Khonsa, Feb 28: Two books and a documentary film on the culture and language of Kaasik were released today at Noksa village in Tirap.
The Kaasik is one of the speech varieties of the Nocte tribe which is known as Khapa. The domain of the Kaasik language is confined to Noksa, Pullung, Old Tupi and New Tupi. It is a highly endangered language classified under ethnolinguistics cluster of Arunachal Pradesh.  According to the 2011 census, Kaasik speakers are only 1215.
The book titled “The Language and Ethnography of the Kaasiks of Arunachal Pradesh” authored by Lienjang Zeite, Kaling Dabi, Kombong Darang, Rebeka Borang, Chera Devi and Rumi Deuri, a dictionary titled “Kaasik-English Dictionary” compiled by Mechek Sampar Awan,documentary film ‘The Songs We Sing, The Drums We Beat’ directed by Kombong Darang and produced by Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL), Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies, Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) was also released and screened during the programme.
Circle Officer Dr. Ripi Doni congratulated the CFEL-AITS research team on successful completion of the project. She also urged the Kaasik community to preserve their language and culture. 
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Wanglit Mongchan expressed his gratitude to the community members for their cooperation in carrying out the research. He further stated that these research outputs will be useful as teaching material for schools while implementing the new education policy.
The Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL), Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies (AITS), Rajiv Gandhi University is a research Centre sponsored by UGC. The Centre has been actively functioning since 2016. The main purpose of the Centre is to carry out multidisciplinary study and documentation on the languages and cultures of Arunachal Pradesh. The research team of CFEL carried out extensive study and documentation on the Kaasik community for about 3 years since 2017 and produced an ethnographic film and two books whish was released today.
The program was organized by CFEL in collaboration with the native speakers of Noksa village. Prof. S. Simon John, Coordinator, CFEL and the Executive Editor of the books, Tailyang Nampi (PhD scholar) along with the research team participated in the programme. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
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