Party Politics in Tripura

The article examines the factors behind the expeditious rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tripura, the tiny Northeastern State of India in which the party had a negligible presence since Tripura's emergence as a state. The paper highlights the party's political strategy in the state in successfully countering the strong left bastion at the height of its electoral presence for more than two decades. The paper however argues unlike other cases of mainland India, ideology was not a significant element in BJP's electoral success in the case of Tripura, and therefore its future success will depend upon a fine balancing act of managing its alliance as well as effective handling of the key socioeconomic determinants that lies at the heart of state politics.

This book examines the impact of Partition on refugees in East and Northeast India and their struggle for identity, space and political rights. In the wake of the legalisation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019, this region remains a hotbed of identity and refugee politics.

Drawing on extensive research and in-depth fieldwork, this book discusses themes of displacement, rehabilitation, discrimination and politicisation of refugees that preceded and followed the Partition of India in 1947. It portrays the crises experienced by refugees in recreating the socio-cultural milieu of the lost motherland and the consequent loss of their linguistic, cultural, economic and ethnic identities. The author also studies how the presence of the refugees shaped the conduct of politics in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura in the decades following Partition.

Refugees, Borders and Identities will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of refugee studies, border studies, South Asian history, migration studies, Partition studies, sociology, anthropology, political studies, international relations and refugee studies, and for general readers of modern Indian history.

Table of Contents
Introduction  1. Encountering the ‘Refugee’: Crafting the Policies  2. Dealing with the Refugees: Rehabilitation, Variation, Discrimination  3. Creating a New Refugee Domain: Assam and Tripura  4. Becoming Political: Politicisation of Refugees in West Bengal  5.  Politics as Defence: Activation of Refugees in Assam and Tripura  Epilogue

In the twentieth century, South Asia experienced mass migrations of millions of insecure homeless people twice: it witnessed the Partition-refugees from 1947 and saranarthis during the liberation war of 1971. The Indian State treated the first category as ‘citizen-refugees’, whereas the saranarthis were like temporary shelter-seekers. Among the Northeastern states, Tripura played the most crucial role in providing them with all essential supports. Taken as a case study, this article tries to locate the inner dynamics behind the apparent absorption process in Tripura and it aims to argue that the experience was complex and two-fold in nature for both the communities.