Silchar: The Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan on Sunday protested the alleged exclusion of Bengali from Assam University’s digital library project and demanded its immediate inclusion, warning that the move could hurt linguistic sentiments in the Bengali-dominated region.Sammelan spokesperson Gautam Prasad Dutta said omitting Bengali ignored the region’s demographic character, linguistic history and the movement that led to the establishment of the central university in Silchar. “We have come to know that the Bengali language has failed to find a place in the digital library. This goes against the spirit of an institution that is the outcome of a long struggle by the people of Barak Valley,” Dutta said.He said Bengali was recognised as the official language of the Barak Valley under the amended Assam Official Language Act following the 1961 language movement.“Against this backdrop, excluding Bengali from the digital portal of a central university in Barak Valley is unacceptable and is bound to trigger resentment,” Dutta said.The organisation alleged that attempts were being made from different quarters to alter Barak Valley’s linguistic identity and said the university’s digital library project appeared to be another instance of such efforts.As vice-chancellor Rajive Mohan Pant was away from Silchar, the Sammelan conveyed its objection to Registrar Pradosh Kiran Nath on Saturday and demanded that the decision be reversed.
