Guwahati, Apr 16: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that Assamese will be made the compulsory official language for all government-related work across the state. However, the Barak Valley and the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) will use Bengali and Bodo, respectively, alongside English for official purposes.

The decision, which took effect on April 15, is part of the implementation of the Assam Official Language Act, 1960. Under the new order, all government documents, including notifications, orders, acts, and regulations, will be issued in both Assamese and English, except in Barak Valley and BTR where the local languages will be used alongside English.

CM Sarma made the announcement through a social media post, stating, “Beginning this Bohag, Assamese will be the compulsory official language for all government notifications, orders, acts, etc., across Assam. In Barak Valley and BTR, Bengali and Bodo languages shall be used respectively.”

In addition, the notification directs that Central Government documents be translated into Assamese (and Bodo or Bengali where applicable) within 30 days. Legacy documents will be translated into these languages over the next two years, with support from university language departments.

For legal matters, the English version of documents will continue to prevail, and communication with the Central Government will remain in English.