GUWAHATI: The Assam government has issued an addendum to its earlier directive on the use of Assamese in official communication, incorporating provisions for the Karbi language in two districts. The recent instruction has now allowed the Karbi language to be used alongside English for official purposes in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong.
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The addendum follows the original notification issued on April 14, mandating the use of Assamese as the official language for government notifications, orders, and legal documents. The additional clause, inserted as Point 3(A), has been introduced to provide linguistic inclusion for Karbi-speaking regions.
According to the document, the use of the Karbi language in official correspondence will now be mandatory in the specified districts. However, English will remain in concurrent use for administrative coordination with the central government.
Earlier, in April, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had declared Assamese as a compulsory language for official work across Assam, coinciding with the Assamese New Year, Bohag Bihu. The directive, however, exempted the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and the Barak Valley, where Bodo and Bengali respectively will continue as official languages.
Notably, English versions of rules, acts, and court orders will serve as the definitive reference in cases of interpretation.