On Sunday, the Tripura government felicitated Rabi Mohan Karbong, a representative of an endangered ethno-linguistic tribal group in the state, on the occassion of International Mother Language Day. It also announced steps to rename different places in indigenous tribal dialects as a sign of respect and recognition to the communities.

Speaking at an event at Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan in state capital Agartala to mark International Mother Language Day, Chief Minister Biplab Deb said that his government is committed to giving equal importance and recognition to all indigenous communities. He said that while he can speak in different languages such as English, Hindi, and Punjabi, there is only one, his mother tongue Bengali, through which he can truly express his emotions.

“We speak different languages but cannot connect with all of them. Only our mother tongue can bind us to our roots. We should protect our mother tongue as it represents emotion, accent, clarity, non-verbal body language and most of all, who we are,” the CM said, that the Centre’s New Education Policy, has stressed on learning in one’s mother tongue till the fifth standard.

The state is home to 19 tribal communities, including the ancient Tripuri clans and those of the Halam community, of which only a handful are left who speak their native tongues.