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Journalism of Courage
Two months after BJP president J P Nadda’s rally at the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) headquarters Khumulwng had drawn a poor turnout, leading to some red faces in the ruling party, the TIPRA Motha sent a fresh signal of its growing clout in the state by holding a big public meeting at the same Swami Vivekananda Maidan.
Over 10,000 people cheered as TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said tribals, “long deprived” by national parties like the Congress, CPM and BJP, had united under the slogan of a separate state of ‘Greater Tipraland’. There were frequent slogans of “Bubagra Ayuk Lokthung (Bubagra long live)”, Bubagra being Kokborok for king.
Former Indian football captain and Hamro Sikkim Party chief Baichung Bhutia, who shares a close friendship with Debbarma, was present at the rally and backed his call for regional parties to come together to meet the aspirations of states such as Sikkim and Tripura.
The focus of the attack of Debbarma, the scion of the erstwhile Tripura royal dynasty, was the BJP. He said successive governments had failed to develop Tripura and accused the BJP of communal politics. Tribal leaders in BJP ranks, such as Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Devvarma and Lok Sabha MP Rebati Tripura, or those allied with the BJP, such as Revenue Minister and IPFT supremo N C Debbarma, were slammed.
At the same time, Debbarma assured that his party would work for all communities, and said: “Greater Tipraland chahiye, aur kisike khilaf nahin chahiye. Ye parivar aaj tak sabko pyar karte aya hai. Humne Rabindranath Tagore, Jagadish Chandra Bose ko support kiya hai. Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, sabko humne pyar kiya hai… Tiprasa dena jante hain, cheenana nahin (We want Greater Tipraland, and it is not at the cost of anyone. This royal family has always loved everyone. We have supported Rabindranath Tagore, Jagadish Chandra Bose and others. We have loved everyone, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindus. Tiprasa or the tribals only know giving, not snatching).”
Debbarma pointed out that since the TIPRA Motha had come to power in the TTADC last year, no non-tribals had been attacked in the area.
“Our family made the Tripurasundari Temple, gave land for a church in the palace compound, made the Gendu Miah Masjid and Shuja Masjid. I have never differentiated between the dress and outlook of people to do politics. You people have done mandir-masjid politics, not us,” he said.
The TIPRA Motha chief said his party wanted to give a Constitutional solution, education, healthcare and jobs to tribals. “They don’t have teachers in schools, doctors in hospitals; we have to lie on the floor at GBP Hospital in Agartala if we get sick. What happened in 75 years that we have become so weak! In a state, where tribal kings ruled for thousands of years, tribals are begging for our rights in our own land!,” he said, adding that the only solution was “thansa (unity)”.
Addressing the question of an alliance with other parties, Debbarma declared he would not sign any understanding with anyone unless statehood was assured in writing.
Senior Motha leader Jagadish Debbarma said that the rally was a message to the government that it must meet “the needs of sons of the soil and start work on a Greater Tipraland”.
Debbarma emphasised that only regional parties can bring about “asli parivartan (real change)” in the 2023 Assembly polls. 2023, in fact, is being pegged as the last big fight by the TIPRA Motha chief, which was also underlined in the slogans raised at Saturday’s rally. There has been speculation that Debbarma, who has had some health issues, might bow out after this last stand.
On a personal note, the 45-year old said, “I don’t want anything. I have left everything. My mother is 78 and in Kolkata. I haven’t married, I’m still alone. I could live happily elsewhere, could become a minister if I wanted. I got offers from the Congress and BJP. But I’m fighting without a compromise.”
BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said Debbarma seems to be under the influence of the Congress. “If we did mandir-masjid politics, Muslims would not have come with us… We have many senior Muslim leaders in our party and we consider Islam a method of prayer, just like someone prays to Durga or Shiv in Hinduism,” he said, adding that attempts were being made to spread “ethnic hatred”.
The BJP also claimed that the turnout at the Motha rally was “far less than predicted”.
