Agartala, Dec 16: Two leading tribal students’ organisations of Tripura announced a massive protest rally in Agartala on December 18 against Tripura chief minister Manik Sahah’s recent statement ruling out the Roman script for Kokborok.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Agartala, TSF vice-president and NESO finance secretary John Debbarma said the agitation was a response to the Chief Minister’s categorical remark that his government was not in favour of Roman script for Kokborok.
“For decades, we have been submitting memorandums and organising movements for this demand. The Chief Minister’s statement has forced us to intensify our agitation for a five-decade-old demand that reflects the will of the majority of Kokborok-speaking people,” he said.
Debbarma alleged that while the BJP-led government in Tripura is opposing Roman script for Kokborok, BJP governments elsewhere have taken a different approach.
“In Assam, the BJP government under Himanta Biswa Sarma allows Roman script for tribal languages like Karbi and Dimasa. Garo in Meghalaya also uses Roman script. This shows it is not the BJP as a party, but the chief minister of Tripura who is opposing it,” he said, questioning the democratic credentials of such a stand.
The issue has also exposed sharp cracks within the BJP-led NDA in the state, as alliance partners Tipra Motha and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) have openly condemned the Chief Minister’s stand, terming it anti-indigenous.
In protest against the government’s refusal to allow Roman script for Kokborok—and its demand that question papers in Kokborok be printed in Roman script in upcoming Tripura Board and CBSE Class X and XII examinations—the Twipra Students Federation (TSF) and the Tipra Indigenous Students’ Federation (TISF) have jointly formed the United Movement Committee on Roman Script. The committee has called for a large-scale “muscle rally” from Astabal Ground to Ujjayanta Palace in Agartala on the evening of December 18.
Claiming that over 99 per cent of Kokborok speakers favour Roman script, Debbarma strongly criticised the chief minister’s suggestion of developing a new script for the language, calling it “condemnable” and against popular will.
He said good governance must be participatory and not imposed, adding that the rights of indigenous people, recognised even at the UN level, were being ignored in Tripura.
“The government must realise it is acting against the people’s will. Controlling people through power is a sign of autocracy,” Debbarma said.
He also questioning why successive language commissions’ recommendations in favour of Roman script were yet to be implemented.
He further said the movement would remain non-political but aimed at protecting indigenous identity, adding that efforts were on to bring other like-minded organisations and political parties on board.
He urged all parties—including CPI(M), IPFT, Tipra Motha and even tribal BJP leaders—to make their stand clear before the public.
TISF president Sajra Debbarma sharpened the political edge of the issue, saying that if the BJP was serious about winning all 28 seats in the upcoming TTAADC elections, it should pass legislation on Roman script and “win the hearts of indigenous people”.
He questioned whether the Chief Minister was working for all communities, reminding that Dr Saha had taken oath on the Constitution, which speaks of equality and justice.
