Draft:Russell Sinha

Russell Sinha
File:Russell Sinha.jpg
Born	1991-10-06 Kamalpur, Tripura
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Politician, Social Activist

Russell Sinha (born 6 October 1991 in Kamalpur, Tripura) is an Indian Politician, Social Activist. associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is associated with the party's youth organisation, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), and is described as serving as the District President of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Dhalai district, Tripura.

Sinha has also been involved in social-media-based public assistance activities. He came to wider public attention in 2017 after helping publicise the case of Gopal Das, a man from Tripura who was stranded in Saudi Arabia. Sinha helped Das record and circulate a video appeal through social media, tagging India's then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs. The appeal was subsequently acted upon, and Das returned to India.

Early life and family

Russell Sinha was born on 6 October 1991 in Kamalpur, in Dhalai district of Tripura, India. According to biographical information associated with Sinha, his father was Late Govinda Das Sinha and his mother is Smt Nanda Sinha. He grew up in the Dhalai region of Tripura. The area has been an important part of his later social and political activities.

Political career

Sinha is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). According to biographical information about Sinha, he serves as the District President of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Dhalai district. In this capacity, he has been associated with youth-oriented political activities, organisational programmes and public outreach in the district. Social-media material associated with BJYM Dhalai has also referred to Sinha in connection with activities of the organisation. Public posts relating to BJYM Dhalai have documented organisational meetings and activities involving local youth-party workers. Sinha's social-media profile describes him as a social activist and contains references to his involvement with the BJP's youth organisation.

Social activism

Sinha became the subject of national media coverage in September 2017 following his involvement in the case of Gopal Das, a resident of Tripura who had travelled to Saudi Arabia in search of employment. According to NDTV, Das had been working in Saudi Arabia and alleged that he had been subjected to difficult working conditions, including long working hours, non-payment of salary and physical mistreatment. After losing his employment, Das managed to contact his wife in Tripura and explain his situation. Das's wife subsequently contacted Russell Sinha. Sinha spoke with Das and asked him to make a video explaining his circumstances. Sinha then uploaded the video to social media and tagged Sushma Swaraj, who was serving as India's External Affairs Minister at the time, as well as official handles associated with the Ministry of External Affairs. The appeal attracted official attention. NDTV reported that the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia became involved in the matter and that Das was subsequently able to return to India. He reached Delhi in September 2017 before travelling back to his ancestral home in Tripura. Sinha told NDTV that the social-media appeal had helped draw attention to Das's situation and that the process resulted in his rescue and travel arrangements for his return to India.

Use of social media

Social media has been an important part of Sinha's public activities. His involvement in the Gopal Das case demonstrated how social-media platforms could be used to bring individual cases involving Indian citizens abroad to the attention of public authorities. In the 2017 case, Sinha used Twitter and online video to communicate the circumstances faced by Das and to seek intervention from government officials. The incident received coverage from NDTV and became associated with the wider use of social media for public grievance and emergency assistance. His later social-media presence has continued to feature political, organisational and social activities in Tripura.

Youth politics

As a BJP youth organisation leader in Dhalai, Sinha has been associated with activities involving young party workers and local organisational programmes. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party and conducts political and organisational activities involving young people. Sinha's reported role within the Dhalai district organisation places his political work primarily within youth-oriented party activities in the district. Publicly available posts concerning BJYM Dhalai have documented district-level executive meetings and organisational programmes involving members of the youth organisation.

Political affiliation

Sinha is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's major political parties. His organisational activities have been connected with the party's youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. His work has primarily been associated with Dhalai district and the wider political and social environment of Tripura.