The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) president Dipanka Nath while reacting to the recent events of Assamese hoarding being smeared with black ink in Assam's Barak Valley, said, "A section of people in Barak are doing such things against the Assamese language. But it is unfortunate that the common people, conscious people, intellectuals, academicians and others have not raised a single voice against it. Now it is time for them to protest and speak up against such actions".
Noted Assamese writer Dr. Nagen Saikia regretted such things and said Barak should be separated. But the AASU, citing policy and organizational reasons, are not looking for any kind of separation.
The AASU president said, "Previously, two presidents of 'Sahitya Sabha' had called for the separation of Barak. Then Dr. Nagen Saikia had opposed it. But the Assamese language has been time and again besmirched in Barak Valley, prompting such a response from the renowned writer."
He then added "We have appealed to the state government for the arrest of Pradip Dutta Roy. He has been speaking ill against the Assamese language for a long time. Now, the Assamese language sign boards have been changed to Bengali. We request the government for actions against everyone involved in this incident."
Mr. Nath also went on to say that, "According to language law, Assamese is to be used in the entirety of Assam. But the clause 5 in this law states that in Barak Valley, Bengali may be used in addition to Assamese. Hence, the removal of Assamese sign boards makes no sense. We condemn this act and request for the arrest of Pradip Dutta Roy."
