Agartala, February 13 Thousands of students who speak Kokborok formed human chains across Tripura on Saturday to demand the adoption of the Roman script for the language.
Kokborok, the second official language of the northeastern state, is the mother tongue of most of the 19 tribes.
The students, under the banner of the United Movement Committee for Roman Script (UMCRC), formed human chains at 11 locations across Tripura and raised slogans for the introduction of the Roman script for the Kokborok language.
"The government must respect the sentiment of Kokborok-speaking people and introduce the Roman script," said John Debbarma, the convener of UMCRC, a joint platform of Kokborok-speaking students, to reporters.
He expressed disappointment over Chief Minister Manik Saha's recent statements on the demand for the Roman script for the Kokborok language.
"A democratically elected chief minister cannot ignore the aspirations of the people. We hope that he will allow the Roman script for the Kokborok language," he said.
Responding to the protest, the chief minister alleged that "some people with vested interests" were behind organizing the human chains.
"I am not against Kokborok or English, but the script for Kokborok shall not be the Roman script. Under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, a foreign language is not allowed. There is no bar in writing examinations for the Kokborok language in Bengali or Roman script," he said.
Saha urged the Kokborok-speaking people to develop their own script for the language, stating that "there is no shortage of resourceful people to do the job."
"Some people are trying to politicize the issue. There must be some persons behind the scenes who are instigating the students to launch a movement," he claimed.