by ADREENA BORA, Guwahati: A tripartite agreement was signed between the Union government, Tripura government and the Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), popularly known as Tripra Motha, and other stakeholders, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in New Delhi on Saturday (March 2).
On behalf of TIPRA, the agreement was signed by its founder Pradyot Debbarma and others. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior officials from the state, and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) were present during the signing of the agreement.
Under the pact, it was agreed to amicably resolve all issues of the indigenous people of Tripura relating to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, and culture and language. Along with this, it was agreed to constitute a Joint Working Group/Committee, to work out and implement the mutually agreed points on all the above-mentioned issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an honourable solution.
In order to maintain a conducive atmosphere for the implementation of the pact, all stakeholders have been asked to refrain from resorting to any form of protest or agitation, starting from the day of signing of the agreement.
Home Minister Shah said that the MHA has made efforts to give shape to the vision of an insurgency-free, dispute-free and violence-free Northeast. He noted that due to several agreements by the Narendra Modi-led government, around 10,000 people have given up arms and joined the mainstream, which has resulted in creation of an environment of development.
Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Shah said, “Today is a historic day for Tripura and through this agreement, we have looked at the future by honouring history, making amends and accepting today’s realities. No one can change history but we can always move forward by learning from mistakes and keeping in mind today’s realities. Tripra Motha and all tribal parties have played a constructive role in this direction.”
Home Minister Shah added that be it the Bru-Reang agreement or the border agreement, it all started with Tripura and today again, it is an agreement for Tripura. He said that the NLFT (SD) agreement in 2019, the Bru and Bodo agreements in 2020, the Karbi Anglong agreement in 2021, the Tribal agreement and Assam-Meghalaya border agreement in 2022, the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border agreement in 2023, the Dimasa agreement, UNLF and then ULFA agreement have taken place.
“Our government has worked to end the struggle of people by talking to them through 11 different agreements related to borders, identity, language and culture. With today’s agreement, Tripura has moved forward to become a dispute-free state,” Home Minister Shah further said.
