Late Kishore Rai was born on February 22, 1957 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His father Mr. Maha Prasad Rai was a British army and his mother Mamu Rai, was a housewife. His father was famously known as ‘alyaichey jetha’ in Sarbhang area for pioneering large scale cardamom farming and marketing the produce to India. Kishor went to Saint Roberts Higher Secondary School in Darjeeling. After graduating with a High School Diploma, he returned to Bhutan to become a contractor and businessman.
Late Kishore Rai was born on February 22, 1957 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His father Mr. Maha Prasad Rai was a British army and his mother Mamu Rai, was a housewife. His father was famously known as ‘alyaichey jetha’ in Sarbhang area for pioneering large scale cardamom farming and marketing the produce to India. Kishor went to Saint Roberts Higher Secondary School in Darjeeling. After graduating with a High School Diploma, he returned to Bhutan to become a contractor and businessman.
Kishor was socially active, and played an active role in promoting youth activities in his hometown, Sarbhang, Bhutan. He opposed the ‘One Nation, One People’ policy’ imposed by the state. As many of his friends were arrested and detained, Kishore left Bhutan in early 1990 and took shelter in India. In exile, he temporarily lived underground in Sikkim. Later, he served as the General Secretary of People’s Forum for Human Rights, Bhutan (PFHRB), and the Human Rights Organization of Bhutan (HUROB). Most early activists fondly remember and respect him as ‘GS’ which had almost become his second name. ‘GS’ meant General Secretary. Kishor was married to Madan Kala Rai and has a daughter, Senmee Rai, who lives in Canada. On November 16, 1989, Tek Nath Rizal, Jogen Gazmere and Sushil Pokhrel were arrested from Nepal and subsequently abducted to Bhutan—a significant blow to PFHRB. During this critical period, Kishor, in collaboration with Mr. Gopal Ghimirey, played the lead in restructuring and revitalizing the organization. Once I travelled to Dadghari, Assam with Kishor. Compelled by the fear of Assam police conducting a raid on us, we spent a night hiding in the paddy fields of headman Kedar Basnet. We lay half submerged under water infested by leaches, which feasted on our blood. Our night was unbearable but it brought Kishor and me close to each other. When we returned, we found the situation in Garganda very upsetting—food was scarce, medicines were not available, and the growing population made security a major concern. Under such circumstances, Kishor drove the decision to send the refugees to Nepal. The SUB provided volunteers and I personally contributed Rs. 500. This is how the first group of 13 refugees reached Nepal in February 1991. Since then, he was involved in various work for the care, support and repatriation of these refugees to Bhutan. When the Human Rights Organization of Bhutan (HUROB) was established on September 7, 1991, Kishor was appointed as its General Secretary. Shortly thereafter, HUROB took on the critical responsibility of managing the refugee camp at Maidhar. This was a difficult period, since no external assistance was available. As the leader managing a fledgling refugee camp, Kishor’s endeavour was to keep our people intact and prevent them from disappearing into the whirlpool of Nepalese population. Kishor also maintained communication with various human rights organizations. Together, he and I accompanied Indian human rights leader Ravi Nair, who was on a visit to observe the conditions of Bhutanese evictees living temporarily in Assam and West Bengal. During the visit, Mr. Nair gathered firsthand information, which he subsequently disseminated to the international human rights community. Ravi was the first human rights leader to visit our people and help us internationalize our cause. Despite having no formal training or prior experience, Kishor grasped complex situations quickly and exhibited remarkable ingenuity in navigating unexpected challenges. I truly appreciated his tactful and strategic handling of a critical incident in Goldhap Camp that led to the arrest and detention of 17 camp residents, including the Camp Secretary Rudra Khatiwada, Krishna Phuyel, Hari Phuyel, Krishna Khadka, and Dadi Ram. They were arrested when irate camp residents vandalized a police post inside the camp. The police estimated the damage at NRS. 800,000 and demanded we deposit the said amount to secure their release.They set a very high compensation figure, since the initial impression was that the UNHCR would cover this cost. However, we made a conscious decision not to involve the UNHCR, fearing that doing so might set a precedent and potentially encourage camp authorities to orchestrate similar incidents in the future to extort money from the camp residents. As a consequence, the financial burden fell entirely on us—but we did not have money. In response, Kishor appealed to the Chief District Officer (CDO) to reduce the amount demanded, but in vain. Undeterred, he negotiated separately with the sub-inspector in charge and brokered a deal securing the release of all 17 detainees, at a significantly lesser cost. However, Kishor was deeply disheartened when the authorities backtracked, rearrested our people and reinstated their demand for the full amount. We had to secure a second release for them by raising money from family, relatives, and the community. In addition to his work in advocacy, Kishore was also adept at organizing public rallies. One such program was the ‘Cycle Rally’ organized in collaboration with the Students Union of Bhutan (SUB) in January 1996, in which a total of 150 volunteers participated. During this rally, several individuals, including Kishor Rai and I were arrested by the West Bengal police in Jaigaon, and subsequently detained in Alipurduar Jail for nine days. While in detention, I suffered a severe asthma attack due to the cold. Had it not been for Kishor Rai, the situation could have likely gotten worse. Rai also served as the representative of HUROB to the BRRRC (Bhutanese Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee), an organization dedicated to facilitating repatriation efforts. He carried out his responsibilities with utmost dedication and to the best of his ability.
In the journey of Bhutanese struggle, I had the rare opportunity to meet and work with a beautiful soul, in the person of Kishor Rai. He was a strict vegetarian and disciplined yoga practitioner. Soft spoken, sharp witted and at times humorous, Kishore also believed in nonviolent activism. He was never ambitious. Even though he was the founding member of many organizations, he always served as the second man; and never became an organization head anytime. He rejected several membership offers from political parties in exile because his values contradicted their beliefs. He was always cool and composed, friendly, pleasing, respectful, kind and helpful. Most youths looked upon him as the go to person for any kind of help. Kishor played guitar very well and was interested in sports. A true activist and leader, he exerted a positive aura, provided strategic leadership, and remained personally committed to those around him, believing that the cause was always greater than the individual. Mr. Rai was hospitalized on May 10, 2022, in Siliguri, India. He passed away during treatment on Thursday June 2, 2022. He was scheduled to go to New Delhi, India to operationalize an important project for the BRAIN (Bhutan Research and Information Network), if he had recuperated. Unfortunately, he did not live to see that day. Kishore came into the movement as a young enthusiast and died at age 65, exhausted by failing health and a lack of timely care. In him, we have lost a great social worker and a dedicated human rights soldier. His legacy continues to resonate in the hearts of many who he continues to inspire. Contributed by SB Subba: SB Subba shared a very close personal relationship with Kishor Rai. They were not just mere colleagues, they were companions who shared a common pledge to achieving justice, democracy, and human rights in Bhutan. Their relationship extended far beyond formal organizational roles and was strongly grounded on mutual trust and respect for each other. Given this closeness and understanding, Subba is uniquely qualified to write about Kishor Rai’s life and work.