Raja Devasish Roy is the chief of the Chakma Administrative Circle, an official body and the traditional raja of the ethnic Chakma community, which lives mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). He is also an advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in Dhaka. He holds a Diploma in Legal Studies from La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia; a Barrister-at-Law at the Inns of Court School of Law, London; a BA in Law, from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK; and a BA Degree from the University of Chittagong. He has taught English law to London University LL.B students at Bhuiyan Academy, Dhaka, and Constitutional Law at Rangamati Law College. In January 2008, he was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, Government of Bangladesh, with the rank and status of a Minister of State. He was in charge of the Ministry of CHT’s Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Forests and held these posts until January, 2009, when an elected government resumed office in Dhaka. In May
2010, he was appointed as a Member (Indigenous representative) of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Asia Region) for the term 2011-13. The appointment by the President of the Economic and Social Council followed an election process wherein his nomination was endorsed by an overwhelming number of the participating indigenous organizations from fifteen Asian countries.