 Karbi grammars have come and gone, but we still rue the lack of one. A hard and realistic look must now be trained on the issue to make a departure from the past. Grammar writing is a professional and highly technical job and it cannot be left to trial and error methods. What is now required is to make use of the available materials and churn them with professional expertise for a detailed documentation of the language so that a ‘Karbi Grammar‘ can be obtained.
Of late, there has been a flurry of activities in newspaper publications from Diphu in Karbi language. The pioneer in the field is ‘The Arleng Daily’, which began publication since 9th June 2004, edited by TP Hanse. Within the next year, ‘Thekar’ started publication since 9th September 2005, edited by Longsing Teron. The two newspapers have helped emerge a new breed of Karbi language journalists in the making, and most importantly, an increasing readership across the hill districts. The Karbi newspapers have arrived and doing substantially well, capitalizing on the new found nationalistic fervor and in the process complimenting each other to some degree. But a word of caution though—the newspapers can either make or mar the language legacy if they are not extra careful in their attempt to dish out the ‘one-day best-sellers’. We must realize that —‘Language plays a great part in our life. Perhaps because of its familiarity, we rarely observe it, taking it rather for granted, as we do breathing or walking. The effects of language is remarkable, and include much of what distinguishes man from the animals, but language has no place in our education program or in the speculation of our philosophers.’
 Brown, Rev. Dev. Nathan-“Grammatical Notes on the Assamese Language”, first printed at Sibsagar Mission press in 1848, revised by PH more in 1893,and reprinted in August 1982 by ‘Assam Sahitya Sabha ‘ with an Introduction by its General secretary, Dr. Nagen Saikia.
 ‘The Mikirs’ (1908), from the papers of the late Edward Stack, and edited, arranged and supplemented by Sir Charles Lyall, United Publishers, Panbazar, Gauhati. P-73.
 Downs, Dr. FS, ‘The Mighty Works of God’, published by the Christian Literature Centre, Panbazar, Gauhati-1, Printed at Lakshmi Printing Press, Panbazar, Gauhati-1, 1971.
 Walker, GD, ‘A Dictionary of the Mikir Language’, Printed at the Assam Government Press, Shillong, 1925.
 Wright, Q, ‘A Study of War’ (1965), Chicago University Press, as quoted by William Echardt in his essay—‘Primitive Militarism’.
 From the library catalogue of Tübingen University, Germany, courtesy Dr. Karl-Heinz Grüßner.
 From the back inside cover information furnished in ‘Arelng Alam’, Hini Akitap, Klas B, Second Edition (Reprint), by P Andreas Hanse Durong, Marjong, 1973.
 Terang, Prof. Rongbong, ‘ Karbi Lamtasam’ [A Mikir-English-Assamese Dictionary], first published 1974, Printed by Debdas Nath, MA, LLB, at Sadhana Press Pvt. Ltd, Calcutta-12.
 The author is immensely grateful to Mr Owen Terang of Marme, Nongpoh, for providing information of P Andreas Hanse Durong. Special thanks also go to Sr. Lydia Pala, Head Mistress of the Umswai Don Bosco High School for the inputs on Fr. Balawan and the photographs taken from the Balawan Memorial Hall of the School, dated 1 Feb 2008.
 Bloomfield, Leonard, Professor of Germanic Philology in the University of Chicago, in ‘Language’, first published in Great Britain, 1935 and India Re-print in 1963 by Motilal Banarasidass.