Bengalis in Tripura are the largest ethnic group in the state. They represent 65 per cent of Tripura's population while the scheduled tribe population (including the Tripuris) amounted to a little over 30 per cent, with rest belonging to other minorities.
History
The relationship between Tripura and Bengalis can be traced back to the pre-colonial period where the Tripura kingdom had diplomatic and trade ties with Bengal. During the reign of Dharma Manikya II (1714–1729), the Nawab of Bengal granted the ruler of Tripura zamindari rights over parts of the plains region of Tripura known as Chakla Roshanabad, which is now located in present-day Comilla, Bangladesh. Revenue generated from the plains constituted the principal source of income for the state. The incorporation of the Chakla Roshanabad plains therefore strengthened the economic foundation of the Manikya dynasty. Historically, the Hindu rulers of the Manikya dynasty encouraged the migration and settlement of non-tribal communities, particularly Bengalis, in Tripura.
According to the Rajmala, the Chronicle of the Kings, Ratna Manikya settled around 4,000 Bengalis in different parts of the kingdom. Over time, the rulers adopted Hinduism as the state religion and incorporated Bengali language and literature into the court culture. Bengali gradually emerged as the administrative language of the state, although the exact date of its adoption remains uncertain. The rulers also issued postal stamps bearing inscriptions in Bengali.
The promotion of Bengali language and settlement was influenced not only by cultural contact with Bengal but also by economic considerations. The expansion of the monarchy increased the need for surplus agricultural production and stable revenue collection, which shifting cultivation could not adequately provide. To encourage wet rice cultivation and improve state revenue, the rulers invited Bengali cultivators and professionals, including teachers, priests, lawyers, doctors, and administrators, from neighbouring Bengal. While upper-caste migrants were employed in administration and religious functions, lower-caste peasants and Muslim cultivators from East Bengal were encouraged to reclaim and cultivate fallow land. The rulers also introduced the jangal-abadi system to expand cultivation in the sparsely populated kingdom.
William Wilson Hunter also noted that the rulers of Tripura granted land in perpetuity to upper-class groups in exchange for fixed rents. Similar grants were also made to cultivators at nominal rents in return for services rendered to the state. A resolution signed by B.K. Burman, private secretary to the Maharaja, on 13 September 1909 stated:
This policy encouraged the migration of Bengali Muslim peasants, particularly from the districts of Comilla, Sylhet, and Chittagong in the then East Bengal. The availability of cultivable land in Tripura and the steady arrival of non-tribal cultivators, mainly Bengalis, gradually influenced the socio-economic and political structure of the state. The expansion of rice cultivation and the introduction of cash crops such as jute contributed to a steady increase in state revenue. During the reign of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the first major influx of Hindu Bengali refugees into Tripura occurred following the Raipur riots in Noakhali in 1941. Approximately 15,000 refugees entered the state, some of whom were jiratia prajas of the Chakla Roshanabad estate and were therefore considered subjects of Tripura in some capacity.
The royal administration arranged planned rehabilitation measures and established refugee camps at Arundhatinagar near Agartala. Refugees received support from the royal family as well as political organisations such as the Indian National Congress, the Hindu Mahasabha, and left-wing groups in Tripura. Many refugees were later rehabilitated through employment opportunities or settlement on freehold land. From this period onward, Agartala emerged as an important urban centre for Bengali agricultural migrants, many of whom later entered professional occupations due to the comparatively liberal policies of the state administration.
During the colonial period, many Hindu Bengalis moved to Tripura. They migrated to Tripura for administrative, economic, and social reasons. The partition of India in 1947 led to a further influx of Bengali refugees, dramatically changing the state's demographic composition. It is estimated that between the years 1947–51, around 610,000 Bengalis, a figure almost equal to the state's toal population poured into the state leading to a profound demographic change during this first phase. Once again during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971, in the second phase of migration, around 1.038 million Bengalis (most being Hindus) and many indigenous communities such as Tiprasa, Chakma moved into various parts of the state as refugees with most of them settling down permanently afterwards.
Until the Bangladesh liberation war, Tripura had sheltered around 1.03 million Bengali refugees. The number of the refugees was almost equal to the indigenous population and the majority of them were rehabilitated and permanently settled in Tripura, which alterted the demography of the state. This later became the basis of changes in resource distribution, economy, culture, polity, society and a cause of conflicts between the Bengalis and the indigenous people. As historically the maharajas of Tripura actively encouraged Bengali settlement to promote the state's development. After 1946, refugee relief and rehabilitation were managed by the Tripura administration and local Bengali communities, particularly in Agartala. Following the Noakhali riots, refugee organisations such as the Bastutyagi Janakalyan Samity and the Tripura Sabalambi Udbastu Sangha emerged to support displaced persons.
Despite the partition, the arrival of refuges continued as the frontier between Tripura and erstwhile East Pakistan was unguarded the 1980s. And as such, refugee exodus began from the middle of 1963 due to huge riots in Khulna, Jessore and other districts of East Pakistan. + Annual Arrival of Bengali refugees in Tripura Year Numbers 1946 (riot year) 3,327 1947 (year of Partition) 8,124 1948 9,554 1949 (communal disturbance) 11,575 1950 (serious communal riots) 67,151 1951 184,000 1952 (serious riots) 233,000 1953 80,000 1954 4,700 1955 17,500 1956 50,700 1957 57,700 1958 3,600 1964–65 (serious riots) 100,340 1965–66 13,073 1966–67 1,654 1967–68 12,229 1968–69 3,120 1969–70 4,334 1970–71 (to 24 March) 5,774 From (1946–71) Total – (871,455)
The central government refused to take the responsibility for such a large number of temporary refugees nor did the Tripura state government ask for help till the 1950s. It joined hands with the state government to open 276 refugee camps for them, for a whole year, mostly near Akhaura. Communist migrants from East Bengal played an active role in tribal mobilisation and education through organisations like the Janasiksha Samity (1945) and Tripura Rajya Mukti Parishad (1948). Other political and community-based refugee organisations included the Purbabanga Sankhaloghu Kalyan Samity, Congress Udbastu Sahitya Samity, Tripura Rajya Nath Samity, and Tripura Rudrapal Samity. By 1950, Tripura had around 10-12 refugee organisations.
In 1950, Syama Prasad Mookerjee visited Agartala and urged refugee groups across ideological lines to unite for refugee rights, particularly enfranchisement. During 1947–50, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Indian National Congress maintained strong influence due to their social work and role in the nationalist movement. Mookerjee's initiative led to the creation of Tripura Central Relief and Rehabilitation Association in July 1950, with a conference being organised. It was attended by representatives of the various refugee organisations. They organised rallies and adopted five resolutions in respect of the government's rehabilitation policy. After the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, large numbers stayed back, many as illegal migrants initially who later managed to get citizenship. The density of population per square kilometre changed radically in Tripura from 1901 to 1981. The Tripura government stopped the process of official registration of refugees from 1 May 1958. They argued that the refugee inflow was decreasing and neither government should encourage or allow refugees to come to Tripura and settle down permanently.
Further, the government discontinued the issuing of border slips or migration certificates, which was essential to get jobs, property and citizenship. Alongside, the central government too insisted that the state governments of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura curtail expenses on refugees and stop settling them temporarily or permanently. The Janasiksha Samity worked among tribals and migrants to build support for refugee rehabilitation in Tripura. Although refugees initially supported the Congress, many became disillusioned after Partition and increasingly aligned with leftist organisations. In 1953, communist leaders Biren Dutta and Amulya Kanchan Dutta Roy founded the Sanjukta Bastuhara Parishad, which advocated refugee rehabilitation without encroaching on tribal lands. Refugee colonies later emerged in several tribal areas, including Gandhigram, Nutan Nagar, and Bishramganj.
The tribal organisation Tripura Rajya Mukti Parishad was formed with the support of the Sanjukta Bastuhara Parishad. Its president, Dasaratha Deb, emphasised unity between tribal and non-tribal communities for democratic movements in Tripura. Due to its communist orientation, political opponents often associated the organisation with the "Bongal Kheda" movement. The refugee movement peaked in 1955–56, when Dasaratha Deb invited Union Rehabilitation Minister Mehr Chand Khanna to visit refugee colonies and witness their conditions firsthand. The government planned to resettle refugees from Tripura in places such as Mana in Dandakaranya, Betia in Bihar, and the Andaman Islands, where over 20,000 people from 7,065 families were rehabilitated. By 1959, communist leaders including Biren Dutta, Dasaratha Deb, and Nripen Chakrabarty launched agitations demanding that refugees be rehabilitated within Tripura instead of being relocated outside the state.
From the early 1960s, the Communist Party of India organised hunger strikes and submitted a 26-point charter of demands to the central government on behalf of East Bengali refugees and tribal jhum cultivators. In 1964, Nripen Chakrabarty participated in a satyagraha at Durgabari in Agartala demanding economic rehabilitation. As a result of these movements, many refugees were resettled in areas such as Nalkata, Amtali, and Arundhutinagar. By 1969, several schools and two colleges had also been established primarily for refugee students and later brought under government grants-in-aid. Despite these measures, indigenous tribal communities continued to face the adverse effects of demographic change and socio-economic disruption caused by large-scale migration. Demographic changes in Tripura significantly affected tribal society, leading to land alienation and the marginalisation of indigenous communities. Rising tensions between tribals and migrants weakened earlier patterns of peaceful coexistence.
Present and Ethnic Conflict