• Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura  

Agartala, January 19, 2022 : On the occasion of 44th Kokborok Day event, the Tripura government on Wednesday renamed Gandacherra to ‘Ganda Tuisa’ and Atharamura Hill as ‘Hachuk Beram’ in the indigenous language.

Gandacherra is in Dhalai district while Atharamura Hill range is located in Gomati, Khowai and West Tripura district.

Tripura’s chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb made this announcement during the celebration programme of 44th Kokborok Day at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan here in Agartala city on Wednesday morning.

Addressing the programme, Tripura CM said “From today onwards, Gandacharra sub-division shall be officially known as ‘Ganda Tuicha’ and Atharamura hills as ‘Hachuk Beram’. Both the words have been derived from Kokborok language spoken by the indigenous tribes living in Tripura.”

“With an aim to popularize and promote the indigenous language, these steps were initiated. Tourists coming from outside Tripura and abroad to Dumbur Lake and Narikel Kunja, will come to know about the indigenous language of Tripura”, he added.

Deb said “As maximum travelers are using Assam-Agartala national highway as means of road transportation, they will know about these names and inquire about Kokborok language. In this way, the mother tongues of major indigenous tribes of Tripura shall be promoted”

“We have received several proposals to rename different villages and hamlets where indigenous people reside but the decisions shall be considered after taking the significance of these spots”, he also added.

Tripura CM firmly asserted “It would not be wise that all the problems with Kokborok language or indigenous communities have been resolved, but the government are trying its best to address the issues”.

Deb also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for implementing New Education Policy which assured mother tongue in elementary education. “Although, Tripura is having diverse linguistic practices and cultures but the most widely spoken language in the state are Kokborok and Bengali. The government is ensuring that both the language get equivalent courtesy and admiration in offices and society”, he further added.

Appreciating the research works done on indigenous languages, Tripura CM released 12 books in Kokborok language and several handbooks are being introduced till class VIII today.

In this programme, Education minister Ratanlal Nath, Tribal Welfare minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia, MLA and Kokborok Language Development Advisory Committee chairman Dr Atul Debbarma, Education department secretary Brijesh Pandey and others were present.

Earlier, on the 42nd Kokborok Day celebration, Chief Minister Deb renamed Baramura Hills as ‘Hatai Kotor’ at a programme in Umakanta Academy, Agartala.