Agartala: The Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF), affiliated with the North East Students’ Organization (NESO), has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against Dr. Dhananjay Gan Chowdhury, the president of the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE). The complaint alleges that Chowdhury is compelling Board exam aspirants to write their Kokborok papers in a specific script.
TSF leader John Debbarma has also submitted a letter to the Tripura Human Rights Commission, characterising Chowdhury’s actions as a violation of human rights. Debbarma, in a conversation with EastMojo, stated that while he did not explicitly recommend charges under a specific act in his complaint letters, he hopes that the police will take action against Chowdhury under the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act.
Debbarma emphasised in both complaint letters that a particular script is being imposed on Kokborok-speaking students against their preferences. According to him, 99 percent of the students wish to write their answer sheets in the Roman script.
He mentioned that TSF had met with the Board President on September 22, 2022, requesting the use of the Roman script in teaching learning materials, but the plea was ignored.
Debbarma asserted that the Chief Minister has clarified that no student is compelled to write in the Bengali script, and both scripts are widely accepted. He urged action against Chowdhury for discrimination and violating students’ rights. The board exams for classes X and XII are scheduled to commence on March 01 and 02, respectively.
Dr. Dhananjay Gan Chowdhury had previously appealed to students to write their papers in the Bengali script, citing potential challenges in administering justice with the existing infrastructure if scripts in other languages are used.
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Kiran Kumar, SP of West Tripura district, confirmed receiving the complaint on February 2 at the New Capital Complex Police station. The process of registering the case is currently underway.
Also Read: The best script for Kokborok? The answer is clear, but politics isn’t