Administratively, the state is divided into four districts. These are - Dhalai, North Tripura, South Tripura and West Tripura. The headquarters of these four district are - Ambassa, Kailashahar, Udaipur and Agartala respectively. With an area of about 2,997 sq. km, the West Tripura is the largest district of the state.

Origin of the Name of the State

The Origin of the name Tripura is a highly debated issue. According to Rajmala, Tripura was one ruled by King Tripur after whom the state has been named. This opinion has been challenged by many historians and scholars as well. They claim that the King Tripur was an imaginary figure and no historical basis can be ascribed to this fact.

Some writers have observed that the mame Tripura derives from the Goddess Tripurasundari-the presiding deity of the land. Hunter in his book 'A Statistical Account of Bengal' observed that the name Tripura was probably given to the state in honour of the temple at Udaipur which was dedicated either to Tripurdana, 'the Sungod', or to Tripureswari, 'the mistress of the three worlds.' This idea has also been supported by Browne. But this appears to be incorrect in the sense that the state had been known as Tripura even before the installation of the deity which occurred during the rule of Maharaja Dhanyamanikya in the first half of the sixteenth century.

Another opinion is that the name Tripura originated from the two words-'tui' means water and 'pra' means near. Together, it conveys the meaning of Tripura as a land adjoining the waters. This version seems to be relevant as the hill people of Tripura still call the state as Tipra and not Tripura. Some scholars hold the opinion that the name Tripura was a Sanskritised version of Tipra, a hill tribe to what the then ruling family belonged.

History of the State

The history of Tripura dates back to the Mahabharata, the Puranas and pillar inscriptions of emperior Ashoka. There are no historical records, available of Tripura except Rajmala which is the chronicle history of the rulers of Tripura. According to it, early rulers were known by the surname 'Fameaning 'father'. There is a reference of rulers of Bengal helping Tripura kings in the fourteenth century. Kings of Tripura had to face frequent mughal invasions with varying successes. They defeated the Mohammedan sultans of Bengal in several battles. The nineteenth century marked the beginning of the modern era in Tripura when King Maharaja Birchandra Manikya Bahadur modeled his administrative set-up on the British India pattern and brought in various reforms. His successor ruled over Tripura till 1947 when it was annexed to the Indian Union on August 13, 1947 though the final integration was effected on October 13, 1949 as a part of "C" category state. The Tripura Territorial Council, a body of elected representatives of the people was first formed on August 15, 1957 under the provision of the Territorial Act, 1956. Tripura became a centrally administered Union Territory of India on 1 July, 1963 and on the 21 January, 1972, it attained the status of a full-fledged state.

Demography

The total population of Tripura, as on 1st March, 1991 stood at 27,57,205 (14,17,930 males and 13,39,275 females). Tripura is the home of 0.33 % of India's population and the state accounts for 0.32 % of the total area of the country.

The state has a large size of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population. The scheduled castes and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes occupy 16.36 % and 30.95 % of the population of Tripura respectively. The state is inhabited by 19 tribal communities. Of them, the Tripuris are found to inhabit all over the state. Noatia, Jamatia, Reang, Chakma, Halam, Garo, Kuki, Lushai, Mogh, Munda, Oraon, Santhal and Uchai are the other dominant tribal communities of the state.

The distribution of population in Tripura is highly uneven. West Tripura is by far the most populated district of the state. More than 45 % of the total population of the state has been concentrated in this district. The eastern part of Tripura (Dhalai district) is more hilly and heavily forested and contains only 10 % of the total population of the state.

The density of population in Tripura is increasing with each successive census. In 1911, the density per sq. km and in 1951 it rose to 62, whereas in 1961 it stood it rose to 62, whereas in 1961 it stood at 109. The density of population which was 196 persons per sq. km in 1981 has gone up to 263 persons per sq. km in 1991. Although he density of population of Tripura is increasing at a very fast pace, still he density of population of the state is below the national average.

Tripura registered a phenomenal growth of population during this century. The total population of the state was 2,29,613 in 1911. Since then in a period of 80 years, the population increased to 27,57,205. During this period the population increased by 12 times. Tripura has a moderately high birth rate and a very low death rate. Accordingly to 1991 Census, the birth rate per thousand was only 24.4 and the death per thousand was only 7.6.

During the first half of this century Tripura registered a high growth rate of population. The growth rate during 1901-1951 varied between 25 % and 34 %. After 1951 particularly during 1951-1961 the growth rate was astounding, 7.69 % % per annum. During the period 1952-1956, 1.9 lakh displaced people from erstwhile East Pakistan entered the state. This large-scale migration had an immediate effect on the population density and growth of population of Tripura.

Like India, the sex ratio in Tripura has always been adverse to women. In 1951, there were 906 females per thousand males. It showed a gradual in crease in the subsequent decades. The ratio was 932 females per thousand males in 1961 and reached 946 females per thousand males in 1981. In 1991, there has been a fall of 1 point to 945 females per thousand males.

The literacy rate in the state is 60.44 %. The literacy rate among the women is 49.55 % as compared to 70.58 % among the men.

Again, the literacy rate is 56.08 % in rural areas compared to 83.09 % in urban areas of the state.