Movement for Kokborok writes to CM, demands his intervention
Our Bureau
AGARTALA, February 05, 2024: The controversy surrounding the use of script in writing school leaving and higher secondary examinations has intensified, with tribal forums refusing to budge from their demand for the use of the Roman script.
The Movement for Kokborok, a united confederation of Kokborok-speaking organizations, has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister to resolve the stalemate.
On Monday, they submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, which was hand-delivered to his office, to express their complaint about the decision of the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) to disallow the use of the Roman script for writing answer papers instead of Bangla.
They argue that this restriction is illegal and emphasize the importance of using the Roman script for writing Kokborok. However, as the Chief Minister is currently in Delhi, his response was not available at the time of writing.
The Movement for Kokborok has attached a list of demands and a background document, which are outlined below.
'The MOVEMENT FOR KOKBOROK is a united confederation of Kokborok speaking organisations in Tripura dealing with Kokborok development activities and also attached with the history of Tipra people rendering services voluntarily since its formation in 2004.
In recent days, there has been a controversy which has erupted in regard to answering the Kokborok subject in the Kokborok alphabet of Roman script in the board examination of TBSE where the President had verbally instructed the Examination Center Head not to allow the Kokborok alphabet, but the students must answer in the Bengali alphabet.
It has also come to know that the President of TBSE has referred the letter to the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Kokborok Development under Kokborok & OML Directorate, the Government of Tripura.
This shows the dictatorial behaviour of the President of TBSE, provocative and completely unacceptable.
Let us explain the background of Kokborok education and the script to be written for creating literature. Looking into the controversy, the Government of Tripura has constituted several committees/ Commissions to solve the script issue.
The Script Selection Committee on Kokborok Scripts and its Development was constituted under the Chair of Shyamacharan Tripura and submitted a report and recommendations in the year 1991, which it has been viewed in favor of the Kokborok alphabet of Roman script for the Kokborok.
The TTAADC also passed a Bill titled Primary School (Language) Regulations, 1992, where it has also passed in favour of the Kokborok alphabet in the Roman script for Kokborok.
The Tripura Upajati Bhasha Commission headed by Pabitra Sarkar constituted and submitted a report in 2005 where it found 70.30% in favor of the Kokborok alphabet of the Roman script for Kokborok.
With a view to the above, the desire of native people has shown in favor of the Kokborok alphabet of Roman script for the Kokborok. Therefore, we would like to request you to pass an order in favor of the Kokborok alphabet of Roman script for writing the Kokborok as early as possible.
to finalization of the Kokborok script, the they have been maintaining the dual script, both the Kokborok alphabet of the Roman script and the Bengali alphabet till this, but the order of the President of TBSE the only to allow the Bengali script for Kokborok the the board examination is a dictatorial behaviour which is provocative, unacceptable and one kind human rights violation as well as fall on ST Atrocities Act.
The absence of infrastructure in checking the answer sheet is the lack of knowledge of the President of TBSE because there is also no infrastructure in favor of the Bengali script too. As we all know that there are no Kokborok subject teachers, subjects have been appointed in the secondary & higher secondary level since 2005, but the Kokborok speaking Graduate and Post Graduate Teachers have been engaged in checking the answer sheets of the board examination paper.
The availability of Kokborok textbooks in the Bengali alphabet is composed of a particular script while compiling and printing of Kokborok textbooks because the government has not yet finalized the alphabet of Kokborok but forcefully prints the textbooks and compels them to read Kokborok students only in the Bengali alphabet.
On the other hand, the English medium, Kokborok, students know the English alphabet, so they can answer only in the Kokborok alphabet of the Roman script. Pushing behind them and imposing the Bengali alphabet for answering to English medium Kokborok students is disgusting.
The President of TBSE has referred to the letter the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Kokborok Development who had misused his office by crossing his limit and lost credibility to hold the prestigious post of Chair of holding Borok Advisory Committee constituted by the Government of Tripura.
We strongly demand you to remove Dr Dhananjoy Gon Choudhury, President of TBSE and Dr Atul Debbarma, Chair of the Kokborok Advisory Committee from their post and office duties at the earliest to normalize the situation created by them before the board examination.
We request the Chief Minister to intervene and pass an order and maintain the status-quo for answering both the Kokborok alphabet of the Roman script and the Bengali alphabet while answering the board examination coming soon.
We also request you to take the necessary steps for printing the Kokborok textbooks both in the Kokborok alphabet of the Roman script and the Bengali alphabet due to finalization of the script of Kokborok.
Our appeal to the Chief Minister to approve and pass an order of the people's verdict is reflected by the Shyma Charan Tripura Committee in 1991 and the Pabitra Sarkar Commission in 2005 for writing Kokborok in the Kokborok alphabet of Roman script.’
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