics. It has been included in the curriculum of Tripura University. He was awarded the Radha Mohan Thakur Literary Award and the Salil Krishna Debbarman Memorial Award by Tripura Government in 2006 for his novel.

References