All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association Demands Recognition of Barak Valley Language Martyrs

Our Correspondent

Silchar, July 22: All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association on Saturday remembered and paid rich tributes to Jaganmoy Deb (Jagan) and Dibyendu Das (Jishu), the two martyrs who laid down their lives on July 21 in the year 1986 for the protection of their mother tongue Bengali in Karimganj district. The then Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) government led by the then Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta passed the SEBA circular to make Assamese the only medium of instruction in all the educational institutions across the state of Assam. In this regard, the people of Karimganj organized a protest movement against the State government’s chauvinistic and jingoistic attitude towards Bengali language.

They also pressed the State government to recognize Bengali as the medium of instruction and also as the official language of Barak Valley as already specified in the Official Language Act, 1961. Despite staging a sit-in demonstration in front of the Circuit House in Karimganj, all of a sudden, police opened fire. Such unprovoked firing claimed the lives of Jaganmoy Deb and Dibyendu Das and injured a large number of demonstrators. Yet, the State has not recognized them as well as the 11 martyrs of May 19, 1961, martyrs. Rupam Nandi Purkayastha, advisor, ACKHSA, stated that 855 martyrs of Assam Movement have been recognized and acknowledged as martyrs and given Rs.5 lakh to each of their family. He has urged upon the State government to consider the matter.