Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south and west, while Assam and Mizoram are its neighbours in the east. Merged with independent India on October 15, 1949, Tripuri kingdom was known as Hill Tippera during the British India, with a history of over 2500 years and 186 kings.
The state has been divided into 4 districts (Dhalai, North Tripura, South Tripura and West Tripura), 17 subdivisions, 40 development blocks. Major towns of the state are Agartala, Badharghat, Jogendranagar, Dharmanagar, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Kailashahar, Teliamura, Indranagar, Khowai and Belonia. Badharghat, Jogendranagar and Indranagar are now parts of the Agartala municipality.
The Tripura assembly is unicameral with 60 MLAs, and sends two representatives to the Lok Sabha and one to the Rajya Sabha. Tripura also has an autonomous tribal council, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council with its headquarters in Khumulwng.
After Assam, Tripura is the second most populous state in North-East. It constitutes 0.31% population of India and 8.18% of the Northeast. In the 2001 census of India, Bengalis represent almost 70% of Tripura`s population and the native tribals represent 30% of Tripura`s population. The tribal population comprises several different tribes and ethnic groups with diverse languages and cultures with the largest tribal group being the Kokborok-speaking tribes of the Tripuri (16% of the population), the Jamatia, the Reang and the Noatia tribal communities.
The literacy rate of Tripura is 73.66%, higher than the national rate of 65.20%.
Hinduism is the majority religion in the state with 85.6% of the population followed by Muslims 8.0%, Christians 3.2%, and Buddhists 3.1%. In 1941 the population was 70% Hindu, 23% Muslim and 6% followers of tribal religions.
Land, people
The indigenous Tripuri people comprises various hill tribal communities viz., Tipra, Reang, Jamatia, Kaipeng, Noatia, Koloi, Halam,etc. who migrated to this land in successive waves in the ancient past. They grew in isolation and were sometimes subjugated by one another. Each community had its own elementary social and administrative organization starting from the village level and up to the chieftainship of the whole tribe. The tribes enjoy their traditional freedom based on the concept of self-determination. The relation between the king and the subject tribes was as Maharaja (king) of Tripura-Missip or liaison officer Roy of Headman of the tribe - Sardar of chief of the village-the individual.
The Tripuri people are considered part of the Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group. Originally they migrated from near the upper courses of Yangtze kiang and Hwang Ho rivers in western China. They had left China long before the Sui dynasty came to power. At the time of migration they were animists. So it may be reasonably assumed that they migrated before 65 AD, the year Buddhism was introduced in China. The common reference to these people as "Kiratas" and "Cinas" in the early Sanskrit texts of India unmistakably indicates that they came down to the Assam valley long before the dawn of Christian era.
Tripuris were able to expand their influence as far south as Chittagong, as far west as Comilla and Noakhali (known during the British period as `plains Tipperah`) and as far north as Sylhet (all in present Bangladesh).
The Tripuri people mainly speak various dialects of Kokborok, the standard dialect of the Debbarma tribe spoken around Agartala and the second official language of Tripura. There are estimated to be 1,000,000 speakers of the various dialects of Kokborok in Tripura, others being in Mizoram & Assam in India and Sylhet and Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
Culture
Tripura has a rich cultural heritage of music, fine arts, handicrafts and dance. Music is an integral part of the tribal people of Tripura. Songs are sung during religious occasions, marriages and other festivals. Dance is important to the tribal way of life. Dances are performed during Goria Puja. Hojagiri dance is performed by standing on a pitcher and is performed by the Reang clans. The Bihu dance is performed by the Chakmas during Chaitra Sankranti (the last day of the month of Chaitra).
Tripura has a composite culture because of its several diverse ethno-linguistic groups. While the Bengali culture is dominant, others include the Tripuris, Jamatia, Reang, Noatia, Koloi, Murasing, Chakma, Halam, Garo, Kuki, Lushai, Mogh, Munda, Oraon, Santhal and Uchoi.
Most of the Hindus in Tripura, Bengali, the Tripuri and numerous tribes, are adherents of an animist-Shaktism hybrid of Hinduism, which was the state religion under the Tripuri kings.
Brahmin priests (called chantais) are regarded as custodians of dharma and occupy an exalted position in Tripura society. Important gods are Shiva and Tripureshwari (patron goddess of Tripura and an aspect of Shakti). Several fertility gods are also worshipped, such as Lam-Pra (the twin deities of sky and sea), Mailu-ma (goddess of corn, identified with Lakshmi), Khulu-ma (goddess of the cotton plant) and Burha-cha (god of healing). Durga Puja, Navaratri, Vijayadashami and the worship of the Chaturdasha deities are important festivals.
History
The origin of the word Tripura is attributed to the legendary king of Tripura, Tripur. Tripur was the 39th descendant of Druhya, who was a descendant of Yayati, one of the lunar race kings. The word Tripura may have originated from Tripura Sundari - the presiding deity of the land which is famous as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, pilgrimage centres of Shakti cult. While other theory says that the name Tripura was probably derived in honour of the temple at Udaipur, Tripureshwari-the wife of Lord Shiva.
Another belief says that Tripura is a corruption of Twi-bupra: meaning of twi is water and that of bupra is confluence. Several villages in Tripura are named after the confluence of various rivers, e.g. Twikormo, Twirisa, Twisarangchak, and Twimudul.
Besides, Tripura also finds mention in the Mahabharata, the Puranas and pillar inscriptions of Ashoka the Great. Tripura was known as Kirat Desh Tripura, the descendent of King Druya and Bhabru, contemprary of Yudhishtara, was the ruler on whose name Tripura is named. One more explanation says that the territory is named after the temple of Tripuri Sundari, located at Radhakrishnapur.
The Tripuri Kings (Habugra) held the title of Manikya and ruled Tripura for 3000 years until its merger. Udaipur, in South Tripura district, was the capital of the Kingdom. The capital was shifted to Old Agartala by King Krishna Manikya in the eighteenth century, and then to the present Agartala in the 19th Century. The 19th century marked the beginning of Tripura`s modern era, when King Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur Debbarma modeled his administration on the pattern of British India and enacted various reforms.
The Ganamukti Parishad movement led to the integration of the kingdom with India in 1949.
Heavily affected by the partition, the majority of Tripura’s population now comprises Hindu Bengalis, many of whom came as refugees from East Pakistan in 1947. Tripura became a Centrally-administered Union Territory on July 1, 1963 and attained the status of a full-fledged state on January 21, 1972.
Armed conflict in Tripura has been a problem since the end of the 1970s as an aftermath of 1971 Indo-Pak war. Mass migration of Bengalis from Bangladesh has resulted in wide-spread insurgency and militancy with groups such as the Tripura National Volunteers (TNV), the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) aiming to drive away the Bengalis.
Climate
Tripura, which has a tropical climate and receives rainfall during the monsoons, is accessible through the Cachar district of Assam and Aizawl district of Mizoram in the east. Its maximum stretch measures about 184 km from north to south and 113 km from east to west with an area of 10,492 km. Tripura, the third smallest state of the country, has many rivers including the Manu River which originates here.
Agriculture, economy
Agriculture and allied activities is the mainstay of the people of Tripura and provides employment to about 64% of the population. Besides, about 62% of the net sown area is under food crop cultivation. Paddy is the principal crop, followed by oilseed, pulses, potato and sugarcane. Tripura has been declared the second rubber capital after Kerala by the Indian Rubber Board.
The Industry Sector has also remained undeveloped so far, despite the vast potential. The secondary sector contributes only about 5% of total employment and about 7% of the total income (SDP) of the state at present.
Tourism has been declared as an Industry in the state since 1987. Handicraft is emerging as a potential industry in Tripura. The Handloom Industry also plays an important role in rural Industry of Tripura.
