Tripura Research Articles

FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE UPDATED ILLINOIS RAPE MYTH ACCEPTANCE SCALE IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

This study explores the factor structure and the other psychometric properties of the updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS), in the Indian context. The sample was collected from 429 college and university students in the state of Tripura in India. All the items in the original scale were retained and five major factors were revealed by Principal Component Analysis. The model was deemed to be a good fit by the estimates of Confirmatory Factor Analysis. All the five factors derived were found to be reliable. The divergent validity of the study was verified; however, the convergent validity was ascribed from the high composite reliability of the factors. Different other measures like item-total, inter-item correlation strengthened the foundation of reliability and validity of the scale. The full scale was found to possess satisfactory reliability. The gender difference in the total test scores was assessed and found to be significant. The other details are discussed herein.

Mining the pervasiveness of surra in different animal species of Northeastern states of India: Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12639-021-01392-z.

The identity of emIndosylvirana nicobariensis/em (Stoliczka 1870) (Amphibia, Ranidae) from northeast India.

Stoliczka (1870) described Hylorana nicobariensis from the Nicobar Islands of India. The generic allocation of this enigmatic species is yet to be fully resolved (Chan et al. 2020b) and it has been placed in different genera (Boulenger 1885; Frost et al. 2006; Che et al. 2007; Oliver et al. 2015; Chan et al. 2020a; Chandramouli et al. 2020). As of now, the species is assigned to the genus Indosylvirana (Oliver et al. 2015; Chan et al. 2020b; Frost 2020). Apart from Nicobar archipelago, this species is distributed in the insular regions of southeast Asia (Oliver et al. 2015; Chandramouli et al. 2020; Frost 2020) and the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal in northeast India (Sarkar et al. 1992, 2002; Sarkar Ray 2006; Ahmed et al. 2009; Mathew Sen 2010; Lalremsanga 2011; Lalremsanga et al. 2015, 2016). However, Frost (2020) doubted the records of this species in northeast India. Systematic studies on the herpetofauna of northeast India based on molecular evidence are scanty (Lalronunga et al. 2020a), and species recorded from the area need confirmation (Frost 2020). Recent studies revealed that many species previously recorded from northeast India were based on misidentifications (Das et al. 2019; Giri et al. 2019; Lalronunga et al. 2020b), therefore, a review and revalidation on the herpetofaunal list of the area is warranted. Herein, we examined the identity of the species recorded as I. nicobariensis from northeast India using morphological data and a fragment of 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene.

Contesting Militarized Violence in “Northeast India”

Abstract The northeastern states of India have been positioned as India’s postcolonial other in mainstream politics with the aim to create xenophobic binaries between insider and outsider groups. Comprising the eight “sister” states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, this region represents India’s amorphous shadowlands in arbitrary political markings between the mainland and the off-centered northeastern periphery. These satellite states have been subjected to the neocolonial governance of the Indian government and its implementation of political terror through abusive laws, militarized violence, protracted wars against civilians and insurgents alike, and gender abuse. Women poets from the region, such as Monalisa Changkija, Temsüla Ao, Mamang Dai, and others, have played a leading role in exposing and denouncing this violence. This essay examines the importance of women’s poetry as a gendered documentation of conflict, a peace narrative, a poet’s reading of history, and a site of memory. Can poetry express the particularized “sorrow of women” (Mamang Dai) without sentimentality and concession? How do these poetic contestations of conflict represent complex interrogations of identity, eco-devastation, and militarization to invalidate an elitist “poetry for poetry’s sake” ethic?

Common pool resource dependency and its impact on current income and its equity among fisher households in selected districts of Tripura State, North-east India

The study has assessed the common pool resource dependency and income distribution pattern across households involved in fisheries in the North-east Indian state of Tripura. The study was carried out based on the responses of 230 sample households involved in common pool resource collection. The findings of the study revealed income quartile-wise households dependency on different common pool resources to total current income. The dependence on common pool resources does not decline with total current income, instead there was evidence of a decline first and then increase in dependence on common pool resources. The contribution of income from capture fisheries was 18.84, 14.32, 6.70 and 3.6% to the total income of lowest quartile, 25-50%income quartile, 50-75 income quartile and top 25% income quartile respectively. Considering the importance of income generated from capture fisheries resources, the study attempted to find out Gini concentration and Lorenze curve for 90 households involved in capture fisheries. The Gini concentration ratio of 0.207 revealed almost equitable distribution of income across the households involved in capture fisheries. Considering these facts, the study suggested policy measures for sustainable management of open water bodies in the state which will lead to bring in more income to the fishers which would also help to bring equity among households income.

Currently circulating genotypes of Hepatitis A virus in South West, East and North East India, 2017–2018

BackgroundThis study was carried out to understand the circulating genotypes of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) in South West, East and North East India during the period 2017–2018 as a part of acute febrile illness surveillance at the Manipal Institute of Virology. MethodsArchived serum samples of 48 Hepatitis A confirmed cases were subjected to RNA extraction using QIAamp® Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Germany). The samples with molecular confirmation for HAV by reverse transcriptase real-Time PCR (Real Star® HAV RT-PCR Kit 2.0, Altona Diagnostics, GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) were further subjected to nested conventional PCR targeting the 5′ UTR region. The purified PCR products were sequenced using Big Dye Terminator Kit (Applied Biosystems, USA), in a 3500 XL genetic analyzer (Applied Biosystems, USA). The edited sequences by means of MEGA X (MEGA version 10.1) were compared with reference sequences in the NCBI nucleotide database. ResultsFrom states of Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Tripura, 139 Hepatitis A and 33 Hepatitis E cases were reported during the study period. The median age of the acute Hepatitis A cases was 19 years (IQR 12.8–24) and most of the affected individuals were students between 10 and 19 years (52.5%). In the present study, 14 samples from Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were genotyped as genotype IIIA by nested conventional polymerase chain reaction. ConclusionThe circulating HAV genotype in South West, North East and East India between 2017 and 2018 was IIIA.

Cincuenta y una nuevas incorporaciones a la fauna de mariposas (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) de Tripura, noreste de India

The state of Tripura of North-east India is a part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot and rich in unique biological flora and fauna. The present study is based on extensive surveys done by the author for a period of 5 years in different parts of North Tripura, North-east India. Here, I present a total of 21 genera and 51 species that are new additions to the butterfly fauna of Tripura. These new records include 18 species of Hesperiidae, 12 species of Lycaenidae, 17 species of Nymphalidae and 4 species of Pieridae. These records represent a 20.90% increase in the number of butterflies known from Tripura and update the existing checklist of butterfly fauna of the state.

Right to clean water: a case study of Gomati River in Tripura, India from techno-socio-legal perspectives

Water pollution is considered to be a major health hazard and about 80% of the diseases occurring worldwide are due to the contamination of water. Water pollution especially caused by microbial agents is again considered to be a leading problem in the developing countries. The study emphasises the significance of applying the test of water quality which indicates total effects of pollution on the surface water and gives a simple explanation of the monitoring data. Samples for the study were collected from four different locations of the river Gomati that flows through the north-east Indian State of Tripura and Bangladesh. The river is considered to be the only biggest source of water for the inhabitants living both on the Indian side as well as on Bangladesh side. The samples were tested for certain significant water quality parameters to assess the likely pollution in the river. Abnormalities were mostly observed in the values of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and turbidity in samples as they were found quite high when compared with standards. Dissolved oxygen (DO) level in samples which is considered to be significant for the very survival of aquatic life was also found not satisfactory. The results of pH analysis further indicated that water mostly has become alkaline. Relevant cause and effect analogy of the obtained results was established. Existing constitutional and statutory provisions to protect and improve water sources have been found lacking enforcement in letter and spirit in the State of Tripura. The study broadly suggests formulation of the specific State Water Policy vis-a-vis the existing National Water Policy and implementation thereof with stakeholders’ participation.

Multilocus gene analysis reveals the presence of two phytoplasma groups in Impatiens balsamina showing flat stem and phyllody

Rose balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is an important ornamental species grown worldwide for its attractive flowers and also having medicinal properties. Flat stem, little leaf, and phyllody symptoms were observed in I. balsamina nurseries in Uttar Pradesh and Tripura states of India during surveys from 2018 to 2020, with an incidence from 6 to 27%. Amplicons of ~ 1.2 kb were amplified in all the tested symptomatic samples of I. balsamina using universal phytoplasma primer pairs from different surveyed locations, but not from the asymptomatic plants. Pairwise sequence comparison, phylogeny, and virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences identified the phytoplasmas as 16SrI-B subgroup strain from Tripura (Lembucherra) and 16SrII-D subgroup strain from Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur and Faizabad). Phytoplasma presence and identity was further confirmed by amplifying secA, rp, secY, and tuf genes. This is the first report of 16SrI-B and 16SrII-D phytoplasmas detection in I. balsamina in the world.

Integrative taxonomic analysis reveals a new species of Leptobrachium Tschudi, 1838 (Anura, Megophryidae) from Bangladesh

ABSTRACT We report on a new species of frogs of the genus Leptobrachium from Lawachara National Park, Moulvibazar District, Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, based on molecular, morphological and bioacoustic evidence. Leptobrachium sylheticum sp. nov. is to date reliably known only from Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and Tripura State of India. The new species belongs to the L. smithi complex within the subgenus Leptobrachium and based on phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA mtDNA gene is suggested as a sister lineage to the clade comprised L. smithi and L. rakhinense. The new species can be distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: adult SVL of 50.2–60.9 mm in males, 63.9–68.3 mm in females; digit tips rounded; relative finger lengths: II<I< IV<III; relative toe lengths: V < I = II<III<IV; toe webbing formula: I 1–1 II 1–2 III 1–3¼ IV 3½–1 V; inner metatarsal tubercle large; iris bicoloured, black ventrally, red dorsally, sclera bright-blue; dorsum grey with few small black spots laterally, dark head markings indistinct; belly and limbs ventrally dark-grey to black with sparse whitish marbling on chest and belly and characteristic orange-red dots on ventral surfaces of lower jaws and gular area; dark marking covering the entire tympanum; dark canthal stripe narrow; dark spots or blotches on body flanks absent or small, not forming a row; limbs dorsally with 2–3 dark markings not forming complete transverse bars; dark blotch at groin absent, posterior sides of thighs blackish with white spots; femoral gland in shape of small white blotch; axillary gland as a large roundish blotch; males with single vocal sac, lacking spinules on lips during breeding; and an advertisement call consisting of 3–8 notes and a dominant frequency of 1.4–1.9 kHz (at 31.0°C). Our study provides further evidence for still unrecognised amphibian diversity in Bangladesh. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:35B25466-AC5D-47E9-96FE-B1B8FF0A36FB http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C6BC1DE1-818D-4657-83A6-F6C693C5FCAD

Neermahal — the Jem of Tripura

The publication tells a story about a visit to the summer palace of the last rulers of the Tripura princely state, which is now a remarkable place of interest at the Tripura state in northeastern India. The palace is located on the island in the middle of the Rudrasagar Lake and can only be reached by boat. The current state of the palace is described as an object of cultural and historical heritage, and of a lake, classified as a nature conservation object of international importance. The opinions of experts on the measures to preserve the ecological balance in this part of the state of Tripura are given.

‘Bhangor' - non-descript swamp buffalo population from North-East Indian state of Tripura

‘Bhangor' - non-descript swamp buffalo population from North-East Indian state of Tripura

Forecasting of Potato Prices in India: An Application of Arima Model

In the present paper, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models developed to forecast the prices of potato using time series data of eighteen years from 2002-2019. The best models selected by comparing Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC), Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The study revealed that ARIMA (1,1,2), ARIMA (2,1,1)(0,0,2)[12], ARIMA (2,1,2), ARIMA (1,1,4)(0,0,1)[12], ARIMA (1,1,1)(0,1,2)[12], ARIMA (0,1,0)(0,1,1)[12], and ARIMA (3,1,3) were the best fitted models for forecasting of price of potato for the states of Utter Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Tripura and India respectively. The prices of potato in Utter Pradesh, West Bengal and India will be increasing with the first-quarter providing the highest price. The prices of potato in Madhya Pradesh and Tripura will be highest in the fourth quarter. In Punjab, the prices of potato will be increasing with the third-quarter. The forecast shows that market prices of potato in Utter Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Tripura, and overall India would be ruling in the highest value of .1208 `/qt, 1812 `/qt, 1345 `/qt, 1712 `/qt, 1354 `/qt, 2636 `/qt, and 1715 `/qt respectively for the year 2020.

Variability and Trend Analysis of Rainfall Data of Shillong and Agartala Stations of North East India

This paper discusses the variability in rainfall and trend analysis of annual and seasonal rainfall time series of Shillong and Agartala stations located in the north-east region of India. Commonly used non-parametric statistical methods namely Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator was used to analyse the seasonal and annual rainfall time series. Statistical analysis showed less variation in annual and south-west monsoon rainfall for both Shillong and Agartala stations. In the total annual rainfall, the share of south-west (SW) monsoon, north-east (NE) monsoon, winter season and summer season rainfall was observed 64.60%, 13.22%, 1.40% and 20.80%, respectively for Shillong station of Meghalaya state. However, the contribution of SW monsoon, NE monsoon, winter season and summer season rainfall in the total annual rainfall was 59.59%, 9.55%, 1.14% and 29.72%, respectively for Agartala station of Tripura state. Non-significant increasing trends of rainfall was observed by 4.54 mm/year, 2.80 mm/year and 2.54 mm/year for annual, SW monsoon, and summer season, whereas, non-significant decreasing trends in rainfall for NE monsoon and winter season was observed with a magnitude of 1.83 mm/year and 1.63 mm/year for Shillong, Meghalaya during 1992 to 2017. Results also revealed that rainfall increased by 1.07 mm/year and 0.18 mm/year in SW monsoon and winter season whereas, rainfall decreased by 7.64 mm/year, 2.58 mm/year and 1.29 mm/year during annual, NE monsoon and summer season non-significantly during 1995 to 2019 in case of Agartala. The findings of present study will be useful for water management and crop planning in hill agriculture of Meghalaya and Tripura state of India.

Migration in Northeast India: Inflows, Outflows and Reverse Flows during Pandemic.

Migration is a significant factor in the organization of regional and urban space in India. In India, migration has been dominated by people from Eastern and Central regions moving to western and northwestern regions. On the other hand, Northeast has been known for in-migration and the conflicts arising from influx of migrants, but studies are lacking on the out-migration from the region. This study makes an attempt to study both inflow and outflow from the region and covers both internal and international migration. In this study, the Northeast India consists of the seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Each state of the region shares an international boundary. The paper uses data from Census 2011 and has tried to study the magnitude of inflows to the region as well as the outflows from the region at the state level and also the reasons for migration. The state of Manipur is unique in the entire Northeast as outflow is three times higher than the inflow in the state. Assam is losing population due to internal migration to other states of India but compensated by international migration. The state of Assam presents a balanced ratio of inflow and outflow as stands in 2011 contrary to the popular perception that the state is gaining population inundated by immigration. The rest of the states of Northeast are gaining population predominantly due to internal migration, whereas Tripura gained population more from international compared to internal migration. The paper throws light on the combined impact of internal and international migration in the Northeast region which is generally lacking in migration studies on Northeast relevant for economic policy and political decision making. It also makes an assessment of reverse flows during the pandemic and lockdown.

The Bru redemption: group work during the covid-19 pandemic in an internally displaced people’s relief camp in Tripura, India

ABSTRACT Powerful governments with huge resources have failed miserably in protecting their vulnerable populations from the covid-19 crisis. In Ashapara – an internally displaced people’s makeshift relief camp in an Indian peripheral state of Tripura, an underdog group of 16 Bru people, against all the odds, has set a rare example by successfully shielding its marginalized indigenous community from the coronavirus. Besides supporting the Brus to cope with the crisis, the group has also helped its members to redeem themselves and restored their lost sense of self-worth and dignity. Such incredible stories of exceptional resilience, determination, and community solidarity give hope to the wretched of the earth, who are fighting a lone battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Use of composite index to critically assess the post rights recognition impact of Forest Rights Act, 2006: A case study from the tribal state of Tripura, India

The Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) was implemented in India in 2008, to recognize forest rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities as a historical reparation of injustices faced by them. In over a decade of implementation majority of the rights recognised are in the category of Individual forest rights (IFR), to improve the socio-economic condition and put tribal development in a sustainable pattern. But only a handful of studies assess the post rights recognition impacts of FRA. This study uses composite index to assess the impacts on the socio-economic condition of the scheduled tribes and the condition of the land vested as forest rights. The composite Indexes were constructed using the methodology given by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The socio-economic composite index consisted of 8 parameters and 15 indicators and the Index for vegetation condition used four indicators. To validate the Index, evaluation was undertaken in the North Eastern state of Tripura. A total of 300 households and 108 vegetation plots from 12 villages were sampled to generate primary data. The evaluation successfully classified 25% of the villages as having ‘very good’ socio-economic and vegetation conditions. The status of each parameter including their inter-linkages and their impact on the overall socio-economic and vegetation conditions was also delineated. The major factor that impact the conditions were identified as size of land holding, assistance for development, household income, use of alternative sustainable practices, and lack of skill building. Analysis of the relationship between socio-economic and vegetation conditions pointed towards deterioration of vegetation condition as socio-economic conditions improved and indicated the existence of other possible factors that impact the post right conditions. This study successfully marks the advent into the sphere of post-recognition impacts of FRA. The use of Composite Index can enhance post implementation assessments and guide future policies and course of actions. Index can be adapted to uniformly assess FRA's performance in India, or any forest policy for devolution of rights around the world.

Genetic characterization and divergence studies of maize (Zea maysL.) lines developed from landraces indigenous to North Eastern Hill Region (NEHR) of India

AbstractThe current study focused on characterization of the underlying genetic divergence in inbred lines developed from local landraces of North Eastern Hill Region of India – a designated Asiatic maize diversity centre – following six generations of inbreeding. Substantial genetic differentiation was indicated based on very high to moderateFstvalues for 22 of the 38 simple sequence repeat markers studied. STRUCTURE analysis partitioned the subset into two distinct and one admixture subgroup (Populations I, II and III respectively) accompanied by a significant reduction in heterozygosity. Population II was further subdivided into subpopulations Pop-M9 and Pop-T9. Nei's pairwise genetic distance and populationFstvalues indicated that Populations I and II were more divergent with neighbour joining clustering analysis clearly defining landraces originating from the states of Tripura (Population II) and Sikkim (Population I) as most divergent. Principal coordinates analysis could explain 31.26% of the variation present in the subgroups wherein Population I was more variable. Analysis of molecular variance andFstcoefficients (P&lt; 0.001) indicated 17% population structuring with 55% variation detected for individuals within populations. These results combined with the presence of phenotypic variability in the subgroups for yield traits supported by results of a preliminary partial diallel analysis strongly suggest the existence of distinct heterotic groups. Divergence studies are crucial for exploiting heterosis, and the current study would go a long way to help establish a germplasm base for developing varieties with improved agronomic performance and surer commercial prospects no reports of which are available thus far.

New generic records of grasses from Tripura, India

Five species of grasses (Gramineae, nom. alt. Poaceae) namely Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C. E. Hubb., Heteropogon contortus (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. &amp; Schult., Perotis indica (L.) Kuntze, Phalaris minor Retz. and Pseudoraphis brunoniana (Griff.) Pilg. are reported here for the first time from Tripura, India. Literature review revealed that all are the first representative species under respective genus from the state which eventually proclaim five new generic records of grasses from the state of Tripura. Brief description with illustration, habitat, phenology of all the species are presented. Field photographs are also given for facilitating easy identification.

Issues and Challenges of MSP as an Income Enhancement Approach in India

Given the proliferating agricultural crisis and cumulative farmer distress, minimum support price (MSP) as an income enhancement approach in Indian agriculture has been contextualised in this study using the unit-level data of NSSO on Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households (2013). The study tries to understand level of awareness and accessibility of MSP, magnitude of difference among the states and reasons for poor accessibility. The classification of states based on awareness about MSP and procuring agencies (PA) and magnitude of sale to PA at MSP shows that Bihar, including the North-Eastern states of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, is the low-ranking state. Although MSP works as a safety net for market risk, low level of awareness, pre-harvest sale and non-availability of PA are some of the important issues which need to be addressed for achieving the goals.