The

Meitei language Meitei (; ) also known as Manipuri ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and an additional official language in four districts of Assam. It is one of the scheduled ...

(), also known as the

Manipuri language Meitei (; ) also known as Manipuri ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and an additional official language in four districts of Assam. It is one of the scheduled ...

(), is one of the seven officially declared minority languages, recognised by the Government of Tripura. Its promotion and development are done by the Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages, established in August 2012. In Meitei language,

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

is known as "Takhel" (). In Agartala, the capital city of Tripura, Meitei language is the fourth most widely spoken language, after Bengali, Kokborok and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, according to 2011 census.

Endangerment

There is a rapid decline in the number of native speakers of Meitei language in Tripura. It is mainly because they turn to Bengali language as a means of communication, in an increasing number. In April 2023, on its 59th annual conference, the "Manipuri Literature and Culture Council, Tripura" (MLCT) declared that the future of

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

in Tripura is uncertain.

Development groups

The 30 members of the "Advisory Committee for Development of Manipuri Language" works for the development of Meitei language in the state. The Manipuri Literary and Cultural Forum, Tripura works for the development of

and

in Tripura. It regularly works together with

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, India's National Academy of Letters, organising symposiums.

Writing systems

Students of Tripura origin, who pursue Meitei language as a subject in Master's degree in the Department of Manipuri, Manipur University (MU) are allowed to study in

Bengali script The Bengali script or Bangla alphabet (, Romanization of Bengali, romanized: ''Bāṅlā bôrṇômālā'') is the standard writing system used to write the Bengali language, and has historically been used to write Sanskrit within Bengal. ...

, even though the general writing system for the language subject was shifted to

Meitei script The Meitei script (), also known as the Kanglei script () or the Kok Sam Lai script (), after its first three letters is an abugida in the Brahmic scripts family used to write the Meitei language, the official language of Manipur, Assam an ...

since 2020. Manipur Government was also requested to urge the Government of Tripura to allow using Meitei script for writing Meitei language instead of Bengali script in the educational institutions, starting from lower classes.

Education

Schools

In Tripura, Meitei language was taught as a subject in three schools since 1998. By 2012, the number of schools was increased to 23.

Universities

In December 2021, Tripura University sent a proposal to the

Ministry of Human Resource Development Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

(MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) of the

Union Government of India The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territo ...

, to grant permission for providing diploma courses in Meitei language, and some foreign languages, like Japanese, Korean and Nepali. After getting approval, the University of Tripura offers diploma courses in Meitei and the other languages.

Literary awards

Every year, the Tripura branch of Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, a group that works for the development of Meitei literature, gives awards to different people recognising their contributions to the Meitei language. Some of the titles of the awards are, N. Chandrahas Memorial, Rajkumar Surendrajit-Sija Bidhumukhi Memorial, Leihao-Tembi Memorial, Dr. Bhupendranath, K. Chandrakumar & L. Gokul Singha Memorial awards. Moreover, the

Manipuri Sahitya Parishad The Manipuri Sahitya Parishad () is a literary council dedicated to the active promotion and the development of literary works in the Meitei language in India. in national as well as international levels. It has its branches in the Manupur citi ...

also gives awards to top 30 Meitei meritorious students of classes, 10th and 12th standards in Tripura. The names of the awards were Dr. T Biren Memorial, M. Radhamohan Memorial, C. Khalendra Memorial, L. Ratan Singha Memorial, Mutum Chitra Singha Memorial, T. Uma Memorial awards, among others. On the other side, Manipuri Literary and Cultural Forum, Tripura also gives " ''Babure Taramani Memorial National Award"'' to a eminent person living outside Tripura consecutive every two year and every year the following awards also gives ''MLCF, Tripura Lifetime Achievement Award, Khaidem Ningol Sagolshem Ongbi Achoubi Devi Ningsing Mana'' to meritorious two sttudent's who secure highest marks under Tripura Board of Secondary Education, ''Khoisnam Bangabir Memorial Young Talent Award, Rajkumar Wangolsana Ningsing Mana'' etc.

Mass media

Newspapers

"Marup" () is a Meitei language newspaper published in Tripura. It was first published on 8th May, 1969, by R.K. Kamaljit () in order to preserve the

, culture, tradition, and news about

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as Meetei people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." are a Ti ...

. Till then, it serves to be the only newspaper that publishes news about the Manipuris living in Tripura. Its readership spreads across the neighboring regions of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and the Indian state of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Demands

Ranjan, an Indian member of Parliament of

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, asked the Chief Minister of Tripura, to introduce Meitei language as an optional subject from lower classes upto 12th standard, in schools, highlighting the importance of promoting Meitei language among the Tripuris. The Meitei language speaking people of Tripura and other places together demand the official classical language status to be granted to Meitei language.

Language Day

Meitei language speakers and lovers annually celebrate the " Manipuri Language Day" on 20th August in Tripura, to remember the day on which their language was made one of the scheduled languages of the 8th schedule for the Constitution of India by Manipuri Literary and Cutural Forum,Tripura with colourful cultural programmes.

Representing Tripura in national events

2023

Sorokhaibam Gambhini (), a Meitei poet from Tripura, won the Sahitya Akademi Award 2023, for Meitei language category, for her work "Yachangba Nang Hallo" (, Go back Yachanba). She is the first writer from Tripura to get the prestigious award in the field of Meitei literature (or Manipuri literature). Khoisnam Birola (Meitei: ꯈꯣꯏꯁꯅꯥꯝ ꯕꯤꯔꯣꯂꯥ) has appointed first women member in Manipuri Language Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi,New Delhi for the tenure 2023 - 2027.

2019

In March 2019, on the

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, Konjengbam Sarita Devi (), a female writer of Tripura of Meitei origin, was selected in the "All India Women Writers' meet" organized by the

, India's National Academy of Letters, located in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, for reading Meitei language poems.

Representing Tripura in international events

Notable exhibitions

In Moscow International Book Fair, in September 2009, a book titled "Itihaser Aloke Tripura-Manipur" was shown. It was written in both Meitei language and Bengali language. The book was about the historical relation between

and

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. The Meitei and Bengali versions were written by L Birmangal & Pannalal Roy respectively. It was published by the Akshar Publications, a renowned publisher of Tripura state. It was shown by the National Book Trust Of India.

References

External links

{{Authority control Meitei language Tripura