A CORRESPONDENT
SILCHAR: The Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha (NBMM) started a fast-unto-death agitation today near the office of the District Commission, Cachar, in support of a slew of demands, including the implementation of the Bishnupriya Manipuri language as a medium of instruction at the primary level, the creation of 300 Bishnupriya Manipuri language teachers' posts, and the inclusion of Bishnupriya Manipuris in the central OBC list.
In a statement issued to the media today, NBMM executive secretary Gopidas Sinha said that the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Students' Union and the Gana Sangram Parishad had resorted to a vigorous agitation for about eight years since 1992, demanding the implementation of the Bishnupriya Manipuri language as a medium of instruction at the primary stage. In a blatant violation of Article 350A of the Constitution after the martyrdom of Sudeshna Sinha in the language movement, the Assam Government implemented the Bishnupriya Manipuri language as a language subject, and not as a medium of instruction, in 149 primary schools in the Barak Valley districts on May 25, 1999, Sinha said.
"If the government overlooks our demands and forgets its own written resolutions, then we must inform Dispur that such negligence towards Bishnupriya Manipuris will have a major impact on the election," Sinha said.
According to the statement from Sinha, following a recommendation from the then Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma during the Sarbananda Sonowal regime at Dispur, the NBMM submitted a detailed report for the introduction of the Bishnupriya Manipuri language as a medium of instruction at the primary level to the authorities concerned on February 7, 2022, but to no avail. "Inaction on the part of the department - we approached Patharkandi MLA (now minister) seeking his help. On March 2, 2023, the MLA requested Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in a letter on March 2, 2023, to take a cabinet decision on the issue. The Chief Minister forwarded that letter to the Education Minister. Around three years have already elapsed, but to no avail. On December 12, 2025, we staged a dharna in support of the same demands. However, the government is silent on the demands. This fast-unto-death is against the injustice meted out to this linguistic minority community. The government has not conducted any special TET for the selection of Bishnupriya Manipuri language teachers, nor has it created 300 posts of language teachers as demanded," he said.
Mahasabha members said their demand for the inclusion of Bishnupriya Manipuri as a medium of instruction in primary schools, particularly in the three districts of Barak Valley, had received the government nod a few years back. On February 17, 2022, the Director of Elementary Education, in a letter to the Principal Secretary, stated that he had received reports from District Elementary Education Officers in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi regarding the issue. The report showed that in Cachar there were 61 primary schools having Bishnupriya Manipuri-speaking students. In Hailakandi, the number was 18; in Karimganj, it was 62.
Moreover, on June 22, 2023, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of School Education, in a letter to the Director of Elementary Education as well as to the Director of SCERT, asked them to map out trained assistant teachers with proficiency in the Bishnupriya Manipuri language who could be posted in the primary schools.
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