Indigenous Social Scientist · Inventor of Tani Lipi · Author · Cultural Preservationist
Founder — Tony Koyu Foundation · Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Dr. Tony Koyu is one of Arunachal Pradesh's most significant indigenous intellectuals — a man whose singular vision gave the Tani people something they had never had before: a written language of their own. He is a social activist, a cultural preservationist, a published author, and above all, the Inventor of Tani Lipi — the indigenous script of Arunachal Pradesh.
Born and raised in Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Koyu grew up witnessing the gradual erosion of the Tani Language — a rich, ancient tongue spoken by over 13 lakh people across Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, yet written nowhere. The language existed purely in the air — in stories told by grandmothers, in songs sung at festivals, in prayers whispered to the mountains. He saw that without a written form, this language would vanish within a generation.
That realization became the seed of his life's most important work. After years of deep linguistic research, phonetic analysis, and cultural study, Dr. Koyu developed Tani Lipi — a scientific, alphabetic writing system with 8 vowels and 18 consonants, carefully designed to capture the unique phonetic patterns of the Tani language family. He unveiled this script to the world on 2nd June 2000 — a date that has since become a celebration in the Tani calendar.
His work has been recognized by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, appreciated personally by the Chief Minister, presented at academic institutions, and embraced by millions of Tani speakers across India. He has continued to champion the script through books, a mobile app, and the institution he founded — the Tony Koyu Foundation.
"Tani Lipi is not a mere writing script — it is our pride and identity. It is our invaluable common intellectual property and the last hope to restore our language from going into oblivion."
— Dr. Tony Koyu"Adore your mother tongue and learn your indigenous script. A people without their language are like a river without water — they may exist for a while, but they will eventually disappear."
Understanding Dr. Tony Koyu requires understanding the land, the people, and the living culture from which he came — and the disappearing language that he refused to let die.
Dr. Tony Koyu was born and raised in Arunachal Pradesh — the "Land of the Rising Sun" and one of India's most culturally and linguistically diverse states. He grew up surrounded by the Tani-speaking people, their rich oral traditions, their festivals, their folk songs, and their deeply rooted connection to the land and their ancestor, Abo Tani.
As a young man, Dr. Koyu watched with growing concern as the Tani Language — rich, expressive, and ancient — began to fade. With increasing urbanization, education in Hindi and English, and no written form of their own language, Tani-speaking youth were slowly disconnecting from their mother tongue. He understood: without a script, the language had no future.
The question that would define his life was not complicated: "Why do we not have our own script?" Every major language in India had one. Every community with a written language had literature, education, government recognition, and cultural pride. The Tani people had none of this — and Dr. Koyu decided that would change.
Dr. Koyu pursued education with intention — studying linguistics, social science, and indigenous knowledge systems. His academic journey gave him the tools to approach language creation with scientific rigor, while his deep connection to his community kept him grounded in the cultural and emotional truth of what he was building.
Before Tani Lipi came into being, there were years of invisible work — studying the phonetic structures of Adi, Galo, Nyishi, Tagin, Apatani, and Mishing dialects; identifying the common sounds; designing letterforms that were elegant, learnable, and phonetically accurate. This was the foundation of Tani Lipi.
What sets Dr. Tony Koyu apart is not just the intellectual achievement of creating a script — it is his unwavering, lifelong commitment to his people. He did not rest after inventing Tani Lipi. He wrote books in it, built a foundation, launched a digital app, and continues to advocate for Tani Language's constitutional recognition today.
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The creation of Tani Lipi was not an overnight revelation. It was the culmination of years of methodical linguistic research, cultural immersion, and phonetic analysis. Dr. Tony Koyu approached the task not merely as a creative exercise, but as a scientific mission — with the full weight of a people's future on his shoulders.
He studied each Tani dialect — Adi, Galo, Nyishi, Tagin, Apatani, Mishing — identifying their shared phonetic core and their unique sounds. The challenge was to create a single script that could serve all Tani-speaking communities equitably, without privileging one dialect over another.
On 2nd June 2000, Dr. Tony Koyu unveiled Tani Lipi to the world. The script is alphabetic, written left to right, with 8 vowels and 18 consonants — 26 letters in total. Although it stands as a completely original creation with no genetic relationship to any other script, some letterforms carry subtle echoes of Bengali and Latin alphabets, making it familiar enough for learners to adapt quickly.
Studied and documented the phonetic systems of all major Tani dialects to identify common and unique sounds.
Designed 26 original letterforms — 8 vowels and 18 consonants — balancing uniqueness, learnability, and phonetic accuracy.
Tested the script with Tani speakers of different tribes, refining it based on real-world usage and feedback.
Tani Lipi was officially unveiled — a historic date that is now celebrated as the birthday of the Tani script.
Formally presented at a seminar at NERIST, Naharlagun — gaining academic validation and government recognition.
Every milestone in Dr. Tony Koyu's journey is a milestone for the entire Tani-speaking community — each step moving them closer to cultural preservation, linguistic pride, and constitutional recognition.
After years of linguistic research and cultural study, Dr. Tony Koyu officially unveils Tani Lipi — a 26-letter alphabetic writing system designed for the Tani Language. The date, 2nd June 2000, becomes a landmark in the cultural history of Arunachal Pradesh.
🌟 Founding AchievementThe Education Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dera Natung, officially approves Tani Lipi as the common script to be adopted by all state tribes — the first major governmental endorsement that gives institutional weight to the script and its creator.
🏛️ Government RecognitionTani Lipi is formally presented at a seminar hosted by the North Eastern Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh. The academic community's reception validates the script's scientific design and phonetic precision.
🎓 Academic RecognitionTani Lipi begins appearing in columns of the Echo of Arunachal Pradesh newspaper, becoming the first time the script reaches the mass reading public. This media milestone dramatically increases awareness and adoption of Tani Lipi among the general community.
📰 Media MilestoneDr. Koyu publishes novels in both Galo and Adi languages using Tani Lipi — making him the first author to produce formal literary works in the Tani script. He also published a novel in Hindi, extending his literary reach. These books are instrumental in teaching Tani Lipi to thousands of readers.
📚 Literary MilestoneThe Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Pema Khandu Ji, personally appreciates Dr. Tony Koyu's novels written in Tani Language using Tani Lipi — a powerful political endorsement that elevates the script's profile at the highest levels of the state government.
🏆 Chief Minister RecognitionYouth organizations including APATCYO, NYWA, GYO and others jointly urge the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh to officially adopt Tani Lipi as the shared cultural script of all Tani-speaking tribes. This collective demand demonstrates the community's deep embrace of Dr. Koyu's creation.
🤝 Community EndorsementDr. Tony Koyu formally establishes the Tony Koyu Foundation, a company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act (not-for-profit). The Foundation is dedicated to digitalizing, standardizing, and promoting Tani Language and Tani Lipi across Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and to advocating for its constitutional recognition in the 8th Schedule.
🏢 Institutional FoundationThe Tony Koyu Foundation launches the Tani Lipi Typing App on the Google Play Store — a landmark digital achievement that allows over 13 lakh Tani speakers to type, learn, and communicate in Tani Lipi on their Android smartphones. Tani Lipi enters the digital age fully.
📱 Digital Era LaunchThe official tanilipi.in website goes live, becoming the central digital platform for learning Tani Lipi, accessing resources, reading about Dr. Tony Koyu, and joining the growing community of Tani Language supporters. The mission continues, stronger than ever.
🌐 Digital Home EstablishedDr. Tony Koyu has not just invented a script — he has populated it with living literature. His published works demonstrate Tani Lipi's expressive power and have taught the script to thousands.
A landmark first — a full-length novel written in the Galo language using Tani Lipi. This book proved that Tani Lipi could carry the full weight of literary narrative and helped thousands of Galo speakers learn the script through the joy of storytelling.
A powerful novel in the Adi language written entirely in Tani Lipi. Personally appreciated by Chief Minister Shri Pema Khandu Ji, this work elevated Tani Lipi to political and cultural prominence and became a cornerstone text for learners of the script.
Reaching beyond the Tani-speaking audience, Dr. Koyu authored a novel in Hindi — bridging the indigenous world of Arunachal Pradesh with the broader Indian readership and demonstrating his range as a writer across multiple languages and cultural contexts.
Comprehensive educational materials for learning Tani Lipi — covering all 26 characters, vowel and consonant combinations, stroke order, reading practice, and exercises. The essential starting point for anyone beginning their Tani Lipi journey.
Dr. Tony Koyu's work is not just linguistic — it is deeply philosophical. It is rooted in his convictions about identity, survival, unity, and the sacred relationship between a people and their language.
For Dr. Koyu, language is not merely a tool of communication — it is the living soul of a culture. When a language dies, it takes with it entire worldviews, knowledge systems, medicinal traditions, ecological wisdom, spiritual practices, and ways of seeing the world that can never be recovered. Tani Lipi is his answer to this irreversible loss.
One of Dr. Koyu's most profound insights was that a common script could be the bridge between dialects. While Adi, Galo, Nyishi, Tagin, and other Tani tribes speak variations of the same language, the absence of a shared written form had always kept them culturally separate. Tani Lipi changes this — it is the common thread that weaves the Tani people into a single, unified identity.
Dr. Koyu believes deeply that the Tani Language deserves its rightful place in India's constitutional framework. Recognition in the 8th Schedule would mean government funding, educational integration, media presence, and most importantly — the dignity of acknowledgment. He sees this recognition not as a privilege, but as a right that 13 lakh citizens deserve.
Dr. Koyu understands that preservation without modernization is a dead end. A language that cannot exist in the digital world — that cannot be typed, texted, posted, or googled — is a language that young people will abandon. This is why he pushed for the Tani Lipi keyboard app, digital fonts, and the tanilipi.in website. His vision is ancient roots with modern wings.
"Tani Lipi is not a mere writing script — it is our pride and identity. It is our invaluable common intellectual property and the last hope to restore our language from going into oblivion.— Dr. Tony Koyu, Inventor of Tani Lipi · 2nd June 2000
Adore your mother tongue and learn your indigenous script."
Over more than two decades, Dr. Tony Koyu's contribution has earned recognition from governments, academic institutions, tribal organizations, and communities across India.
The Education Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dera Natung, officially approved Tani Lipi as the common script to be adopted by all state tribes.
Chief Minister Shri Pema Khandu Ji personally appreciated Dr. Tony Koyu's novels written in Tani Language using Tani Lipi — a historic political endorsement.
Tani Lipi was formally presented at a scientific seminar at the North Eastern Institute of Science and Technology, receiving academic validation.
APATCYO, NYWA, GYO and multiple tribal bodies jointly endorsed Tani Lipi and demanded its official adoption by the state government.
Featured in the Echo of Arunachal Pradesh and multiple regional media platforms — bringing Dr. Koyu's work to tens of thousands of readers.
The Tony Koyu Foundation's Tani Lipi Typing App was published on the Google Play Store — a global digital recognition of the script's importance.
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Registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, the Tony Koyu Foundation operates as a not-for-profit institution dedicated entirely to the preservation and digitalization of Tani Language and Tani Lipi.
To give his lifelong mission a formal institutional structure, Dr. Tony Koyu established the Tony Koyu Foundation — a not-for-profit company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act. The Foundation is the organizational backbone of the entire Tani Lipi movement, coordinating everything from digital tools to advocacy campaigns.
Based in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, the Foundation works across both Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, reaching Tani-speaking communities in rural villages and urban centers alike. It believes that technology, when guided by cultural purpose, is the most powerful tool for language preservation.
Launched the Tani Lipi Typing App on Google Play Store in December 2023 — free to download for all Tani speakers.
Built and maintains the official Tani Lipi website — the central digital hub for learning, resources, and community.
Actively campaigns for the inclusion of Tani Language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Produces learning materials, books, and guides to make Tani Lipi accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Works with tribal organizations, schools, NGOs, and government bodies to expand Tani Lipi adoption across communities.
Dr. Tony Koyu does not see his work as complete. He has a clear and ambitious vision for where Tani Lipi — and the Tani people — must go.
The ultimate goal — inclusion of Tani Language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, giving it official status, government funding, and the dignity its 13 lakh speakers deserve.
Every child in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam's Tani-speaking districts should learn Tani Lipi in school — from Class 1. The language must enter the formal education system permanently.
Expanding the Tani Lipi Typing App to iOS, creating a Tani language keyboard for computers, and integrating Tani Lipi into popular social media platforms and messaging apps.
Building a rich body of Tani language literature — novels, poetry, folk tales, history books, children's stories — all written in Tani Lipi, for all ages and all Tani-speaking tribes.
Connecting the Tani diaspora worldwide — whether in Delhi, Guwahati, Bangalore, or abroad — through digital platforms where they can read, write, and speak their language and stay connected to their roots.
Seeking national and international recognition for Tani Lipi as an indigenous script of cultural significance — including potential UNESCO recognition of the Tani Language and its unique writing system.
The preservation of the Tani Language is not a one-person mission — it is a community responsibility. Learn the script, share it with your family, download the app, and help carry this living heritage into the future that it deserves.