Several tribal student organisations under the leadership of the Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF) and the Tipra Indigenous Students’ Federation (TISF), the student wings of the Tipra Motha Party, on Thursday organised torch rallies at multiple locations across Tripura to protest against the state government’s stand on the Kokborok script issue.
In the state capital Agartala, leaders and activists of TSF and TISF took out a torch rally from Swami Vivekananda Maidan. The procession passed through several key streets of the city before culminating in front of the Tripura State Museum. Similar demonstrations were also reported from other parts of the state, reflecting widespread discontent among tribal students.
The rallies were primarily organised in response to a recent statement made by Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha regarding the choice of script for the Kokborok language, which is the most widely spoken language among Tripura’s tribal communities. The Chief Minister had suggested that Kokborok speakers should consider adopting an indigenous script instead of the Roman script, stating that this could strengthen the case for inclusion of the language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
However, tribal student bodies and social organisations have been demanding the recognition of the Roman script as the official script for Kokborok for several decades. The issue has also sparked repeated controversies during Tripura Board examinations, particularly over the script in which students are allowed to write their answers. While such disputes were resolved in the past through government intervention, the broader debate over official script selection remains unresolved.
Reacting strongly to the Chief Minister’s remarks, Tipra Motha and its student wings announced statewide torch rallies. Addressing the protest march in Agartala, TSF leader John Debbarma said tribal communities had been denied the right to use their preferred script for nearly 50 years. “Governments are elected to deliver justice, but none have addressed this issue. Through this rally, we are making it clear that we will not tolerate further neglect,” he said.
TSF General Secretary Hamalu Jamatia added that several other student organisations, including Bru, Kaipeng and Mizo conventions, extended their support to the Homchang (torch) rallies, underscoring the unity among indigenous groups on the issue.
