Volunteers of the MEELAL are at it again. They carried brushes fixed at the end of long poles and muck up the English or Bengali words in hoardings with black paints.
Something is very wrong here. I think majority of the people of the State supports the introduction of the Manipuri script. Majority of the ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats, people in the academia, students and the general public want it.
But the introduction of the script is not happening. What goes wrong here?
Agitation is ok. We now get the consent of the majority of the people by virtue of such agitations. The credit goes to groups like MEELAL. But they now reach a stage where they themselves should spearhead the introduction.
I think they could start with Monthly publications.
They could initiate a workshop of computer programmers to develop a software which would transcribe a paragraph of a piece in Bengali to Manipuri script. A desk editor should finish the transcription with editing. I think that’s possible.
We can start by producing 10% of every monthly published here.
90% + 10% of a Monthly would be of same contents—the difference would be in the scripts only. So, there should not be any extra cost incurred in regards to contents. The transcription would be done by the software. The only extra effort would lie in the light editing to check the errors likely to be made by the software. The only extra cost would come in the plate making process in the press. But the agitators, like MEELAL could persuade everybody in that particular area to reduce the cost to the minimum so that the final cost burden to the publishers be pulled down to such a low level that they themselves could be coaxed to pitch in their effort for the ‘cause’.
When we achieve 40-50% introduction in Monthlies we can come to the Weeklies and then, to the Dailies. When we achieve 40-50% conversion in dailies, then we would be mustering enough momentum for the introduction process to get its own steam and roll over to the finishing line by itself.
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5 comments:
Isn't MEELAL the same group that burned down the library? Trying to promote a language at the expense of another is downright silly. What good will burning of books written in bengali script or hindi going to do for the betterment of meitei mayek?
For people like me who cannot read the manipuri script, i still need the "English or bengali words". i have nothing against the script. But i am against the way they are trying to implement it. This is not something to be forced down our throats. Let us promote it, let it exist in peaceful harmony with the other languages. Why cannot we think of doing something constructive like having sign boards in english, bangla script and meitei mayek? i, for one, would not be able to make out a sign in meitei mayek as i cannot read it. i believe the purpose of language is to communicate our thoughts.
i wonder how many people in Manipur can read the mayek now. Shouldn't they be more concerned about trying to ensure that the script lives on instead of trying to destroy existing ones? Acts of arson only alienate people from MEELAL's cause. It is high time someone drummed that into their heads.
wandering gypsy,
Just like you, majority of the people is 'against the way they are trying to implement it'.But I think you got it wrong when you say they are trying to promote one language in expense of anther language--they are not doing that. All they are doing is to start subsituting the Bengali by Manipuri script.And they are not against having sign boards with Enlish, Bengali and Manipuri scripts. They are attacking sign boards which don't have Manipuri scripts on them. They are all for having sign boards with all the three scripts in them.
Like you, I'm ( and I think most of the people here) are totally against burning ANY book for WHATEVER the demands ANYBODY is trying to achieve.
I think it is high time everybody starts to chip in his/her mite for the the introduction of the script to start rolling on. But UNFORTUNATELY there seem many people among the agitators who see the agitation itself as the vehicle for getting a salaried job in Mnaipur Government schools.
That kind of perfidy really sucks.
I made a mistake.
They are saying it's ok to have signboards with English and Manipuri scripts.
They are attacking any signboard which have Bengali script in them.
They are also attacking any English language sign board which don't have a corresponding Manipuri script transliteration.
Yes, MEELAL is the same group that burned down the library.
It was the singlemost heinous crime in the recent past of Mnaipur.
But they are not ok with signposts with bengali script and meitei mayek?? Amusing when you think about the purpose of signposts and how many people can read english and meitei mayek.
Excuse my ignorance but who are the people behind banning hindi in Manipur? Is it another group?
May be, they are furious at Bengali for pushing their script out of use in some distant past!
Banning Hindi film is the handiworks of a underground group.
Btw, I've started reading your blog. I gathered that you are a coder. Also, you are getting some spam comments--that means you are in US!
How do you think about a software for transcribing Bengali to Manipuri script? If developed at all, how will you conjecture at its usability? Can it come near to the point whereby we can have a usable draft after giving it just a light editing by a copy writer?
I thought of asking these questions last night by commenting in your blog but I'm scared of the spam commentators.
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