History of Tripura

The history of Tripura dates back to primeval era of the great Indian epics, such as, the Mahabharata, the Puranas; and pillar inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka. Tripura has a long story of its origin, its distinctive tribal culture and a captivating folklore. It was called Kirat Desh in the earliest times. According to the mythological legends, Tripura, who was the successor of King Druya and Bhabru, was the prodigy on whose name the state was named. Another fable affirms that the state was named after the Goddess Tripuri Sundari (whose temple is situated at Radhakrishnapur).

Prior to its unification with the Indian Union, Tripura had been a princely state. The documented history reveals that the Tripuri Kings (Habugra) adopted the title of Manikya and ruled the kingdom for about 3,000 years. Rangamati (now called Udaipur), located in South Tripura District, used to be their capital. In the 18th century, King Krishna Manikya shifted the capital Old Agartala, and subsequently to the present Agartala in the 19th century.

Actually it is the 19th century that marked the beginning of modern era for Tripura, when King Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur Debbarma made changes in administration policy on the lines of British India. He passed various reforms for this. As a result of the Ganamukti Parishad movement, the kingdom of Tripura was integrated with India in 1949. The Partition of India influenced Tripura to a great extent, whilst Hindu Bengalis came from East Pakistan as refugees after independence in 1947.

On 1 July 1963, Tripura was declared as the Union Territory of India. It developed into a full-fledged state on 21 Jan' 1972. After the Indo-Pak of 1971, Tripura is facing the problem of armed conflicts. The Tripura National Volunteers, the National Liberation Front of Tripura and the All Tripura Tiger Force emerged as groups during this time to chase off the Bengalis, who migrated in masses from Bangladesh.