Jan 31 deadline for Assamese on signboards

Probe ordered into punishment to students in city school for speaking in Assamese

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Jan 20: The Kamrup metropolitan administration today instructed all commercial, semi-commercial and private institutions in the city to use Assamese as primary language on their hoardings and signboards.  

"It is hereby ordered that the primary medium of communication in all institutions - both government and private - must be Assamese. Moreover, all signboards, hoardings, banners etc of all commercial, semi-commercial and private institutions must primarily be in Assamese," an official order said.

The commercial establishments will have to comply with the order by January 31.

"After January 31, we will be forced to remove any signboard or hoarding which violate this order," deputy commissioner M Angamuthu said.

In a separate order, the administration also ordered an inquiry into the incident at Little Flower School in which thirteen students were allegedly punished for speaking in Assamese during class hours.

The inquiry will be conducted by Assistant Commissioner Pratima Rangpipi. She has been asked to submit the probe report within seven days.

Thirteen students were allegedly barred from having their tiffin and made to stand for one and half hours for the offence.

The incident sparked a row, with activists from the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Axom Xahitya Xabha (AXX) staging a demonstration at the school gate today.

"The magement should ensure discipline, but they cannot punish students for speaking in their mother tongue. We blame the administration and the Education department for the incident. Such incidents have occurred in the past, but the government has failed to tame the private institutions who have hatched a conspiracy to destroy the Assamese language," general secretary of All Guwahati Students Union Raifuddin Ahmed said.

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