The BJP-led Assam government has made Assamese the “compulsory official language” for all government communications in the state, barring Barak and the Bodoland districts, from Tuesday.
The notification issued by the state political department was made public by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday on X where he posted: “...Beginning this Bohag, Assamese will be the compulsory official language for all government notifications, orders, acts, etc, across Assam. In the districts of Barak Valley and BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region), Bengali and Bodo languages shall be used respectively.”
While Bengali is used in the three districts in the Barak Valley, Bodo is used in five districts. There are 35 districts in the state.
A decision to this effect was taken at the cabinet meeting on April 4. The cabinet had in September last year decided to implement 57 of the 67 recommendations of Justice (retired) Biplab Kumar Sarma for the implementation of Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord by this year.
Clause 6 of the pact states: “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”
Those pushing for the implementation of the clause fear the state’s culture, identity and language remain
vulnerable to the threat posed by influx.
All notifications, orders, acts, rules and guidelines issued by the Centre shall be published by translating into Assamese (Bodo and Bengali wherever applicable) within 30 days of its receipt by the department concerned, the official order said.
Legacy documents comprising acts, rules, regulations and notifications shall also be translated into Assamese (Bengali and Bodo wherever applicable) in a phased manner over two years, it said.
English shall continue to be used for communication with the Centre, its offices
and other state government establishments.