‘Won’t gain respect by disrespecting others’: TIPRA Chief opposes removal of Khudiram Bose & Surjya Sen statues

Tripura royal scion Pradyot Manikya DebBarma today spoke out against demands to remove statues of Khudiram Bose and Surjya Sen near the Ujjayanta Palace in Tripura’s capital Agartala.

Khudiram Bose and Surjya Sen were both Indian revolutionaries from Bengal Presidency who opposed the British rule of India.

After The Tripura Ksshatriya Samaj sought to have the statues, which are located right opposite the Ujjayanta palace, removed on grounds that they depict non-tribal leaders, DebBarma urged them not to do so.

“Tribals are peeved as previous administrations in Tripura changed the names of many historical Tripuri landmarks. In fact, an administration even suggested renaming the Ujjayanta Palace. However, I have appealed that statues should not be toppled to make way for new ones. Erect new ones instead,” DebBarma, who is the leader of the TIPRA party, told indiatodayne.in.

Addressing a public rally today, Manikya said: “It is true that they (the statues) should not have been there. However, instead of removing already erected statues, we should build other statues.”

Condemning the practice in India, Manikya added further: “Temples are being built by breaking mosques, mosques are being built by breaking temples, every mosque has a temple underneath. You are doing nothing for your cause by breaking someone’s statue. You do it yourself.”

Urging people to shun the “politics of hatred”, Manikya added: “Khudiram Bose and Surjya Sen have done no wrong. Those who built them sought to belittle the Tiprasa tribals. However, both Bose and Sen made tremendous sacrifices during their lives. Build new ones. You cannot increase your respect by embarrassing others.”

It needs mention here that the Ujjayanta palace, which stands in the Capital city Agartala covering one sq km. The area was built by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya during 1899-1901.