Gurudev Santi Kali or Santi Tripura (died 27 August 2000) was a popular Hindu priest who was shot to death inside his ashram near Jirania under the Sadar subdivision in the Indian state of Tripura. Police reports regarding the incident unidentified ten members of the organization National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) as being responsible for the murder.
Background
Shanti Tripura, also commonly known as Shanti Kali, was a well-known Hindu saint working among the tribals in Tripura. His ashram was located near the Khumlwng area. He was born in a small village named Fulsori in south Tripura district of Subrum subdivision. He was the thirteenth child of Dhananjay Tripura and Khanjan Devi. He then left Tripura and ventured on a pilgrimage throughout India. It was during his travels that he determined to return to Tripura and establish a temple in the honor of Goddess Tripura Sundari and an ashram from which to administer to the needs of local tribals.
After completing his pilgrimage, he devoted his life to establishing the Shanti Kali Ashram, first consecrated in 1979 at Manu in Subrum, on the auspicious day of Shiv Chaturdashi. The ashram has now grown to include eighteen branches in Tripura. It has since been named the Shanti Kali Mission. The mission has been engaged in providing education to poor children, health services to the poor and running primary schools and orphanages.
Death and subsequent events
On 27 August 2000, Shanti Kali was presiding at his ashram with a gathering of local devotees. At night, militants belonging to the separatist NLFT, broke into the ashram and murdered the priest for refusing to convert to Christianity along with his followers.
On 4 December 2000, nearly three months after his death, an ashram set up by Shanti Kali at Chachu Bazar near the Sidhai police station was raided by Christian militants belonging to the NLFT. In the months following his death, eleven of the priest's ashrams, schools, and orphanages around the state were closed down by the NLFT.
References
- "Shanti Kali, the Devotee of Tripura Sundari". www.tripura.org.in. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- Hindu preacher killed by Tripura rebels BBC, 28 August 2000.
- "Tripura: The Conflict Zone - A comprehensive fact-sheet on the state's blood-spilling insurgency". tripurainfo.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- Militants raid Hindu Ashram, The Telegraph, 5 December 2000. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
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