Protestors erased Assamese poster at Silchar railway Station and warned ‘Another 1961 is inevitable if they impose Assamese’

Today, Barak Democratic Youth Front (BDYF) and All Bengali Students Youth organization (ABSYO) jointly staged a protest at Silchar Rail Station premise against the installation of a government poster written in Assamese language. Their point of contention is that this Government poster violates and undermines the 1961 language pact that says Bengali language is the official language in Government communication in Cachar and Barak valley.

Members of both organizations gathered today and erased the poster, which displays Assamese language with Black ink and raised protest slogans against the alleged act of Linguistic chauvinism. They also appealed to the people of Barak to remove, erase the Assamese posters wherever they find them.

The protest was led by the BDYF members, Debayan Deb, Debraj Dasgupta, Hrisikesh Dey, Jaydip Bhattacharjee, and ABSYO delegates, Ajit Das vice president Raju deb, Rajib Das, Mithu Das, Samar Das, Tipul Das, Haradhan Dutta. They also issued a press release regarding the protest event.

“The government had accepted the Tri-language pact that came with the 1961 Language movement and martyrdom of eleven Bengalis in the Valley; according to the pact government agreed to recognize Bengali as the official language to be used in governmental proceedings in Barak valley and it is not unknown to the current government. Yet, they continued to install posters that feature Assamese Language, and this is not by mistake; we are apprehending a pattern behind this wishful mistake,” says Kalparnab Gupta, the convener of the joint organizing committee while addressing the protest.

He then went on saying, “The Dispur officials are trying hard to make Barak next Goalpara, as a few days back, Paramananda Rajbongshi came to Barak and spoke about making Assamese mandatory for elementary level education.”

“Our CM came down to Barak on several occasions. He came and visited Durga puja in Silchar. He talks about unity between Barak and Brahmmaputra, but his actions don’t reflect this. Our local representatives are also turning a blind eye to these incidents,” he added.

“This is the very place where people of Barak valley sacrificed their lives for protecting their mother tongue, and they are installing Assamese posters at this place time and again, to mock our emotion. We won’t let that happen; we will stand firmly against linguistic hegemony and Assamese sub-nationalism,” Kalparnob continued saying.

Kalparnob then pointed out other significant issues of Barak valley that need immediate attention: “No Neurology and Cardiology department are there in Silchar Medical College, even after five decades of its establishment, patients from Barak Valley have to rush to Guwahati or Shillong and countless others just die on the road. The works of Maha Sadak are pending; no land was allocated to the proposed multimodal logistic park. Works have already started for several medical colleges in Brahmaputra Valley, but there is no sign of progress for Karimganj Medical College.”

Protestors demanded that the government shed its narrow racial bias and take appropriate steps to fulfill the issues mentioned earlier. But they should never aspire to impose the Assamese language upon the people of Barak, as BDYF and ABSYO are committed to safeguarding the interest of Barak and its people.

ABSYO, Cachar committee president Raju Deb reminded that the Silchar Rail station is the site once bled with blood of language martyrs. If needed, the 61 like moment shall be unfolded again.