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<p><b>Guwahati:</b> Asam Sahitya Sabha will request chief minister
Sarbananda Sonowal to accept the language policy for school education
that has been agreed upon by it along with the literary bodies of eight
ethnic communities of the state.</p> <p>Sabha's general secretary Padum
Rajkhowa said they will send memoranda to Sonowal through the deputy
commissioners of each district with their demand on August 25, the day
when Oxomiya Bhaxa Unnati Xadhini Xobha, Sabha's precursor, was
established in 1888.</p> <p>The Sabha will celebrate August 25 as Bhaxa
Xonkolpo Diwas (Language Resolution Day) by placing various demands
before the Assam government to put pressure on Dispur to work for
Assamese language and literature.</p> <p style="display:block" class="gmail-_yeti_done">The
Sabha, the literary bodies of Karbi, Bodo, Rabha, Tiwa, Dimasa, Mising,
Deori and Garo communities and representatives of the state education
department, had met on August 7 at Kahilipara here to frame the language
policy for school education.</p><div class="gmail-more-from-homepage"> <h2>More from Homepage</h2> <ul><li> <span> <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/cabinet-nod-to-council-254493?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Cabinet nod to council"> <img src="https://www.telegraphindia.com/feo-cdn/0/4/vCHkqPdOQ.png" alt="The Telegraph" class="gmail-img-responsive"> </a> </span> <h4><div class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-container"><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/cabinet-nod-to-council-254493?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Cabinet nod to council" class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-text">Cabinet nod to council</a></div></h4> </li><li> <span> <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/writing-on-uae-facebook-page-254554?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Writing on UAE Facebook page"> <img src="https://www.telegraphindia.com/feo-cdn/d/y/RajXwkFLw.jpg" alt="Image" class="gmail-img-responsive"> </a> </span> <h4><div class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-container"><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/writing-on-uae-facebook-page-254554?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Writing on UAE Facebook page" class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-text">Writing on UAE Facebook page</a></div></h4> </li><li> <span> <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/three-die-in-landslips-at-jorabat-254488?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Three die in landslips at Jorabat"> <img src="https://www.telegraphindia.com/feo-cdn/b/t/XU7uP90cU.jpg" alt="Image" class="gmail-img-responsive"> </a> </span> <h4><div class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-container"><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/three-die-in-landslips-at-jorabat-254488?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="Three die in landslips at Jorabat" class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-text">Three die in landslips at J…</a></div></h4> </li><li> <span> <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/nrc-breather-for-orphans-254485?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="NRC breather for orphans"> <img src="https://www.telegraphindia.com/images/logo_200x200.png" alt="The Telegraph" class="gmail-img-responsive"> </a> </span> <h4><div class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-container"><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/nrc-breather-for-orphans-254485?ref=north-east-hmstory-stry-dtl" title="NRC breather for orphans" class="gmail-multiline-ellipsis-text">NRC breather for orphans</a></div></h4> </li></ul> </div> <p>Setting
aside all earlier differences, the Sabha and the eight literary bodies
had come to a mutual acceptance on a common language policy.</p> <p>The state education department is preparing the policy, which will have to be passed by the state cabinet.</p> <p>"We
want the chief minister to accept the language policy and pass it by
the cabinet considering the larger interest of development of all
languages of the state," Rajkhowa said.</p> <p>After the 2011 census
report revelation about shrinkage of Assamese speakers by 9.43 per cent
in two decades, the Sabha apprehends that speakers of Assamese and other
languages of various indigenous communities of the state will go down
further.</p> <p>"We want the chief minister to introduce a compulsory
language paper containing 50 per cent questions from local languages and
rest from the state official language in examinations for government
jobs," he added.</p> <p>Rajkhowa said they would also demand to make
Assamese compulsory in all universities of the state, supply Assamese
software in government offices, develop Assamese dictio</p>
<br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" 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">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>