Agartala: Amidst the Kokborok language controversy, a political standoff has emerged in Tripura as CWC member and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman calling for the Tipra Motha Party to withdraw its support from the BJP-led state government.
The demand stems from a controversy surrounding the official script for the Kokborok language.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Sharing the report of an official meeting of the Directorate of Kokborok and other minority languages with the media, Roy Barman pointed out a particular portion of the document stating that the authority should print the contents of the Kokborok textbooks in an officially approved script recognised by the Tripura Board of Secondary Education and Central Board of Secondary Education.
According to Roy Barman, no officially approved script for Kokborok exists to date.
“On March 03, 2025, the Directorate of Kokborok and other minority languages conducted a meeting on syllabus upgradation and restructuring of Kokborok textbooks for students of class IX to class XII. The minutes of the meeting are with me. The 14 number point stated that the authority will publish the content in conformity with the officially approved script. So far, I know, there is no approved script for Kokborok and the majority of the indigenous people of Tripura have been demanding official approval for the use of the Roman script”, Roy Barman acknowledged.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The Left government ignored these genuine voices, and the present BJP government is also wasting time on the matter.” Roy Barman stated.
“The members who expressed their views in the meeting stated that the use of a single script develops a strong foundation for the students, which indicates that the government is in favor of the present practice of using the Bengali script, ignoring the popular view in the society of the Kokborok-speaking people of Tripura,” he said.
The Congress MLA urged the Tipra Motha Party, led by Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, to clarify their stance on the issue.
He called upon student organizations, including Tipra Motha’s student wing, to pressure their leader.
“I urge all student organizations, including the students’ organ of the Tipra Motha Party, to ask the supreme leader of the Tipra Motha to clarify his stand on this particular issue. Time and again, students have staged protests seeking the implementation of the Roman script”, he asserted.
“If the BJP-led alliance government has no intentions to adopt the Roman script, the Tipra Motha Party has no moral authority to continue in the ruling coalition,” Roy Barman added.