Tripura: Several tribal organisations stage protest, demand Roman script for Kokborok language

Several tribals on Wednesday organised demonstration demanding the adoption of the Roman script for the tribal Kokborok language.

The agitation was spearheaded by 'Roman Script for Kokborok Choba' (RSKC), an apex body of 56 small tribal organisations.

RSKC convenor Mintu Debbarma claimed that several commissions, formed earlier to decide the script for the Kokborok language, had recommended the Roman script but the government has remained silent on the matter.


The protesters cited a recent RTI (Right to Information) reply that revealed more than 99 per cent of Kokborok-speaking students prefer to answer their examination papers in the Roman script when given the choice between Bengali and Roman.

Debbarma said that the Roman script must be used by nursery to university students and they should be permitted to answer in the Roman script in all levels of examinations.

"If the government fails to promptly address this issue, we will have no choice but to escalate our agitation across the state," Debbarma added.

Tripura has a 12 lakh tribal population out of its 40 lakh inhabitants and 70 per cent of the tribals spoke in the Kokborok language, which was recognised as the second official language by the then CPI-M led Left Front government in 1979.