HILL TIPPERAII, a native state adjoining the British district of Tipperah, Bengal, lying between 22° 59' and 21° 31' N. lat., and between 91° 12' and 92° 24' E. long., with an area of about 3867 square miles, and population (1878) 75,192. It is bounded on the N. by the Assam district of Sylhet, on the W. by the Bengal districts of Tipperah and Noakhali, on the S. by Noakhalf and Chittagong districts, and on the E. by the Lushai country and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. As its name implies the country is hilly. Five or six ranges of hills run parallel from north to south, at an average distance of about 12 miles from each other.

The hills are covered for the most part with bamboo jungle, while the low ground abounds with trees of various kinds, canebrakes, and swamps. The principal ranges are, beginning from the east, the Jampui, Sakkaukhang, LangtarAi, and Atharamura. The chief rivers are the Gumti, 'Morn, Khozai, Dultii, Mann, and Pheni. During the heavy rains the people in the plains use boats as almost the sole means of conveyance. The forests give shelter to numbers of wild elephants and other large game. Small game of various kinds are met with.

The history of the state relates to two distinct periods - the traditional period described in thelkhruihi, or "Chronicles of the Kings cf Tipperah," and the period since 1407 A.D. The /14:mM1a is a history in Bengali verse, compiled by the Brahmans of the court of Tripura. In the early history of the state, the rajas wore in a state of chronic feud with all the neighbouring countries. The worship of the All-destroyer was here, as elsewhere in India, associated with the practice of human sacrifice, and in no part of India were more victims offered up. it was not until the beginning of the 17th century that the Mughals obtained any footing in this country. By dint of constant invasions and continual intrigues, the Mahometans gradually established themselves, and Tipperah soon became a mere Mughal province under a Mussulman governor. The raja still remained in possession of the hilly tracts, but subject to the halvah of Murshidabad. When the East India Company obtained the dimiiti of Bengal in 1765, so touch of Tipperah as had been place,' on the rent-roll came tinder British rule. Since 1808, each successive ruler has received investiture from the British Government, and has been required to ley the usual va,:ar or tribute on accession. The state has a chronological era of its own, adopted by hija Birraj, from whom the present raja is 92d in descent. The year 1875 corresponded with 1285 of the Tipperah era.

Both as regards its constitution and its relations to the British Government, the state of Bill Tipperah differs alike from the independent native states of India and from those which are tributary and dependent. Besides being the ruler of Hill Tipperah, the raja holds an estate in the British district of Tipperah, called chakla Roshnibid, which is by far the most valuable of his possessions. The form of government is despotic and patriarchal. The raja's word is law, without appeal. In 1871 an English officer was appointed as political agent to protect British interests and advise, with the raja. The most important hill tribe is that of the Tipperahs, who were estimated in 1874-75 to number 34,727. There are no towns in Bill Tipperah. Agartala, the capital of the state and residence of the raja, is merely a moderate-sized village situated on the north bank of the Haura.

The principal crop and main food staple is rice. The other articles of produce are cotton, chillies, and vegetables. The chief exports are cotton, timber, ill, bamboo canes, thatching-grass, and firewood. Occasionally small imports are required from the neighbouring districts. The total revenue in 1874-75 was £18,693. Besides this, the raja's estates in Tipperah and Sylhet yield about £50,000 and £1400 respectively. his total annual income, therefore, is about £70,000. The police force (1874-75) consisted of 102 mot, and the raja maintains a force of 277 officers and Dien. The state has only 2 schools, and only 103 boys are being educated. The climate of Hill Tipperah is generally pleasant ; the annual rainfall is 60 inches. The chief endemic diseases are bowel complaints, remittent and intermittent fevers, and rheumatism ; the principal epidemic is cholera.