Dream and reality : Pradyot’s fascination for the title of Maharaja amidst the politics of appeasement

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, May 29, 2025

The denizens of dreamland in politics always create problems from their delusion of grandeur . This fits in perfectly with Pradyot’s brush with the DM (south) Tarit Kanti Chakma who refused to meet the ‘Tipra Motha’ supremo in his official residence at Udaipur after sundown, having allegedly ignored a series of phone calls from the deluded ‘Maharaja’ on last Saturday. Pradyot made a big issue out of this , goading his party to demand action against Tarit Kanti Chakma and drawing unsolicited sympathy and chorus of support from parties across the spectrum. The elected leaders who came out in support of Pradyot perhaps want elected representatives to always have precedence over selected bureaucrats-what with their compulsion.Sudip Roybarman is keen to curry favour with Prdyot for alliance with ‘Motha’ in the next assembly election while Jiten Chowdhury aims to keep uninformed sentiment in favour of his party.

The crucial question spawned by the unseemly controversy is whether Tarit Kanti Chakma violated any clause or section of Civil Service Conduct Rules in refusing an untimely meet at home with Pradyot on a holiday and whether he can be legally proceeded against for this alleged act of omission touted aloud as a grave offence. According to experts on civil service conduct rules Tarit can not be faulted for his refusal to entertain Pradyot at home at an untimely hour at night but he could have honoured the wishes of an elected representative-Pradyot is an elected member of ADC from Takarjala-as part of an unwritten code of conduct.

This controversy rages on but in a new twist an upstart leader of ‘Tipra Motha’ misbehaved with a media person in Udaipur for not using the honorific ‘Maharaja’ while pronouncing the name of Pradyot Kishore-that too in an interaction with media, called by themselves. Earlier in December 2023 one ‘Gairing Cottage’ had been inaugurated by Pradyot in ADC headquarter at Khwamlung and his name on the plaque had been prefixed as ‘HH’ which means His Highness or ‘Maharaja’. How this bizarre reference could find a place on a formal plaque in a constitutional democracy in presence of high officials is beyond comprehension but it can be safely assumed that Tripura BJP’s politics of appeasement-at the cost of its own tribal organization-to keep the opposition, specially CPI (M) out of power is responsible for this. However, the ruling party seems to be oblivious to what it is rearing in its backyard and how it will behave in the near future.

While Pradyot enjoys his illusory status as ‘Maharaja’ the incontrovertible fact of history is that his late father, universally respected ‘Maharaja’ Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya, had not been able to rule the state despite coronation because of political conundrum that led to the princely domain’s merger with the Indian union on October 15 1949 when he was a minor. Besides , the instrument of accession signed by Maharani Kanchan Prava Debi as Regent along with 565 princely domains of undivided India on August 13 1947 had given certain privileges and immunities to the princely rulers that ended with the merger of the kingdoms with effect from October 15 1949. Apart from this, the 26th amendment of the constitution in 1971 passed by Indira Gandhi abolished the ‘Privy Purse’, the annual grant of fixed financial allowances to the princely rulers by the government of India and this was upheld by the supreme court as well later. Hence Pradyot’s delusion of grandeur and unuttered claim to the honorific ‘Maharaja’, as advocated by his ‘Jahil’ supporters and appeasers, has absolutely no basis in reality. Indian democracy and republicanism give no quarter to such feudal and regressive concepts as ‘Maharajas’ or ‘Rajajis’ and the sooner the followers and appeasers realize this, the better for the state.

more news...