Agartala, June 7: Hundreds of tribals on Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration in Agartala demanding the adoption of the Roman script for Kokborok language.

The protesters holding placards and banners chanted slogan in support of their demand. The agitation was spearheaded by ‘Roman Script for Kokborok Choba’ (RSKC), an apex body of 56 small tribal organisations.

Kokborok is the second official language in Tripura.

“Kokborok script issue has been pending for over five decades,” said an agitator and accused the previous and current governments of failing to take the matter seriously.

While speaking to media persons on Wednesday, RSKC convenor Mintu Debbarma said several commissions, formed earlier to decide the script for the Kokborok language, had recommended the Roman script but the government has remained silent on the matter.

“If the government fails to promptly address this issue, we will have no choice but to escalate our agitation across the state,” Debbarma stated.

Tripura has a tribal population of 12 lakh out of its 40 lakh inhabitants, and 70 per cent of the tribals speak in the Kokborok language, which was recognised as the second official language by the then CPI-M led Left Front government in 1979.

The demand for the Roman script for Kokborok recently got strength after there were reports that students in various schools in Tripura, especially the Central Board of Secondary Education run schools, were compelled to write answers for the Kokborok subject in the CBSE board examination in the Bengali script.