Assam cabinet nod to accord stature of state language to Assamese may stifle growth of other tongues spoken by a few – Firstpost
5 years ago

Assam cabinet nod to accord stature of state language to Assamese may stifle growth of other tongues spoken by a few – Firstpost

Firstpost  

Amid growing discontent against the current BJP-AGP government in Assam the cabinet led by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on 23 December 2019, suggested that the Government of India might amend Article 345 of the Indian Constitution. Even today, when people speak about the language and its past, the narrative core consists of struggle and sacrifice for the ‘mother tongue’. Historically speaking, if Assamese is an ‘oppressed’ language and one that has emerged to its present status through the struggle of the people then why turn a blind eye to people whose languages aren’t recognised and are, therefore ‘minor’ with respect to Assamese? The cabinet proposal for a state language will have adverse effects on the other ‘minor’ languages in the sphere of literature. In a memorandum submitted to Syed Fazl Ali, governor of Assam and then Union home minister Pandit GB Pant in 1957 to which Baruah was also a signatory, one of the demands was to make Assamese a ‘compulsory’ second language where a tribal tongue is used a first language.

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History of this topic

Forcing Assamese language resulted in separation of states, says Assam minister
2 months ago

Forcing Assamese language resulted in separation of states, says Assam minister

Hindustan Times  

Forcibly imposing Assamese as sole official language in undivided Assam was a historic blunder, which triggered a sense of separation and resulted in the creation of multiple states in Northeast, Assam minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said on Saturday during the closing ceremony of week-long Bhasha Gourab Saptah in Silchar in Cachar district on Saturday. Assam minister Jayanta Mallabaruah and Silchar …

Centre's aggressive push for Hindi as North-East India's 'link language' threatens to expose ethnic fault lines
2 years, 7 months ago

Centre's aggressive push for Hindi as North-East India's 'link language' threatens to expose ethnic fault lines

The Hindu  

North-eastern India is a linguistic mosaic, with over 400 different languages spoken in the region. Dr Banani Chakravarty said a section of the Assamese elite, while asserting Assamese linguistic aspiration, encouraged the “otherisation” of Tibeto-Burman language speakers. “A section of the Assamese power elite assumes that it is essential for Tibeto-Burman language speakers and speakers of ‘minor languages’ to know …

Assam CM for district-wise definition of minority
2 years, 9 months ago

Assam CM for district-wise definition of minority

Hindustan Times  

GUWAHATI: A community’s minority status should be designated based on its representation in a state or district’s total population, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday, adding that the decision should be based on the existing local reality. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said a community’s minority status should be designated based on its representation in a state …

Assam discord
3 years, 3 months ago

Assam discord

The Hindu  

THE GLEEFUL STOMPING OF THE BODY OF 28-year-old Moinul Haque, who had already fallen to police bullets, by photographer Bijoy Bania, epitomises the depth of hate and violence unleashed, yet again, in Assam. While cleverly omitting any attempt to define the term ‘indigenous’, the new land policy document stated that it was based on the recommendations of the ‘Committee for …

Assam govt to approach Centre to declare Assamese as state language
5 years ago

Assam govt to approach Centre to declare Assamese as state language

India Today  

While various organisations, students, artists, social-activists of Assam have intensified their protests against the Citizenship Act, 2019, the BJP-led Assam government on Saturday has decided several important schemes, measures by aiming to protect the Assamese language, land rights of the indigenous people. The state cabinet also decided that the Assam government will bring legislation in the next Assembly session making …

Opinion | Turbulence in Assam : How the state’s past divides still drive its politics
6 years, 2 months ago

Opinion | Turbulence in Assam : How the state’s past divides still drive its politics

Live Mint  

Ethnic, linguistic and religious matters can cause great churn in Assam. The Assam Language Act, 1960, promulgated in December of that year, made Assamese the official language of Assam. “Congress and non-Congress leaders, politicians of all shades of opinion, Rightists, Leftists, Hindus, Muslims, poets, priests, men of letters, sober educationists, unruly students—all have wonderfully cooperated.”NextMAds Some critics maintained that the …

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