Agartala, Aug. 25: Election to the autonomous district council (ADC) for indigenous people is barely eight months away and Tripura’s conflict-ridden ethnic politics has started hotting up with movements for a separate state and recognition of the indigenous language.

The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) organised a rally on Saturday demanding a separate state comprising the ADC areas. This morning, a five-member delegation of Movement for Kokborok met governor Padmanava Balkrishna Acharya to press for the inclusion of Kokborok language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum demanding the introduction of Roman script for Kokborok language.

“The honourable governor has promised to communicate our demands to the Union home ministry. He also made a commitment that he would do everything within the limits of his constitutional powers to help the cause of Kokborok language,” president of Movement for Kokborok Ranjit Kumar Debbarma said.

Describing the discussion with the governor “very warm, cordial and fruitful”, Ranjit Kumar said he was accompanied by secretary of the outfit, Benoy Kumar Debbarma, cultural activist Ruhi Debbarma and executive members Ramesh Debbarma and Brijesh Debbarma.

“After having discussed the matter with the governor, we are hopeful of a positive outcome. We may also visit Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh. If everything fails, we will have to launch an agitation,” said Ranjit Kumar.

On constraints in the study of Kokborok language, he said there is a “serious confusion over the script”.

He added that a section of indigenous people is using the Roman script and another section a “modified Bengali script”.