INTRODUCTION
"The world cannot stand investigation because of its changing unreal nature." — Tripura Rahasya
"The strength of Tripura lies in her people and her land. Guard their dignity, and the future will guard itself." — Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur
(He is renowned as the architect of Tripura and prioritized indigenous welfare, land protection, and dignity.)
Tripura, one of India's most critical and complex landlocked states in South Asian geopolitics and one of the Seven Sisters, the region of insurgency. Serving as India's bellwether, it is a significant stakeholder in many conflicts, being on both ends of the moral compass. It is home to one of the richest cultures and heritages in the entire world. To Bangladesh, Tripura has been an excellent ally at times, but as the King of Tripura calls for the Greater Tipraland Movementproclaiming Chattogram as their land and directly threatening the sovereignty of Bangladesh, it stands unclear whether Tripura will be on the wrong side of history, again.
The intangible heritage of the greater Tripura Land reflects the story through geography, history, culture, conflict, and aspiration. The Tripura Land, since it is a kingdom behind today's discipline, cannot be grasped without acknowledging the hierarchy of the Twipra or Tripuri Kingdom—ruled by the Manikya dynasty for more than 500 years. Historical evidence, chronicles, and culture point to the territory that once included large portions of Tripura (India), the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh), Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali, and surrounding areas.
HISTORY (BIRTH – 1947)
Tripura's origin is widely considered to be subjective, and according to many scholars, it is mixed with ancient mythology, particularly concerning the "Rajmala" and Lunar Dynasty. Reflected in its traditional patriarchy, it is also widely considered to be one of the richest and oldest civilizations till date, with it being mentioned even in the Mahabharata. Tripura originated from the Twipra Kingdom in the early 15th century, which was ruled by the Manikya Dynasty for almost 400 years up until 1947, when Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the last Manikya ruler, met his ends just months before the Independence of India, 1947.
Before 1947, Tripura was an independent princely state under the old Manikya dynasty for centuries with a location of more than 100 percent—stretching across parts of Northeast India and Bangladesh. The kingdom followed its own administration and discipline and cultural institutions.
1947–1949: THE STANDSTILL AGREEMENT AND ACCESSION
At the crux of the Independence of India and with the untimely death of the then Manikya ruler, Tripura was thrown into a state of deep turmoil. So, a temporary regent was formed within a month as an immediate measure, which would then go on to sign the Standstill Agreement, a political incentive of India disguised as a bilateral agreement that the pre-existing arrangements between the British Crown and the concerned states would be intact. However, the caveat was that the Indian Government would sign the agreement contingent on those states having already signed the Instrument of Accession. Tripura, being politically pressurized from all directions, signed the Instrument of Accession and joined India.
When British rule ended, Tripura signed the Standstill Agreement with the Dominion of India in 1947, which was meant to protect Tripura's sovereignty while its future relationship with India was dubious. It reflects a vital point when Tripura was neither fully integrated nor entirely separate.
After the death of Maharaja Bir Bikram, Tripura was officially integrated with the Indian Union in 1949, marking a historical change from sovereign kingdom to a monitored state.
1949–1972: THE ROAD TO STATEHOOD
The temporary regent that was formed immediately post-death of Bir Bikram Manikya, was dissolved in 1948. Subsequently, in 1949, the Tripura Merger Agreement was signed which led to Tripura becoming a centrally administered Part C state of India. Furthermore, as Tripura's political status underwent several transformations reflecting its critical landlocked position, the Indian government woke up very late and granted it Union Territory Status in 1956under the States Reorganisation Act 1956, and an elected ministry in 1963. Finally, as the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh began settling down, where Tripura was a significant stakeholder, it only attained full statehood on January 21, 1972, under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act. 1971 and became one of the Seven Sisters of India.
Policies often failed to lessen local tribal disparity, resulting in the extinction of harmony, discrimination in opportunities, and a cruel myth that mainstream Tripura were overlooked amidst the other lived groups. This era was a turning point because Tripura's dignity, once secure and sovereign, began to lose structure due to modern political corruption.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
Tripura's name can be broken down into "Tui" (Water) and "Para" (Near) meaning near water, reflecting its geographical location. Tripura exists at the extreme northeast of India, tucked into a corner of its map. It is a critical state for India as Tripura serves as the bellwether for conflicts in the SE region, being landlocked by Bangladeshi territory in the North, South, and West, this feature makes Tripura very prone to being refugee-prone to Bangladesh, which has been shown again and again in history, particularly post-1947 partition, and the refugee crisis derived from the 1971 Liberation War.
REFUGEE CRISIS AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
Tripura, due to its landlocked position, is surrounded by Bangladesh in the North, South, and West. So, when any conflict emerges, the Bengalee people naturally migrate towards their closest neighbour, Tripura, which was particularly noticed in two incidents.
First, the Tripura of Post-Partition India, where due to the rapid immigration of Hindu Bengalees the demographic shifted and led to the marginalization of Tripura's indigenous population, whose share in the total population declined sharply. This displacement and demographic transition fueled ethnic tensions, contributing to the rise of identity-based political movements in later decades.
Secondly, the 1971 Indo-Pakistan and Liberation War of Bangladesh left Bangladesh devastated and with an overbearing refugee crisis leading to Tripura sheltering Bengalee refugees nearly equaling their own population. Post-1971, many Bengalees returned to newly Independent Bangladesh but many chose to stay in Tripura, which led to a Bengali-dominated administration shaped policy decisions, leading to resentment among the indigenous Tripuris, which later manifested in ethnic conflicts and insurgency.
The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC) Act 1979 was passed by the Indian government after demands from the Tripuris.
MANDAI MASSACRE (1980)
Children murdered, bodies mutilated, skulls smashed and crushed into dust, yet that wouldn't be enough to describe the massacre in Mandai of 1980. The sudden influx of Bengalees in Tripura drew an invisible division among the populace between purist Tripuris and liberals, and the apex of this was the Mandai Massacre. On June 8, 1980, approximately 400 Bengalees were brutally murdered and mutilated by armed Tripuris and insurgent forces. Some ways of killing included slitting open pregnant women, skull crushing, severing limbs while alive, spiking children. This incident vividly illustrated the complex collision of tribal insurgency, saffron nationalism and Bengali subnationalism in Tripura.
INSURGENCY AND ETHNO-POLITICAL MOVEMENTS
The root of almost all the insurgencies in Tripura take birth from land alienation, marginalization of the indigenous population, Bengali-dominated state ownership, and demands of a Tripura Kingdom. The evolution of insurgency in Tripura can be traced to the formation of the Tipura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS) in 1971, followed by Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) in 1981, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and its armed wing, the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) in 1990. The names are different, but their demands can be boiled down to be the same, Kingdom of Tripura.
The tribal province of Tripura, long suffocated by socio-political pressures especially during 1947 (Partition of India)and 1971 (the birth of sovereign Bangladesh)—saw an ancient majority population become minorities in their own land as a large number of refugees from East Pakistan crossed the Tripura border. This incident caused political marginalization and cultural insecurity for the Tripuri people, resulting in a massive social threat, sometimes even bloody.
The NLFT and ATTF were formed in 1990, to put forward a secessionist agenda, that disputed the 1990 merger of Tripura with the Indian Union, and demanded sovereignty for Tripura.
The US Committee for Refugees estimated the internal displacement of Bengalis in various parts of Tripura at more than 200,000 at the peak of tribal militancy between 1995 and 2000.
The ATTF was largely weakened in the 2000s following surrenders and successful negotiations.
This antagonistic relationship continued until 2024, when the NLFT and ATTF signed a peace accord with the Indian and Tripuri Government, ending the 34 year-long insurgency in Tripura.
TIPRA MOTHA AND THE GREATER TIPRALAND MOVEMENT
The Tipra Motha Party, aka Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, is a regional political party led by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, the current titular king of Tripura. The manifesto of this party comprises mainly one objective, and that is the Greater Tipraland Movement. Modeled after Jew-exclusive Israel, the Greater Tipraland Movement calls for the creation of a new state exclusively for the Indigenous people on the basis of article 2 and 3 of the Indian Parliament that allows for the creation of new States. They also seek to include the people living in Bandarband, Chittagong, Khagracchari and other bordering areas of neighbouring Bangladesh.
As of November 11, 2025, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, representing the TIPRA Motha, had posted a map of envisioned "Greater Tipraland" that comprised of most of the Chittagong districts, Cumilla, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban, Khaggrachari, Feni, Lakshmipur.
This call by the Tipra Motha directly threatens Bangladesh's sovereignty to keep its land violating article 2 of the UN Charter.
DISPARITY IN THE INDIAN UNION
While the northern states being the favourite Sons enjoy the abundant riches of India, the Seven Sisters can't even seem to get India's feet dust. The disparity between the two is evident even considering the national average of employment as the only metric. Punjab and Haryana outpace the national average, whereas the NE states like Tripura are lagging behind with a fundamental overdependence on agricultural sectors highlighting the lack of critical industrial infrastructure.
Tripura like many other states, have fallen behind the northern and western parts of Indian location and state. Investments in education, transport medical, broadband internet and agriculture have been low, creating disparity in social communication, education medicine research and job searching.
CONCLUSION
As Tripura advances as a state, it is held back by its own royal family for worsening diplomatic ties with Bangladesh. The Indian government must be held accountable for the extreme disparity between NE states like Tripura and its close Northern neighbours. With the political landscape of South Asia being one that is extremely unstable now, Tripura's current king is seeking to only shake it further.
Tripura is a land of resilience. Mountains and rivers here witnessed centuries of sovereignty, culture, and struggle. The tribe has faced many horrors of partition and demographic long with armed conflict and political marginalization. They endured patiently while their identity was at loss.
True harmony blossoms when people can honor their past while building the base of the ensuing future.
WRITTEN BY Saafqat Al Sameer (12716003), Nahian Ahmed Mugdho (12705123) DESIGNED BY Eftekher Anower Nahin (62664057)
