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<div class="gmail-webonly" style="text-align:center;margin-bottom:10px" id="gmail-ROS_FIC_6511533965115339"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/7176/TOI/TOI_ROS_STRIP_PPD_980_0__container__" style="border:0pt none;display:inline-block;width:980px;height:40px"></div></div><div name="netspidersosh" id="gmail-netspidersosh"></div><div class="gmail-wrapper gmail-clearfix gmail-article-content-wrapper"><div class="gmail-main-content"><section class="gmail-title_section gmail-clearfix"><h1 class="gmail-heading1"><span>Asam Sahitya Sabha gives government two-month ultimatum on use of Assamese</span></h1><div class="gmail-brandwire_txt"></div><span><a target="_blank" class="gmail-auth_detail" rel="author" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Kangkan-Kalita-479220587.cms">Kangkan Kalita</a></span><span class="gmail-time_cptn"> | <span><span>TNN</span></span> | <span>Jul 24, 2018, 12:29 IST<time datetime="2018-07-24T12:29:14+05:30"></time></span></span><div class="gmail-leftsocial"><div id="gmail-widget-two"></div><div class="gmail-toiwidgets_social"></div></div><div class="gmail-topsocial gmail-actions"><div class="gmail-toiwidgets_social"></div></div></section><section class="gmail-highlight gmail-clearfix"><img src="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-65115374,imgsize-340152,width-400,resizemode-4/65115374.jpg" alt="A meeting between the Assam Sahitya Sabha and seven tribal organisations of the state in Guwahati on Monday" title="A meeting between the Assam Sahitya Sabha and seven tribal organisations of the state in Guwahati on Monday"><span class="gmail-img_cptn">A meeting between the Assam Sahitya Sabha and seven tribal organisations of the state in Guwahati on Monday</span></section><div class="gmail-article_content gmail-clearfix"><span><div class="gmail-section1"><div class="gmail-Normal">GUWAHATI:
Asam Sahitya Sabha, the apex literary body of the state, on Monday gave
a two-month ultimatum to the state government to <a class="gmail-key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/start-communications">start communications</a> pertaining to departmental work in Assamese, as per The Assam Official Language Act 1960, to promote the language.
<br>
<br>
<br>Raising concern over the decline in the number of Assamese-speaking
people to 48.38% in the recently published Census report, Sahitya Sabha
has demanded that the two state universities - Gauhati University (GU)
and <a class="gmail-key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Dibrugarh">Dibrugarh</a>
University (DU) - give students an opportunity to pursue higher
education in Assamese and not compulsorily in English, especially during
graduation. The Sabha also said Assamese must be made compulsory as a
subject across all schools.
<br>
<br>"The latest Census data is worrying for us. The Assam government, as
well as Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University, have to be blamed
for this alarming decline in the number of Assamese speakers and
speakers of some indigenous language. If urgent steps are not taken to
popularize the language from the school level to university level, it
won't be a surprise if the percentage of Assamese-speaking people
diminish to about 25% in the 2021 Census," said Sabha president
Paramananda Rajbongshi after a meeting between with seven tribal
literary organizations in the city.
<br>
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the meeting, Sabha officials said the state government must make
teaching of Assamese as a language and subject compulsory across all
schools located in the Brahmaputra Valley as well as Bengali-majority <a class="gmail-key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Barak-Valley">Barak Valley</a>.
<div class="gmail-last7brdiv"></div><br>
<div class="gmail-last6brdiv"></div><br>The 2001 Census had already set alarm
bells ringing among the Assamese community in the state, with the
percentage of Assamese-speaking people in the state declining from
57.81% (as recorded in the 1991 Census) to 48.8%. The 2011 Census
figures showed a further decline in this figure to 48.38%.
<div class="gmail-last5brdiv"></div><br>
<div class="gmail-last4brdiv"></div><br>Hitting out at the GU and DU
authorities for allegedly neglecting Assamese, Rajbongshi said
Assamese-speaking students are facing trouble as they cannot appear in
some vital exams conducted by the universities in English. "We demand
that the two state universities implement <a class="gmail-key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Assamese-language">Assamese language</a>
truly. Books meant for the university students should also be made
available in Assamese language. Besides, the private universities must
come out with an explanation within these two months on how they have
contributed towards promoting Assamese and other local languages,"
Rajbongshi added.
<div class="gmail-last3brdiv"></div><br>
<div class="gmail-last2brdiv"></div><br>During Monday's meeting with the seven
tribal literary organizations, discussions were held on the state's
language policy, which is to be suggested jointly by the literary
organizations to the state government in first week of August.
</div></div></span></div></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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