Agartala: Tripura Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and TIPRA Motha leader Animesh Debbarma on Thursday took a dig at the newly formed committee tasked with the responsibility of selection of Kokborok script and demanded immediate abolition of the committee.
Raising questions over the eligibility of the committee members, Debbarma said, “As far as I know, none of the members of the committee have done any extensive research on the language. Besides, they don’t have any literary work in Kokborok published in their names. The committee was constituted under an ex-BJP MLA Dr Atul Debbarma who himself barely speaks Kokborok.”
The other members namely Dhirendra Kaloi, ex-employee of Tripura government, and Biralal Tripura, the headmaster of Dhumachara HS school, have one thing in common-they belong to the Kokborok-speaking community.
There are many people who have pursued higher education in Kokborok language and have several published write-ups in their names. But the government chooses an ex-MLA to become the convener of the committee, Debbarma added.
According to the senior TIPRA Motha leader, after the movement spearheaded by TIPRA Motha and its students wing, the CBSE has conceded to prepare Kokborok question papers in Roman script.
In the state assembly, Chief Minister Manik Saha has said that answer sheets written in both Bengali and Kokborok scripts are accepted in school and college-level exams. “If two options are already available for the students, what is the point of forming a committee and that too with people who do not have vast knowledge about the language. We condemn the attitude of the government and demand that this committee be abolished as soon as possible. If the government really wants to do something, it should engage people who are working for the language. There are several independent organisations that have been working for the protection and development of Kokborok. And, most importantly, why there is no representative from the students who should be considered as the primary stakeholder in the issue,” he added.
The notification regarding the formation of the new committee was issued on June 27 last.
Roman Script for Kokborok Choba, an organisation fighting for the demand of Roman script for Kokborok, had also condemned the decision.
On the state government’s step to make domicile certificate an eligibility criteria for government jobs, he said, “The government now may say that all the previous interviews would be cancelled because of the new rules and fresh examinations will be conducted. This should not be the case. The government should not play with the lives of our youth. If the government wants to give jobs to those who have permanent resident certificates from the state we welcome that, but not at the cost of the people who are waiting for years. The onus is on the state government to fix this problem.”
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Debbarma also spoke about the issue of graduate teachers. “As many as 1,300 job aspirants qualified the selection test for Graduate Teachers. The number of posts in the issued notification is 230. The High Court has clearly stated that not more than 50 percent of the post could be reserved. We are okay with that. But, if the government decides to call for fresh interviews that would be another injustice to the innocent job seekers. It is the state government’s fault and the High Court has dismissed its review petition as well. Those who are eligible should get jobs,” he demanded.
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