Indian Issue : Tripura

The insurgent groups in Tripura were emerged in the end of the 1970s, as ethnic tensions between the Bengali immigrants and the tribal native population. Their status is classified as very Active
Tripura is situated southeast of Bangladesh and is located between the parallels of 22056” and 24032” North latitudes and 91021” east longitudes. The present Tripura state covers an area of 10,477 sq. Km.

The Tripuri people have a rich historical, social and cultural heritage which is totally distinct from that of the mainland Indians, their distinctive culture as reflected in their dance, music, festivals, management of community affairs, dress and food habit has a strong Mongoloid Base. Kok Borok, the linguafranca of the twelve largest linguistic groups of the indigenous Tripuris and other dialects spoken in Trpura are of the Tibeto-Burman group as distinct from those spoken in India. There is no influence whatsoever of from those spoken by other Mongoloid peoples in the North-eastern region.
Tripura’s basic problem, rather the indigenous Tripuri peoples’ problem, is the huge influx of foreigners, mainly Hindu Bengalis and the resultant alienation of indigenous land thereby causing the threat to the distinctive identity of the Tripuri people and their very existence. India has all along been encouraging this influx of co-religionists and co-ethnic population so as to induct a co-ethnic population base to serve her security interests. The huge influx of foreigners has completely upset the demographic composition of Tripura. The indigenous Tripuri people which constituted more than 85% of the total population at the time of annexation by India has now been reduced to an insignificant minority of less than 29% of the present total of 3 million. To the indigenous, the urban areas have already become a foreign land where their presence is hardly 5%. This population invasion has become the gravest threat to the very existence of the small indigenous Tripuri people as a distinct human groups.

Economy of Taripura

Being culturally more advanced, the settlers now control the economy of Tripura besides having grabbed all the fertile agricultural lands of the indigenous people. With the economy in their hands and political system favourable to them, the “refugees” have now captured political power in Tripura by the sheer strength of their numbers. Thus, the indigenous Tripuri people have been made foreigners in their own homeland. If the present phenomenon is not stopped, the world will have lost the identity of yet another small indigenous people, the Tripuris, in another forty years.
And now, with machineries of the state under their control, particularly the state police and para-military forces, the refugee ‘settlers’ have unleashed a reign of terror against the indigenous Tripuri people.

Tucked away in a corner of the so-call northeast, surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, the wooded hills and lowlands of Tripura have long served as a meeting place for a huge assortment of peoples and races. Over the last few centuries, however, its closest ties have been with Bengal.

This Tripura also was a separate independent kingdom before annexation by India in 1949. It is historical fact that Tripura was not a part of India. In a critical condition of the king’s matter as Queen Regent of Tripura compelled to sign for merger agreement on 9 September 1949. After annexation with India the bonafied Tripuri people become microscopic minority because of the Hindu Bangali huge influx from the then East Pakistan ‘Present Bangadesh). Now they’re all the political, economical, cultural dominating by outsider. Therefore Tripura Peoples Democratic Front (TPDF) and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) start armed national liberation struggle against Indian colonialism. They also, want to reestablish Tripura as an independent country. At present majority of its people of Tripura are Hindu Bengali.

Insurgent Groups

National Liberation Front of Tripura:The National Liberation Front of Tripura was formed in March 1989
All Tripura Tiger Force: The All Tripura Tiger Force was formed in 1990 with the sole aim of the expulsion of all Bengali speaking immigrants.