Assam: Why ABSU in Kokrajhar defaced signboards inscribed in English or Assamese? What is their demand?

Reported by Arindam Das

A language row erupted in Assam’s Kokrajhar district on Monday (March 20) after the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Urban Department put up signboards inscribed in English or Assamese, and not in Bodo.
The members of the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) smeared signboards placed in parts of Kokrajhar town with black ink as the signboards were inscribed in English or Assamese.

According to ABSU, the action was driven by resentment against those who tried to hurt the feelings of the local Bodos by not using the Bodo language in the signboards and hoardings despite the fact that the Assam government recognised the Bodo language as an associate official language of the state in 2020.

Speaking exclusively to Northeast Live, ABSU president Dipen Boro has alleged that the director of the BTR Urban Department totally violated an official notification by not using Bodo language on the signboards, as the Governor of Assam has already issued a notification saying Bodo language should be used as an official language along with Assamese and English.

“We are concerned about why the Bodo language hasn’t been used in our locality and the absence of Bodo language on signboards. It is our mother tongue, if it is not used in our locality where will it be used? In Bodoland, the Bodo language should be used properly that is why we defaced the signboards and the hoardings. It is the resentment of the people of our area and the organisation,” Dipen Boro said.

He further stated that their fight is not against the Assamese or English language.

“We love both the Assamese and the English language, but at the same time, the Bodo language should be included in the signboards in a proper and a special way,” he added.

Moreover, ABSU has given a deadline of a week to the director of the BTR Urban Department to clarify his stand as to why the Bodo language was not used on the signboards.

The organisation said that they will continue their demonstration until the BTR Urban Department and the BTR council government replace all the hoardings and signboards with new ones including the Bodo language.

Copy edited by Lipika Roy

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