09:00 - 09:45 AM: Tripura at the Crossroads: Counterterrorism, Border Security and the Challenge of Organised Crime along India-Bangladesh Frontier  

Context
Tripura occupies a uniquely strategic position in India’s national security architecture. Surrounded on three sides by Bangladesh, the state is both a vulnerable borderland and a potential economic gateway for the Northeast. Its proximity to Chittagong through Sabroom and Maitri Setu, the Agartala–Akhaura rail link, land ports, border haats and emerging trade corridors place Tripura at the heart of India’s Act East vision. However, the same geography also exposes it to illegal migration, narcotics, forged documents, human trafficking, cattle movement, informal criminal networks and spillover from Bangladesh’s political instability. This opening session will frame Tripura as a state where economic connectivity, border security, social cohesion and national strategy intersect.

Guiding questions

• How does Tripura’s location make it central to India’s national security, Bangladesh policy and Act East connectivity?

• How can Tripura become a gateway for trade, logistics and regional integration rather than a transit corridor for illicit flows?

• What are the key risks emerging from Bangladesh-linked instability, border porosity and informal criminal economies?

• How should India balance economic opening, border control and community trust in Tripura?

Speaker

TBD

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10:00 - 10:45 AM: Counterterrorism and Insurgency Legacy: From Armed Mobilisation to Preventive Security

Context
Tripura has moved away from the intense insurgency phase that once shaped its internal security environment. Groups such as NLFT and ATTF have entered settlement and surrender frameworks, but the state still carries the legacy of armed mobilisation, ethnic insecurity, underground networks and cross-border shelter patterns. The current challenge is not a visible return to insurgency, but the risk that unresolved grievances, narcotics money, unemployed former cadres and weak rehabilitation may create new forms of insecurity. This session will examine how Tripura can move from a post-insurgency settlement model to a preventive counterterrorism framework that detects early warning signs, disrupts residual networks and prevents criminal capture of former conflict spaces.

Guiding questions

• What lessons does Tripura’s insurgency history offer for preventive counterterrorism in the Northeast?

• How can residual militant networks, former cadre linkages and criminal facilitators be monitored without over-securitising communities?

• What role can Assam Rifles’ wider Northeast counterinsurgency experience play in supporting doctrine, training, intelligence coordination and rehabilitation models?

• How can security agencies prevent narco-trafficking and organised crime from replacing insurgency as the new destabilising force?

Speaker

TBD

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11:00 - 11:45 AM: Tripura’s Peace Compact: NLFT–ATTF Settlement, Rehabilitation Delays and Threats to the Peace Dividend

Context
The 2024 Memorandum of Settlement with NLFT and ATTF represented a major step in Tripura’s transition from insurgency to democratic reintegration. The settlement aimed to disband armed organisations, surrender weapons, rehabilitate cadres and support development among tribal communities. However, grievances around delayed rehabilitation, slow screening of beneficiaries, livelihood uncertainty, healthcare concerns and the pace of implementation have created anxiety among surrendered cadres and their families. This session will focus specifically on implementation gaps in the peace process and how delays can weaken public trust, create agitation and make vulnerable groups susceptible to criminal recruitment.

Guiding questions

• What are the key implementation concerns emerging around the NLFT–ATTF peace settlement?

• How can delays in rehabilitation, livelihood support and beneficiary recognition threaten the credibility of the peace agreement?

• What transparent monitoring mechanism is needed to track promises, funds, beneficiaries, livelihood projects and grievance redressal?

• How can ex-cadre reintegration be linked to dignity, employment, social acceptance and long-term peace consolidation?

Speaker

TBD

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13:00 - 13:45 PM: Preying the Corridor: Narco-Trafficking, Cattle Movement, Contraband and the Principles of Organised Crime

Context
Tripura’s border routes are used for both legal trade and illicit movement. Narcotics, cannabis, cough syrup, synthetic drugs, cattle movement, consumer contraband and informal cash channels often rely on the same enabling conditions: border gaps, local facilitators, transporters, safe houses, weak livelihoods, cross-border demand and corruption risk. This session will examine Tripura’s organised crime challenge through core principles such as route control, market demand, protection networks, courier recruitment, financial laundering and convergence between legal and illegal corridors. The objective is to move beyond seizure-led policing toward network disruption.

Guiding questions

• How do narcotics, cattle movement, cough syrup, synthetic drugs and other contraband move through Tripura’s border routes?

• How do organised crime networks use route control, local facilitators, transport nodes and financial incentives to sustain trafficking?

• What should be the right mix of intelligence, financial investigation, asset seizure, community reporting, demand reduction and youth rehabilitation? how to stop the precurssors drug/raw materials from crossing the border. in backdrop we are funding the manufacturing the drugs.

• How can agencies disrupt financiers, handlers, transporters, document providers and laundering channels rather than only arresting low-level carriers? Enhancing the operrational SOP's

Speakers

TBD

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14:00 - 14:45 PM: Border Mobility, Human Rights and Lawful Identity: Illegal Migration, Forged Documents and Human Trafficking

Context
Tripura’s Bangladesh border is a social and human geography as much as a security frontier. Illegal migration, forged identity documents and human trafficking often operate through overlapping routes and actors, but each requires a different legal and humanitarian response. The challenge is to distinguish between illegal entrants, trafficking victims, economic migrants, forged-document users, touts and organised facilitators. At the same time, border enforcement must avoid ethnic profiling, community-wide suspicion and fear among genuine citizens. This session will examine how Tripura can build a firm, lawful and humane border-management system.

Guiding questions

• How are illegal migration, forged documents and human trafficking connected along the Tripura–Bangladesh border?

• What systems are needed to distinguish trafficking victims from illegal entrants and organised facilitators?

• How can document fraud involving Aadhaar, voter identity, residence papers and local certificates be detected without harassing genuine citizens?

• What human-rights safeguards are necessary in detention, verification, deportation, victim protection and community policing?

Speakers

TBD

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15:00 - 15:45 PM: BSF and Border Social Security Reform: From Border Guarding to Community Resilience

Context
The BSF is central to securing Tripura’s Bangladesh border, but border security today requires more than fencing, patrols and interdiction. Many border crimes are linked to poverty, youth unemployment, addiction, fear, weak local livelihoods and criminal brokerage. This session will examine how BSF can work with civil administration, police, district authorities, schools, women’s groups, tribal institutions and local communities to help design a border social security reform programme. The aim is to strengthen security through trust, early warning, community intelligence, lawful livelihood and protection of vulnerable groups.

Guiding questions

• How can BSF deepen community trust while maintaining firm control over illegal crossings and smuggling?

• What role can BSF play in early warning, anti-drug awareness, trafficking prevention and village-level confidence-building?

• How can civil administration and security forces jointly identify vulnerable border villages, youth groups and trafficking-prone households?

• What should a border social security reform programme include in terms of livelihoods, identity verification, de-addiction, education and grievance redressal?

Speakers

TBD

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16:00 - 16:45 PM: Youth, Civil Society and Rehabilitation: Addressing Insecurity, Drugs and Criminal Recruitment

Context

Tripura’s youth face a complex set of insecurities: unemployment, drug exposure, borderland vulnerability, ethnic anxiety, lack of livelihood pathways and the legacy of insurgency in some communities. If these insecurities are ignored, young people can become vulnerable to courier work, narcotics consumption, misinformation, criminal networks or renewed identity-based mobilisation. Civil society organisations, student bodies, women’s groups, tribal institutions, churches, schools, colleges and local leaders can play a decisive role in prevention. This session will focus on youth rehabilitation, social healing and community-led prevention.

Guiding questions

• What are the major insecurities affecting youth in Tripura’s border and tribal communities?

• How can civil society organisations help prevent recruitment into narcotics networks, smuggling, trafficking and extremist mobilisation?

• What rehabilitation models are needed for drug-affected youth, former couriers, vulnerable students and unemployed borderland populations?

• How can education, sports, skill training, entrepreneurship, counselling and community leadership be integrated into a youth security programme?

Speakers

TBD

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16:45 - 17:30 PM: Press, Public Communication and Information Warfare: Countering Rumours, Polarisation and Cross-Border Narratives

Context

Tripura’s borderland insecurity is not limited to physical threats. Rumours, communal messaging, ethnic polarisation, fake news, cross-border propaganda, manipulated videos and misinformation around migration, drugs, violence or security action can quickly disturb public order. The press can either unintentionally amplify panic or become a critical partner in verification, public awareness and democratic accountability. This session will examine how journalists, editors, digital media platforms and public communication officers can help counter information warfare while protecting press freedom and responsible reporting.

Guiding questions

• How do rumours, fake news, communal messaging and cross-border narratives affect Tripura’s internal security?

• What role should the press play in verifying sensitive information on migration, border incidents, narcotics, trafficking and communal tension?

• How can security agencies communicate with journalists without compromising operations or restricting legitimate reporting?

• What framework is needed for responsible crisis reporting, fact-checking, multilingual public communication and protection against information warfare?

Speakers

TBD

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17:30 - 18:15 PM: Pathways to Stabilisation: Integrated Counterterrorism, Border Governance and Organised Crime Disruption/ Discussion on LPAI creating opportunities for youth

Context

Tripura’s stability depends on integrating multiple policy streams: peace agreement implementation, counterterrorism preparedness, organised crime disruption, humane border governance, legal trade promotion, youth rehabilitation, social cohesion and information resilience. The state cannot address insurgency legacy, narcotics, cattle movement, illegal migration, forged documents, human trafficking and border livelihoods as isolated problems. This concluding session will identify a practical 12–24 month roadmap for Tripura that combines national security, local trust and economic opportunity.

Guiding questions

• What should a realistic Tripura Border Peace and Security Framework include over the next 12–24 months?

• How can India integrate counterterrorism preparedness, peace implementation, anti-narcotics action, border trade and social security reform?

• What inter-agency mechanism is needed between BSF, Assam Rifles, Tripura Police, NCB, ED, DRI, Customs, Land Ports Authority, district administration and civil society?

• How can Tripura become a model for borderland governance where lawful trade, community trust, youth rehabilitation and organised crime disruption reinforce each other?

Speakers

TBD