Agartala, Feb. 14 -- Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday rejected the demand to introduce the Roman script for Kokborok, reigniting a decades-old debate over the script to be used for the indigenous language of Tripura's tribal communities.

The Kokborok language, spoken by nearly 14 lakh people belonging to 19 indigenous communities of the state, has long been at the centre of a linguistic and political controversy. For years, TMP, Tipra Motha Party, and its various wings, such as TISF (Tipra Indigenous Student Federation) and TSF (Twipra Student Federation), along with a few allied wings of TMP, have demanded the adoption of the Roman script, arguing that it would make education more accessible for indigenous students.

The is...