Why in news
Faced with widespread protests by students belonging to the indigenous communities, tribal forums and political parties, the Tripura Board of Secondary Education has given in and allowed them to write exam papers in the Roman alphabet of the Kokborok language.
TBSE president Dhananjay Gon Choudhury on Wednesday announced that he would soon issue an instruction for exam centre supervisors to accept both Roman and Bangla scripts for writing Kokborok.
The decision came after Mr. Choudhury initially ordered that only the Bangla script be allowed for Kokborok exam papers and even threatened exam centre supervisors with police complaints if they accepted any other script in the upcoming school-leaving and higher secondary exams this year.
What is Kokborok
Kokborok, also known as Tripuri, is a fascinating language with a rich history and cultural connection.
Origin and Classification:
It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family, specifically the Bodo-Garo branch.
This branch also includes related languages like Bodo and Dimasa spoken in Assam.
Scholars believe its roots can be traced back to at least the 1st century AD.
Geographical Reach:
Primarily spoken by the Tripuri people in the Indian state of Tripura.
Spoken in neighboring areas of Bangladesh by Tripuri communities.
Estimated number of speakers: over 1.5 million across India and Bangladesh.
Official Status:
Recognized as one of the official languages of Tripura since 1979.
Also serves as the official language of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Writing System:
Developed its own script in the late 19th century.
Initially written in Bengali script but later adopted a distinct Romanized script in the 20th century.
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