Bibhu Kumari Devi

Bibhu Kumari Devi
Rajmata Bibhu Kumari Devi in 2025
Rajmata of Tripura Royal Family
Preceded byKanchan Prava Devi
Member of All India Congress Committee
In office
1991
Member of Lok Sabha, Tripura East
In office
20 June 1991 – 10 May 1996
Preceded byKirit Bikram Deb Barman (INC)
Succeeded byBaju Ban Riyan (CPIM)
Member of Tripura Legislative Assembly
In office
1988–1993
Preceded byManik Sarkar
Succeeded byNripen Chakraborty
ConstituencyAgartala Assembly constituency
Cabinet Minister, Department of Revenue and Local Self Government, Government of Tripura
In office
1989–1991
Personal details
Born (1944-06-28) 28 June 1944
Mussoorie, United Provinces, British India
SpouseKirit Bikram Kishore Deb Barman
Children3, including Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma and Kriti Devi Debbarman
Relatives
Alma materIsabella Thoburn College, Lucknow University (BA)

Bibhu Kumari Devi (born 28 June 1944), is the current matriarch and head of the former ruling family of Tripura, politician of the Indian National Congress and former member of the 10th Lok Sabha. She is also the first woman Member of Parliament from Tripura.[1]

Early life

Bibhu Kumari Devi was born on 28 June 1944 in Mussoorie, United Provinces (now in Uttarakhand),[2] to Raja Lav Shah and Bibhu Kumari. She is the daughter-in-law of Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman and graduated from the Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow.[2][3]

Political career

Rajmata Devi was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) and entered the Tripura Legislative Assembly in 1983 after defeating former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar in the 6-Agartala Assembly constituency seat.[4] The same year she was included in the All India Congress Committee. From 1989 to 1991, she served as the Minister for Revenue and Local Self-Government in the Tripura state government. In 1991, the INC made her its candidate for the 1991 general elections from the Tripura East constituency reserved for scheduled tribes. She defeated Baju Ban Riyan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to become a member of the 10th Lok Sabha.[2]

In 1998, Devi refused to contest the Tripura legislative elections after the party fielded her for the Matabari seat.[5]

Personal life

Devi married the last King of Tripura, Kirit Bikram Kishore Deb Barman from whom she had one son and two daughters.[2] Her husband Maharaja Kirit and her son Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma were also members of the INC.[6] Presently, her son Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma is the founder and chairman of Tipra Motha Party. The daughter Kriti Devi Debbarman is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha representing the Tripura East constituency.[7] Another daughter, Pragya Debbarma, is a cultural activist presently working as the convenor of the INTACH Tripura Chapter.[8]

In 2015, a local court in Tripura ordered the state government to hand over Neermahal palace and Rudrasagar Lake to Devi.[9]

Positions held

  • Cabinet Minister, Revenue and Local Self Government, Government of Tripura, (1989-1991).
  • Member, Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU), 10th Lok Sabha, (1992-1993)
  • Member, High Level Committee to make recommendations on the salient features of the Iaw for extending the provisions of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act. 1992 to the Scheduled Areas.

References

  1. ↑ "Northeast India sends 3 women to Lok Sabha, one more than 2014". India Today. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Members Bioprofile: Bibhu Kumari Devi, Maharani". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Prakash, Ved (2007). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 2281. ISBN 978-81-269-0707-6.
  4. ↑ "IndiaVotes AC: Tripura 1988". IndiaVotes. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  5. ↑ United News of India (29 January 1998). "Congress changes candidates". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Tripura: Cong leader quits citing mistreatment". News18. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Today, North East (4 June 2024). "Tripura: BJP's Candidate Maharani Kriti Devi Singh Debbarma Secures Landslide Victory in East Tripura Lok Sabha Seat". Northeast Today. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  8. ↑ Tankha, Madhur (9 November 2018). "The rich tapestry of Tripura". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Tripura royal property". The Statesman. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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