SCRIPTING A LANGUAGE

As far as Dhaniram Toto knows, around two centuries ago, his people started moving out of the region of Mongolia and made their way to West Bengal where they founded Totopara and settled down. The Toto language, spoken by under 1,700 individuals at last count, had no script until Dhaniram Toto, 59, gave it one. For his achievement, he is being awarded the Padma Shri in 2023. He spoke to Careers 360 about the language, its speakers and the birth of the Toto alphabet. Edited excerpts.

- Pritha Roy Choudhury

Q. Can you tell us about the history of the Totos and their language?

A. We are Mongolian. To escape the cold and harsh terrain, our ancestors travelled to China, Bhutan and reached Alipurduar in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. Then, they went back from Alipurduar and reached Genchu in Bhutan, staying there for a while. But soon, they had to start moving again as clashes broke out with the native tribe of Genchu. Our ancestors were involved in shifting cultivation and the tribes of Genchu were doing the same. Instead of going north, they moved south until they reached Salsalabari near Alipurduar, their final settlement. At that time the Koch dynasty ruled the region. In the process of travelling from the Mongol region we came across the Chinese, Bhutanese, Koch, the Ranjbanshi (Bengali-Assamese language spoken in Nepal) people, and the people of Nepal and so, the language kept developing and changing.

Q. Why is the language dying?