TRIPURA VIOLENCE » Legalonus

This Article is written by Amra (Senior editor at Legalonus and Content head for The Radicals) and Vinita Sejwal (B.A.LL.B. 3rd Semester, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies, Rohini.)

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ABOUT TRIPURA

Tripuris are the inhabitants of Tripura, and they are divided into tribes. They are predominantly Tibeto-Burmese in origin. Their ancestors may be traced back over 2000 years, and it was the Tripuri people that dominated the state of Tripura.Tribes of the Tripuri have a diversified economy. Tripura’s tribes, which are primarily old-fashioned in character, have extensive classifications of class, and each clan has a representative who performs particular obligations for the state’s royal line.Despite the presence of 19 Scheduled Tribes, the majority of the population is Bengali. The inhabitants of Tripura are ethnically varied, with two primary racial groups: the Bengalese and the Indo-Aryans.

HISTORY

Tripura has never been included in the Hindu-Muslim strife that exists throughout the area. The Muslims of Tripura, who make up 9% of the population, are predominantly Bengali speakers. They have not previously been in the spotlight since the state’s conflict lines have hitherto been drawn between Bengali Hindus and indigenous tribal groups.Thousands of Bengali Hindu refugees invaded the province after Partition in 1947, which was followed by the admission of the former princely state of Tripura to the Indian Union two years later. With the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, there were even more. Tripura’s demography were altered as a result of these influxes. It transitioned from being a tribal majority state to one dominated by Bengali speakers.

The dominance of Bengali Hindus in Tripura’s administration is mirrored in indigenous tribal organisations’ assertions that Bengali Hindus have gained control of all institutions in their state and are neglecting indigenous people’s rights.Tripura did not have a lot of religious strife at this time. Anjuman-e-Islamia, a Muslim party, attempted to rally support for the merger of Tripura and East Pakistan in the years leading up to Independence. When the princely rulers of Tripura decided to join the Union of India, many Muslims in the country fled to East Pakistan, which would eventually become Bangladesh.Tripura’s Muslim population shrank dramatically as a result of this diaspora. The census shows this: the community’s population declined from 24.09 percent in 1941 to 6.68 percent in 1971. Furthermore, as more well-educated and rich Muslims departed Tripura, the community’s socioeconomic decline became more pronounced.

The polarisation of tribal identity peaked during the Communist Party of India (Marxist) rule, which administered the state for the majority of post-partition history. In terms of development, the sections of the state where tribal dwell have been ignored. This is most prevalent in the eastern districts, where a tribal administration council exists. As a result of their disappointment, some people in the North East have turned to militancy as part of a larger network of insurgent groups.

According to a Tripura government report from 2014, Muslims make up 2.69 percent of government employees, which is significantly lower than their representation in the state’s population.In the same year, statistics from 22 institutions revealed that the number of Muslims enrolled in higher education in Tripura was extremely low. Only 1.5 percent of female students identified as Muslim, compared to 3.6 percent of male students. The political structure of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tripura, like in West Bengal, was controlled by upper-caste Bhadralok Hindus.

The Bharatiya Janata Party attempted to establish traction in the state against this backdrop.In 2018, the BJP came to power in Tripura because of its cooperation with the Indigenous People’s Front, the party was able to obtain a high number of tribal votes, which contributed to its triumph.

BACKGROUND OF INCIDENT

In the last two decades, a number of extreme Islamist organisations have developed. Ansarullah Bangla Team, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh are among the most notable (JMB). These organisations have targeted secular academics, harassed the Hindu population, and carried out high-profile terrorist assaults, especially in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. They have attempted to intimidate individuals who dare to question their interpretation of Islam, such as educators, journalists, and even politicians. Although the government has spoken out against Islamist extremism, it has not been willing or able to take action against these groups.

In Bangladesh, the influence of extreme organisations has intensified attacks against the Hindu minority. According to a renowned local human rights group, almost 4,000 assaults against Bangladesh’s Hindu population have occurred since January 2013. In Nasirnagar, near Dhaka, for example, a mob of Muslims assaulted 15 Hindu temples and the houses of over 100 Hindu families in October 2016. A purported religious offence, publicised on Facebook, sparked the violence, as it did earlier this month.

During Durga Puja, the holiest Bengali Hindu holiday of the year, mob violence occurred in the Bangladeshi town of Begumganj on Oct. 15. Online claims that the Quran had been desecrated when it was supposedly put at the feet of the Hindu goddess Durga fuelled the outrage.

WHY THIS VIOLENE?

The violence spilled over the border into Tripura, where more than a dozen retaliatory protests organised by the rightwing Hindu organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and others turned violent and anti-Muslim. In violence that began on October 21, Muslim citizens were terrorised, Muslim stores were set on fire, and at least 16 mosques were vandalised — four of which were set on fire.

The series of mosque attacks has sparked panic and concern among Tripura’s Muslim population. The majority of the crimes occurred at night, and the residents were unable to identify the offenders. On October 26, the town of Panisagar in the North Tripura district experienced the most arson and destruction. The violence, according to residents and police, occurred during the VHP gathering. The assailants smashed the windows and damaged the ceiling fans while Islam and other residents stood outside, afraid that if they intervened, the crowd would come after them.

Vinod Bansal, a spokesman for the VHP, said that stories of violence were “false news” propagated by “jihadists,” and that the party had only organised peaceful protests. Witnesses reported seeing 3,000 people marching across Tripura regions this week, many with clubs, iron rods, swords, and kerosene or petrol cans, destroying Muslim houses and businesses. Saffron flags, Hindu nationalism’s insignia, were placed outside numerous mosques, and pork, which is prohibited in Islam, was placed outside another.

The Tripura government said on Friday that an outside vested interest group plotted to cause unrest in the state and tarnish its image by posting a false photograph of a burning mosque on social media. According to authorities, no mosque was burned in the Panisagar sub-division of North Tripura district, as stated by social media posts.

At least 41 social media messages have been acquired “evidence” by Tripura Police, including 28 Twitter tweets and 13 Facebook posts. The FIRs filed on November 6th cited 16 Twitter handles out of the 41. The tweets were divided into three categories: ‘fake tweets,’ ‘exaggerated tweets,’ and ‘false Facebook postings’ (13). The Tripura Police discovered 37 Facebook pages and Twitter handles that had tweeted and shared phoney photographs and videos. The police charged 102 people on social media with violating the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The cases against him and others, according to a prominent member of the Students Islamic Organisation of India, are intended to “harass people who are raising their voice against injustice and deflect attention away from violence.” He said that his tweet was genuine and that he had all of the documentation and witness testimony to back up his allegation. The government has defended the actions by claiming national security concerns, while civil liberties organisations and academics have expressed worries about free expression.

CONCLUSION

Muslims and Christians in India have been pushed into psychological and political exile. They are surrounded by adversarial forces, ranging from political power to law enforcement, the media to a reluctant judiciary. If BJP’s doctrine includes hatred of minorities, then what about our police, civil administration, and judiciary? Do they exist to make the BJP’s politics and project easier?

This is the question that has been raised in the aftermath of the Tripura police’s arrest of people who spoke out against the recent violence.

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