People from different tribal communities of Tripura came together to celebrate the “43rd Kokborok Day” by organizing a colourful procession at Agartala in Tripura. Many people dressed in their traditional attire participated in the procession that began at the Umakanta Academy in Agartala in the morning. Kokborok is the native language of Tripura, spoken for thousands of years among the Tripuri community. Kok means language and Borok means people. The first left front government led by former chief minister Nripen Chakraborty recognized Kokborok as the official language of the state. The bill was passed in the Tripura legislative assembly on January 19, 1979, recognizing Kokborok as the states official language and since then it has been used in government offices. Speaking on the occasion Tripura education minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “The government has various policies and now we are thinking of formulating a policy on language.” He said that the writing of Kokborok language started 300 years ago during the reign of King Mahendra Deb Barma of Tripura. Also read: Tripura: Family of man killed by NLFT to receive Rs 5 lakhs as compensation “The state government had sought an application to take on Kokborok teachers at the postgraduate level. Only two have applied so far,” said Nath. He says the Kokborok language is getting lost and people from all communities should come forward to protect and promote it. Moreover, the Tripura government has decided to reward students who get higher marks in Kokborok language from the higher secondary to post-graduate levels. Kokborok is the spoken language of various tribes such as Tripuri, Jamatia, Noatia, Kalai, Riang and many more. 70 to 75 per cent of Tripuras tribal population speaks the language.

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