PM Modi pays tribute to erstwhile Tripura king Bir Bikram Manikya

Agartala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid homage to Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur, considered the architect of modern Tripura, on his birth anniversary.

The king ruled Tripura from 1923 to 1947. He was born on August 19, 1908 and died on May 17, 1947.

“I pay homage to the great Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur on his birth anniversary. He played an indelible role in the development of Tripura,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X.

He devoted his life towards empowering the poor and downtrodden and his welfare measures for the tribal communities are widely respected, Modi said.

"Our Government is committed to fulfilling his vision for Tripura's progress,” the Prime Minister said.

Chief Minister Manik Saha while addressing a programme to observe the birth anniversary of Maharaja Birbikram Kishore Manikya in Agartala said it was the Prime Minister who set an example on how to respect Maharajas.

“There was a time when the contribution of Tripura’s Manikya dynasty was overlooked by the erstwhile regime but it was the Prime Minister who started paying respect to the Maharajas who did a lot for the development of the northeastern state”, he said.

Saha said the Prime Minister unveiled a statue of Maharaja Birbikram Manikya at Agartala airport and renamed the facility after the Maharaja.

When the airport got a new terminal building, another statue of the Maharaja was installed, he said.

Saha claimed that there was no division between tribals and non-tribals during the regime of the kings but later division was created to rule the state.

“We want to make Ek Tripura Shrestha Tripura by joint efforts by the tribals and non-tribals. Tripura was the worst affected by the Partition in 1947) Had Chakla Roshnabad been part of the state, it would have access to river, sea and railways”, he said.

Chakla Roshanabad, a part of the Manikya kingdom, was included in East Pakistan during the Partition, which later became Bangladesh.