Thousands of Kokborok-speaking students formed human chains across Tripura on Saturday to press their demand for the adoption of the Roman script for the language.

Kokborok, the second official language of the northeastern state, is the mother tongue of most of the 19 tribes.

The students under the banner of the United Movement Committee for Roman Script (UMCRC) formed human chains at 11 locations across Tripura and raised slogans for the introduction of the Roman script for the Kokborok language.

“The government must respect the sentiment of Kokborok-speaking people and introduce the Roman script," John Debbarma, the convener of UMCRC, a joint platform of Kokborok-speaking students, told reporters.

He expressed disappointment over Chief Minister Manik Saha's recent statements on the demand for the Roman script for the Kokborok language.

“A democratically elected chief minister can’t ignore the aspirations of the people. We hope that he will allow Roman script for the Kokborok language," he said.

Responding to the protest, the chief minister alleged that "some people with vested interests" were behind organising the human chains.

"I am not against Kokborok or English, but the script for Kokborok shall not be Roman script. Under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, a foreign language is not allowed. There is no bar in writing examinations for the Kokborok language in Bengali or Roman script," he said.

Saha exhorted the Kokborok-speaking people to discover their own script for the language because there is "no dearth of resourceful persons to do the job".

“Some people are trying to politicise the issue. There must be some persons behind the scenes, who are instigating the students to launch a movement," he claimed.