Agartala, January 27 (). Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday rejected Tipra Motha Party’s (TMP) demand for introducing Roman script for the Kokborok language, the mother tongue of nine of the 19 tribal communities living in the state.
The rejection of this demand by the Chief Minister, just months before the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections, is significant.
Addressing a gathering of tribal people at Jolaibari in south Tripura, Saha said the BJP government was not in favor of adopting any foreign script for the Kokborok language.
“Tribal intellectuals and language experts can mutually decide on a suitable script for Kokborok, but not the Roman script. If the Roman script is adopted, the younger generation of the tribal community may completely forget their traditions, customs and culture,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said that if the Chakma community can develop its own script, there is no reason for the Kokborok speaking people to lag behind.
“The younger generation is being confused by repeatedly raising the demand for Roman script for Kokborok,” Saha said.
Claiming that only the BJP can ensure all-round development of the indigenous people, the Chief Minister said his government has taken several steps to promote their economic well-being, culture and traditions, including the initiative to honor the Manikya dynasty.
He said, “Our party organizations in the tribal areas have become stronger in recent months. The BJP does not use force in the electoral process; instead, it tries to win the hearts of voters through performance.”
Meanwhile, BJP’s ally and tribal-based party TMP is agitating demanding introduction of Roman script for Kokborok.
A TMP leader said Kokborok, belonging to the Tibeto-Burmese language family, is closely related to other languages of the northeastern region, such as Bodo, Garo and Dimasa.
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