Tipra Motha Party founder and erstwhile royal of T

‘My great-great-grandfather took first-ever selfie in India’: Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma

New Delhi [India], September 17 (HBTV): Tipra Motha Party founder and erstwhile royal of Tripura, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, has claimed that his great-great-grandfather, Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya, took the first-ever selfie in India in 1880.

In an interview, Debbarma said the self-portrait featured Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya and Meitei queen Maharani Manmohini Devi sitting together in an intimate pose.

‘First selfie ever taken, if you see in, this is my great-great-grandfather, that's the Maharani Manmohini. She's a Meitei princess,’ Debbarma said, pointing to the photograph.

Explaining the process behind the picture, he noted: ‘If you see in his left hand, there is a button. It's a selfie, actually. So, the bulb comes out, and it's a selfie. It's the first selfie ever taken in 1880… wonderful titanium print.’

Describing the picture further, he said: ‘They're very modern, you know, the indigenous rulers… This is 1880, almost 145 years ago. This is too much intimacy. But that's so sweet, if you love someone…’

He added that the Maharani in the photograph was wearing a Rignai, known as Phanek in Manipur. ‘It's almost like a Phanek, which is a Rignai, which we wear. In Kokborok, we call it Rignai. In Manipur, they call it Phanek. And then the Maharaja, of course, wearing his dhoti,’ he said.

On her jewellery, Debbarma noted: ‘Burma is just across the border. All the rubies came from Burma. So those gorgeous pearls came in from China.’

He also highlighted the family’s connection with Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Three of the books of Tagore are written about our family. He (Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya) was a great friend of Tagore's,’ he said.

The Tipra Motha Party is an alliance partner of the BJP and holds power in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. Debbarma formed the party after resigning from the Congress in 2019. The party won 13 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly in the 2023 state polls.

(ANI)