Insurgency in Tripura: Wake-up Call for the Political Establishment
12 Sep, 2001 · 575
Bibhu Prasad Routray feels that time has arrived for the political establishment in Tripura to attend to the grievances of its people
The recent spate of attacks on the tribal leaders of the Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M) by the insurgent outfit, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) is a grim reminder of similar attacks last year. These attacks appear to be a part of the NLFT’s newfound strategy to emerge as the espouser of the cause of the indigenous tribal people.
West Tripura
in May 2000. The recent attacks could be seen as a warning shot to the Left Front government ahead of the State Assembly elections in February 2001.
West Bengal
. These disturbing developments have the potential of initiating large-scale intra-outfit warfare.
Originally a tribal majority State, Tripura has been transformed into a non-tribal State, primarily due to large-scale Bengali immigration. This single factor has given birth to insurgent outfits such as the NLFT in the name of protecting the tribal cause. However, the secessionist agenda pursued by the outfit has failed to generate much support among the tribals, who are equally perturbed by the failure of successive governments’ to check immigration.
The State governments, led by the Left parties have also failed to project a pro-tribal outlook. Their attempts such as the appointment of tribal leader Dasarath Deb as the Chief Minister in 1992 remained a mere showcase move due to the bad health of the Chief Minister. Thereafter the tightening grip of the pro-Bengali and anti-tribal interests saw the gradual isolation and final expulsion of the next Chief Minister and tribal leader Nripen Chakraborty from the party. This outlook at the state level has not been adequately challenged by the Tripura Tribal District Autonomous Council (TTDAC), a statutory body governing the tribal affairs. During elections held in May 2000, for the constitution of the TTDAC, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), largely considered to be the political front of the NLFT, won the majority of seats defeating the ruling coalition of Communist parties. During the electioneering process itself, the NLFT abducted six candidates and their relatives. Consequent to the victory of the IPFT, the NLFT insurgents killed as many as 45 non-tribal civilians at Bagber, Ratiya and Chakmaghat in
Antipathy of the Left Front government towards the NLFT has given rise to a scenario in which there is a clandestine understanding between the ATTF (All Tripura Tiger Force) and the political establishment in Tripura. Similarly the Congress party in the State is also accused of hobnobbing with the NLFT. As result any effort towards the solution of the problem of insurgency continues to be only halfway ventures.
The recent attacks by the NLFT can be interpreted also as a measure of desperation to keep its rank and file intact. In a period of six months, the outfit has suffered two splits, which has weakened its striking prowess. In September, 2000, tribal rivalries accentuated by the differences between the Halams and the Debbarmas led to a schism. In February 2001, disgruntled Hindu elements within the outfit deserted it and formed the NLFT-Nayanbasi (NLFT-N) under the leadership of Nayanbasi Jamatia. In fact, the Christian domination within the NLFT has led the outfit to pursue agendas such as forceful conversion, an anti-Hindu tirade and destruction of Hindu and Buddhist places of worship.
Interestingly, the popular movement against the NLFT is led by one of the tribes, the Jamatias. The word Jamatia means those who do not pay taxes. Indeed, true to their names, the Jamatias led by Hoda Okra (Leader of the supreme tribal council) Bikram Bahadur Jamatia, have defied the extortion activities of the NLFT. They have also resisted the conversion attempts of the outfit by clinging on to their predominantly Hindu faith. As a matter of fact, the Jamatias represent one of the rare organised indigenous movements against insurgency in the northeast. Thus, as a tribe the Jamatias have been singled out by the NLFT for selective attacks.
A peripheral danger, which has also been lost sight of is the rise of multiple outfits in a bid to checkmate each other. The United Bengali Liberation Front (UBLF), which fights for the cause of the Bengali immigrants, is reported to be receiving assistance from the Ananda Marg, a religious-militant outfit primarily based in
The time has arrived for the political establishment in Tripura to attend to the grievances of its people. Counter-insurgency measures need to include a package for development to uplift the society.
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