Letters to the EDITOR: Vernacular Medium Schools Needed

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Vernacular medium schools needed

There was a time when mother tongues and vernacular medium schools were at their best. All of us completed our schooling at these schools, and our choice was mother tongue. It is believed that mother tongue was just like mother's milk, and no other languages can take its place. Newborn babies gesture positively towards words spoken in their mother tongue, and their first words are uttered in their mother tongue, but to their dismay, they are forced to learn alien languages, which is detrimental to their spontaneous intellect. These children are then admitted to schools other than vernacular medium schools, and most of them were private schools. It is a matter of anguish that in Assam and other parts of the country, government vernacular medium schools are going to be closed one after another. Contrary to traditional institutions, private English medium institutions are mushrooming all over Assam, including villages; but to our pleasant surprise, most of the Assamese medium schools are surviving only in minority-dominated areas. Nowadays, many elite people like to speak and write in languages other than Assamese, though the language has been awarded classical language status. For survival of our language, we are to motivate our children to learn their mother tongue from an early age, and in this context, the Assam government has taken certain steps for the students of ethnic tribes to learn their lessons in their mother tongues at the primary level. Though we are advocating for mother tongue, we are not against English or any other language. After all, we have to save our mother tongue at any cost and make it worth speaking and writing for our future generations.

Benudhar Das

Galiahati- No.2, Barpeta

Litchi festival

of Tezpur

The news article 'Tezpur celebrates Litchi Fest marking 100-year legacy' with a photo of luscious litchis published in your esteemed daily on June 4 has made litchi lovers extremely delighted, as the celebration of the annual Litchi Utsav would definitely help promote the fruit domestically and globally. It may be mentioned here that the pride of Assam, Tezpur "Litchi Park", established on the elevated banks of the Dhuba Ponds in this historic town in 1835, has now completed 100 years this year. The centenary-old legacy of the Litchi trees, planted by the state's eminent litterateur Padmanath Gohain Baruah, the first president of Asam Xahitya Xabha, are now enjoying global recognition for their distinctive size, shape and luscious flavour and taste. Today, there will be few people in the state who have not yet tasted the unique juicy pulp of the prestigious GI-tagged Tezpur Litchi. Its each bite encapsulates the essence of this picturesque town. The fertile soil and perfect climate conditions have helped the fruit to grow with 60 per cent juice, making it ideal for producing squash and packaged litchi juice. The peel can also be used as an alternative to processed products. It is indeed a matter of happiness that PM Narendra Modi also highly praised the taste of Tezpur litchi through an appreciation letter to the CM of Assam. Now, there is a need for the state Agriculture Department to carry on comprehensive research efforts in collaboration with Tezpur Central University to ensure long-term market retention for fresh litchis. There is a need to make statewide efforts to boost litchi cultivation popular among the young people since Assam is ranked third in litchi production in the country. We, therefore, need an environment and awareness to promote the tradition of planting at least one litchi tree in every household across the state. All stakeholders should come forward and play a key role in integrating litchi cultivation with tourism while promoting the fruit internationally.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.

Koch Rajbongshi community of Assam

The Koch Rajbongshi community of Assam is considered one of the ancient tribes of Assam. They are generally concentrated in the lower part of Assam, especially in the undivided Goalpara district of Assam. But at present, Koch Rajbongshis in majority areas are under the Kamatapur Autonomous Council (KAC) that was established under the govt of Assam and is entitled to only the legislative powers. Koch Rajbongshis are the people who belonged to the dynasty of Naranarayan and Chilarai. The last king of this dynasty was Jagadippendra Narayan Bhopbahadur.

The staple food of this community is rice, but they also have their own traditional foods, such as sidol, sukati, patao, chepta gura and various others. The word Rajbongshi means those who belong to the dynasty of kings. They belonged to the Kshatriya varna, which means the warrior class. Worldwide, there are an estimated 11-12 million Rajbongshi people. According to the 1971 census, 80% of the North Bengal population were once of the Rajbongshi community.

As per the last 2011 census, it has been estimated that it has just come down to a mere 30%. The unchecked infiltration along the Indo-Bangladesh border and the intrusion of Bengalis caused a lot of demographic change over time. The population of Bengali Muslims was in the majority in some areas of Bangladesh, such as the Rajshahi Division, Rangpur Division, and some districts of Bhutan. The Koch Rajbongshis are scattered across the whole of Assam.

Manish Kashyap

Tripura University.