Causes of terrorism as perceived by tribal and non tribal adults of Tripura

Pages: 209-212
Lopamudra Saha and Anindita Chaudhuri (Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata)

This paper contributes to an understanding on the factors responsible for terrorism of Tripura, a North-eastern state of India. Tripura has been facing the problems of insurgency since 1980s when an ethnic fight began in between the tribal and non-tribal residents of the state. The tribals of Tripura being overpowered by the Bengalis in day-to-day dealings formed a terrorist group to attain their rights. This has effects on both the tribal and non-tribal population. Both the groups have different explanation rather we can say different perception regarding these terrorist activities. However, the perception may also vary across different age groups as the old adults of the state has seen changes right from the beginning, the middle aged persons from the midst and the young aged only the present situation. Therefore the present study was done across six tribal and non-tribal groups comprising of three different age groups viz., young adult (18-22 yrs), middle aged adult (45- 55 yrs), old adult (65 yrs above). Each group comprised of 5-8 members and all the groups underwent one focus group discussion. The information was obtained by a qualitative study carried on with the help of focus group discussion. The results of the present study indicate that the most important factors that contribute to the terrorism in Tripura are: sense of deprivation, politics, economic problem and unemployment. However, lack of education, misunderstandings among the tribal themselves and also in between the tribal and the non-tribal are some other remarkable factors responsible for the development of terrorism in Tripura.