Agartala, May 26:
In a historic move, the Kokborok Sahitya Sabha (KBSS) on Sunday officially declared the modified Roman script as the official script for Kokborok, Tripura’s most widely spoken indigenous language. The announcement was made following the 53rd Annual Conference of the literary body held at the Dasarath Deb Memorial Hall in Suparibagan, Agartala.
Addressing the media, Bikashrai Debbarma, Chairman of the KBSS advisory committee, said the decision came after extensive discussions during the conference. “We have passed five major resolutions. The most important is the formal adoption of the modified Roman script for Kokborok. It has been adapted to meet the linguistic needs of the language and differs slightly from the globally used Roman script,” he stated.
The second resolution focused on the implementation of NEP 2020, particularly clause 4(11), which guarantees a child’s right to early education in their mother tongue. Debbarma criticized the delay in its implementation and demanded immediate action from the state government.
The third resolution called for Kokborok to be made a compulsory subject in the school curriculum from Class I to Class XII across all boards and schools in the state. The fourth resolution urged the state to set up a Kokborok Academy to work on the standardization and development of the language.
The fifth resolution demanded that all Kokborok textbooks be printed in both Bengali and modified Roman script. Debbarma warned that if this is not implemented by SCERT and the Directorate of Minority Language, the body would launch intensive protests.
The move by KBSS is expected to rekindle the longstanding debate over script selection for Kokborok, which has seen multiple rounds of protest without lasting resolution.
