Tripura

Tripura
Capital • Coordinates	Agartala • 23.84° N 91.28° E
Largest city	Agartala
Population (2001) • Density	3,191,168 ( 21st) • 304/km²
Area • Districts	10,492 km² ( 26th) • 4
Time zone	IST ( UTC +5:30)
Establishment • Governor • Chief Minister • Legislature (seats)	1972- 01-21 • D.N. Sahay ( list) • Manik Sarkar ( list) • Unicameral (60)
Official language(s)	Bengali, Kokborok
Website	tripura.nic.in
Abbreviation (ISO)	IN-TR
Image:Tripuraseal.png Seal of Tripura

Tripura (ত্রিপুরা) is a state in North-east India. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are Bengali and Kokborok.

Area: 10,492 km² Population: 3.5 million (2001).

History

Tripura (Twipra) used to be a royal state before independence.The Tribal Kings (Habugra) had the title of Manikya and ruled Tripura for hundreds of years until its incorporation into India in 1949. The capital of the Kingdom was based in Udaipur which was known as Rangamati on the banks of the river Gomati (Kormoti) in South Tripura. The capital was shifted first to Old Agartala and then the present Agartala in the 19th Century. As a revolt against the monarchic rule, the Ganamukti Parishad movement was launched. The movement was victorious and Tripura was integrated with India. It was heavily affected by partition and its population now consists of Bengalis (most of whom came as refugees from Bangladesh after independence in 1971) living side by side with the native tribal population.

See Article: History of Tripura

Geography

Tripura is mainly a hilly territory with altitudes varying from 50 to 3080 ft above sea level, though the major population of the state lives in the plains.

The state is located in the Bio-geographic zone of 9B-North-East Hills and possesses an extremely rich bio-diversity. The local flora and faunal components of Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese sub-regions. There are 379-species of trees, 320-shrubs, 581-herbs, 165-climbers, 16-climbing shrubs, 35-fernsa and 45-epiphytes.

Economy

Agriculture is the mainstay of Tripura's economy. Agricultural sector provides employment to nearly 51 % of the total workers in the State. However, handicraft, particularly made of bamboo,also finds a special mention in the states' economy. The per capita income at current prices of the state stands at Rs 10931 and at constant prices Rs 6813 in the financial year 2000-2001.

Some quality timber like Sal, Garjan, Teak, Gamar are found abundantly in the forests of the State. The most important mineral resource of Tripura is oil and natural gas. However, the industrial sector in this State continues to be highly underdeveloped.

Government

Like the other states of India, Tripura has a democratic government.

Officially, the Governor heads the executive. The Chief Minister leads the democratically elected state legislature - which currently has 60 members. Gauhati High court (Agartala bench) heads the state's judicial administration.

For administrative purposes, the state has been divided into 4 districts, 15 subdivisions, 38 development blocks. It also has an autonomous council, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

Demography

Despite being geographically the smallest state in the region, it is the 2nd most populous state in the North East, the first being Assam. According to the Census of 2001, Tripura has a total population of 3,191,168, with a density of 304 persons per sq km and ranks 22nd in India. It constitutes 0.31 % population of India and 8.18 % of the entire North East.

Tripura ranks 22nd in the human resource development index and 24th in the poverty index in India according to the sources of 1991. The literacy rate of Tripura is 73.66, higher than the all India literacy rate of 65.20 %.

Politics

List of political parties in the state

Tripura is governed by Left Front, with Manik Sarkar as Chief Minister. Until 1977 the state was governed by Indian National Congress. LF governed 1978- 1988, and then returned in power 1993. 1988- 1993 the state was governed by a coalition of INC and Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti.

There has been a problem of armed conflict in Tripura since the end of 1970s.