BJP govt took series of steps to promote tribal Kokborok language in Tripura: CM

Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Monday said that the BJP government has taken a series of initiatives to develop and expand the use of the tribal Kokborok language across the state.

In a video message marking the 48th Kokborok Day, the Chief Minister said that Kokborok is now taught from Class I to Class XII, and that a full-fledged Kokborok department has been established at Tripura University, a Central varsity. He said the language is currently being taught in 1,296 primary schools, 115 high schools, and in 65 higher secondary schools across the state.

“After the BJP government came to power in Tripura in 2018, the use of the Kokborok language and efforts for its development have increased significantly,” Dr Saha said.

He added that more than 60 books on the language have been published, and a pocket Kokborok dictionary will be released soon, ahead of a comprehensive dictionary on the subject.

The Chief Minister also said that various research works on the Kokborok language are underway. Kokborok Day was celebrated on Monday on the initiative of the Department of Kokborok and Other Minority Languages.

A cultural programme was organized at the Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhavan, attended by Chairman of the State Kokborok Language Development Advisory Committee Atul Debbarma and Vice-Chairman and MLA Rampada Jamatia.

Addressing the gathering, Debbarma said that the mother tongue is the ultimate refuge of collective consciousness and that Kokborok Day holds immense pride and significance for the people.

He said the history of the Kokborok language is inseparably linked with the history of Tripura’s indigenous communities.

While the exact origin of the language is difficult to trace, he noted that Kokborok emerged when the ancestors of the indigenous people began settling in Tripura and the surrounding regions, evolving alongside their ethnic identity.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP MLA Rampada Jamatia called upon people to actively practise and promote the Kokborok language to make it more enriched and vibrant, urging collective efforts for its development.

During the programme, covers of four Kokborok books were unveiled, while six teachers were felicitated for their contributions to Kokborok language education.

Earlier in the day, a colourful rally was taken out from the Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhavan premises, passing through various parts of the city before culminating at the same venue.

Kokborok was accorded second official language status on January 19, 1979, by the then CPI(M)-led Left Front government, and the day is observed annually to commemorate that historic recognition.

Meanwhile, various tribal organizations, including the BJP’s junior ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP), have been demanding the adoption of the Roman script for the Kokborok language for many years.

For over five decades, there has been an ongoing debate over the use of the Bengali or Roman scripts for Kokborok.

While some experts favour the Bengali script, the majority of tribal intellectuals and academicians advocate for the Roman script.

Since 1988, two commissions have been constituted on the issue, headed by tribal leader Shyama Charan Tripura and noted linguist and academician Pabitra Sarkar.

A TMP leader said that Kokborok, belonging to the Tibeto-Burman language family, is closely related to other languages of the Northeastern region such as Bodo, Garo, and Dimasa.

According to the 2011 census, Kokborok is spoken by 8,80,537 people in Tripura, accounting for 23.97 per cent of the state’s total population of around 40 lakh. It is the mother tongue of nine of the 19 tribal communities residing in the state.

There are nine major Kokborok clans -- Tripura, Debbarma, Jamatia, Noatia, Murasingh, Reang, Kalai, Rupini, and Uchowi.