Governor tathagata roy releases the book – #tripura : past, present and future

Governor tathagata roy releases the book – tripura : past, present and future

A voluminous Book running into more than 400 pages titled “Tripura : Past, Present and Future” authored by the renowned nation builder and environmentalist Dr. Priya Ranjan Trivedi was released by the Governor of Tripura Prof. Tathagata Roy during the 3-day Afro-Asian Summit inaugurated on 24 December 2015 and concluded today with an unanimous resolution to adopt Tripura by the Afro-Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, Occupational Research and Development (ACCORD). The adoption process will help the State in its overall development including an appropriate and foolproof solution of the burning problem related to unemployment and lack of skilling facilities. Inaugurating the Afro-Asian Summit 2015 before releasing the Book “Tripura : Past, Present and Future”, Governor Prof. Tathagata Roy appreciated the efforts of ACCORD and for selecting Tripura out of the many small, medium and big size States and Union Territory in the country. He also recalled his visit to Bangladesh recently where he found the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Smt. Sheikh Hasina planning to maintain most cordial relations with India.

The Governor added that it was a wonderful idea to locate the potentials of development in the Asian and the African continents with the appropriate technologies to be transferred from the American continents with a view to optimizing the available resources in all the countries in the Afro-Asian Region. He hoped that all of us are aware that India will be the leader in this direction after the youth of India are provided with necessary skills as per the visions of our Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

He further added that his special thanks were due to the Board of Governors of the Afro-Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, Occupational Research and Development (ACCORD) in general and to its Mentor and Patron Dr. Priya Ranjan Trivedi who is a renowned institution builder as well as an environmental scientist. He has taken great pains in collecting information regarding the past, present and future of Tripura and bringing out the important Book titled “Tripura : Past, Present and Future”. He was also sure that the contents and the details described in this unique Book will merit the consideration of the historians, politicians, policy makers, bureaucrats, technocrats, religious leaders, industrialists and entrepreneurs for coming to Tripura and observing the ancient cultural heritage of this State.

The Governor was appreciative of the facts that the main objective of this organization i.e. ACCORD was to locate avenues for alternative employment creation besides designing a approach to skill development and entrepreneurship among the younger generation all over the world in general and in the countries situated in African, Asian and American continents in particular with a view to bringing peace on earth in the third millennium by having countrywise and countrywide appropriate solutions for the burning problems like peacelessness, insurgency, poverty, unemployment, pollution, faulty educational and training methodologies, population explosion, religious intolerance etc.

 He stress the need for ensuring that the activities of ACCORD would include the strategies for creating more occupations besides transfer of appropriate technologies among the 54 countries in Africa, 49 countries in Asia and 39 countries in the American continents by also having closer ties with all countries in Europe as well as Australia and the Pacific Region for ensuring a balanced and a sustainable growth in all countries of the world by using clean as well as cleaning-up technologies through new and emerging techniques for climate change management, environmental and disaster education, geriatric care, waste management, green business and technologies besides strengthening of diplomatic relations among nations for protecting our Mother Earth.

 Emphasizing the role of school children, the Governor said that child is the father of man. The idea of ACCORD to also promote entrepreneurial leadership among the school and the college going boys and girls by “Catching Them Young” and for designing didactical messages for the educators to see that they produce more number of job givers rather than job seekers. This will be possible as ACCORD has the qualified inventory of experts for establishing universities, colleges, institutions, schools and other training outfits in different countries with latest equipment and infrastructure for conducting formal, informal, non-formal, open, distance, online, internet and web-based employment centric programmes in all countries of the world.

Highlighting the best efforts of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the assistance to the African countries, the Governor Tathagata Roy said that recently the India-Africa Forum Summit 2015 was held at New Delhi from 26-30 October 2015. This was the NDA Government’s biggest Diplomatic Outreach involving delegates from more than 50 countries from Africa. I remember the logo for this Summit sponsored by the Government of India depicted these words : “Proud, Courageous, Bold and on the Prowl, ready to take on the future and seize every opportunity”. In the background African map overlapping merges with Indian map in a reference to ancient Gondwanaland when Indian subcontinent used to be part of today’s Africa’s continental landmass millions of years ago.

 To my mind, the role of the newly established Asian-African-American Chamber of Commerce, Occupational Research and Development (ACCORD) should be that of a catalyst for strengthening the cause of the developmental process specially in the sectors like : Agricultural, Trade, Industry and Investment, Peace and Security, Promotion of Good Governance and Civil Society, Information and Communication Technology, Higher and Tertiary Education, Skill Development, Health Care and Hospital Administration.

The Governor invited each one of the VIPs to come to Agartala and visit the important historical, archaeological and religious places throughout the State. Tripura is a State in North-East. This is the third smallest State in the country, it covers 10,491 km² (4,051 sq mi) and is bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south, and west, and the Indian States of Assam and Mizoram to the east. With almost 37 lakhs residents, constituting 0.3% of India’s  population. Indigenous communities, form about 30 per cent of Tripura’s population. The Kokborok speaking Tripuri people are the major group among 19 tribes and many subtribes. The Bengali people form the ethno-linguistic majority in Tripura.

Tracing the history of Tripura, the Governor recalled that the area of modern Tripura was ruled for several centuries by the Tripuri dynasty. It was the independent princely State of the Tripuri Kingdom under the Protectorate of the British Empire which was known as Hill Tippera  while the area annexed and ruled directly by British India was known as Tippera District (present Comilla District). The independent Tripuri Kingdom (or Hill Tippera) joined the newly independent India in 1949.

Tripura lies in a geographically disadvantageous location in India, as only one major highway, the National Highway 44, connects it with the rest of the country. Five mountain ranges—Boromura, Atharamura, Longtharai, Shakhan and Jampui Hills—run north to south, with intervening valleys; Agartala, the capital, is located on a plain to the west.

Mainstream Indian cultural elements, especially from Bengali culture, coexist with traditional practices of the ethnic groups, such as various dances to celebrate religious occasions, weddings and festivities; the use of locally crafted musical instruments and clothes; and the worship of regional deities. The sculptures at the archaeological sites Unakoti, Pilak and Devtamura provide historical evidence of artistic fusion between organised and tribal religions. The Ujjayanta Palace in Agartala was the former royal abode of the Tripuri kings.

On the face of it, the name Tripura is Sanskrit, meaning “three cities” (corresponding exactly to the Greek Tripolis). The Sanskrit name is linked to Tripura Sundari, the presiding deity of the Tripura Sundari Temple at Udaipur, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas (pilgrimage centres of Shaktism), and to the legendary tyrant king Tripur, who reigned in the region. Tripur was the 39th descendant of Druhyu, who belonged to the lineage of Yayati, a king of the Lunar Dynasty, he concluded.

Advising the delegates of the “Commerce, Occupational Research and Development (CORD) Summit” being inaugurated today, he said that based on whatever has been mentioned on its website, I wish to endorse their views and hereby stress on the need to solve the problems of peacelessness, pollution, poverty and unemployment in all the countries covered under ACCORD by exporting the Indian manpower to the rest of the world for implementing programmes related to skill development, pollution control, cleaning and greening besides entrepreneurship development.

He also advised Dr. Priya Ranjan Trivedi to present this publication “Tripura : Past, Present and Future” to the important functionaries and officials of the Government of Tripura so that they may consider acquiring more copies of this Book to be circulated in the public libraries in all Districts of Tripura.

Earlier the welcome address was presented by the Director of ACCORD Utkarsh Sharma. Others who presented their views included the Ambassadors of Bolivia and Mongolia.

The Valedictory Address was presented by Prof. Glen T. Martin, President of the World Parliament (USA) and the Recommendations were presented by Dr. Gregory Berglund, CEO, The Planet Earth.

It may be mentioned that these recommendations resolved during the present Summit held on 24-26 December 2015 will also be seconded during the 36^th World Management Congress to be held at New Delhi on 30-31 December 2015.