Genesis of Tribal Extremism in Tripura

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The author is a scholar in his own right. He is erudite and has a deep understanding of political sociology and social anthropology of Tripura. He presents the ethnic mosaic of Tripura conditions as a backdrop for the analysis of the militant politics of the State.

Tripura has a total population of 20,53,058 according to 1981 Census, whereof the tribal population constitutes 28.44 per cent, their number being 5,83,920. There are 19 major tribal communities, the most populous among them being the Tripuris, who number 3,19,692, constituting a little over 50 per cent of the total tribal population. The other major tribals are Reang (85,836), Jamatia (45,487) Chakma (39,005), Halam (25,692), Mog (16,934) and Noatia (12,963). The different racial and linguistic affinities of these groups and their customs and beliefs are described in the first part of the book.

In the second chapter, the problem of immigrants versus autochthonous population is analysed. Until 1941 the tribal population constituted a little over 50 per cent of the total population in the state. But by 1981, their proportion came down to 28.45 per cent which testifies to the large-scale immigration of non-tribals into Tripura. Immigration of Bengali Hindus reached its highest point in 1961 when the percentage of decadal growth reached 78.71 per cent. However, by 1981 this figure has come down to 31.91 per cent. The author says, the Bengali immigrants were welcomed in the beginning for different reasons. They came to man the administration, and they also spread their culture amongst the indigenous population. As the author avers in this section, the tribals themselves were most prone in the past to assimilate the culture of the economically advanced people. Even though there is no clear idea of the exact date of Bengali becoming the official language in Tripura, there is evidence that by about 15th century, Bengali was being used in the Tripura King's court.

The next section deals with the problems of tribal shifting cultivators and their "untold sufferings and miseries caused by large scale exploitation carried out by non-tribal infiltrators". There is an account of resettlement programmers for the Jhum cultivators. There is also a reference to the grim facts of immigrants grabbing the lands of the Jhum cultivators by paying them a nominal nazrana and of their life in perpetual debt and poverty. He points out how the loopholes in the Land Reforms Act of 1960 were exploited by the immigrants to rob the tribals of their lands.

The author notes that the rate of literacy in the state was about 15 per cent in 1951, and rose to about 42 per cent in 1981. But still he does not seem to be satisfied with this progress and makes the observation that "after merger, little attention was paid for spreading education". The tribals are unable to compete with the non-tribals in securing positions in the administration inspite of the Reservations. The tribals in class I posts constitute only 2.4 per cent and those in class II posts constitute 4.33 per cent. Considering the fact that the tribals constitute about 28 per cent of the total population in the state it becomes clear that they are nowhere near securing their legitimate position in the society as guaranteed by the Constitution. As the author points out "the Government's own’s documents admit that the Scheduled Tribes remain much of the time outside development process".

While the sixth chapter deals with several tribal uprisings in different regions of the country, the seventh chapter focuses attention on the burning issue of the TNV insurgency and its aftermath. The author covers the tug of war between TUJS (Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti) representing the tribals on the one side, and the Amra Bangali representing the Bengali Hindus on the other.

I ventured to write on the subject of tribal extremism in Tripura with special emphasis on the socio economic and political upheavals in the State. This attempt was made on the basis of experience I gained during my research career in the field.

I am fully conscious of the fact that the subject is controversial and sensitive. Yet, I have made an earnest effort to focus the pertinent facts and also to highlight the truth in the greater interest of the nation. Both the Central and the State Governments have now seriously undertaken various developmental projects and welfare measures for upbringing the tribal peoples. But for an effective planning for the implementation of the tribal welfare measures, a scientific study is indeed a desideratum. The present study shall serve as a background for the preparation of any plan for developmental and welfare projects. To begin with attempt has been made to introduce the State of Tripura with particular reference to its land and people including an account of its landscape, geological and geographical features. This is necessary for presenting a picture of the physical and cultural environments in which the tribes of Tripura have been living from remote antiquity. The ethno-graphic features including cultural characteristics of the tribes of Tripura have been presented in Chapter II. It is on this background that the traditional socio-economic profile of the tribal peoples with particular reference to their food gathering, food producing activities, handicrafts, textile-weaving, exchanges etc. has been portrayed in Chapter III. It is on these perspectives an account of the immigration of non-tribal population has been dealt with in chapter IV. While dealing with the immigration of the people, particular emphasis has been laid on social acculturation and impact or modernization in the behavioral pattern of tribal life. It has been attempted to explain as to how and why the rulers of the State of Tripura encouraged the Bengali Hindus to settle in Tripura. In this context while dealing with the transition in the tribal life from primitive agricultural life to modernity, the administrative aspects and also the inadequacies of safeguarding measures for the tribals have been reviewed. The analysis shows that the picture in respect of the safeguards is highly disappointing. It has been observed, that because of cultural advancements, the tribal peoples have become more conscious of their rights and privileges. Gradually, a new tribal national feeling of con-sciousness has grown in them and this has been kindled by some foreign agencies. This is followed by an account of tribal extremism since 1767 to the recent Mandai Massacre of June, 1980. This extremism has been presented in two distinct phases. The first phase lasted from 1767 to 1946 while the period from 1947 to 1980 formed the second phase. Reference has also been made on the formation of the Dinesh Singh Committee along with its recommendations to resolve the basic problems of the State. The great tribal uprisings of 1980 being accompanied by large-scale devastation and killing of hundreds of men and women by the TNV extremists and their political aspects have been treated in chapter-VII and chapter-VIII. It has been also shown as to how the Government of India during the tenure of Shri Rajiv Gandhi's Government brought about settlement of the tribal problems by the historic 'Peace accord' signed by Shri Bijoy Hrangkhawl and five other TNV leaders on behalf of the Tribal National Volunteers (TNV) and Shri P. Srivastav, Additional Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs in presence of General K.V. Krishna Rao (Retd.), Governor of Tripura and Shri Sudhir Ranjan Majumder, Chief Minister of Tripura in New Delhi on 12th August, 1988. At present, the tribal extremists have no doubt cooled down but the anti-non-tribal feelings still persist among the tribal communities of Tripura. This has been considerably hampering the progress of the developmental works in the State. So, the immediate need of the time is to remove all tribal discontent, anger and hatred against the non-tribals and for this some positive suggestions have been made in the last chapter entitled 'Tasks Ahead' with special emphasis on the point that the basic policy should be to integrate the tribal people and to bring them on a par with all other sections of the great Indian nation.