Agartala, January 19: The long-pending demand for official recognition of the Roman script for the Kokborok language resurfaced prominently on Monday during the 48th Kokborok Day celebrations in Agartala, as indigenous students staged protests that added a strong political dimension to the cultural event ahead of the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections.
A colourful rally was organised from the Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan area to mark Kokborok Day, drawing hundreds of participants from both tribal and non-tribal communities. The celebratory atmosphere, however, soon gave way to protest as activists from indigenous students’ organisations—the Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF) and the Tipra Indigenous Students’ Federation (TISF)—joined the procession, raising slogans and displaying placards demanding official recognition of the Roman script.
Police and security personnel initially attempted to stop the demonstrators, but the protesters continued marching. Near the Congress Bhavan, additional forces from the West Agartala Police Station cordoned off the group as the agitation intensified. Despite these restrictions, sections of the rally merged with the protesters, transforming the celebration into a visible show of dissent over the script issue.
Speaking to the media, student leaders clarified that their movement was not aimed against the Bengali script, which currently enjoys official recognition for Kokborok. Instead, they said their demand was for parallel recognition of the Roman script, a claim they noted has been pending for over five decades and is widely used among indigenous communities.
Meanwhile, former minister and BJP MLA Rampada Jamatia, vice chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Development of Kokborok Language, dismissed the Roman script demand as a “foreign conspiracy.” He asserted that the decades-old dispute would soon be resolved, revealing plans to introduce a new indigenous script for the language.
Earlier, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha had firmly ruled out accepting any foreign script for Kokborok, urging intellectuals to develop an indigenous alternative. His remarks sparked sharp reactions from BJP ally TIPRA Motha, highlighting growing rifts within the ruling coalition.
With Kokborok holding deep cultural and political significance and TTAADC elections due within two months, the script controversy is poised to become a central and emotionally charged electoral issue.
