Who created the Frankenstein of tribal militancy in Tripura? This is the question that is doing the rounds in the state after the recent bloodshed between tribals and Bengalis.

This is the first time that an exclusively tribal outfit which styles itself as the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), propped up by the underground National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), has captured political power independently. Though the IPFT's ascent to power in the Autonomous District Council (ADC) in May this year is said to have come through the barrels of the NLFT guns, it is undoubtedly a significant development.

Threats from NLFT had forced most political combinations to withdraw from the contest, the only exception being the CPI(M). But the Marxists not only lost the polls, they also had to pay a heavy price. As many as 41 of the party's leaders and workers, several among them tribals, fell to NLFT bullets in the run-up to the ADC election.

The rules of the game however, have been different all these years. Tribal militant outfits were generally used by major political parties in the state to remain in power or to dethrone the ruling party. Both the Congress and the CPI(M) who have ruled the state alternately since 1978 stand accused of using underground outfits against each other.

It all began when the Marxists first captured power in the state in 1978. By 1980, Tripura underwent a vicious ethnic flare-up. The Tribal National Volunteers (TNV), an underground wing of the Tripura Upajati Juva Samity (TUJS) and headed by the dreaded Bijoy Hrangkhal, drew blood with unfailing regularity throughout the 80s. With each passing massacre of Bengali settlers, the opposition Congress reinforced the demand for President's rule.Discredited thoroughly by the majority Bengali community, the Marxists failed to hold on to power.

Tripura's nightmare ended briefly after the Congress-TUJS wrested power in 1988. But more significant was the fact that the TNV activists quickly surrendered their arms within three months of the return of the Congress to power, a tell-tale sign of a tacit understanding.

With the Marxists in the opposition, the horror of tribal militancy returned. This time, it was All Tripura Tribal Force (ATTF), an outfit they were suspected of propping up. In fact, some of the student wing leaders of the CPI(M) joined the ATTF and some continue to be underground.

By the 90s, the tribal militants realised that they were mere pawns in the hands of the mainstream political parties. In the ADC election in May, they decided to dump both. Thus, the significance of the emergence of the IPFT cannot be undermined. This is the first time that a totally tribal outfit is ruling two-thirds of the geographical area of Tripura (the ADC area). More importantly, what was essentially a political polarisation in Tripura has now been transformed into an ethnic polarisation.

The pressure is mounting everyday for those tribal leaders who are still in the fold of either the CPI(M) or the Congress to fall in line with the ultras. Nagendra Jamatia, a sitting TUJS MLA, a former minister in the Congress-TUJS government and a moderate, says, "I may be a tribal, but even I am on the hit list of the NLFT." Jamatia, who spends much of his time within the security cordon of the MLA hostel, has received a message by the NLFT: You will have to do a lot of explaining to us once we get hold of you.

What explaining? "They probably want to ask me why I shed tears at the merciless killing of Bengalis. Or, perhaps, why I still believe that tribalism will not last in Tripura."

But even moderates like Jamatia or Rabindra Deb Barma, another TUJS leader, are pained at the neglect heaped onto the tribals, irrespective of whoever is in power. "Tribal youth were asked to surrender arms and promised jobs. But once they complied, the government turned a blind eye. I know hundreds of youth who left the jungles but returned with greater vengeance after being betrayed," says Deb Barma.

The total failure of the land restoration programme meant for the tribals and the unchecked influx of Bangladeshis are other issues which further complicate the situation. According to one estimate, over 2,000 sq. kms of cultivable and "reserved" lands have changed hands from tribals to Bengali settlers over the ages. Though the LF government had set up a programme to restore these lands, actual physical restoration has not been achieved.

Tripura has also been witness to a remarkable demographic change. From a 50-50 ratio between tribals and non-tribals in the 50s, the balance has swung drastically against the tribals in the 90s. According to the 1991 census, the tribals now constitute only 30 per cent of Tripura's population while non-tribals, mostly Bengalis, make up the rest.