Jitendra Chandra Paul: The Man Who Gave Tripura Its First Daily

In 1954 a small state in the far northeast got its first Bengali daily. It was not a gift from the government. It was one man’s project.

That man was Jitendra Chandra Paul of Agartala. He was a freedom activist, an editor and a campaigner for elected government in Tripura.

1Who was Jitendra Chandra Paul?

Paul was born in 1914 in a Bengali family. The place is now Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh. He was jailed for years for taking part in the freedom movement.

After Partition he settled in Agartala. There he started Jagaran, a Bengali daily. Its own archive dates the start to 1954. Some reports say 1953.

He died on 12 September 2014 in Agartala. Reports give his age as 100 or 101. The birth year itself varies, so quote the age with care.

Why did Agartala need a Bengali daily? Many people in Tripura spoke Bengali. After Partition, many more Bengali families had come across the new border. A paper in their own language spoke to them directly.

• Born about 1914, in what is now Bangladesh.
• Settled in Agartala after Partition.
• Founded Jagaran in 1954.
• Died 12 September 2014.

2What did the Sangha demand?

Paul served as general secretary of the Tripura Ganatantrik Sangha. It was formed in 1951. Nibaran Chandra Ghosh was its president.

Tripura was then a Part C state. A chief commissioner ran it for the Union government. People had little say in how they were governed.

The Sangha asked for an elected legislature and a responsible government. It also asked for civil freedoms and the release of political prisoners.

These were shared demands. Paul did not win them alone.

Why was a Part C state so limiting? The chief commissioner reported to Delhi. There was no assembly that could question him. A group like the Sangha was one of the few ways to press for change.

• General secretary of the Tripura Ganatantrik Sangha.
• Formed in 1951; president Nibaran Chandra Ghosh.
• Wanted an elected legislature.
• Do not confuse it with the Ganamukti Parishad.

3Why did a daily and a press club matter?

A daily paper does more than carry news. It gives a region a common voice. In a small state, that voice can shape public debate.

After Tripura’s first elected state government took office in 1972, Paul joined other journalists. They asked for a press club under the Tripura Sangbadik Sangha.

It was a collective effort. Paul should not get sole credit. But his paper tied publishing to the growth of local journalism.

Running a daily in the 1950s was hard. Presses were costly. Paper was scarce. Reporters were few. A paper in a small, remote state had to survive on thin means. That makes the founding itself notable.

• A daily gives a region a common voice.
• Journalists sought a press club after 1972.
• Body: the Tripura Sangbadik Sangha.

4How did Tripura’s status change?

Tripura’s merger agreement was signed in September 1949. Maharani Kanchan Prabha Devi signed as regent for the young ruler. Indian administration began later, on 15 October 1949.

After 1950 it became a Part C state. In 1956 it became a Union Territory with an elected territorial council.

Full statehood came on 21 January 1972. That date explains the timing of the press-club demand.

Do not mix up the three political stages. A princely state was ruled by a prince. A Part C state was ruled from Delhi through an officer. A full state has its own elected government.

• Merger signed September 1949; rule began 15 October 1949.
• Part C state, then Union Territory in 1956.
• Statehood on 21 January 1972.
• Read about Tripura and the States Reorganisation Commission.

5What can the record prove?

His public roles are well recorded. He was an activist, a newspaper founder and an organiser.

Some personal details differ between accounts. These include his exact birth year and age. One source says he wrote over ten books. Their titles need better cataloguing.

Jagaran kept publishing after his death. That is his clearest monument. A paper that outlives its founder becomes an institution.

A good exam habit follows from this. Learn the firm facts first. Treat age, book counts and exact birth years as soft details. Examiners rarely ask about them.

• Firm facts: activist, founder of Jagaran, organiser.
• Uncertain: birth year and book titles.
• Jagaran still publishes.

6What are the exam traps?

• Paul was general secretary, not president, of the Sangha.
• Keep the two 1949 dates apart: September merger agreement, 15 October rule.
• Tripura became a state only in 1972.
• Jagaran is Bengali and dated 1954.