SUMMARY
The TNV (Tripura National Volunteers) was a separatist rebel group that fought a low-intensity intrastate armed conflict over territory against the Government of India during the 1970s and 1980s (see India: Tripura). Northeast India, sometimes referred to as the “Seven Sisters” after the seven states that comprise the region, has since independence been a patchwork of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. These relatively small and sparsely populated (by Indian standards) states have experienced a turbulent history, stoked by ethnic tensions and insurgencies. One particularly prominent part of the social and political milieu in the region has been the demographic stress and conflict brought by the immigration from the rest of India and Bangladesh. The “indigenous” population of India’s seven northeastern states has commonly been referred to as the “tribal populations”. Many of these tribes, but not all, has received special protected status in the Constitution of India; the protected tribes are referred to as the “Scheduled Tribes”. The immigrant population of Northeast India is commonly called the “non-tribal” population, and is comprised of, for example, Bengalis and other ethnic or religious groups found in India proper. Among the tribal populations, there has often been a perception of discrimination, particularly compared to the “immigrant” non-tribal communities, but also between different tribal groups. It was in this context that the TNV emerged in 1978 with the purpose of achieving independence for Tripura.
TNV represented the tribal population of the state, and capitalized on the growing discontent over the influx of non-tribal people, particularly Bengali refugees from East Pakistan (Bangladesh). It was perceived among the tribal population that the immigrants had deprived them of their land, trade, businesses, and access to government jobs. Armed groups like the TNV subsequently grew out of the idea that change could not be achieved by political means during the 1970s.
The TNV primarily engaged in guerilla-style warfare, and was known for conducting attacks against the non-tribal population in Tripura. The TNV’s decade-long insurgency ended in 1988, after negotiations with the government resulted in the signature of a peace accords by the group and the government on 12 August. The agreement contained stipulations for the disarmament and demobilization of TNV forces, resettlement and rehabilitation of combatants, the reservation of seats for tribals in Tripura’s legislative assembly, a territorial expansion of the autonomous tribal district and some measures for economic development. The TNV had approximately 450 fighters when it surrendered. A few months later, the TNV was converted into a political party.
Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl led the group. Hrangkhawl had been a secretary of the Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS), a political party formed in June 1967 to pursue tribal land and language rights, and an autonomous district council. He would become the leader of TUJS’s armed wing, Tripura Sena (Tripura Army), which later evolved into the TNV.
The TNV had close connections to the Mizo National Front (MNF), an armed group from India’s Mizoram state. For example, the TNV received training at MNF camps in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts. When the MNF renounced its armed struggle in 1986, this significantly reduced the TNV’s ability to sustain its own violent campaign.
