The best script for Kokborok? The answer is clear, but politics isn’t

If you know a little about Tripura, you will probably think that Bengali is the state’s lingua franca, and you would be partially right. But officially, the state has two languages: Bengali and the lesser-known Kokborok. 

Kokborok, an indigenous language, does not have a script (like several other indigenous languages in the region). The word Kokborok translates to the language spoken by the people of the land. “Kok” stands for verbal sound or language and “Borok” means the son of the soil. Seven dominant tribal communities, including the Tripura, Jamatia, Koloi, Reang, Murasigh, Rupini and others, speak Kokborok. 

The history of Kokborok dates back 6,000 years, and experts describe it as an offshoot of the Tibetan-Sino family of languages. In the Northeast, indigenous languages like Garo and Bodo belong to the same family.

Unlike other indigenous languages, however, Kokborok is not ‘threatened’. It was recognised as a state language as early as 1979. It had about 9 lakh speakers, according to the 2011 Census, which is about one-fourth of the Tripura’s population. But while these numbers indicate a relatively healthy and flourishing language, the script is an altogether different matter. 

One can easily blame it on politics and a lack of will from the elected executives who have ruled the state for a long time; but is it so simple? While one may say the majority’s view has always been ignored, one could easily argue that a solution agreeable to all may not even exist. 

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Take content creators for example. In today’s world, where social media rules the roost, they are often the most credible source of consumer feedback. Content creators EastMojo spoke with said their audience finds it easier to connect with them if they use the Roman script. 

Speaking to EastMojo, popular YouTuber Subhajit Debbarma explains that Roman script is accepted universally and the best choice for learning and communication in his mother tongue.

“The written form of the Kokborok should be in the Roman alphabet as it has wide popularity across the globe. If it happens, Kokborok will also be recognised globally and we may get easy access to Google subtitles and other things. It will help us reach out to people who don’t understand our language properly,” he said.

Swakang Debbarma, another content creator who had recently shot into the limelight with his Kokborok rendition of the famous Sri Lanka song “Manike Mage Hithe” concurred with Subhajit. “To break the language barrier, we need to ensure that Kokborok goes with the Roman written form,” he said.

Both creators also propose bilingual content in Kokborok and Bengali, which may create more audience in a state like Tripura, where Bengalis and the indigenous communities have co-existed for many decades.

And this demand for the Roman script for the Kokborok language is not new: people have been demanding this for over 40 years now. 

It is not just content creators who believe the Roman script is useful: even writers and researchers of the Kokborok language, ones who started their career with Bengali script, have switched over to the Roman script for their readers. According to them, the Bengali script stresses pronunciation. This is not suitable for writing Kokborok, which is more of a tonal language.

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The conflict

The first generation of Kokborok-speaking youth studied in schools where Bengali was the primary subject. Naturally, when they started thinking of giving the language a written form, they used the Bengali script instinctively. Leaders like former Chief Minister Dasarath Deb and Aghor Debbarma, who have worked extensively for spreading the light of education in hilly areas, ardently supported the Bengali script.

On the other hand, people who were well aware of the linguistic roots of the language and equally sympathetic towards giving their language a new shape regrouped to challenge the popular view of Bengali script. The counterargument was that Kokborok, by its nature, should be written in the Roman script. They felt the Roman script is the only solution to the phonological problems associated with writing Kokborok in a Bengali script. The technical evolution of both Bengali and Kokborok, these people argued, is different. Hence, they can’t be brought together for the composition of the language. But, the conflict saw no end. 

Then came the Bharatiya Janata Party. The saffron party, which never misses a chance to promote Hindi and Devanagari, now sought to introduce the Devanagari script for Kokborok, which further stirred controversy and resulted in a wave of protests across the state. 

Let the commissions do their job?

Of course, it was not as if the government did not try to solve the issue: the government constituted two commissions that did their job and submitted their reports. Of course, as is often, the recommendations were never implemented and, in fact, in one case, never made public. 

The first commission was constituted under the stewardship of former minister Shyamacharan Tripura, a leader of Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS). The TUJS was considered the strongest political opponent of the Left parties, and all the regional political parties, including Pradyot Kishore Debbarman-led TIPRA, ruling ally IPFT, INPT (now merged in TIPRA) owe their origins to the TUJS. The Samiti advocated for the Roman script and the commission’s report was clearly in favour of its introduction. In 1992, with a political change of guard, that report lost its relevance. The controversy, of course, did not. 

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In 2004, when Manik Sarkar was the Chief Minister of Tripura, another commission was formed, headed by Pabitra Sarkar. Apart from being famed for his expertise in linguistics, Sarkar was inclined towards the Left view of politics. The anti-Left section of the indigenous society outrightly rejected the commission because of the Left parties’ political influence.

“We thought the results will be similar to the view of the CPIM, who wanted Kokborok to be taught and learnt through the Bengali script. The anti-Left political parties rejected the proposal and did not even participate in the opinion polls. The CPIM-affiliated organisations participated in the polls and compiled the answers to the questionnaire. And, surprisingly, 67 per cent of the votes were cast in favour of the Roman script. To escape embarrassment, the report was never made public, a senior CPIM leader said, requesting anonymity.  

Numbers show a clear winner

Bikash Rai Debbarma, the leader of Roman Script for Kokborok Choba (RSKC), an organization fighting for Roman script, told EastMojo they have not found any evidence of written Kokborok despite years of research. In fact, as per historical records, there is only one reference in the Rajmala—the chronicles of Tripura’s Manikya dynasty—where there is a mention of the written form of the ‘Tripur’ language.    

“When Dharma Manikya was the king of Tripura, it expanded into present-day Bangladesh, ‘Rajmala’ was first translated into Sanskrit. Later, it was also translated into Bengali. The head priest of the royal palace, who dictated the whole “Rajmala” to the translators, mentioned that it was earlier written in the Tripur language. From this reference, we can figure out that this language had written form but now we have no documents to prove the same,” he said.

In 1897, the first printed book of Kokborok was published by Daulat Ahmed, who worked in the British Court. The script used in the book was Bengali because, at that time, the Bengali language was predominant in the region. It is purely because of the use of Bengali administrative works in Tripura’s royal court this language gained popularity.

“Since a large portion of East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh) territory was under the jurisdiction of Tripura kings, Bengali entered the royal court as the administrative language. But Kokborok survived as a widely-spoken language. There is no written document in Kokborok that can prove that there was a definite script for the language. But the priests or Uchai of the Tiprasa communities imprint some words or letters while performing traditional rituals. These letters resemble the Brahmi script which is also the origin of several scripts widely used in India nowadays”, said Bikash Rai Debbarma.

“We have asked them (the priests) whether they know the meaning of those words or group of letters. They simply say that they learnt these mysterious words or letters to carry forward the legacy of their ancestors. And they have no idea what it really means,” he added.

According to an RTI reply, it has been learnt that till 2021, a total of 6,687 students took Kokborok as an elective subject in 22 government degree colleges across the state. Among them, only three students wrote their answer scripts in Bengali. The rest answered their papers in the Roman script. At the University level, 356 people have so far completed their Masters in Kokborok, including two non-tribal students. Not a single answer sheet was written in Bengali.

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Speaking to EastMojo, Assistant Director of the Janajati Welfare Department (previously known as Tribal Welfare Department) Ananda Hari Jamatia, said, “More than 99 per cent of the students who have studied Kokborok have written their answer scripts in the Roman script. And, as far as I know, 80 per cent of the population wants Kokborok to be written and learnt in Roman script.” 

He also admitted that a section still wants that the Bengali script used, but the section supporting Devanagari is negligible.

Devanagari? Why?

Two BJP MLAs: Atul Debbarma and Rampada Jamtia (now tribal welfare minister) proposed the introduction of the Devanagari script for Kokborok. EastMojo tried to contact both legislators, but neither of them responded. The proposals drew sharp reactions from different indigenous bodies and all of them wanted the proposal to be repealed. Union Home Minister’s comments that nine tribal communities of the northeast had converted their dialects’ scripts to Devanagari while all the eight states of the northeast have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to Class 10 also gave an impression that in future, Kokborok could also go the Devanagari route.

Veteran indigenous author Chandra Kanta Murasingh, who started his writing career with the Bengali script, recently switched over to the Roman script. He ridiculed the proposal of using the Devanagari script for Kokborok. “It is impossible to write the language in Devanagari. The technical issues we are facing with Bengali will be a lot higher with Devanagari. Very few people in the state know the Devanagari script as it is not part of formal school education. I can’t find any logic behind this.”

On being asked about his switch over, he said, “The readers want to read Kokborok in the Roman script. For the sake of my readers and the technical advantage the Roman script offers, I have started writing in the Roman script, and it is going very well.”

In the political section also, the Roman script for Kokborok is resonating as a common demand of all political parties. But if only the political parties act on people’s wishes.  

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