Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has ruled out the demand for introducing the Roman script for the Kokborok language, which is spoken by nearly 19 tribal communities in the state.
His remarks come amid renewed calls by the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ahead of the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Kokborok is the mother tongue of most of Tripura’s 19 indigenous tribes and is spoken by around 14 lakh people across the state.
Addressing a party programme at Jolaibari in South Tripura, Saha said, “We will never allow Roman script for Kokborok language because it poses a threat to the indigenous tradition and culture. The young generation will completely forget their culture if Roman script is adopted for their language”, he said
He urged tribal intellectuals and language experts to work towards developing an appropriate script for Kokborok that would aid its growth and long-term development. The government, he added, has not insisted on adopting Bengali or any other script for the indigenous language.
The Chief Minister said that if people belonging to the Chakma community can develop their own script, Kokborok-speaking communities should also be able to arrive at a consensus on an appropriate script. He warned that confusion over the script issue could hinder the progress of the language.
Claiming that only the BJP can develop the lives of indigenous people and their culture and tradition, the Chief Minister said the present government has given due respect to the Manikya dynasty and has no intention of undermining the state’s historical legacy.
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Saha said the BJP-led alliance won 18 seats in the 2021 Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections and formed the council, while in the latest polls the BJP secured 11 seats and its allies nine. He asserted that the outcomes demonstrated increasing public backing for the party’s policies in tribal regions.
The Chief Minister noted that the tribal council spans nearly two-thirds of Tripura’s geographical area and said his party is steadily consolidating its support among indigenous communities through governance and development measures.
