Decolonising Kokborok: Linguistic Resistance and Cultural Assertation in Tripura

Language plays an important role in expressing and preserving cultural identities. Indigenous languages, which serve as the foundation of the cultural identity of Indigenous sects, however, remain mostly undocumented, leaving them exposed to external influences and threat of endangerment. This paper explores Kokborok, the language of the indigenous people of Tripura, in the light of linguistic inversion by Bengali through migrated population from Bangladesh. Kokborok, as the mother tongue of Tripura’s population, has primarily existed in oral tradition without an original script. With the formation of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1947 due to the partition of India, there was a flood of migration from Bangladesh towards the northeastern states, in which Tripura hosted many Bengali-speaking migrant populations. Though the presence of non-native speakers was evident in the state before, the heavy influence of language was evidently criticized after the state witnessed advancement in favoring newcomers with opportunities and employment. It was also bolstered by the adoption of the Bengali script for written records and official matters. Consequently, the indigenous language, Kokborok, became heavily influenced by the Bengali language, distorting its phonetic and structural features. This paper analyses how this linguistic imposition has misshaped pronunciation, meaning, and cultural narratives, impacting the everyday communication and identity of Kokborok speakers. The study also investigates the prolonged protest of the imposition of Bengali script on Kokborok by students, Indigenous communities, and political parties and how these contemporary protests shape measures to decolonize the language. This discourse of study considers the linguistic resistance of Tripura’s population against the influence of external languages as part of the contemporary cultural and social struggles of the Northeast to establish and proclaim their own centralities.