Agartala, Jan 19 (NationPress) Chief Minister Manik Saha of Tripura announced on Monday that the BJP government has implemented numerous initiatives aimed at enhancing and promoting the tribal Kokborok language throughout the state.

In a video statement commemorating the 48th Kokborok Day, Saha highlighted that Kokborok is now part of the curriculum from Class I to Class XII, and a dedicated Kokborok department has been established at Tripura University, a central university. The language is currently offered in 1,296 primary schools, 115 high schools, and 65 higher secondary schools within the state.

“Since the BJP came into power in Tripura in 2018, there has been a remarkable increase in the usage and development efforts for the Kokborok language,” stated Saha.

He also mentioned that over 60 publications related to the language have been released, with a pocket-size Kokborok dictionary set to be launched soon, paving the way for a more comprehensive dictionary.

Furthermore, various research initiatives focusing on the Kokborok language are currently in progress. Kokborok Day was celebrated on Monday under the auspices of the Department of Kokborok and Other Minority Languages.

A cultural event was held at the Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhavan, with the presence of the Chairman of the State Kokborok Language Development Advisory Committee, Atul Debbarma, and Vice-Chairman and MLA Rampada Jamatia.

Debbarma stated that the mother tongue serves as a crucial aspect of collective identity and that Kokborok Day is of great pride and importance to the community.

He remarked that the history of Kokborok is intricately linked to the narratives of Tripura’s indigenous peoples.

While tracing the precise origins of the language is challenging, he noted that Kokborok started to take shape as the ancestors of indigenous groups settled in Tripura and its neighboring areas, developing alongside their cultural identity.

On this occasion, BJP MLA Rampada Jamatia urged the community to actively engage in practicing and promoting the Kokborok language to enrich and invigorate it, calling for collective dedication to its advancement.

During the event, covers of four new Kokborok books were revealed, and six educators were honored for their contributions to Kokborok language education.

Earlier, a colorful rally commenced from the premises of Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhavan, winding through various city locations before returning to the starting point.

The Kokborok language was granted second official language status on January 19, 1979, by the then CPI(M)-led Left Front government, and this day is annually observed to remember that significant recognition.

Various tribal organizations, including the BJP’s junior ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP), have long been advocating for the adoption of the Roman script for the Kokborok language.

For over 50 years, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the use of either the Bengali or Roman scripts for Kokborok.

While some experts support the Bengali script, the majority of tribal scholars and academicians favor the Roman script.

Since 1988, two commissions have been established on this issue, led by tribal leader Shyama Charan Tripura and renowned linguist Pabitra Sarkar.

A TMP representative stated that Kokborok, part of the Tibeto-Burman language family, shares close ties with other languages in the Northeastern region, including Bodo, Garo, and Dimasa.

As per the 2011 census, Kokborok is spoken by 880,537 individuals in Tripura, making up 23.97% of the state's total population of approximately 4 million. It is the native language of nine out of the 19 tribal communities in the state.

There are nine significant Kokborok clans: Tripura, Debbarma, Jamatia, Noatia, Murasingh, Reang, Kalai, Rupini, and Uchowi.