Birendra Kishore Manikya Debbarma Bahadur ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Tripura on 25 November 1909, at the age of 26.

Administrative reforms

Birendra Kishore's contribution to the state lay in his administrative reforms, welfare activities and consistent attempt to spread education. He divided the state into ten administrative units on the model of subdivisions and introduced the system of civil service examinations for recruiting competent youths in the administration in 1909. The post of chief secretary was created in 1909. He reconstituted the State Civil Service in 1909 for recruitment of high officials of the state including the post of Police Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Police. The new Arms Act and the Penal Code Amendment Act were passed in 1911. A small staff under a senior Inspector was engaged for detective purposes. The number of cases reported in the state was always small. Birendra Kishore took the first initiative to explore the potential of tea cultivation in Tripura by ordering an expert survey. Forty tea estates were set up in Tripura during his rule. The king had given a formal license to the Burma Oil Company in 1916 to explore oil, natural gas and minerals in Tripura after a survey conducted had given indication of potential deposits. He also founded a silk-weaving center at Agartala and took steps to develop agriculture.

Patron of the arts

An artist and prolific songwriter, Birendra Kishore was known for his beautiful oil paintings such as "Sannyasi", "Jhulon" and "Banshi Badan". He founded the Ujjayanta Drama company giving an impetus to the development of theatre in Tripura. The Lakshmi Narayan Temple, 'Durga Bari' and 'Lal Mahal' that form part of the

Ujjayanta palace Ujjayanta Palace or Nuyungma is the state museum of the Indian state of Tripura and former royal palace of the princely state of Tripura. It was built by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in 1901. It housed the State Legislative Assembly betwe ...

were built during his rule. He built the Pushbanta Place that is now the residence of the Governor of

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

. King Birendra Kishore organised a grand reception for

Rabindra Nath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renaissance. He ...

at Agartala after he had won the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1913. Apart from providing ongoing financial assistance to Shanti Niketan he also donated 5,000 rupees to Tagore for setting up a hospital at Santi Niketan.

References

External links

Kingdom of Tripura - University of Queensland
{{Authority control Kings of Tripura History of Tripura 1923 deaths 1880s births