The Chin University Students Fellowship has demanded the government on April 16 to solve the issue on the incorrect spellings of Chin people’s names when they are written in Burmese.
This demand was included in the statement of the 20th Chin University Students Fellowship.
Mai Van Mirem from the Chin University Students Fellowship said the Chin people often have to go to the government offices and some of them even have to take an oath due to the incorrect spellings.
“The meaning of the names became wrong in the spelling. We couldn’t reach the intention of the people that gave us our names. That’s why we are making this demand,” said Mai Van Mirem.
“If possible, I want them to use the Roman alphabet. If it's not possible, I want the government to accept the wrongly spelled names in Burmese if they have been correctly spelled in English,” said Salai Van Thawng Thang.
“They wrote Tlauhmun Village in Falam Township as Kalaw Mon [Village]. Sometimes when we read it in Burmese, we don’t know which village it is. There was a Chin soldier called Lal Khaw Sanga in the military but when his name was pronounced fast, it became Lar Khaw San Par. There are many inconveniences in writing beautiful names in the Chin language into Burmese,” said another student.
The Chin University Students Fellowship have also demanded the government to give priority to the development of the Chin State instead of spending Ks 30 million to build the statue of Bogyoke Aung San in Thantlang, Chin State.
“Rather than building this statue, we want [the government] to fulfill the needs for the Chin State’s development. We don’t want the statue,” said Mai Van Mirem.
The Chin University Students Fellowship has urged the parliament to immediately designate the Chin National Day as an official state holiday in the Chin State.
The Chin University Students Fellowship held its 20th conference from April 12 to 16 at the City Hall in Falam, Chin State and released the statement at the end of the conference.
