Biography
Mr. RP Subba was born and raised in Samchi district, Bhutan. He received a bachelor’s degree from Sherubtse College in 1989. That same year, he joined the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the National Institute of Education—a course which he did not complete. Subba left Bhutan on November 6, 1989, and later earned a master’s degree in anthropology from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, while in exile. Subba is one of the founding members of the Student’s Union of Bhutan. Later, in exile, he served as its Vice—President and held the position until 1992. Subba founded, edited, and managed the Bhutan Focus — a SUB publication that covered news, views, editorials, and analysis on current affairs in Bhutan. He also represented Bhutan in various international student conferences and seminars. In 1992, Subba resigned from SUB and joined the Bhutan Peoples; Party and became its General Secretary for India Affairs. In this role, he organized the first Bhutanese relay hunger strike at Delhis Boat Club in 1993 and later held a press conference at the Press Club of India. On June 2, 1999, Subba, then General Secretary of the Bhutan Gorkha National Liberation Front (BGNLF), led arally of 101 protest marchers from the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal to Phuntsholing, Bhutan. Subba and his followers were arrested and detained for 18 hours before they were released. Subba immigrated to the United States on a Green Card visa in 2003, and became a U.S. citizen, shortly after. In 2007, he appeared in a short documentary film jointly produced by the U.S. State Department, the Nepalese government, and the UNHCR. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) used the documentary to encourage camp residents to apply for resettlement, during the initial phase of the resettlement orientation process in Damak.Subba is a founding member and Chairman of The BRAIN.