Who named Tripura Palace as Ujjayanta?
Eminent historians of Tripura say it was not Tagore, but the then royal priest Chandrodaya Bhattacharya named the palace.
Pradip Mazumder

104 years after the foundation stone for the palace of Royal Manikya Kings was laid in Tripura, eminent historians of the State say that the person who named the palace should be given due recognition. They say it was not Rabindranath Tagore, as generally believed but the then royal priest, Chandrodaya Bidya Binode Bhattacharya who named the palace — Ujjayanta. An earthquake devastated the Purana Haveli in 1897, and the work for the new palace began on 23rd April, 1899. It took almost three years to complete the construction.

In 1901 during Radha Kishore Manikya’s period, the royal house was shifted to the newly built Ujjayanta palace. It was, in fact, only after the construction began in 1899, Rabindra Nath Tagore visited Agartala for the first time in 1900, says eminent historian and numismatist Jawhar Acharya. “It seems the history was not properly checked and as the name is beautiful, Tagore’s name struck to it. But in reality it was on 23rd April, 1899 that royal priest Chandrodaya Bidya Binode Bhattacharya named the palace Ujjayanta,’’ Mr Acharya, the founder of the Rajendra Kirtishala and a member of the North-East India History Council says. Mr. Acharya is supported by eminent photojournalist Robin Sengupta in an article. Mr.  Sengupta pointed out in his article that Rabindranath Tagore’s involvement in naming the Ujjayanta Palace found no mention in Rabindra Jivani. Pandit Chandrodaya Bidya Binode, compiled the ‘Shilalipi Sangraha’ in 1904 after going through the scriptures of the temples and lakes of Tripura following the order of King Radha Kishore Manikya after he visited several parts of Tripura including Udaipur and was impressed by the works of his forefathers. The first edition of the Shilalipi Sangraha was published on 1904 and has the mention of the naming of the palace. However, it is an accepted fact that Tagore had close links with Radha Kishore Manikya and visited the palace many times. Tripura to record marriages

The Tripura Government will soon make it mandatory to register all marriages taking place in the state and has moved a Bill in this regard in the recently concluded winter session of the State Assembly. State Revenue Minister Keshab Majumder has said recording of all marriages in the state would be mandatory after it becomes an Act following its approval in the House. The government is of opinion that marriages take place in the state under various personal laws and customs applicable to the parties (husband and wife). Even though there is a provision for registration of marriages under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and Special Marriage Act, 1954, most of the marriages are not registered and as such, a large number of marriages remained unrecorded. Information about most marriages is not available with the government and other authorities. The Tripura recording of Marriage Bill, 2003 proposes that marriages in the State should be registered within a specified period after the marriage is solemnized. The government has said the legislation would not interfere with the forms of marriage.  

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