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.
“Ten of these awardees have received it for poetry, which shows the natural inclination of the Bodo writers towards poetry. It has been, however, observed that only two women have received the award,” the president said.
He urged the Sabha to encourage women authors and youths, who can enrich its language and literature further and make it more vibrant.
Kovind also expressed happiness over the translation works of other languages into Bodo.
The rich body of translated literary work is the characteristic of any vibrant literary community, and this will give an opportunity to the readers of Bodo language to get acquainted with other Indian languages as well as world literature, he said.
Several central government organisations, the president said, are making an important contribution to the protection and promotion of Bodo language, literature and culture.
He pointed out that the month of May is very important for Bodo people, as they remember Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma on May 1, which is his death anniversary.
“Bodofa had spread the message of ‘live and let live’ and this message of his continues to live on within the people.”
The president arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit to the northeast.
