Agartala: Thousands of Kokborok-speaking students staged coordinated protests across Tripura on Saturday, forming human chains at multiple locations to demand the adoption of the Roman script for the Kokborok language.
The demonstrations were organised under the banner of the United Movement Committee for Roman Script (UMCRC), a joint platform of Kokborok-speaking students.
Human chains were formed at 11 locations across the state, with protesters raising slogans calling for official recognition of the Roman script for Kokborok, the second official language of Tripura and the mother tongue of most of the state’s 19 tribal communities.
UMCRC convener John Debbarma said the demand reflected the sentiments of Kokborok-speaking people and urged the government to respect their aspirations.
He expressed dissatisfaction with recent remarks made by Chief Minister Manik Saha, saying a democratically elected government should not ignore public sentiment on such a cultural and linguistic issue.
Reacting to the protests, Saha alleged that vested interests were behind the movement and accused certain groups of politicising the issue.
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He said he was not opposed to Kokborok or the use of English, but rejected the adoption of the Roman script for the language, arguing that a “foreign script” was not permissible under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The chief minister also maintained that there was no restriction on students writing examinations in either Bengali or Roman script, and urged Kokborok-speaking communities to work towards developing their own indigenous script.
He claimed that capable and knowledgeable individuals within the community could take up the task, instead of turning the issue into a political movement.
The protests highlighted growing tensions between student groups and the state government over the future of the Kokborok language and its script, with both sides hardening their positions on the sensitive cultural issue.
