es is the ‘Karbi Lamarjong’ (2007), inaugurated at Guwahati Press Club on 25th August by ‘Asom Sahitya Sabha’ president Kanaksen Deka in presence of ‘Karbi Lammet Amei’ president Khorsing Teron and his colleagues. The book saw the light of day posthumously for Manik Teron whose efforts were continued to fruition by his associate Rajendra Timung (Tumung). And thanks to the laudatory works by various Karbi writers under the auspices of the ‘Karbi Lammet Amei’, the language can boast considerable growth of written materials representing the life and culture of the tribe. ‘Nepi Alam Ne Chinghon Chenam’ (ne/pi= my/mother, a-lam=language, chinghon=love/respect, chenam=ardenty/surely) — these words sum up the ideology of the ‘Karbi Lammet Amei’ (KLA) and one may hope that the organization takes up the process of digitally storing all the published materials at right earnest before usual unconcern devour them to total oblivion.
The Bible in Karbi, completed in 1954 under the active supervision of WR Hutton, probably remains till date one of the most voluminous works in the language, in terms of the number of words and pages used. Hutton, in his zeal, had not only translated great portion of the gospels himself, he even ensured that the Karbi Bibles reached every doors at affordable price. Thanks to the efforts of the likes of Hutton and his team of translators that had ensured that the Karbi Bible still survive as the ‘living words’ for many Karbi Christians in areas where the language is falling to disuse and death. The Karbi Bible of WR Hutton has already achieved a landmark by completing 50 years and yet, there is no effort to celebrate the occasion.
It is therefore evident that it is not the lack of a ‘grammar’ that has hindered the development of the language, but more of a lack of vision and direction on the part of the leading Karbi organizations and the successive leadership in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). Between 1908 (since the grammatical sketches of Lyall and Stack) till date, near about dozen 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 supplement