Hindi policy ploy to uproot indigenes: PREPAK-2
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, April 11 2022: While recalling historical event of consigning to flames books written in indigenous Meetei script and replacing by Bengali script, the PREPAK statement said that learning English and Bengali script were given more emphasis than Meetei script even during the British protectorate period and the indigenous script that existed since time immemorial in the Kanglei society was almost on the verge of extinction at one point of time.

Even after Kangleipak (Manipur) became part of India from 1949, several indigenous languages including Kanglei language faced gradual extinction as people of the land were forced to learn Hindi.

The PREPAK statement further said it was not territory of Kangleipak alone that India occupied in 1949 but the occupation also included people, both spoken and written languages, culture, religion, tradition and discipline.

Hence, it is the bounden duty of India to keep intact and promote all these social aspects and values and it is against international laws that India is trying to do away with all these values .Besides, India should have taken consent of states before taking the Hindi imposition decision as education is under concurrent list, the PREPAK statement pointed out, adding that Amit Shah's announcement also violated provisions of Indian Constitution.

Different articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples guaranteed indigenous people across the globe the right to defend themselves when they are forced to adopt foreign thoughts and ideas or try to sabotage their indigenous culture and tradition.

These articles also grant indigenous peoples the right to learn their own languages as per international norms and enact their own educational laws and establish educational institutions.

Children of indigenous peoples could learn till their desired goal or learn till the stage they want.

According to PREPAK, Kanglei people have been working hard to replace Bengali script by indigenous script for the past some years.

People of the land want equal promotion of not only Kanglei language locally known as Meeteilon but also other languages like Thadou-Kuki, Tangkhul, Rongmei, Vaiphei, Zou, Hmar, Kom, Mizo, Paite, Mao, Liangmei, Gangte, Poumei, Maring, Simte, Anal, Maram and Zeme as language is inseparable to assets and rich culture left by forefathers of the land.

Language continues to be the biggest weapon in preserving both tangible and intangible culture and traditions apart from being the catalyst in enhancing thoughts and ideas of a society or a particular community.

Language also not only serves as the sole component in unifying a society but also enhances economic ideas, the PREPAK statement said, adding that it is natural for a community to become extinct when its language is no more spoken and impossible for a society to survive when its culture and language disappear.

Today's India is not a nation state but is in the process of becoming a nation state.

In order to achieve this goal, 'Akhand Bharat' is being propagated while destroying identity of different independent nations annexed by India.

Defending this process with people's unity is the only way to save ourselves as there is no other means.

Though it is a long-term policy of the 'Bharat' government to make Hindi the lingua franca of all states of India, this policy indeed will affect integrity of the nation having different communities, languages, culture and religions.

Education is under the concurrent list and the government of India cannot act at will and hence the government of Manipur must take steps as per pulse of the people, PREPAK stressed.

While maintaining that 'One language, one nation, one religion' formula cannot be applicable in most parts of India particularly in Kangleipak, the statement pointed out that southern states of India like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and others have taken firm stand again Hindi imposition while claiming that they have their own language.

Imposition of Hindi up to class X also contradicts the National Education Policy-2020 which has provision for teaching students up to class VIII in their mother language, the PREPAK statement further pointed out, and reminded the people that time has come for WESEA people to collectively fight against the policy being initiated to uproot entire indigenous people of the region.

(Concluded) .

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