Kumari-Madhuti-Rupashri: We Miss You
By:Dhiraj Debbarma, Category: General, Posted on:2010-04-01 10:14:31

Tripura celebrates the Martyrs Day on 28th March every year in memory of Rupashri Debbarma, Kumari Debbarma and Madhuti Debbarma. This year 2010, on their 62nd death anniversary , the memories of the three Indigenous women Martyr of Tripura, KUMARI-MADHUTI-RUPASHRI is still fresh, vivid and remains etched forever in the minds of Tripura people.

It may be noted that on the black day on 28th March 1949 , these three great women from a distant remote village of Padmabil under Khowai Sub Division, had mustered great courage to stand up and fight against the gross injustice, in-humane treatment and severe torture meted out to the people then. Inspite of their bold and valiant protest, they still had to make the supreme sacrifice of their life and were barbarically shot down by the bullets from Military.

But the struggle and the ultimate sacrifice of these three Khowai tripuri women for the sake of their mother land and the bosong(community) have not gone waste.
Every year on this same date, each tripuri house hold and individual from whole Khowai and other remote villages of Tripura still flock in large numbers to attend their annual anniversary held close to the spot where they were mercilessly killed decades back.
In the year 1949 before Tripura joined mainstream India it is seen the height of the Movement led by veteran Aghore Debbarma, Desharath Debbarma etc. in the independent Tripura Kingdom. It was in this time the people were protesting what is called "Titun Pratha". A seen of unrest is seen in the Khowai region, the torching of houses, loot & arrests of our tripuri Men and Women became more and more routine in nature and they were kept locked in jails set up temporarily in Khowai town.

On 28th March it all started at the afternoon when these Army jawans, came for a routine patrolling in the village of Padmabil, Khowai and picked up and arrested two of the innocent male villagers without any reason, but to their surprise and they came under the midst of a sudden huge united protest and encountered a strong crowd , comprising mainly of all the village Tripuri women who had came out with their home to protest.

It was during this protest, led in the front by Kumari Debbarma, Madhuti Debbarma and Rupashri Debbarma the trio succumbed to bullet injuries and were murdered fighting against the torture and inhuman treatment to the people on 28th March 2010.
The sacrifice of three women popularly known as Kumari-Madhuti-Rupashri becomes a history.

The sacrifice of Tripuri women in the society is not new. Tripuri women always joined their male counterpart in every walks of life. We have seen the protest of Tripuri women in many occasion, be it in the Mandai Protest, where a Tripuri youth was killed by Security forces or be it in Takarjala were innocent Tripuris were arrested and the thousands of women coming out of the house to protest.

Nothing has much change since 1949, only the name of the ruler change and the legacy continues, 'arrest-murder-protest', but somewhere down the line in our protest, in our fight for injustice we really miss Kumari-Madhuri-Rupashri, you will always be in our hearts.

We Miss You 'ha ni sajwk'
Long Live Kumari-Madhuti-Rupashri


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