Alleged Racial remarks in Narkel Kunj: Chakma students accuse VC Chairman
Agartala, Dec 31: Chakma student representatives vented anger and aaccused the Village Council Chairman of Narkel Kunj in Tripura of making racially offensive comments against members of the community living there.
At a press interaction held in Agartala on Tuesday, leaders of the Chakma Students’ Association alleged that Sukumar Debbarma, who heads the Narkel Kunj Village Council and is also associated with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), used derogatory language while referring to Chakma traders in the area.
I Watch press conference here I
According to the Pramukh of the Tripura Chakma Students Association Jivan Chakma, the VC Chairman Sukumar Debbarma allegedly described local Chakma traders as “Bangladeshi,” a remark they termed as racially insensitive and unacceptable.
The association further claimed that he made objectionable comments linking physical features, allegedly saying that people with less prominent noses should learn and know Kokborok.
The Pramukh of the Association said the incident took place on November 29 ( Corrigendum: In an inadvertent mistake, the date of the incident was wrongly mentioned. It should be read as December 29. Mistake regretted) Instead of and has since caused deep resentment within the community.
Condemning the remarks, the association demanded an unconditional public apology from the Village Council Chairman.
Speaking at the press meet, student leaders emphasized that nurturing one’s mother tongue is a constitutional right of every Indian citizen.
They pointed out that Tripura is home to 19 indigenous tribes, most of which have their own distinct languages, and not all tribal communities are conversant in Kokborok.
They also noted that several tribes, including Mog and Mizo communities, do not commonly use Kokborok as their primary language.
The association Pramukh further urged Tipra Motha Party (TMP) chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma to initiate appropriate action against Sukumar Debbarma over the alleged conduct, stating that such remarks undermine social harmony and mutual respect among communities.
Attempts by ‘Enewstime Desk’ to contact Sukumar Debbarma for his response were unsuccessful till the filing of this report.