Debbarma calls for ‘peaceful movement’ demanding constitutional solution for tribals
His comments came following his meetings with Union home minister Amit Shah, North East advisor to ministry of home affairs AK Mishra, and other officials in Delhi over TIPRA Motha’s demand for a separate state for tribals of Tripura
TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on Wednesday called his supporters to launch a “peaceful movement” in demand for a Greater Tipraland and constitutional solution for tribal communities in the state.
On Wednesday, in a video message, Debbarma said he feels that the time has come for the tribals of Tripura to become united and raise the demand for their rights through a massive but peaceful movement which could be heard in Delhi and mount pressure on the central government.
“The time has come for all of us to be united and achieve something which our next generation will be proud of us. It’s time to build pressure on the central government to fulfil our demand for a Constitutional solution”, he said.
His comments came following his meetings with Union home minister Amit Shah, North East advisor to ministry of home affairs AK Mishra, and other officials in Delhi over TIPRA Motha’s demand for a separate state for tribals of Tripura.
In his video message on Wednesday, Debbarma said, “The dialogue is going on very well at New Delhi but a few people in Agartala have always played a negative role by speaking against the demand for tribal rights. They have tried to divide tribals, weaken unity and tribal identity.”
“Our talks (TIPRA Motha and Centre) are going on well but let’s not forget that delimitation is expected to be held next year. If it happens before we don’t get anything, we shall be finished”, added Debbarma.
TIPRA Motha last week constituted its Central Working Committee comprising six members delegation.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Debbarman on Saturday wrote that in the next few weeks, he will work to strengthen and constitute the party from primary to central committee.
While several parties earlier demanded different development initiatives for tribals, Debbarma’s TIPRA Motha and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), which is a ruling alliance partner with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tripura, have been demanding a separate state for tribals, over the issue of alleged under-development of tribals till now.
One of the two Lok Sabha seats of Tripura is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and many feel the delimitation might disrupt the reservation criteria of these seats.
Meanwhile, Debbarma, whose party identifies itself as the prime opposition party in the Tripura assembly, is frequently found engaging in dialogue with the BJP-led central government in Delhi, something which riled the other opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Congress, the Tipraland State Party (TSP), which parted ways recently, among others.
However, earlier this week, Debbarma said that his party doesn’t disagree with “parties speaking about Constitution and democracy” but would lend its support only to those who “give something” for the welfare of tribals.
Debbarma’s lingo of “something” has often eluded his other opposition partners who feel he is trying to keep both sides for the time being.
However, he said his movement is not for any party alone but for all Tiprasa or tribals, neither it is against any community or religion.
Tripura, which has 3.7 million people living in a 10,491.69 sqkm area, has nearly 30% of its population from 19 recognised tribal communities.
The Indigenous Peoples Regional Alliance (TIPRA) was founded in 2021 by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, keeping the agenda of creating ‘Greater Tipraland’, a separate state for the indigenous community living in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council and other northeastern states including Assam, Mizoram etc.
