Impact of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 on Tribal Rights and Autonomy in Tripura
By Pratyush Bibhakar
The consistent demand for autonomous tribal state in Tripura is rooted in the long history of accommodating and transforming large tribal area with Bengali speaking plainsmen and eventual uprooting of tribal dwellers towards the forests. Although effective decentralization combined with successful land reforms and systematic promotion of agriculture has contributed to a large extent in the overall development of the state, the tribal rights remain a significant problem in the region. The tribals in the region continue to struggle for getting access of their own agricultural lands, forests, etc. and they are being deprived of education, health and livelihood. The situation stiffens further with the New Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 as it leads to growing wave of resentment among the state’s tribal population. The paper looks at the root causes of such contentions as well as implications of the CAB in the region.