Tripura: 56 tribal organisations stage protest, demand Roman script for Kokborok

The demand for adopting Roman script for Kokborok is getting bigger in Tripura with hundreds of volunteers from as many as 56 tribal organizations under the banner of ‘Roman Script for Kokborok Choba’ staging a demonstration in the state capital Agartala today.

The protesters demanded an immediate nod to the use of Roman script for the Kokborok language.

Kokborak is the most spoken language among the indigenous people in Tripura who account for 31 percent of the state’s population.
The demonstrators argued that the script issue is pending for over five decades but none of the government including the present one is serious about resolving it.

RSKC convenor Mintu Debbarma claimed that 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 added.

They alleged that despite the formation of several commissions to resolve the Kokborok script issue, successive governments have maintained silence on it so far.

The protesters also claimed that as per a recent RTI reply, it was evident that around 99% of the students would prefer to write exams in Roman script rather than in Bengali when it comes to Kokborok.

The protesters demanded that the government resolve this issue immediately or they shall have no other option but to go for bigger agitation across the state.

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