Sanskrit makes debut as Assam MLAs take oath in 7 languages

GUWAHATI: Ancient Indian language Sanskrit made its debut in the 14th Assam assembly session on Wednesday as newly-elected MLAs took oath in seven languages.

Published on: Jun 2, 2016, 08:48:45 IST

By Rahul Karmakar

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GUWAHATI: Ancient Indian language Sanskrit made its debut in the 14th Assam assembly session on Wednesday as newly-elected MLAs took oath in seven languages.

Hindi, the language rebels in the state say is representative of ‘colonial New Delhi’, too made an entry in the House.Actor turned BJP legislator Angoorlata Deka, representing Batadrava assembly constituency, took oath in Sanskrit.

Two other party legislators — Ashok Sarma from Nalbari and Bimal Borah from Tingkhong — followed the same suit. BJP’s Ratabari MLA Kripanath Mallah and Congress’ Lakhipur legislator Rajdeep Goala took oath in Hindi, while BJP’s Ganesh Kumar Limbu representing Barchala constituency used Nepalese language for the event. Sanskrit, Hindi and Nepali have been additions to four languages MLAs have traditionally used in the assembly.

These four — Assamese, Bengali, Bodo and English — are official languages for different regions of the state.

“I chose Sanskrit because it is the mother of all languages and the new generation needs to know the beauty of Sanskrit language and how it has connected to our cultural roots,” Angoorlata Deka said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rahul Karmakar
Rahul Karmakar was part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers. He no longer works with the Hindustan Times.

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