Two senior academics resign as members of Kamtapur Bhasa Academy, allege political interference

Announced by Mamata Banerjee in 2017, Kamtapur Bhasa Academy was formed in 2018 for conservation and propagation of Kamtapuri

TT, Jalpaiguri, 10.04.24 : Two senior academics on Tuesday resigned as members of the Kamtapur Bhasa Academy, alleging political interference.

Announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in 2017, the Kamtapur Bhasa Academy was formed in 2018 for the conservation and propagation of Kamtapuri, a variant of the Rajbanshi language.

Dhirendranath Das, who was the vice-president in the 11-member committee of the academy, and Narendranath Das, an executive member, gave their resignations to the member-secretary of the body in Jalpaiguri.

“We faced neglect for months as we were not even called to the meetings of the academy. Most members now in the committee are from political backgrounds. There is hardly any academic. We felt it better to walk out of the committee,” said Dhirendranath, a prominent academic in the Rajbanshi community.

Narendranath said the academy, tasked with creating schoolbooks in Kamtapuri and a syllabus so that the language can be introduced as a medium of instruction, comprises political persons.

“Barring the member-secretary, a bureaucrat, most other members are from the political field and were never known as academics. We don’t know how their presence here will serve the purpose,” he said.

This March, Amit Roy, who heads the Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) and is the son of the KPP founder Atul Roy, was made the chairman. He promised to back Trinamul in the general election, which caused a flutter in his party.

Roy said he would hold a meeting on the academy's issues after the polls, adding he couldn't earlier as poll dates were announced soon after his appointment.

Courtesy & source- The Telegraph