Pakistan should apologise to the people of Bangladesh for atrocities committed before 1971, a minister in Tripura said.
Speaking at an event on the occasion of the International Mother Languages Day on Monday, Ratan Lal Nath, the education minister in the BJP-led government, said, “The International Mother Language Day has come about due to Bangladesh. The Pakistanis perpetrated barbaric atrocities during the language movement there in those days. Pakistanis, who reigned through terror during that time, haven’t still apologised or expressed sorrow. It’s their negative mentality. I shall say from this stage that though it is late, Pakistan should apologise to the Bangladeshi people.”
The minister called for the preservation of mother languages of all communities and stated that the new education policy has attached priority to allow teaching in mother languages.
“In the past four years, we have introduced Kokborok language as an academic subject in 45 primary schools, 49 secondary and 22 higher secondary schools. We have also taken initiatives to appoint 22 Kokborok faculties in colleges,” the minister said.
The BJP-led government has also introduced Kokborok Language Teachers’ handbook for teachers, he added.
Additionally, the state government has announced Rs one lakh to researchers interested in working on seven indigenous languages including Kokborok, Kuki, Mizo, Garo, Chakma, Manipuri and Bishnupriya Manipuri languages. Such research projects could be undertaken through the Kokborok and other Minority Languages department of the state government.
Meanwhile, Tripura has started an online Kokborok language learning course for government employees since January 30.
“We have taken the initiative as employees face hurdle in communicating with people in hilly areas in Kokborok language. In the first phase, total 100 employees have been selected,” Nath said. The state government departments would be named in Kokborok language soon, he added.
Tripura’s move to rename places and destinations in Kokborok started two years ago with Baramura hills, being rechristened Hatai Kotor, Gandacherra as Ganda Twisa and Atharomura range to Hachuk Berem.
Expressing concern over extinction of languages, Nath said that a total of 231 languages became extinct in the past 26 years as per UNESCO record and another 639 languages are heading towards extinction.
Citing concerns over preserve endangered ethnic languages of Tripura, he said his government is working to all languages including those like Bongcher, Korbong etc. Both tribal languages are critically endangered ethno-linguistic dialects of the state, spoken by only a handful of people.
“The main objective of this day is to love and respect our own language as well as that of others”, Nath said.
Bangladesh assistant high commissioner Arif Mohammad, Higher Education council chairperson Dr. Arunoday Saha, Education department director Chandni Chandran and others joined the International Mother Language Day event in Agartala.
One-third of Tripura’s 37 lakh population are from 18 tribal communities. Most of them live in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), spread across 7,132.56 square km and covering nearly 68 percent of the state’s geographical area. As per government estimates, 8,14,375 people from different tribal communities like Tripura, Reang, Jamatia, Noatia, Kalai, Rupini, Murasing and Uchoi speak Kokborok. Kokborok is now being taught in nearly 300 schools including senior basic, Madhyamik and higher secondary schools, as against in 166 schools during the erstwhile Left era.
,