FESOK warns of action if Hindi made compulsory
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, April 20 2022:
While demanding the state government to make its stand clear with regard to the Union government's decision of making Hindi language a compulsory subject in schools in all 8 northeastern states; Federal Students' Organisation, Kangleipak (FESOK) has cautioned of restricting all works associated with the language, if any attempts were made to make Hindi compulsory by force.
Addressing a press meet at Naorem Leikai Girls' Primary School, Kakwa on Wednesday, FESOK president Ningthouja Romesh informed that it would soon be organising a public discussion with experts regarding the centre's decision to make Hindi a.subject compulsory.
He continued that the Union government has made many attempts to suppress the language, culture, custom and religion of the Meetei community.
Of the 7000 languages in the world, only 100 communities are blessed with their own scripts.
Manipur also has its own script but it is now in danger of disappearing, he remarked.
Stating that over 56 percent of non-Hindi speaking people are against the government's decision of making Hindi compulsory when only 44 percent consider Hindi as their mother tongue; Romesh said that the move is an attempt to put the 'One Language, One Religion, One Nation theory into action.
The people in both the south and northeast regions of the country are against this move, so much so that the Nagaland government has already announced that Hindi will not be made compulsory after Class VIII.
Thus, the Manipur government should announce its stand on the matter as well, he asserted.
Informing that FESOK would be taking up steps to protect Manipuri language and script, Romesh demanded the state government to formulate a language policy, including allocation of funds for the same in the annual budget; transcribing all documents into Meetei Mayek script from Bengal script; organising mass training and awareness programmes for propagation of Meetei Mayek script; and for the government to take the responsibility of upgrading Meeteilon to the level of classical language.