In a Bid to Promote “Nationalism”, Tripura Government Proposes Hindi as Language for TV News
Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times
The director in-charge of information and cultural affairs department has proposed to introduce Hindi as the medium of news to promote nationalism and also help people from outside the state to know more about Tripura, reported Hindustan Times .
It was first alleged by The Scheduled Tribe wing of Tripura Congress on Saturday that minutes of the meeting of the Circulation Committee under the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs (ICA) carried information about introduction of Hindi – that will replace Kokborok –in news bulletin. The document notes minutes of the meeting held on April 6.
Condemning the proposal, CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar said it would lead to fascist state and aggressive nationalist tendencies.
"The Left Front government first recognized Kokborok as a state language in 1978. The language was introduced in schools and colleges as part of the curriculum. We want equal status of all languages. Such a proposal should be immediately withdrawn," NDTV quoted Dhar as saying.
Similarly, Congress too criticised the reported proposal to replace the indigenous language saying that Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), the BJP's alliance in the state government, should be ashamed of supporting the decision.
Responding to the row over the proposal, Ananta Debbarma, vice-president, IPFT, said his party would oppose any proposal to replace Kokborok with Hindi in news bulletin.
However, Bishnupada Das, director in-charge of information and cultural affairs department, in a statement given on Saturday, clarified that the Kokborok news would continue.
“It was proposed that all local TV channels introduce Hindi as medium of news so that people from other states could know more about Tripura,” he added.
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