IMPHAL, April 11 (NNN): Union Home minister Amit Shah’s comment on making Hindi compulsory in all eight north-eastern states up to Class X drew opposition from various civil society organisations and students’ bodies in Manipur on Sunday.
Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasillou Apunba Lup (MEELAL), a body campaigning for the revival and popularisation of the indigenous Manipuri script on Sunday said that the move is a part of carrying out BJP’s “one nation, one language, one religion”. “Now, the time has come for the legislators of the state to stand united against such a move that will destroy the languages, religions, cultures, traditions of the indigenous communities of the northeast region,” MEELAL said in a statement. It further urged the legislators to take up necessary steps for the development of Manipuri language and its original scripts.
The statement warned that MEELAL will always stand against such BJP’s agenda in Manipur.
Also reacting to Amit Shah’s comment, Federal Students’ Organisation Kangleipak (FSOK) alleged the BJP has been trying to eliminate the indigenes of the region in order to fulfill its RSS backed “one nation, one language, one religion” agenda. It said that language is the wealth of a community. “Eliminating the language means abolishing the religion, culture and tradition of the community,” the student body also said.
