Northeast, August 18, 2024 — The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP, will hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 23. The protest aims to urge the Centre to create ‘Tipraland,’ a separate state for tribals, by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
IPFT General Secretary Swapan Debbarma announced that the party will stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, continuing their long-standing demand for a fully-fledged ‘Tipraland.’ The TTAADC, which covers two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 square kilometers and is home to over 1.2 million people—84% of whom are tribals—has yet to meet its original purpose since its establishment in 1982.
During the demonstration, IPFT leaders plan to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, reiterating their demand for statehood under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution. “We have been advocating for ‘Tipraland’ for the past 15 years and have staged numerous protests in Tripura and the national capital in support of this demand,” Debbarma said.
Founded in the 1990s with the goal of creating ‘Tipraland’ for indigenous tribals, the IPFT has faced several internal splits, with some leaders joining factions like the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) led by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma. Despite their alliance with the BJP, which helped them win the March 2018 Assembly elections, both IPFT and TMP’s demands for tribal statehood face opposition from the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress.
In 2021, IPFT and TMP jointly held demonstrations at Jantar Mantar to press for a separate state. Currently, IPFT’s lone MLA, Sukla Charan Noatia, serves as a Cabinet minister in the Chief Minister Manik Saha-led coalition government. Following a tripartite agreement with the Centre and Tripura government in March 2023, TMP joined the BJP-led coalition, with two of its MLAs appointed as ministers.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, IPFT, and TMP campaigned together in Tripura.
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