The Paradigm Shift In Tripura's Demography

A lesson in history to understand how the indigenous community became a minority in Tripura

- Shilajit Kar Bhowmik

Prior to the NDA government failing to table the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 in Rajya Sabha, it had created quite the panic and uproar across the Northeast, including Tripura. The fact that the indigenous community in the State felt threatened was evident in the huge numbers gathered to listen to Pradyot Kishore Debbarman Manikya’s speech, made in Khumlung, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) headquarters on January 3, which was attended by political parties representing the indigenous community with the sole exception of the Indigenous People’s Front of Twipra (IPFT).

Although, the threat of reduction to their minority status as a result of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill no longer exists, it does not change the fact that the indigenous community remain a minority in Tripura.

The Shift

Veteran journalist, Biman Dhar, told Eclectic NorthEast, that the monarchs of Tripura used to invite fishermen, washermen, farmers as well as academics from Chakla Roshanabad, in erstwhile East Bengal, for uplifting Tripura. ‘Chakla Roshanabad comprised large tracts of Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet and Chittagong in present-day Bangladesh and was the Tripura monarch’s demesne,’ Dhar added.