Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma (born 4 July 1978) is the current titular King (Maharaja) and statesman from Tripura. He was born in New Delhi, and now resides in Agartala, Tripura. He also served as the editor of TNT-The Northeast Today. He is the current chairman of The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance also known as TIPRA Motha.[1][2] He is known as 'Bubagra'[3] among his people and is one of the active voices for the rights of Indigenous Tripuri people of Tripura.
Pradyot Bikram Manikya DebBarma | |
|---|---|
 Bubagra Pradyot Manikya in 2024 | |
| Chairman of Tipra Motha Party | |
| Assumed office 24 December 2019 | |
| Member of District Council of TTAADC | |
| Assumed office 19 April 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Ramendra Debbarma |
| Constituency | Takarjala-Jampuijala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 July 1978 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Tipra Motha Party |
| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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| Residence(s) | Ujjayanta Palace (Nuyungma), Agartala |
| Education | |
| Occupation |
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Early life and education
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Pradyot was born in New Delhi on 4 July 1978 as the first son of Kirit Bikram Kishore Debbarma[4] and Bhibu Kumari Devi. His childhood days were spent in Shillong, Meghalaya at the Tripura castle. He studied history in St. Edmund's College of Shillong.[5]
Political career
editPradyot Manikya's work, philanthropy, activism, and politics revolves around the socio-political, economic, and cultural development of the Indigenous people of Tripura.
Indian National Congress
editAs a youth, Pradyot Manikya was an active Indian National Congress politician. His father Kirit Bikram Debbarma was a three-time MP and his mother Bibhu Kumari Devi, a two-time Congress MLA had served as the Revenue Minister of Tripura. Although Pradyot did not contest election until the 2021 TTAADC election, he had remained active in protest, agitations and movement for the Tiprasa people of Tripura.
In the 2018 Lok Sabha election, he was an active campaigner for his sister Maharaj Kumari Pragya Debbarma who contested for the Tripura East. He had also tried to forge a regional alliance during that period which did not happen.
Exit from Indian National Congress: 2019
editAfter the fallout with the Tripura Pradesh Congress in 2019,[6][7] Bubagra Pradyot Manikya resigned from the President post over the dispute of NRC case filing and took a break from active politics.[8] However, he started to gain voice and support for his agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2018 (now an act). He also jointly filed a case with TPF Supremo Patal Kanya Jamatia in the Supreme Court to revoke CAA in the state of Tripura and enforce NRC with the cut off year as 1951.
TipraHa Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA): 2020–Present
editPradyot formed the then NGO TipraHa Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance to assist stranded people during the COVID crisis. Through his effort, students and workers living in various cities of India were brought to their respective home to Tripura.[citation needed]
Positions held
edit- Chairman of The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA)
- Chairman of the Club Heritage - Tripura Castle Hotel
- Current Head of The Tripura Royal Family
- Former Member of the All India Congress Committee
- Advisor to the Northeast Students Committee, Delhi
- Advisor to the Northeast Regional Development Association (NERDA)
- Chairman of the Royal Tripura Foundation[9]
- Former Member of the governing council of Tripura Central University
- Former General Secretary Tripura Pradesh Congress
- Former President of Tripura Pradesh Congress
Public life, activism and opinions
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Bubagra Pradyot is quite active in his public life and can be seen having taken part on several occasions like the TEDx Talks.[10] On 16 February 2020, he organized a Q&A interactive session with students at Townhall, Agartala where he talked and discussed about leadership, clarity and issues like Citizenship Amendment Act with the students present. He also suggested that a scholarship in the name of Maharaja Bir Bikram be started by the Government of Tripura rather than putting up a statue.[11]
He launched The Northeast Today, a magazine targeted at residents of India's northeastern states.[1] This enjoys a readership just shy of 1,000,000. He resigned and sold his magazine in November 2019 to concentrate on his own regional platform The Indigenous Progressive regional alliance popularly known as TIPRA.[12] He is one of India's most vocal critics of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and is a prolific guest speaker at universities, the most notable being Harvard.[13] He has been active in protesting against the CAA since the passing of the bill in 2019 at the parliament.
Greater Tipraland Movement
editTIPRA is still more of a movement than a political party. Pradyot Bikram Manikya, Outlook.
Bibliography
edit- Deb Barma, Pradyot Bikram Manikya (2020), Leader with a Healing Touch: Tarun Gogoi had the ability to disagree without upsetting colleague or foe, The Indian Express
- Deb Barma, Pradyot Bikram Manikya (2020), Ambition isn't a bad word. Lack of hunger has reduced Congress to its present position, The Indian Express
Filmography
editFilms
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar | Himself (guest appearance) [citation needed] |
References
edit- ^ a b Datta, Sekhar (30 May 2006). "Tripura scion follows in mom's footsteps - Royal foray into politics". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ "A royal suitable boy looks for a suitable girl". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ "Tripura: Knowing the Bubagra - INSIDE NE". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ Today, Northeast (10 April 2019). "The Conundrum of the Indigenous Tripuri". Northeast Today. The state of Tripura which currently shares 856 km long border with Bangladesh, was a Princely State ruled by Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur Debbarma of the Manikya Dynasty. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "A royal suitable boy looks for a suitable girl - Pradyot Deb Burman is happy to be a bachelor but life does get lonely sometimes". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "Tripura Congress chief resigns, accuses party of asking him to accommodate corrupt people". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Tripura Congress Chief Resigns From All Party Posts". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ News Service, Express (24 September 2019). "Tripura Congress chief Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman resigns over NRC dispute". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Royal Tripura Foundation". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "TEDxUTMShillong | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "Start scholarship in Maharaja's name instead of his statue: Pradyot Manikya". Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "An interview with Maharaja Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma". Subcontinental wind (in Italian). 25 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "India's North East on focus at Harvard". Theshillongtimes.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
External links
edit- "Assertion of Tripura". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.