AASU signs MoU to digitally preserve state’s 3 endangered indigenous languages

Guwahati, April 23: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), on Wednesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Guwahati-based foundation at Swahid Bhawan to digitally preserve three critically endangered indigenous languages—Khamyang, Tai Phake, and Singpho—under the “Digitalizing Assam” initiative.

The five-month pilot project aims to archive literature in these languages, each spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, in a bid to prevent their extinction.

The initiative is part of a broader community-driven platform dedicated to safeguarding Assam’s rich linguistic heritage through digital means.

Guided by endangered language expert Palash Kumar Nath, the project will focus on documentation, indexing, and archiving of rare linguistic content, with the local community playing a central role in the process.

The digitised material will be made publicly accessible via the Digitalizing Assam web platform.

The AASU signing an MoU with a city-based foundation to preserve critically endangered languages (AT Photo)

According to field studies, Khamyang is at the brink of extinction, with reportedly only one individual fully proficient in reading, writing, and speaking the language.

“Beyond this person, the living thread of the language may be lost entirely,” AASU said in a statement, raising an alarm over the rapid disappearance of indigenous linguistic traditions.

In addition to digital preservation, AASU plans to explore avenues for revitalising these languages under the ambit of Clause VI of the Assam Accord in forthcoming consultations with the state government.

The MoU was signed by AASU President Utpal Sarma, General Secretary Samiran Phukon, and Mrinal Talukdar, Secretary of the partner foundation. AASU Chief Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya was present at the ceremony.

So far, the ‘Digitalizing Assam’ initiative has digitised more than 2.9 million pages of rare Assamese literature and made them available as open-source resources.

“This collaboration between students and citizens is a vital step to ensure that Assam’s endangered knowledge systems remain accessible to future generations,” AASU said.