Agartala: The use of the Kokborok language, the dominant language of the tribal belt of Tripura, in MBB Airport Agartala for announcements regarding the arrival and departure of flights triggered yet another blame game between the opposition parties and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Principal Opposition CPIM and the ruling party of TTAADC TIPRA Motha vehemently condemned the Ministry of Civil aviation’s attitude towards the issue.
There has been a long-standing demand to introduce Kokborok as a fourth language along with Hindi, English and Bengali at the MBB Airport, Agartala. Chairman of TIPRA and TTAADC advisory committee Pradyot Kishore Debbarman had recently written a letter to Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia urging him to look into the matter.
Scindia, who also happens to be a cousin of Debbarman, in his reply, maintained that as per the set principles of the Airport Authority of India, announcements were made in three languages—Hindi, English and Bengali.
The letter also added that even though both Kokborok and Bengali are official languages of the state, Bengali is being given preference for its wide use.
Peeved at the reply, Debbarman shared an old record of the Lok Sabha where the then Minister of the department informed the house that this matter has been examined and is under implementation. Former Lok Sabha MP Jitendra Chowdhury, now the secretary of the opposition CPIM, had raised this issue.
According to Debbarman, this is discrimination against a community and the BJP’s core slogan of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”.
“In Bihar, Bhojpuri has been used as a means of communication in airports. In Assam, Assamese is used. What is the harm in introducing Kokborok here? I did not want Bengali to be excluded. Both languages deserve equal respect,” he added.
CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury who had also advocated for introducing Kokborok at the MBB airport said, “When I was an MP, I raised the issue in the parliament that elicited a positive response from the government. The then Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had taken note of the issue. Later, Kokborok was introduced in the airport as well. Till 2019, Kokborok was used along with Hindi, English and Bengali. But, on an abrupt note, Kokborok was stopped. The reason behind this step is a mystery”.
Referring to the letter of TIPRA Chairman, Chowdhury said, “After that, the state government did not make any efforts to re-introduce the Kokborok which is a primary language of the indigenous people of the state. And the response to the TIPRA chief’s letter described the attitude of the government. This is a direct insult to the tribal population of the state.”
Tripura Tribal Welfare Minister Ram Pada Jamatia also joined the chorus and demanded that Kokborok should be a medium of communication at MBB airport. Jamatia had also sent a separate letter in connection with the issue.
Hitting out at the opposition parties, BJP Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said, “We are not against the Kokborok language. The matter will be looked into, but the opposition parties must have forgotten the fact that BJP is the party that gave respect to the state’s indigenous people. The CPIM in its 25 years long rule tried to erase the glorious royal history of Tripura. Just for the sake of vote bank politics, the opposition is trying to highlight this issue.”
Chowdhury also reminded that because of the relentless efforts of the BJP government Agartala Airport was rechristened as Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. “Baramura hills and Gandacherra sub-divisions are also renamed in Kokborok to popularize the language”, he added.
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