Assamese hoarding: BDYF files FIR against Jal Jeevan Mission, alleges violation of Language Act

Oct. 19: The controversy which erupted over the use of ink on an Assamese language government hoarding at the Silchar railway station premises has now reached the police. The hoarding was put up during the recently concluded Durga Puja by ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. The writing on the hoarding was in Assamese language. An FIR to this effect was lodged on Monday by ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, wherein two groups and few individuals were named for smearing black ink on the hoarding. On Tuesday, a counter FIR was lodged at Silchar Sadar Police Station by Barak Democratic Youth Front (BDYF) alleging violation of “The Assam Official Language (Amendment) Act, 1961.

The FIR lodged by BDYF on 19 October against the Chairperson of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, Cachar, Assam stated, “A banner of Jal Jeevan Mission, Assam was displayed in the premises of Silchar Railway Station. The main issue of concern is that the poster was in Assamese language. First, this poster has violated Section 5 of THE ASSAM OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1961.”

In the FIR, BDYF quoted relevant sections of the Language Act: “Without prejudice to the provisions contained in Section 3, the Bengali Language shall be used for administrative and other official purposes upto and including the district level in the District of Cachar”. They further wrote that, “Section 5 clearly mentions that Bengali Language shall be used for all administrative and official purposes in the District of Cachar and contrary to this Section, Jal Jeevan Mission of Assam has displayed the said poster in Assamese language. This a clear violation of Section 5 of THE ASSAM OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1961.

Secondly, they stated, “The poster seems to hurt the sentiments of Bengali people residing in Barak Valley, the reason being, Jal Jeevan Mission had the audacity to display the poster exactly in the premises of Tarapur Railway Station where on 19th May, 1961, 11 people sacrificed their lives for the protection of Bengali language against imposition of Assamese language in Cachar. It is an insult to the sacrifice of the 11 martyrs. In view of the above narrated circumstances, we hereby request the Honorable Concerned Authority to take strict action under relevant provisions of law against Jal Jeevan Mission, Cachar Assam for the above mentioned violations.”

Infact,  the hoarding became the topic of discussion in social media portals. Many opined that as Bengali is the official language for the people of Barak Valley, so why is the government putting up hoardings in Assamese. Few netizens even alleged that a hidden agenda is being pursued by Dispur in a subtle way by putting up such hoardings and thereby indulging in linguistic aggression. When such debates were ripe in social media platforms, two organisations- Barak Democratic Youth Front (BDYF) and All Bengali Student-Youths went to the railway station on Sunday and erased the Assamese writing on the said hoarding with black ink and wrote below it “Write in Bengali.”

Kalparnab Gupta, chief convener of the Barak Democratic Youth Front, said Bengali was recognized as the official language of Barak Valley at the cost of the lives of 11 youths in 1961. “We cannot allow linguistic aggression and thereby insult the supreme sacrifice made by the language martyrs in that very station premises where the Assamese hoarding was put up. This is indeed in sharp violation to the Official Language Act of Assam,” said Mr Gupta.

Reacting to this incident, several groups including All Assam Student Union (AASU), Asom Jatiya Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Bir Lachit Sena leader Shrinkhal Chaliha and various Assamese organizations have become vocal about the incident of putting black ink on Assamese hoardings. According to them, this insult to the Assamese language in Assam is painful. This cannot be accepted.

Also Read: Black ink smeared on Assamese hoarding at Silchar Rail station; FIR lodged