Agartala: The Tipra Motha Party, a key ally in Tripura’s BJP-led coalition government, has once again reiterated its demand for the adoption of the Roman script for the Kokborok language.
The party strongly opposed proposals to adopt Bengali or Devanagari as official scripts for Kokborok.
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In a statement signed by party founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, Tipra Motha stressed its continued advocacy for Roman script, stating, “We disagree with recent proposals suggesting Bengali or Devanagari as official scripts for Kokborok in its push for inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.”
The statement highlighted that other northeastern states like Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland have adopted Roman script for indigenous languages despite those languages not being included in the 8th Schedule.
“This sets a precedent and proves that the choice of script lies within the state’s jurisdiction,” it said, urging the Tripura government to follow suit to reflect the linguistic and cultural identity of the indigenous population.
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The party also raised concerns over the exclusive use of Bengali script in Kokborok question papers for CBSE and TBSE examinations, especially when CBSE has already introduced bilingual (English-Bengali) papers in 96 Vidyajyoti schools across the state.
It demanded similar accommodation for Kokborok-speaking students.
Additionally, Tipra Motha criticised a recent decision by the syllabus sub-committee which excludes Kokborok literary works written in Roman script from the updated textbooks for Classes IX to XII.
The party called for reconsideration, stating that most Kokborok literature is produced in the Roman script and the policy ignores this linguistic reality.