Agartala: For some time now, there have been rumbles in the tribal pockets of Tripura for a new state called ‘Twipraland’.

Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar cautioned against the call for a separate Twipraland state.

He said regional parties have been spearheading the agitation in the interior areas, keeping in view the election to the 596 village committees, coming up in February 2016, four months from now. He said the tribal-based regional forces were short of issues and were looking for an issue to gain a toehold in the state’s electoral politics.

“Tripura is a small state with a geographical area of only 10,491.69 square km and an estimated population of 37 lakh. More than 68 per cent of the state’s territory is under the Autonomous District Councils with foolproof protection of their land rights because of nine amendments to the Tripura Land Reforms and Land Revenue Act. How can such a state be divided?” Sarkar said at a convention of CPM supporters.

“The purpose behind the movement by regional Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra for a Twipraland is to polarise the state ethnically between tribals and non-tribals and reap benefits in electoral terms. The Left Front will not allow them to fulfil their political ambitions,” he said.

He said before Tripura’s merger with the India on October 15, 1949, the land had been ruled by 184 kings, according to Rajmala, the court chronicle. “Even after merger the state was ruled for 30 years by successive Congress governments but then no slogan for a separate state was raised. It was because of the struggle of the Left Front that the tribal people got their basic constitutional safeguards in the form of autonomous district council under the Sixth Schedule. Development has been going on smoothly despite two phases of insurgency. Then where is the need for a Twipraland state and whose purpose will it serve?” Sarkar asked.

Sarkar’s stand on “Twipraland” must be seen in the context of the ongoing secret peace talks between the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) militants, representatives of the state government and the Union home ministry.

Local media persons, quoting sources in the special branch (intelligence wing) of the state police reported two rounds of talks have already been held between the two sides in Shillong and Delhi and the third round is slated to be held in Shillong again in the middle of November.

The NLFT is trying to raise certain political demands like the erstwhile Tripura National Volunteers had done before the peace talks in 1988. But the NLFT’s lack of strength and support from tribal people preclude any political concession to them. Probably that is why the outfit is trying to recruit people and procure arms so that they can launch a new offensive to show their strength for a settlement based on political concessions. But that will never happen as long as the Left Front is in power, reported a local daily quoting sources.

-prepared by newsnet interns from media reports

  naked truth, Northeast, Tripura, Twipraland