Agartala, February 21, 2026: Tripura Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s reported comments urging the adoption of the Devanagari script for languages of the Northeast, calling the move an attempt to impose “linguistic and cultural hegemonism.”

Shah had arrived in Tripura to inaugurate the Eastern, North-Eastern, and Northern Regional Rajbhasha Sammelan at the International Indoor Exhibition Centre in Hapania.

Reacting to the remarks, Chaudhury—who also serves as CPIM state secretary—said while the Official Language Department is free to promote Hindi, any pressure on communities to abandon their own scripts is unacceptable. He recalled his tenure as a Member of Parliament, where he served on the official languages committee, and stressed that such proposals undermine the region’s linguistic diversity.

“The suggestion that nearly 40 languages of the Northeast should adopt Devanagari, and that development efforts would hinge on this, is nothing short of a direct threat,” Chaudhury asserted. “This reflects a hegemonic mindset and is an attack on cultural identity. We strongly condemn such statements.”

He further alleged that the idea aligns with the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), reiterating that language and script are matters to be decided by the people themselves.

Marking International Mother Language Day, Chaudhury emphasized that communities must retain complete freedom over their mother tongues, including the choice of script. “People will decide the script of their language. We are against any kind of imposition,” he said.