By Our Correspondent

'The novelty of my name always evokes queries from strangers while those familiar with it always shout; here comes the government' said Ms Communistpati Rupini (53) with her characteristic tribal candour. As Vice President of Malbari rearers cum dealers co-operative society and development committee Chairperson of Brighudas bari village within Autonomous District Council (ADC) area has achieved self-sufficiency through silk-worm rearing and weaving. She has quite a lot to talk about but always begins by offering an explanation for her quaint name. 'You see I was born in 1948 when my father Mohan Singh Rupini was busy organising communist movement in the tribal-dominated areas and he named me 'Communistpati' says Ms Rupini. For Communistpati and the President of her co-operative society Ms Madhabi Rupini the Malbari co-operative society has done what possibly nothing else could have done. Along with 454 other members of the co-operative these two tribal women have made a career out of the organised cycle of cocoon production ,silk rearing ,reeling and weaving of silk products as part of a silent revolution . Altogether ten all-women co-operative societies in Tripura have been providing a living to 4500 women, mostly tribals, out of whom 3000 are rearers and 1500 weavers. The Malbari co-operative society ,located at Champaknagar on the foothills of Barmura hill ranges is however the most successful and has remained unmolested by the poaching of militant outfits. Explaining the contours of the 'silent revolution' Ms Nupur Som, elegant-looking and articulate Managing Director of the co-operative society said ' the sericulture department launched the programme in 1995-96 with sponsorship from union Human Resources and Development (HRD) ministry and a grant of Rs 4.36 crores and this has been continuing successfully with more grants pouring in '. She asserted that batches of women have been trained in Bangalore in the works of 'cocoon-generation, rearing, reeling and weaving with stipends from the sericulture department of the state. They earn around around Rs 2000.00 a months as demand for Tripura's Silk yarn Garments has been rising sharply and we are sure very soon Tripura Silk will be a highly popular brand name like our counterparts in Murshidabad or South India', Ms Som added. Mr Biren Deb ,Deputy Director (technology) in the sericulture department, admitted that artisans in Tripura were yet to learn the highest skills in weaving and 'that is why we often send fine silk yarns to Murshidabad for making sarees etc'. He said that tribal dominated villages such as Noagaon ,Bhrigudasbari, Sadhupara, Tulakona have already emerged as major 'silk villages'.Mr Deb and Mr Arunabha Dasgupta , head of the departmental reeling and weaving centre at Agartala said four major centres of the department were operating in full swing in four districts of the state. 'Altogether 8660 women are benefiting from this scheme all over the state though the number would have been higher, had there been no militancy and we are earning fairly well now by exporting silk yarns and garments' he added.Mr Dasgupta said that at every stage the rearers and weavers were being aided by the sericulture department and co-operatives and 'we have also floated plantations for generating cocoons'.