By IANS
Ranchi : Tribal bodies in Jharkhand have decided to boycott the seventh foundation day of the state to protest the denial of second language status to tribal languages.
“We will take out a protest march Nov 15, the seventh foundation day of Jharkhand. We will not participate in the statehood day functions,” said Suraj Singh Besra, convener of Jharkhand Tribal and Regional Languages Convention (JTRLC), an association of 15 tribal bodies, formed Thursday.
The movement, to accord second language status to tribal languages, gained momentum after the state government gave a second language status to Urdu on the eve of Id, irking the tribal and Bengali communities in the state
The JTLRC also announced launch of an agitation in all the 24 districts of the state from Nov 15.
“We will launch a statewide movement. This is indeed a matter of shock that tribal languages are denied the second language status,” said Ram Dayal Munda, former vice-chancellor of Ranchi University and a tribal leader.
In Jharkhand, tribals constitute 27 percent of the 27 million population.
Nine tribal languages, Santhali, Ho, Kurukh, Nagpuria, Karmali, Khortha, Panchapargania, Mundari and Kharia, are spoken in the state. Santhali and Khortha are spoken by a large section of the tribal population.