Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Amid the Bodo inscription removal row, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that Bodo language is a glorious and integral part of Assam's rich and composite cultural heritage, reflecting the beauty, diversity and strength of "our age-old civilisation".
The Chief Minister assured, "We are firmly committed to preserving, promoting and enriching the Bodo language as an essential part of our shared cultural identity."
He said the Assam Legislative Assembly will also take this commitment forward in the same spirit, giving the Bodo language the recognition and encouragement it truly deserves.
Meanwhile, the Assam Assembly Secretariat has clarified that the inscription has been removed for some repairing work. Describing media reports in this regard as completely false, the ALA secretariat in a statement said the Assembly has also not taken any decision to remove Bodo inscription from the Assembly building.
It may be noted that Bodo bodies have been up in arms since the last few days following reports of the removal of Bodo inscription from the new Assembly building.
The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) on Friday strongly condemned what it described as the systematic discrimination against the Bodo language, warning that the Bodo community may be compelled to revive the demand for a separate Bodoland state if repeated instances of administrative injustice and disrespect continue.
ABSU president Kwrwmdao Wary alleged that the recent removal of the Bodo inscription from the main building of the Assam Legislative Assembly was a deliberate attempt to undermine the language and the identity of the Bodo community.
Tension also flared outside the BTC Secretariat on Friday as activists of the Bodo National Students Union (BONSU), Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM), and the All Assam Tribal Students Union (AATSU) staged a protest against the removal of the Bodo-language inscription from the Assam Legislative Assembly building.
The demonstrators also burnt an effigy of Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass, accusing him of disrespecting the Bodo language and tribal communities.
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