GUWAHATI, March 5 - Opposing the State Government�s move to make Sanskrit compulsory in school education, the Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabhas, Assam, a conglomerate of eight tribal Sahitya Sabhas, today threatened a mass movement if the decision is not withdrawn.
�Instead of making Sanskrit compulsory, the government should introduce every tribal language of the State as a medium of instruction at the primary level or as a subject,� a statement from the ITSSA said following a discussion on the issue.
The tribal Sahitya Sabhas had been pressing the government to formulate a healthy tribal language policy so that the children of the indigenous tribals can be imparted education in their mother tongues.
�While we have had several rounds of discussion with both the Central and State governments on it, the move to forcibly introduce Sanskrit will deprive the students of learning their mother tongues. This is not acceptable to us,� the organisation, comprising Bodo, Rabha, Karbi, Mising, Deuri, Tiwa, Garo and Dimasa Sahitya Sabhas said.
