NE Bengali literary body meet in Shillong

SHILLONG, May 20: The NE Bengali literary body (Uttar Purba Bangla Sahitya Sabha) held its annual meet here on Friday to discuss various issues relating to Bengali language and the Bengali identity in the region.
During the meet, delegates from different states of the region, including writers, poets, intellectuals, journalists, a retired Vice Chancellor and a sitting legislator, dwelt upon the state of Bengali literature in the region.
The Conference felt that the Bengali students were opting not to elect their mother tongue as part of curricula, which was a matter of serious concern.
It also exhorted the parents to encourage their wards to learn their mother tongue.
The conference also noted that the Bengalis were an integral part of the “rainbow” called the Northeast.
It recalled that the 1.5 crore Bengalis of the Northeast region were indigenous inhabitants of the undivided Assam and migrated to the peripheral hill areas long before the British had arrived.
It resolved to work in tandem with the local majority population towards a harmonious progress and protection of all identities and cultures.
The conference was pained that there was an unjustified propensity among a section of people to dub all Bengalis as ‘Bangladeshis’.
It further decided to constitute a 21-member coordination committee to fulfill the prime objective of the body to give fillip to use of Bengali language and to create fraternal liaison with other literary organisations of the region.