Tripuri Kshatriya is a

Vaishnav Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Sh ...

caste group which encompasses almost all the members of the Tripuri,

Reang Reang also known as Bru is one of the Tripuri clan of the Northeast Indian state. The Reangs can be found all over the Tripura state in India. However, they may also be found in Assam and Mizoram. Their language is simar to Kokborok and the la ...

Jamatia The Jamatias are one of the main Tripuri clans of Tripura and the only such clan with its own customary law in practice, which is called Jamatia Raida. See also * Tripuri people * Kokborok Kokborok (or Tripuri) is a Tibeto-Burman languag ...

and

Noatia Noatia are one of the Tripuri clan of Tripura state of India. The clan mainly lives in the North Tripura districts of the Tripura state of India. They speak the Noatia dialect of Kokborok which is of Tibeto-Burmese origin. The Noatia are one o ...

ethnic groups, most of whom live in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state 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 ...

. The Tripuri Royal Family belonged to the manikya or royal clan, from the Indigenous clan. Originally the term "Tripur Kshatriya" was used to denote the royal court members only, but in due time, the Maharajah included the remaining four ethnic groups as well, in an attempt to foster a sense of kinship among his people. With the influx of the Bengali immigrants from neighboring places, the Tripuris lost their majority in their own kingdom and the Maharajah's power was taken away by the Indian government. Formerly, the community was organized under the Tripura Kshatriya Samaj, which was headed by the Maharajah of Tripura himself.

Local organization

The Maharajah appointed governors, known as ''Rai'' to help him in administration. These governors oversaw the governing of various districts. The governorates were again subdivided into chiefdoms, which were administrated by a ''Chowdhury''. The families who were considered close to the Royal Family were granted the title Thakur by the Maharajah, which was considered to be one of the highest ranks of nobility in

Religious intolerance

Maharajah Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarma Manikya Bahadur, who ruled Tripura from 1923 to 1947 was widely criticized for his religious intolerance. In 1942, the Rai of the Riang area, Debi Singh Riang was dismissed by the Maharajah and Khagendra Riang Chowdhury of Bangafa was appointed as the new Rai. He increased the tax on Ganga Puja by 100%. This caused widespread discontent among the Riangs and lead to the outbreak of a small-scale rebellion under the leadership of Ratanmani Noatia, a

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

sadhu. The rebels formed a parallel government, looted the granaries and houses of wealthy Chowdhuries. However, towards the end of 1943, the Maharajah of Tripura with the help of his loyal soldiers drawn from the Tripuri and

was able to rout the rebels and arrest the instigators. The Mahajarah's forces arrested more than 300 civilians, including around 200 women and children. Ratanmani Sadhu was taken to the Maharajah's palace, where he was brutally tortured before the execution. In 1946, the Maharajah decided to evict close to 500

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

families from the outskirts of

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

. Despite huge outcry from other parts of India and intervention by the leaders of the Indian National Congress, the eviction was carried out.

Decline of power

Maharajah Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya suddenly died on 17 May 1947. After his death, Regent Queen Kanchan Prava Debi took up the administration and decided to merge the Kingdom with

, despite the advice from most of her ministers like Durjoy Kishore Debbarma for a merger with

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Maharajah Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur assumed power in 1947 and ruled until 1949 when the kingdom merged with India.

References

{{reflist

External links

Death of the last ruler
at Indigenousherald.com

at uq.net.au Kshatriya communities Bodo-Kachari