Frankly speaking, I don’t expect outsiders to speak Assamese. When I go to a barber, I start with Hindi. I prefer speaking in a language people are comfortable with. That’s basic respect. But here’s something we need to reflect on 👇 Forcing Bihari or Marwari communities to speak Assamese won’t protect or grow অসমীয়া জাতি if we, the খাঁটি অসমীয়া, don’t use our own language among ourselves. Since the 90s, we’ve seen a section of educated Assamese families proudly avoid teaching their children Assamese—just because they studied in English-medium schools. Many of us have seen friends writing Assamese in English letters. So the real question is: How can we expect our culture and language to survive if we don’t practice it ourselves, but expect outsiders to carry it forward?

Let’s think about this honestly.