Change to Meetei Mayek by Feb 5: MEELAL to Manipuri newspapers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 28 2021: All Manipuri newspapers and journals published in Bengali script shall change the script to Meetei Mayek by February 5, said a resolution of a public meeting Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasillol Apunba Lup (MEELAL) called today.

The meeting that discussed the issue of changing the Bengali script being used in Manipuri newspapers to Meetei Mayek was held at Gandhi Memorial Hall.

The meeting also resolved MEELAL to spearhead the movement or initiatives with the cooperation of the people to enforce the change of script.

Further, it resolved to appeal the newspapers to avoid using foreign words in the papers as much as possible.

The meeting then took the decision to appeal the Government to take up initiatives to translate literature books in Bengali script to Meetei Mayek and formulate policies required to effectively teach Meetei Mayek in educational institutions.

It also resolved to appeal the DIPR (Directorate of Information and Public Relation) to produce a journal in Meetei Mayek script.

MEELAL Luchingpurel Yanglem Biren Meetei and Professor Wangkhem Nabakumar attended the meeting as functional president and moderator respectively.

At the meeting, MEELAL general secretary Huirem Loikhomba Meetei said the invention of script was the biggest achievement of human civilization and it reinforces and expands the human knowledge and understanding.

"We are lucky to have been given the Meetei Mayek script by our forefathers," he said.

Every race and community has their own language but the number of communities which have their own script is less.

The script is an integral part of the culture and traditional history.

It was unfortunate that the use of one's own script was affected due to colonisation and outside influence for many years, he added.

After years of movement, the Meetei Mayek was recognised by the Government in 1979 .

As the script was not fully empowered for another 20 years, MEELAL and other organisations with the cooperation of the people had started a mass movement and as a result in 2006, the script was introduced in schools at Primary level, he said, adding that the status of the Meetei Mayek now is not satisfactory and it needs more promotion.

"Even after 15 years since the introduction of Meetei Mayek in schools, there are many who are not familiar with or do not want to learn the script.

If this persists, then the status of the script will be same as it is today even after 1000 years.

Those who are not willing will not learn the script which has only 27 letters even in 1000 years," Loikhomba said.

He also mentioned that the students who were the first batch to learn Meetei Mayek in schools in 2006 have reached Master's level and they are not able to read the Bengali script.

The resolution to change the Bengali script in newspaper to Meetei Mayek was taken in the interest of the students who hold the future of the State, he said adding that the newspaper should not deprive the youth of their right and opportunity to read news and understand what is happening around them.

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