Tripura king’s remarks on Bangladesh territory spark controversy
PARBATTANEWS DESK
Tripura’s king, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, has sparked debate after calling for parts of Bangladesh to be included in a “Greater Tripura Land.”
In interviews with ANI News and Republic Bangla, Deb Barma referred to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s recent remarks on India’s “chicken’s neck” corridor.
“We will occupy Greater Chittagong and form Greater Tripura Land,” he was quoted as saying. He specifically mentioned the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Cox’s Bazar.
Republic Bangla reported that Deb Barma described India’s actions during the 1971 Liberation War as a missed opportunity.
“In 1971 itself, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar should have been occupied. The country is now suffering from the folly of Congress,” the channel quoted him as saying. He added that then–prime minister Indira Gandhi should have struck an agreement with Bangladesh over Chittagong.
ANI News reported that Deb Barma argued Indian control of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar would have provided strategic advantages to the northeast, which lacks direct access to the sea. He also criticised Yunus for describing Bangladesh as the “guardian of the Bay of Bengal.”
He further said Indian control of Bangladeshi territory would eliminate Dhaka’s leverage over the Siliguri corridor — the narrow 22-kilometre strip in West Bengal that links the northeast to the rest of India and is widely seen as a strategic vulnerability.
Indian media said the remarks have drawn mixed reactions, with some commentators calling them provocative while others framed them as historical claims.
Legal experts noted that advocating the breakup of a neighbouring sovereign state could be considered treason under Indian law.
The Indian government has not yet issued any statement on Deb Barma’s comments.
