Mandai BazarGenocide or media propaganda? It’s not a question that would normally be very relevant in 43 years, but in Tripura’s politically volatile Mandai market, as three tribal candidates face off in the upcoming assembly elections this month, it is one that Candidates prefer not to pay attention. Of the 47,000 voters in this reserved constituency (reserved for tribal candidates), around 12,000 are Bengalis and evoking the past is a frightening proposition.
The Mandai massacre of 1980, when around 450 Bengalis were hacked to death allegedly by tribals, It has been told as a “genocide” by the then Chief Minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakraborty, and has since been compared to my lai massacre Vietnam and nellie massacre Neighboring Assam which happened after three years.
“It was all exaggerated by the media, hardly 10-12 bodies were found. If relations (between Bengalis and tribals) were really so strained, then how did the Left Front win this seat for 25 years,” Ajit Debbarma, BJP’s mandal president in Mandai, dismissed the incident.
He has reason. With the rising Tipraha contesting the assembly polls on a Left Front ticket against the Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (Tipra Motha) candidate and a former CEO of the Autonomous District Council (ADC), the BJP has pinned its hopes on coming together of Bengali and Bengali leaders. A share of tribal votes is in its favor to win the seat. In 2018, the seat was contested and won by the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the BJP.
Ajit is a veteran of many battles here, unlike BJP candidate Tarit Debbarma, who hails from neighboring Jirania and is contesting his first assembly election. Ajit had contested the 2021 Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) election on an IPFT ticket, but the elections were flowing by Motha. He then joined the BJP for a “better way of career progression”.
His calculation is simple: “We are expecting Bengalis to vote for us and 30,000 out of 35,000 tribal votes and if we get at least one-third of the votes – equally divided with Motha and the Left – we will go home.” Are .”
There is peace on the surface, but Mandai has a reputation for being violent and anti-Bengali and is also known for not being very welcoming of the media. were journalists in 2017 hacked to death Covering political protests.
“They break cars first and ask questions later,” said Anoop Roy from Agartala, in the car ThePrint reporter was traveling in.
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‘No work done in the hills’
Preparations are in full swing for two political meetings in Mandai’s main market – at the BJP’s community hall and the Left Front’s at a street corner, ThePrint reached on Saturday. A loudspeaker is playing the tune of a campaign song which tells how well the Left Front is doing with its learned cabinet of ministers and their leader (former chief minister) Manik Sarkar.
government is not fight Tribal leader Jitendra Chowdhary is the face of Left Front and Left Congress alliance in this election. But the message did not reach Mandai.
The Left is hoping that the BJP’s math will not work as the tribal votes will go to only one candidate.
“There is a saying that Tipra voters are like ants who swarm together. But in what way they will flock, it is very difficult to predict. The problem is that BJP voters are very vocal, sometimes committed even when they plan to vote elsewhere. Everyone else is silent. And that silent voter will decide the election,” said a Left activist, speaking on conditions of anonymity:
Disillusionment with both the Left and the BJP is high in Mandai.
“The issue in this election is Tipra Land. Last time promised and didn’t deliver. Whoever is telling you that work has been done for the development of tribals is lying. There is not even water, other facilities are far away. These are all long talks. These areas voted for the Left Front for many years, but nothing came of it. Motha Raja has a party, but no one knows what will happen this time,” said Surjo Deb Barma, who runs a hardware shop in the area.
By king, Surjo means Pradyot Debbarma, scion of the former royal family of Tripura, whose party – TIPRA Motha is contesting the assembly elections independently. Pradyot was wooed by both Left-Congress and BJP for alliance Insisted On a written commitment from your future partners on Greater Tipperaryland. The idea of ’Greater Tipperaland’ also includes the Tripuris living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Assam, Mizoram and Bangladesh.
Despite the apparent mistrust between tribals and Bengalis, Bengali remains the preferred language of communication over Hindi if the other person does not speak Kokborok, a language spoken in the tribal areas of Tripura. Ajit replied, “Bangla Bangla,” when asked which language he preferred to speak.
Prantho Sarkar is a marketing representative of Godrej and hails from Agartala. He has been touring Mandai professionally since 2020.
“I have also heard all these things about being anti-Bengali etc., but to be honest, I have never had any problem. I have been here many times and they are not like that at all. But it is true that the general level of violence has increased in the entire state in the last few years. Nasha (drug) is up, lawlessness is up,” he alleged.
For the local people, there are far more pressing issues than communal mistrust.
“There are no roads beyond the main thoroughfares, all houses are thatched. There have been some changes since Motha won the ADC election, but development in these parts has remained only on paper,” said Jayanta Deb Barma, who Runs a shop selling things like socks and caps.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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