At 16, Assam Student Building ‘desicodes’ to Teach Northeast to Code in Its Own Languages

Guwahati, Nov 3: When 16-year-old Huma Abia Kanta sits at her study desk, she doesn’t just write school notebooks — she is writing code for the Northeast to facilitate native students of the region learn coding in their own language.

Her creation, desicodes, is a new multilingual programming platform in development designed to make coding accessible to millions of students who learn in India’s regional languages. The platform translates instructions written in Assamese — or soon Bodo, Khasi, Mizo, and other Northeast Indian languages — directly into Python, one of the world’s most popular programming languages.

“It always bothered me that coding felt like an English-only world,” Huma says in an interview. “When I realized that so many bright students hesitate to even try programming because of language, I wanted to change that.”

Coding in the Language of Home

The prototype, called asPy (Assamese-to-Python), will allow users to type code using Assamese keywords inside Visual Studio Code, the popular open-source developer environment. The system will then instantly convert the Assamese script into Python code and will run it, displaying the output side by side.

Huma says the goal is to remove the “translation anxiety” students face when learning computational logic through a language they don’t fully command. “It’s not about simplifying coding,” she explains. “It’s about letting logic speak in your voice.”

The upcoming desicodes.com web platform will host all language-specific transpilers, along with video tutorials, online coding sandboxes, and community challenges. Users will also be able to join as volunteers — helping translate programming terms, create regional tutorials, and mentor other learners.

A Movement for Digital Inclusion

Beyond being a technical innovation, desicodes would be shaping up as a grassroots social movement. The initiative invites students, teachers, and developers to participate as desicodes Fellows — volunteers who contribute translations, organize workshops, or set up desicodes Labs in schools.

Each language module will be open-source, allowing communities to adapt and localize the tools for their regions. Huma envisions a future where students in rural India learn programming the same way they learn arithmetic or poetry — through the rhythm and words of their native tongues.

“desicodes is about agency,” she says. “It’s about telling young people that technology doesn’t belong to a language; it belongs to you.”

From a School Desk to an International Stage

Currently a student at Royal Global School, Huma balances her coding projects with research in artificial intelligence and environmental science. Earlier this year, she presented her paper “ML-Based Prediction of Phycocyanin Purity” at an international AI conference in Azerbaijan — becoming one of the youngest Indians to do so.

Her school director Dr. Arup Kr. Mukhopadhyay and her research mentor Dr. Ankur Pan Saikia describe her as a “rare blend of precision and empathy.” “She doesn’t just build algorithms,” Dr. Saikia says. “She builds bridges between worlds — between culture and computation, between identity and innovation.”

Language as the New Interface

India, with more than 120 major languages and 22 official ones, is often celebrated for its linguistic diversity but struggles with digital inclusivity. Despite the government’s push for coding education under the Digital India and NEP 2020 initiatives, most coding resources remain available only in English.

Desicodes, Huma believes, can fill that gap. “If every child can see code in their own language, the digital divide will shrink dramatically,” she says.

‘Technology That Speaks You’

Huma’s story has begun drawing attention from educators and entrepreneurs alike. To her, the recognition is secondary to the mission.

“I don’t see desicodes as just a product,” she says quietly. “It’s a proof of belonging — that you don’t need to change your language to belong in technology.”

If successful, Huma’s idea could redefine how millions of students across India engage with computer science — proving that in the world of innovation, code can speak any language.