Tamulpur
President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday urged the Assam government to make all possible efforts for the promotion and growth of Bodo language and literature.
Addressing the 61st annual conference of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) here, he said it has played a significant role in ensuring that Bodo is included as a medium of education in both school and higher educational institutions.
Bodo has been declared as the official language of the state and the “protection and promotion of a language is the responsibility of both the society and the government. I urge Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to make all possible efforts in this direction,” the president said.
He asserted that peace and harmony along with development initiatives taken by both the central and Assam government has led to the setting up of more educational institutions in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
“The atmosphere of harmony and peace in the region is becoming stronger with the joint efforts of the Centre and the state governments of the northeastern region. The development works have an important role in this change. I appreciate the positive role of the governments and the people of the region,” he said.
Kovind also recalled former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s contribution in ensuring that Bodo was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 2004.
More than 35 lakh people speak Bodo, including in West Bengal, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland and also in Bangladesh and Nepal.
“I am glad that representatives of these states and countries are present in the Sabha’s conference today,” he said.
“Many scholars and authors have enriched the Bodo language and literature. and so far 17 writers have been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Awards for their works in Bodo language.
