Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 13 Dec: Veteran political and social activist from Arunachal Pradesh, Tadar Tempo (63), has been nominated as the national joint secretary of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) – RPI (A) – a party led by union minister Ramdas Athawale and inspired by the ideology of Dr BR Ambedkar.
Hailing from Bath village in Papum Pare district, Tempo has decades of experience in politics, social work, and religious activities.
He describes himself as a dedicated “desh premi,” committed to uplifting the poorest sections of society and minorities, and defending the Constitution of India.
Born in Pech village near Sagalee, and raised in Yallang village near Sagalee in Papum Pare district, Tempo began his primary education at a government school in Sagalee.
He continued his schooling at John Paul Baptist Mission School and Subansiri Ashram School in North Lakhimpur, Assam, before completing his higher secondary education from Don Bosco School in Shillong, Meghalaya. In 1977 – what he described as a period of intense persecution of Christians in Arunachal – Tempo became a Roman Catholic preacher.
His political career took off in 1984 when he joined the Indian National Congress amid national turmoil following Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In 1988, Tempo was appointed state chief of the Congress Seva Dal and became a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
In 1999, he contested as an MLA candidate from the Itanagar Assembly constituency.
