Ethnic Garos living in Tripura are losing connections to their cultural heritage, the Garoland State Movement Committee (GSMC) has found on a recent trip to the state.
GSMC leaders met with Tripura politicians at the end of last week and then later visited Garo-populated hamlets and areas around Agartala, such as Marakpara, Dupchora and Nagi Chora.
The main livelihood of the Garo population in Tripura is agriculture and daily wage labour, the committee stated.
In a release today, the GSMC said that many Garos in Tripura are now unable to speak their native language properly and other cultural practices, in terms of dress, marriage customs and the clan system have been eroded, with the people taking on the dominant Bengali population’s customs.
The GSMC has urged Garos in Tripura and elsewhere to preserve their traditions.
