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BOOK
REVIEW This book by Pannalal Roy, containing all the historical information about the merger of Tripura and the Tripura king’s jamindari, Chakla Roshanabad, has shattered the myth that was so cautiously built by politicians on distorted facts for their narrow political gains and gave rise to tribal insurgency in the state. The book published by Tripura Darpan, (Agartala, in 2003. Price: Rs. 70/-Cover design: Imanul Haque; No. of pages: 95) has proved beyond all doubts that the Bengalis who migrated to Tripura after the Partition were actually Tripura Kings’ subjects in his Chakla Roshnabad jamindari. These subjects used to pay the maximum revenue to the Royal coffer of Tripura and as such during Partition Tripura became a natural choice for them to take shelter- because, it happened to be their ‘second home’. Roy has already earned name and fame for his relentless pursuit for history. He has already written several bestsellers on the various subjects of socio-historic importance , but Merger of Tripura and Chakla Roshanabad, is perhaps the most read and most talked about book. About three months before the independence of India, the Maharaja of Tripura, Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya died suddenly. Before death, he decided to merge his state with the Indian Union. This decision was implemented later and Tripura became a part of free India on October 15, 1949. That brought an end to the long rule of Manikya dynasty in Tripura. But what happened to this jamindari area Chakla Roshanabad? Once the vast plain area, adjacent to Hill Tripura was under the rule of the Tripura kings. Gradually the area under their rule began to shrink. During the Mughal rule they lost control over the vast plains. The Mughals gave this plain area the name ‘Roshanabad’, meaning ‘the land of light’. Later on it came to be known as Chakla Roshanabad. After the Mughal invasion the king of Tripura was reduced to a jamindar of Chakla Roshanabad under the Mughals. The system continued in the British period also. The king became a jamindar of Chakla Roshanabad under the British suzerainty. However, in Hill Tripura the king was a sovereign ruler. Anyway when India attained freedom and Tripura merged with India surprisingly there was no mention about Chakla Roshanabad in the Merger Act. Why? This book has explored the conditions that made Chakla Roshanabad, once an integral part of Tripura, a part of Pakistan. Boiyer Kaagaz published from Kolkata wrote “ …. This book has complied many information about the rise and fall of the rulers of ancient Tripura. ….Jamindari of Chakla Roshanabad was not mentioned in the Merger Act of Tripura. As a result, a vast area went to Pakistan. It was a big loss for Tripura. After a thorough research, Pannalal Roy has unearthed valuable information about Chakla Roshanabad. He has analyzed the reason behind the segregation of Chakla Roshanabad at length. The credit of his writing is \n he never blindly followed the conventional theory, rather he tried to justify everything logically. He has not been driven by emotions and nicely followed the historical trend to analyze the subject. The language of narration is so natural that you like to read out the book at one go.” Tripura
Darpan, July 2, 2003, Agartala: “…… Pannalal Roy has presented the
subject in such a smooth flow and logical language that we can clearly
view the circumstances of that time and relate the outcome. He has tried
to present a different and critical phase of history in a simply way
with adequate information. How a controversial subject can be presented
keeping a controversy aside \n Mr. Roy has just offered an example of
it. … His book, on the one hand, is interesting to read and on the
other is informative……” |